With a back pack weighing about 7-8 kgs, writer-traveller N. J. Nadarajan, a doctor, has been around quite a while: Looking, seeing and living with people in different countries to understand their aspirations. “People across the world interest me,” said Nadarajan.
Across 36 countries Dr. Nadarajan has met some rare tribes, some on the verge of extinction and has had rich experiences of being with them in the commune, trying to eat what they eat, speaking to them in their language if possible and of course sometimes being at his wits end, sick of travelling.
“But somewhere within I manage to get over my homesickness and go on, many times ending up with some unforgettable experience”. Is there a place that he would like to visit again? “Laos and Egypt, perhaps,” he replies. Laos for the innocence of its people and Egypt for its history. Meeting some of the original natives of Amerindians in Brazil was an exciting experience for Nadarajan.
With the Guarani tribe
Living with the Guarani tribe in Paraguay was even more memorable. “I took the risk of entering Paraguay without a visa and living with the tribe because it was a chance of a lifetime,” he said. “I was well aware that if I was caught, there would be little chance of coming back home since there is no Indian Mission in that country.”
Something other than wanderlust is what makes Nadarajan pack his backpack for a new country at regular intervals. “I do a lot of research for my journey. I like to know what I would be seeing in a country, its people, the food, the culture, the language, the religion the basic knowledge to interact with people while travelling in the country”, he said.
Cost is yet another barrier Nadarajan manages to keep low. Air fares are his major expenses. He keeps to low cost lodgings, travels in public transport and eats what the locals eat.
“The travel bug perhaps got into me after I read S. K. Pottekkad's books. Hailing from a lower middle-class family from Palluruthy, I could never dream of any travel even outside the State. The only entertainment, if it can be called one, was the membership in the Ernakulam Public Library when I was in Class VIII. By the time I finished pre-degree, I had perhaps read half the number of books in the library. Along with reading, I also watched world cinema and was involved with other literary activities all through my studies at the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College. When I graduated, I wondered whether I had a degree in medicine or literature”.
He first started travelling in 1986, when he went to South-East Asia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore.
It was the US in 1993. “I had gone all across the American continent in about 6-7 months”, said Nadarajan. In 1995, he took off Europe for almost a year, mostly on foot.
Before he took to his backpack travel abroad, Nadarajan had in his student days travelled across North India for about eight months in and out of various ashrams, monasteries, including Rajaneesh, who he considers had given him a lot of comfort during his soul searching travel in the midst of his post-graduate studies in ENT in B. J. Medical College, Gujarat University.
He completed his PG, then came home to set up a small clinic in Aroor with his friend.
How does he manage to get away from his clinic for his travels? “Well, I don't think that if I go away, things are going to crumble down. It is the fear of the unknown that keeps people tied to their routine.”
