Frustrating Escapism

Well, my aversion to romances is that such men - and, ok, ok, such women - don't exist.

But what frustrates me more are movies like The Wednesday and Payanam. Both deal with an issue closest to every individual's heart. They show a dream that can never be.

While most movies show heroes bashing up villains that can never be, in these two movies (and many like this), they deal with the issue of terrorists and terrorism, how it affects common man and a solution. The Wednesday, the Hindi movie, has an amazing twist after a gripping plot. And one wishes somewhere, someone would do it.

Payanam, a recent Tamil movie, is yet another wishful thinking. A hijack, the very realistic delay in taking a decision, and finally the moment when the decision has to be taken. Nature intervenes, and people are able to communicate a momentous decision despite the suspicious terrorists...but despite such loopholes, it leaves one wishing such things happened in real life.

Well, one can definitely dream on... and maybe we should be happy that movies and books give us that escape into the world of make believe at least for a while.

The Unexpected

We were in Tiruvannamalai - my husband Srikant, Baskaran - the publisher for whom I was doing a coffee table book on the the district, and I - ready to trek up a 4000 feet high hill called Parvathamalai. I pride myself on my sturdy stomach, but the night before, I threw up unexpectedly. So skipped breakfast.

Morning, we started at around 7 with a local boy for guide. He assured us that we can reach the peak in 3 hours, worst case scenario. And he was supposed to be taking us through an easy route (!) We reached the foothills at 9 and were shocked to hear that people never climbed during the day as the sun beat down mercilessly. The guide kept showing us a peak that I couldn't believe we would ever climb! What with nothing in the stomach, I slowed down the climb completely and we took - gulp - a mere six hours.

There is no shade, and except for climbing up, no other way of reaching the top. We were humbled to see older men running shops on the way up carrying kilos of stuff. Even their young children carried burdens and were more nimble than the city-bred lot that we were. To think that a temple had been built on top once upon a time, and an ashram in recent times! Just the thought left us breathless.

The guide's mother ran a shop closest to the peak. We were relieved to take a break there, enjoying the cool breeze that blew around us. It amazed me that she lived alone there, her sons living with her father to complete their education in the city. She had just a radio for companionship.

But if we thought our adventure was over, we had a thought coming! The last stretch was steep, on the sheer side of the hill. At least today there is a semblance of a grill to protect a fall. Till a few years back, people would simple lean against the hill and move ahead sideways with the drop behind them! What devotion!

Must admit, I am nervous about climbing hills after this :D But it was a worthwhile experience.

Another late evening, we visited a temple in a remote village located amidst paddy fields. This had been excavated in recent times. On the way back, we found some men with a bike in the middle of the road. As we wondered what they were doing there, we saw a baby snake escape from under the wheels of the bike! We couldn't get out of the area fast enough!!!

Can't forget this either - we walked through paddy fields looking for a rock said to be worshipped as mother goddess in prehistoric times. The girl who took us through casually told us there maybe snakes, but they run away before we can reach them. Ulp!!! Her father wakes up in the middle of the night to water these fields!

I am happy to announce that the book that I wrote for Amish Media on Tiruvannamalai after undergoing all these experiences is finally being officially released next week (http://amishmediaconsultant.in/tiruvannamalai-book)! Can't say how happy I am. It had been a once in a lifetime experience traveling through the villages of Tirunnamalai.