Arjun Banerjee

Travel Writer · Kolkata

Arjun Banerjee

Kolkata-based historian and travel writer who walks India's pilgrimage routes, reading temple towns as living archives of language, ritual and trade.

PilgrimageHeritage

About Arjun

Arjun Banerjee is a Kolkata-based writer and amateur historian whose work follows India's pilgrimage circuits, from the Char Dham to the lesser-known Shakti Peethas of the east. Over the last decade his essays on temple towns, pilgrim economies and devotional music have appeared in Outlook Traveller, NatGeo Traveller India and The Hindu, often paired with archival research from regional libraries. Trained originally as a literature scholar, he treats each pilgrimage route as a living text, paying close attention to language, ritual and the quiet labour of priests and boatmen. Arjun also leads slow heritage walks through North Kolkata's old quarters and mentors younger writers interested in long-form travel reportage.

15 Stories by Arjun

Kanchenjunga massif from Gangtok ridge at sunrise

Nature · Sikkim

Sikkim: Gangtok, Tsomgo Lake and the Shadow of Kanchenjunga

9 April 2026 · 10 min read

The hanging pillar at Veerabhadra Temple, Lepakshi

Heritage · Andhra Pradesh

Lepakshi: The 16th-Century Temple With a Pillar That Doesn't Touch the Ground

18 February 2026 · 8 min read

Dhamek Stupa at Sarnath, where the Buddha gave his first sermon

Pilgrimage · Uttar Pradesh

Walking the Buddha's Footsteps: India's Buddhist Heritage Circuit

14 February 2026 · 13 min read

Skier on the Auli slopes with Nanda Devi in the distance

Adventure · Uttarakhand

Auli: India's Only Serious Ski Slope, At The Foot of Nanda Devi

15 January 2026 · 8 min read

The rainbow gopurams of Meenakshi Temple rising above Madurai at dusk

Pilgrimage · Tamil Nadu

Madurai’s Meenakshi Temple: 33,000 Sculptures and 2,500 Years of Dravidian Devotion

20 November 2025 · 10 min read

Naga warrior dancing in traditional dress at Hornbill Festival

Festival · Nagaland

Kohima's Hornbill Festival: Ten Days With 17 Naga Tribes

18 November 2025 · 9 min read

Vaishnavite sattra dancer in Majuli, Assam

Culture · Assam

Majuli: The World's Largest River Island Is Writing Its Own Elegy

14 November 2025 · 9 min read

Red sandstone ramparts of Agra Fort at sunrise

Heritage · Uttar Pradesh

Agra Fort: The Red Sandstone Throne Where Shah Jahan Lost an Empire

14 November 2025 · 10 min read

Bengal tiger walking through the ruins of Ranthambore Fort

Adventure · Rajasthan

The Tigers of Ranthambore: Tracking Jungle Kings in a Mughal Fort

14 November 2025 · 10 min read

Sunrise on Dashashwamedh Ghat, Varanasi

Pilgrimage · Uttar Pradesh

The Seven Sacred Ghats of Varanasi: Where Life and Death Dance Together

8 November 2025 · 11 min read

Mangrove waterways of the Sundarbans delta

Nature · West Bengal

Sundarbans: Where Tigers Swim and the World's Largest Delta Breathes

18 October 2025 · 10 min read

Chamundeshwari Temple atop the Chamundi Hills, Mysore

Pilgrimage · Multiple

Ashtadasha Shakti Peetha: The Eighteen Abodes of the Goddess

15 October 2025 · 14 min read

The brick stupa of Sariputra at the Nalanda Mahavihara ruins

Heritage · Bihar

Nalanda: The University That Taught the World, Then Was Burned for Three Months

22 September 2025 · 9 min read

The Golden Temple reflecting in the Amrit Sarovar at night

Pilgrimage · Punjab

Amritsar’s Golden Temple: Langar, Faith and the World’s Largest Free Kitchen

22 August 2025 · 10 min read

Thiksey Monastery glowing at sunrise in Ladakh

Pilgrimage · Ladakh

Himalayan Monasteries: Whispers from the Roof of the World

22 July 2025 · 12 min read