'Ravan had palaces in caves and that tunnels were the highways of that time and ran between prominent cities.'
Neelesh Kulkarni is co-author of the travelogue In The Footsteps Of Rama.
He is an entrepreneur who has been running his own company for over 35 years. He is also a theatre and voiceover artist with over fifty years of experience, an avid reader and traveller, a poet, cricket commentator, and public speaking coach. He lives in Delhi with his artist wife.
"Most did not know of the importance of Chitrakoot in the Ramayan though Rama, Sita and Lakshman spent 11 years, 11 months and 11 days of their vanvaas in Chitrakoot," Neelesh Kulkarni tells Sunil Gatade in a fascinating interview.
How did the idea for In The Footsteps Of Ramas strike you? What was the Eureka moment?
We had read Walking with Nanak and had heard about a similar book on the travels of Fa-Hien (external link).
This was when we thought about writing books on iconic journeys that are part of the Indian mindscape.
On a hunch, Vikrant (Pande, co-author In The Footsteps of Rama) asked some friends if they knew where Chitrakoot was, and no one seemed to know the exact location!
Also, most did not know of the importance of Chitrakoot in the Ramayan though Rama, Sita and Lakshman spent 11 years, 11 months and 11 days of their vanvaas in Chitrakoot.
That was the Eureka moment that made us feel we just had to take this trail and write about it.
Which leg of your travels did you enjoy the most? Why?
The Chitrakoot leg immensely because it was the beginning, and as we saw terrific unknown stories emerging from the visit.
It was the feel of an adventure predominant in that trip, and it shall forever be engraved on our minds.
However, each leg had its challenges and its charm.
Sri Lanka was lovely, lush and green, and the travel part of it was just too good.
Also, we discovered many unknown facts about Ravan and his governance.
The most surprising thing we found was that he had palaces in caves and that tunnels were the highways of that time and ran between prominent cities.
Going down the tunnels was a great adventure, as was exploring caves.
We had visited Hampi as tourists, but learnt that there was so much we had missed out on, which was a revelation.
There were also these many small villages where we had to battle superstition and a language barrier to get to where we wanted. It was all one big adventure!!!
IMAGE: Neelesh Kulkarni
Photograph: Kind courtesy HarperCollins India
What is your assessment of the upkeep of places associated with Lord Ram in India? And in Sri Lanka?
Without fault, we found even the smallest of temples in the villages well maintained.
Dr Ram Autar Sharma, who has done this route multiple times, has played a stellar role in this. He has mapped these places and also encouraged villagers to restore the temples that were in their vicinity.
In Sri Lanka, the Buddhist community has control over most temples of the ones we visited, except the Koneswaram Shiva temple and the Sita Amman temple.
Their shrines also form part of Hindu shrines. They not only maintain them well, but also give proper respect to the Hindu shrines.
What are your plans?
In this genre, there are two more travelogues just waiting to happen once travel feels more secure.
We would not like to share the details right now, but can only assure you that this space of 'mytho travelogues' is going to see our presence in a big way in the years to come.
We are also writing about other topics in the non-fiction genre, and the next book, which is not a travel book, is also with Harper Collins and will be out early next year.
Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com
