Scoop-Wallah

You are a journalist. You should be writing on one of our great Indian papers, then you will really be starting to understand us.''

A chance conversation with her greengrocer about the portrayal of India in the media inspired journalist Justine Hardy to leave London and, following in the footsteps of Rudyard Kipling, spend a year working at The Indian Express in New Delhi.

Her new life – with a quirky landlord who turns out to be a former Rajput prince – takes her all over India, from polo matches and the manicured lawns of Assam tea gardens to city slums in Delhi, stumbling across terrorist sentiments, exploring the HIV problem and having an inspiring encounter with the Dalai Lama.