Before touring India, name a lake (4)
I believe the answer is:
erie
'lake' is the definition.
(Lake Erie is one of the Canadian/US 'Great Lakes')
'before touring india' is the wordplay.
'before' becomes 'ere' (poetic term for 'before').
'touring' indicates putting letters inside (touring can mean going round).
'india' becomes 'i' (phonetic alphabet: alpha, bravo, charlie etc.).
'ere' going around 'i' is 'ERIE'.
'name a' is the link.
This may not be right. Some or all of it may be part of another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for erie that I've seen before include "Superior companion" , "The lake sounds weird" , "Great lake in Eire" , "One of the Great Lakes" , "Spooky-sounding" .)