Goodearth Publications
 | |
| Private subsidiary | |
| Industry | Travel Guides |
| Genre | Guide books |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Headquarters | Gurgaon, India |
Area served | India |
Key people | Siddhartha Lal (Director) |
| Products | Travel guidebook |
| Parent | Eicher Group |
| Website | http://maps.eicherworld.com |
Goodearth Publications was established in 1996 as a part of Eicher Goodearth Pvt Ltd, and specialises in producing visual travel guides to Indian destinations. The books focus on history, built heritage and cultural traditions, with a subsidiary focus on practical information.
History
Goodearth Publications is part of Eicher Goodearth Pvt Ltd, itself a part of the Indian automobile major, Eicher Group. The Publication division was established in 1996 with the aim of creating guides for destinations across India. A maps division had been established previously to create city maps for Indian cities.
Reportedly, the idea for publishing maps – and subsequently tourist guides – came to the then Chairman of Eicher Group, Vikram Lal, when he was driving around a Delhi colony unable to find the house to which he had been invited. Goodearth Publications is headed by Swati Mitra, who has been Executive Publisher of the division since its inception.[1]
The first guide book to be published by Goodearth was the Delhi: City Guide (1998).[2] This was followed by Walking with the Buddha: Buddhist Pilgrimages in India, which was released by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 1999. Walking with the Gurus, a guide to the historical gurdwaras of India, followed a similar theme, and was described as the ‘only volume of its kind, which captures succinctly and tastefully nearly all genres of the Sikh literature and art’.[3]
In 2001, Goodearth Publications received an award for ‘Excellence in Publishing’ from the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, for Speaking Stones: World Heritage Sites in India.[4] In 2012, Madhya Pradesh Tourism received the National Award for Best Publishing and Promotional Material for three guidebooks published by Goodearth Publications.[5] These were Bhimbhetka-Bhojpur, Maheshwar-Omkareshwar, and Ratlam, Mandsaur and Neemuch.
Books
Goodearth Publications has published several travel guides to cities, states and districts across India. These include city guides to Varanasi, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Srinagar, Bhopal, Indore; state guides to Assam, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Goa, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand; and district / site guides to Bhimbetka and Bhojpur, Bastar, Chanderi, Gwalior, Bhoramdeo, Sirpur, Chamba: The Celestial Valley, Hampi, Burhanpur, Mandu, Omkareshwar & Maheshwar, Pachmarhi, Ratlam, Mandsaur and Neemuch etc.
Other titles include: Buddhist Trail in Himachal, The Temples of Himachal, Buddhist Circuit in Central India, Rock Art in Madhya Pradesh, Temples of Madhya Pradesh, Weekend Getaways in Madhya Pradesh: From Delhi, Museums of Madhya Pradesh, Wild Trail in Madhya Pradesh, Wild Trail in Uttar Pradesh and Wild Trail in Bengal.
Besides, the company has collaborated with the Archaeological Survey of India on 13 guides to World Heritage Sites in India that are under the ASI. These include the Qutub Minar', Humayun’s Tomb, Sanchi, Hampi, Great Living Chola Temples etc.
Goodearth Publications has also published three large-format, hard-cover books for the Archaeological Survey of India, including Monuments of Delhi and a new edition of Ancient India, a journal of the ASI.
References
- ↑ "Swati Mitra's Profile". 18 Mar 2006.
- ↑ "Delhi City Guide". Goodearth Publishers.
- ↑ "Walking with the Gurus, a guide to the historical gurdwaras of India". Tribune India (Tribune). 2000.
Mapping the paths of the Guru
- ↑ "Goodearth Publications received an award for Excellence in Publishing". 13 March 2001.
- ↑ "National Award for Best Publishing" (PDF).
Madhya Pradesh Tourism received the National Award for Best Publishing and Promotional Material