Everyone wants to write for Lonely Planet, and if that's not possible, heck, write your own travel book. That's what techie-turned-travelogue author Dev Prasad did. “I have always been into creative writing and used to write poems when I was in college,” explains Dev as he gives us a brief idea of his association with the word. Dev is the author of “Krishna: A Journey Through The Lands And Legends Of Krishna” (Jaico, Rs. 295).
This book has been part of a journey that began five years ago as a family vacation to the North. “I was feeling sad and frustrated that besides the Taj Mahal and Qutub Minar there was very little information about the places we could visit in the north. And it was some unknown force that urged me to carry a notebook and make notes about every place I visited. Slowly the book became about Brajbhoomi, or the 10 towns associated with Krishna,” says Dev.
After this first trip the seed for the book was sown and Dev followed it up with two other trips — one to Gujarat in 2007 and the other to Kurukshetra in 2008 — thus chronicling every place that Krishna might have had even a remote association with.
“This is like a spiritual travelogue, which covers about 120 places. It describes the place, the ambience and my personal experience in the place. The legend behind the place comes in a flash back,” he says.
Although by writing a book that talks of a single man's pilgrimage, Dev is not scared that he has restricted his audience. “I wanted to write a niche book. Besides, the kind of travel I have written about it is only possible by young people.”
Dev has already started putting thought into a second book, which will either deal with places like Guruvayoor and Udupi, which he could not include in his first book, or maybe a book on Jesus Christ. Does Dev ever think about giving up his day job to pursue his passion full-time? “Sometimes I really want to, but I need to look after the basic needs of roti, kapda and makaan as well,” he says with a laugh.
This column features those who choose to veer off the beaten track
