Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Starter Pack for Trail Wanderlust

When your daily sights are cars, architectural marvels and kitchen chores.
When you longing look, at the trees lining your daily commute.
That's when it's time to hit the trails.
Run or hike or walk in there and be reinvigorated back for life.

If that's not an option. If TV and books is still you go-to. Then feast on the below and make do till the next chance.

Madhumati

Images of the mist-laden jungles, trails, brooks and waterfalls in song Aaja re Pardeshi.
And there is more in the rest of the movie.




Riki Tiki Tavi by Rudyard Kipling

One of the classics which was a must-read for a few school years.
Image may contain: 1 person
And the recent Jungle Book movie, immersed in deep jungle images only.

For added nostalgia, there is the TV animation show, which played the Hindi-dubbed version in the late 90s. Apart from the Anime drawings, it's most remembered for "Chaddi pehenke phool khila hai" credits song - Gulzar's quirky lyrics on Vishal Bharadwaj's music, Mowgli's voice and Nana Patekar as Sher Khan.


Jim Corbertt

His books are the real thing. His life was in those jungles in Northern India. Each story in every book of his is a total trip through every nook & gnarled root of some jungle. His devotion to everything jungle is the core of who he is. Oxford publication print copies are awesome quality. Special mention for the lovely black and white illustrations inside.



Phantom comics

At one point I was suffering from an acute bout of Phantom nostalgia. I was longing for the yellowing crumbling pages on which Diamond comics printed Mandrake and Phantom. I am managing with this library copy of 1920s printed on supreme quality paper and hardcover.
Mandrake was interesting for the magic tricks he performed while saving others. And Phantom universe was rich with his bravery, and the ensemble in his stories. Mainly his location were those thick jungles of Ivory Coast, along with beaches and some quick trips to NYC.

 

 

Wild by Cheryl Strayed

I read it in 2015 and wrote about it. It is an account of her through-hike of PCT, mixed with her past in Minnie. Reading through it, is like being out there in the jungle hiking too.


Hunger Games

First one specifically. Every time Katniss escapes to the woods, its such a relief to us reader too. And then when she faces the same jungles in the Games, scary as it is, we know she will survive it.



Additonal readings / views:

Monsoon in India - 30 drool-worthy photos by Blogger Neelima Vallangi

Gaya Days in Sanctuary Asia magazine.
"Sanctuary’s Lifetime Service Award winner of 2016, S.E.H. Kazmi is synonymous with Jharkhand’s Palamau Tiger Reserve. However, in the early days of his career, he served in the Gautam Buddha Wildlife Sanctuary, a little-known wildlife sanctuary now split between Bihar and Jharkhand. Here, he narrates charming and thrilling anecdotes from those initial years in Chotanagpur's dense forests."


No comments:

Post a Comment