In “attempting to find in motion what was lost in space” : James A Greensmith in conversation with Ipsita Deb
“I didn’t go to the moon, I went much further - for time is the longest distance between two places… The cities swept about me like dead leaves, leaves that were brightly colored but torn away from the branches.”
— Tennessee Williams, The Glass Menagerie
Perhaps Tom in Glass Menagerie knew something about distance that most of us have known yet cannot name - about journeys between who we had been to who we have become. My hesitant fingers were moving across one of those installments at the museum, he showed me, deft-handed, how it works. I felt foolish, “History is amazing, no?” He looked at the phantom screen, smiling, “Yes…you frame things so that they stop bleeding”. It was an unusual way to think about the past. James belongs to a curious category of travellers. He does not travel merely to get his passport stamped - he moves with a restless insistence, as if places itself could offer answers that time refuses to give.
And right at the end of the conversation, James said something very poignant-- "I get lonely on my travels. That’s just the life I have picked - to travel alone.".
For a moment, I felt… I understand that better than I'd like to admit.
Ipsita Deb
Ipsita : I like your “list,” you keep adding names, don’t you? Three hundred and sixty places, if I remember correctly. Interesting how you divide them into tabs – continents, territories, regions. How do you decide what goes into the list?
James : Roughly. Depends on what you count. Some are disputed. Some aren’t recognised. I edit the“list” every now and then – list, sublists – what you prefer to call them. Everyone seems to have a different opinion on that. Maps aren’t neutral. But places exist. I want to see all of them. Apart from the recognised members of the UN, there are unrecognised places, sovereign entities, sovereign military territories, Republics, principalities, autonomous territories, overseas territories, and even micronations. I have a few on my list, although people mostly joke about them, but I think I am interested in a few like Sea-land, Liberland. Then there are places that exist almost outside the usual political imagination – Marie Byrd Land in Antarctica, which remains unclaimed, or Bir Tawil between Egypt and Sudan. Places like Achzivland, South Ossetia, Abkhazia fascinate me. The more I read about these territories, the longer the list becomes. It keeps growing as I keep learning.
Ipsita : Interesting. Have you ever stood somewhere and felt that?
James : I had a lot of fun exploring all the regions of Belgium. On that same trip I also went to the Netherlands and Germany, and experienced slightly different cultures in the countries. Went to the town in the border between the Netherlands and Belgium, where the borders are all mixed up, and there is a house that is split between the Netherlands and Belgium. That’s very fascinating, to see these oddities in the world. I try to find the most interesting ways to reach places like that; there’s a sense of adventure in it. I had been in Liechtenstein, the sixth tiniest, only for an hour though.
Ipsita: Very fascinating. Also, I see you have split UK into four. And as I gather, until 2019 it was mostly within Europe till you came to India. And I believe it was not simply another destination on the list.
James: I would say 2017 is when my real journey started, I started doing smaller trips across Europe and in September 2019, I first came to Mumbai and fell in love with the country straight away. It was unlike any other country I have been to upto that point. I always wanted to go back but I couldn’t. Then Covid happened. I have been to all “twenty-eight” (emphasises with a grin, remembering our earlier debate about the count) states in India, and all UTs. I’m a geography whizz (smiles).
Ipsita : Ah, you mean you are properly “British” (jokingly, on the last point). I notice you always wear that tri-colour pendant, you rarely take it off. A lot of people visit India – many of them for culture, food, colours, spirituality. What is that keeps calling you back?
James : (Smiles)…It was a tribute to someone. I wanted to see all of it…but you can’t really see all of it. That’s what I like. It was not an easy task but I planned and wanted to stick to it. I managed to get a sabbatical and had a whole year. My original plan was to see more countries in South-East Asia but I ended up staying in India.
Ipsita: Stayed?
James: Yes. Six months. That’s the maximum visa allows.
Ipsita : But you didn’t go back.
James : No.
Ipsita: Instead, you crossed into Bangladesh.
James : (Nods) for a month. I didn’t want to end it abruptly. It felt incomplete. I came back for another six months.
Ipsita : A place that stayed with you? And how you felt finally being able to see all of it?
James: Definitely Mizoram, my favourite state in India. I have been to all the Seven Sisters. I remember climbing to the top of a hill to watch the sunset. I was listening to a song – “Someday We’ll All Be Free.” I found myself crying. Sometimes I wish I were free… if that makes any sense.
(pauses…)
And about seeing “all of it” – well, Sikkim was my last state and when I crossed into it, I found myself in tears. I felt overwhelmed, maybe, “accomplished”? – I am not good with adjectives.
Ipsita : You are always travelling. Home – what does that word mean to you now?
James : Umm, I suppose they say home is where the heart is. My heart is in India. I don’t know if I would call it my home. Again, I have never settled down, I am always on the move. I guess I don’t really have a home. Funny.
Ipsita : And airports? Airports are almost your routine now, I presume.
James : (smiles) Yeah, airports are strange. I see a lot of airports and some are more unique than the others. I remember the airport of Lakshadweep in India. It was very small. I don’t really enjoy being in airports. There’s always that moment before a flight – and not many people know that I have a fear of flying. So, every time it’s a bit of a mental preparation. But I have a dream to follow, even if I have to do it alone.
Ipsita : Does that ever feel lonely?
J: Not in airports. No. Airports don’t ask anything of you. You’re just passing through… I get lonely on my travels. That’s just the life I have picked – to travel alone. (Smiles – that quiet, inward smiles of his…)
James A. Greensmith lives in Greater London, UK. An adventurer by heart, he finds ways to keep moving, guided by a restless, searching heart. He loves to experience new cultures, navigate new terrains and absorb as much knowledge as possible about the places he traverses. Over time, his journeys have taken him across all the states and Union Territories of India – an experience he holds with high regard, not only for its scale but for what it taught him about the country’s diversity. In doing so, he is likely the first foreign national to have made it possible.
He continues to travel with the same curiosity and hopes to explore other regions of the world in similar depth, such as all States of the USA and all states of Brazil and more! He loves what he does and he has no intention to stop.
For him, the ‘list’ is always growing – and that is precisely the point. He seeks to continue learning and is driven by the personal ambition – to keep pushing the boundaries of how much of the world one can meaningfully experience, and perhaps in his own way, someday become one who has travelled it most deeply.
He can be reached at : https://www.instagram.com/jamesagreensmith
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