This week we publish the last of Elizabeth Atkinson’s weekly letters from the Indian city of Udaipur, where she has been living for the past two months. Our thanks to Elizabeth, who lives in Carhampton, for her enlightening reflections on the unexpected similarities between life in the state of Rajasthan and West Somerset

Her letter begins: [Writing these letters] has been both humbling and inspiring.

I have been welcomed into people’s lives, shown something beyond the tourist view of Udaipur, and taught the truth of my favourite quote from the original Marigold Hotel film - “In India, life is seen as a privilege, not as a right.”

But in the many discussions I have had over the last two months, I have also been made aware of some of the dark side of life in India … These darker truths have made me both doubly aware of how much we take for granted in this country and doubly conscious of the need to look to our own shortcomings ...

Elizabeth’s letter in full, and more photos, in this week’s Free Press (April 12).