This memoir chronicles a sparse population, structures shattered by time, and roving officials of the British Crown trying to comprehend the mysteries of the vast land of India with its divine dignity conversing with ruins of imposing architectural buildings. The author Lt Col. Forrest made colored drawings of ancient monuments on the spot to see the beauty of their inner form beyond what is seen by the bodily eye. Some facts given by Forrest have become obsolete, but the work as a whole summons the readers to a journey into creativity and to selfhood.
A Picturesque Tour is an engrossing account of the mediaeval period of Indian history and the storm of attacks, plunders, dreadful massacres, internecine conflicts of the princes to grab power and the daring and active spirit of the English that inspired its merchants to establish direct trade with India leading to the British Raj.
Contents: Foreword; Preface; Directions for Placing the Plates; Tour Along the Ganges and Jumna / History of India; Tour Along the Ganges and Jumna.