Great article in Smithsonian about the relics of Partition left scattered around the Punjabi countryside. I think Partition is fascinating - it makes me wonder what the US would be like if the South had won the Civil War.
So much of good travel writing (or any journalism) depends on sourcing. I once held this romantic notion that travel writers always struck out alone into the unknown, but having tried my hand at travel writing myself, I realize now that this is not only untrue but bad business practice. Successful travel writers always go with a guide who can show them things they would otherwise not even know to look for. The better of these writers acknowledge their guides. The worst write their guides out of the story altogether. The second mode used to be much more common, but nowadays the first seems to be catching up.
Writers like Ward aren't good because they find the story. They're good because they make friends with people who can find the story. This has always been true, what's changing is that writers are now being honest about it.
The Smithsonian article represents the best synthesis of great writing and local knowledge. Gurmeet, the guide, takes the author to places we would otherwise never know about. In return, he readily admits that he couldn't have written the article without her, and he writes a deeply moving and profoundly felt article.
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