It was 6 weeks ago, when were wandering in a small village in the periphery of Inle Lake. It was as idyllic as a rural setup could get. There was a stream flowing by. Paddy fields dominated the landscape with their lush-green colour. The vista of the landscape ended in distant hills decorated by rain bearing clouds. Water buffaloes wandered the open fields, grazing quietly. Sun shined occasionally through the clouds. Row-boats passed through the stream once-in-a-while. Children frolicked by the house-verandas and on the streets. Life moved slowly, gently and unassumingly.
I was lost in this happiness and had completely ignored this monastery, and the monk who stood by the window, watching the same spectacle as I did. I turned around in a moment of unawareness, and suddenly awakened by the beauty of the place. Camera shutter released in an instant.
This article appeared in October issue of Terrascape magazine, where I write a column on photography. Read all the earlier travel photography articles on India Travel & Photography Blog.
Sometimes, being open to possibilities lets you discover (and photograph) a whole new world that you would have otherwise missed by a whisker. We often travel in search of beauty, staying alert to see and capture new places and cultures. But more often than not, we tread the beaten path as we follow guidebooks, accept itineraries or simply go by what is well-known.
About a month ago, a Tuk Tuk driver in Battambang, Cambodia, invited me to try out something else. He said, “let’s go on a small adventure; I will take you to the rural interiors and we will visit families practicing traditional occupations for a very long time”. I wasn’t really prepared for this. When someone stranger, whose credentials are unknown to you makes such offer, you are more likely to decline than accept. For some reason, my sixth sense said ‘let us go,’ and I agreed to his idea. What I saw and experienced next day with the Tuk Tuk driver was just the kind of things I was looking for, but never knew whom to ask.
Book Title: Who Stole My India
Author: Amit Reddy
Pages: 453
Amit Reddy was probably born in the wrong place. Even his mother thinks so when she says, ‘You should go away to America, You are nothing like Indian.’ As Reddy finds it difficult to understand and live a life that his society and surroundings expect him to, and unable to comprehend the diktat of a Hindu Indian society, he decides to fix the problem. The way he decides to do it is by travelling across the country to discover its soul, and perhaps discover his own soul that might fit within an Indian context.
As he puts it, “It’s all so frightfully confusing, but I intend to rectify this situation. The plan is ingenious, and quite simple. I’m going to explore India like few people ever have, by taking an inordinately long journey around the country; 40,750 kilometers long, to be precise… If everything goes accordingly, by the end of this journey I hope to be the complete Indian.”
He begins from Hyderabad on Kaya–a much loved motorcycle that is usually addressed as an animate being–and rides into nearly every Indian state. The journey takes him through wilderness, rugged terrains, temple-towns, remote villages, mountainous landscapes, deserts and the sprawling cities. This book isn’t about those places though, but on people Reddy meets and the way of life in India as witnessed by him.