Bill Aitken, the Scottish-born Indian travel writer known for his deep connection with India’s mountains, rivers and railway tracks, passed away at the age of 90.

“Deeply saddened to hear of the passing of the wonderful Scottish-born Indian writer Bill Aitken. He knew his adopted country, its cultures and its landscapes intimately. His books Seven Sacred Rivers and Footloose in the Himalaya are classics,” historian Ramachandra Guha posted on X.

Aitken hitch-hiked his way to India in 1959 after studying comparative religion at Leeds University. He settled in India permanently, drawn by its rivers, mountains, trains, and spiritual traditions. Mussoorie had been his home for over four decades.

Aitken’s writing, often shaped by long journeys and quiet observation, chronicled his deep relationship with the Indian landscape. He lived in Himalayan ashrams, worked as secretary to a maharani, and took off on unhurried excursions across the country —riding old motorbikes and steam trains, sometimes writing under his middle name, Liam McKay.

His books — more than two dozen — are accounts of these journeys. They include The Nanda Devi Affair, Riding the Ranges, Branch Line to Eternity, Exploring Indian Railways, Travels By a Lesser Line, Zanskar, Divining the Deccan – A Motorbike to the Heart of India, and Literary Trails.

“I studied comparative religion to understand what divinity is. And I found the answer in Nanda Devi,” Aitken had said in an interview with Firstpost in 2022.