Researching it and putting it together was, for an operation as small as Lonely Planet was at the time, was a huge thing, enormously time consuming and as it rolled along it simply got bigger and bigger.īut all the time we were very aware that we were producing something very special. It was a big risk, betting the whole show on one roll of the dice. When we did the first Lonely Planet India guide, Lonely Planet was still a very small company, less than 10 people. Why this special fondness for Lonely Planet India? You say the Lonely Planet guidebook that you are most proud of is the one on India. And the name came out of a song in that film - Space Captain - except the line 'once while travelling across the sky this lonely planet caught my eye' was actually 'lovely planet.'
We needed a name, we'd been to a movie called Mad Dogs & Englishmen, the '60s rock & roll band on the road affair with Joe Cocker and Leon Russell. How did the guidebook come to be named 'Lonely Planet'? Whose idea was it? In an emailed interview with Senior Associate Editor Archana Masih, India admirer Wheeler said the greatest attraction in the country was not some building or shrine or a tourist spot, but life. Simply put, the different facets of Indian life. For him India isn't a simple love affair it's "passionate, difficult, nerve-wracking," but worth the effort. Wheeler says of all the guides from the Lonely Planet stable, he is most proud of the book on India. Nearly 24 years later, the book is in its 10 th edition and has a picture of India's most enduring icon - the Taj Mahal on its cover. The first edition of the India book came out in 1981. One of the world's best-loved travel books, Lonely Planet's first-ever guidebook was on Nepal. Over 27 years ago, when Tony Wheeler, one of the book's founders, sat in a movie hall watching Mad Dogs & Englishmen, he picked the name from their song Space Captain that featured in the film. L onely Planet will always be thankful to rock n' roll legends Joe Crocker and Leon Russell. The Rediff Interview/ Lonely Planet founder Tony Wheeler 'When you tire of India, you tire of life'