If at any time you are planning a trip to south India,
you cannot miss this gem of a book by Dervla Murphy. Dervla
Murphy is an
intrepid traveller, who has undertaken solo journeys – on foot, bicycle and muleback,
to some of the most inaccessible places on this planet. For the first time, she
has a traveling companion with her – her five year old daughter, Rachel. To
blood Rachel, Murphy plans a trip through South India,
relatively well-connected by bus and train, with no fixed itinerary in mind.
They land in Bombay
in November of 1973. At the peak of the hippy era, they spend a few days in Goa,
the hippy paradise. From there, they venture downwards to the southern most tip
of India. As
they meander through the land on rickety peasant-filled buses and trains, they
chance upon the tiny province of Coorg.
Dervla and Rachel are enraptured by the beauty of this region and the warmth of
its people. They decide to finish their journey to Cape Comorin
and return to spend two months in Coorg.
Coorg is a little known province in the state of Karnataka,
nestled in the Western Ghats. It approximates to the
Highlands of Scotland. Dervla’s writing transports you to this paradise,
tantalizing you with the beauty of its landscape of forest and plantation, the
air laden with the scents of coffee and cardamon, orange and honey. Mother and
daughter soak in the warmth and hospitality of the Coorgs. The Coorgs are a
unique race, quite different from the rest of their Indian neighbours. Their
culture owes its roots to a native tribal tradition, and yet their lifestyle is
very westernized and sophisticated thanks to the British colonial influence.
The Murphys experience and participate in a gamut of traditional ceremonies –
the Harvest festival, a wedding, naming ceremony and funeral. Intersepersed
with this account, are some nuggets such as a trip to a Tibetan settlement and
a stud farm.
The Murphys make ideal travelers- cheery, enthusiastic,
observant and uncomplaining. Five year old Rachel is entrancing. She revels in
every experience, impervious to discomfort, undeterred by illness. Dervla is
very shrewd in her observations, (fuelled by a vast range of reading) and yet,
stays non-judgemental in outlook. This combined with a wry, self-deprecating
sense of humour, serves to make the book, a very entertaining and enlightening
one. If you have not experienced the tantalizing yet frustrating sensation that
is India, this
book would make you rush to your nearest travel agent. If you have been here
before, you would surely want to visit again.