Travel writers are geographers too

Understanding of geography, quite like that of history, gives you a sense of belonging. The more profound the understanding, the more solid one's sense of self and identity. And understanding therefore of geography, one's place in the world, is essential.

 

For me geography is the essence of travel writing. Even before I started writing, my knowledge of the geography of Pakistan especially and of the world generally was very sharp. Except for some Pacific Ocean islands, I never had trouble pointing out any particular place on the map. In fact, I have long said that I have a fetish for maps. Incidentally, maps being an inseparable part of all military work, the seven years of army service gratified this fetish a great deal. When in London at the Royal Geographical Society, I spend hours on end in their famous and most extraordinary Map Room poring over charts of our part of the world. This association with maps naturally led to a desire to see the places I had visited on those sheets. I first started travelling and then the reading and edification followed.

Sometimes when I am talking to groups of people ranging from college and university students to special interest groups and we do not have a map, I draw a rough sketch of what Pakistan looks like (I'm a poor artist). Then I put the place that we are talking about on the map. More often than not, I see that people still do not have a clue about the geography of the whole thing. It seems geographical knowledge, much like historical knowledge, is deficient.