He likes travelling the world, says A Surendran, and has visited 32 countries already. But a recent journey he undertook right here in India inspired him to write a book. The coffee-table book, Salayil Oru Sagasa Payanam (An adventure trip by road) with 140 stunning photographs, is also noteworthy because it is in Tamil.
It is about Arunachal Pradesh, a State he has wanted to visit for years, he says. It remained a thought till he met retired army personnel, 65-year-old Colonel JP Santhanam and Captain Jagan Kotekar, 66-year-old Captain Bharat Sinh, and 27-year-old biker/tech-enthusiast Chippy Vignesh who encouraged him to actually embark on the adventure with them. On one of their regular debriefs at the end of the day’s journey, someone suggested they write a book about this adventure. Surendran thought about it and said he would love to do it in Tamil. The book was edited with the help of writer Marabin Maindhan Muthiah’s team and is published by Coimbatore-based Namathu Nambikkai. “There are so many books on travel and tourism in English. I hope this book will give Tamil readers a glimpse of the beauty of the North East of our country. But, more than my writing, I hope my photographs will do all the talking,” says the 56-year-old Surendran.
Kibithu Valley the easternmost point of the country
They decided to travel on three bikes (two Triumphs and a KTM) and an Innova. “This trip took six months to plan and to execute. It took 42 days to cover 5200 km,” he says. His army friends wanted to pay their respects to the martyrs of the 1962 Indo-China War. Colonel Santhanam’s erstwhile colleagues and juniors who are posted there were a great source of help and support, he says. Surendran’s role was to take photographs and look after the finances. “I was holding a camera after many years. My son briefed me on how to handle the Canon D 50. In all, I took 6, 200 photographs: 80% of Arunachal Pradesh and the rest of Meghalaya, Manipur and Assam.” Surendran meticulousy maintained a diary that he updated every single day. “Otherwise I wouldn’t remember some special moments that I have described,” he smiles.
“We entered Arunachal from Tezpur and every now and then had to stop just to take all that beauty in.” Insisting that it was impossible for him to pinpoint favourite legs of the journey, he said that the stretch between Along and Menchuka did leave a deep imprint.
- When: July 26 at 6.00 pm
- Where: Auditorium of Sri Ramakrishna Hospitals, Avarampalayam Road
- What: All are welcome. Salayil Oru Sagasa Payanam will be available for sale at the venue. The book will also be available at the Coimbatore Book Fair at Codissia on July 28 at 5.00 pm
“I took a picture of Menchuka from a hillock,” he says. The back cover has an aerial view of Menchuka, as it clings to the hill slope with the bright blue Yargyapchu winding its way on. In front is a photograph of three fully loaded bikes overlooking a cloud-shrouded valley and mountainsides. “That is on our way to Megging,” he recalls.
Surendran, who will launch Salayil Oru Sagasa Payanam in Coimbatore and later in Chennai, has priced the book at ₹1, 000. “I am visiting colleges to talk to them about the trip and have put together a slide show of my photographs. I am hoping it will be a fund-raiser for the tribes of Arunachal Pradesh.”
