I for one, have never flown towards any pleasure outing. Packing the luggage and going to a far-off place with no major agenda other than taking selfies against the backdrop of some monument, loitering around its neighborhood just for the ‘fun’ of it and getting back home feeling sort of empty… the very thought of it is so exhausting. To me!
But, the prospect of travelling to wherever my profession takes me excites me no end, because there’s a definite purpose to my footing to a place… there’s an end goal waiting to be accomplished… I’m planning my script around the place and whatever it’s significant for… I’m meeting experts… I’m learning so much… I’m connecting the dots… and, I’m also enjoying the place.
The recent recce to Wayanad, Kerala, as part of the upcoming feature on Kannur / North Malabar is turning out to be yet another wonderful outing for me. The experts on Kolathiri (Chirakkal) and Arakkal Kingdoms, and those on Theyyam and Kalaripattu are flooding me with prodigious insights into their respective domains… and oh boy! what a blessing that!
Now, connecting the dots and threading these subjects into a logical flow – so the film moves seamlessly – is gonna be my challenge… and a highly invigorating one at that!
That said, Wayanad, whose terrain I happened to traverse during my recce, mesmerized me so much that I lost my own identity to a supreme, supernatural presence that stands tall over its land. And, moments when I briefly came back into my human consciousness, I yanked my phone out and tried to capture a bit – just a bit – of its intoxicating beauty.
Here it is…
Saint Maverick
SAINT MAVERICK 