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Book Review
MALAYALAM
Travelogue
K. KUNHIKRISHNAN
HAIMAVATHABHUVIL — Travelogue: M. P. Veerendrakumar; Mathrubhumi Books, Kozhikode-673001. Rs.350.
THIS UNIQUE travelogue combines history, culture, myth, philosophy, legends, traditions, rituals, social issues, concerns and a vision in a highly readable style.
Extensive research and consultations have gone into it. It is about a journey that the author and his group undertook from New Delhi to Nepal through the Himalayan mountains and valleys for six weeks. When this was serialised in the Mathrubhumi weekly in 106 issues, it was very popular.
The Himalayas are synonymous with utmost sanctity in Indian culture, civilisation and tradition. From pre-historic times the major rivers, the Ganga and the Yamuna, and their tributaries supported human civilisation. They were divergent in culture, lifestyle, geographic location, and belonged to different races and languages. The seasons were the unifying phenomenon.
There are many cities, towns and villages along the banks of the rivers and there are hundreds of temples of veneration of the Hindu pantheon from their origination points.
Worshipping at places such as Kedaranath, Badrinath, Gangotri, Yamunotri, and Rudraprayag is inspiring.
Capturing the soul of the places and meandering in the course of myriads of rivers, and taking the reader to the diverse subjects through a detour of the subcontinent and packing it with knowledge of the best order is a challenge that the author has commendably met.
The book is definitely a path-breaking one in the genre of Malayalam travelogue.
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