TELUGU
Rejuvenating experiences
SAROJINI PREMCHAND
YAATRA JEEVANAM: Dasarathi Rangacharya; Visalaandhra Publishing House, Bank Street, Hyderabad. Rs. 190.
PILGRIMAGE IS a rejuvenating experience says the author of this travelogue. From Vaishnodevi in the North to Rameswaram in the South 239 important places are covered. The modes of transport, food, overnight-stay, the facilities available and the discomforts experienced are all recounted with a light-hearted stance. He goes into explicit detail about the mythology and the historicity behind these places.
This is Rangacharya’s 60th published work; one of his novels Chillaradevullu was produced as a feature film. He has also translated the four Vedas into Telugu.
The splendour of nature’s beauty transports him instantly into poetic ecstasies. The snow-clad peaks and a waterfall bouncing into Alaknanda like a long-lost beloved brings to him Peddana’s delightful verses. But today there is only faded glory. Likewise the present condition of Sabarmati Ashram moves him to tears.
He brings to light lesser- known temples with inviting descriptions. A Jain temple in Ranakpuri stands like a nun in meditation, he says. A rabbit or a deer crossing the road in the early morning mist does not escape his eye.
His trip to a remote temple on the banks of the River Pranahita in a bullock-cart, a French student of archaeology in Belur acting as a guide with happiness radiating from her face are some of the memorable episodes effectively told.
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