You have fact & fiction
and then you come across photo fiction. I came across this very interesting
combination at THE STOPOVER – an upcoming photo fiction book which promises to
take the readers on a voyage to four uncharted territories
through four absorbing stories.
When
you think about travel stories with photographs you think about the picturesque
destinations across Europe or some other exotic tropical beach. The Stopover,
however, is set across striking locations closer home – Ladakh, Chennapatna,
Ooty & Chennai.
As
I read through parts of the first chapter – The
Tibetian Wheel of Wisdom – I figured out it had more to it than some
beautiful clicks. Varun, the protagonist, seeks solitude in Ladakh to unwind
himself after a breakup. And it is here he befriends three Tibetians – Tashi
the guide, Dhondup the software engineer from Bangalore and Tenzin the monk. Inquisitive
Varun seeks to learn about their lives and religion and comes across the heart
wrenching stories of China’s invasion in Tibet.
It
gives an insight of the soulful life the Tibetian’s had under His Holiness the
Dalai Lama before things turned out ugly and overnight they lost their freedom to the Chinese assault.
The goriness of torture torment and the cruelty by the Chinese is something that’s
hard for any Tibetian to overcome. The Lessons of life that Varun learns from
the Tibetians changes him forever.
 |
| The Monastery in Ladakh has the same look as it had in Lhasa - photo courtesy The Stopover |
The
writers Ram Prakash & Deepa Pinto believe in every stopover in the voyage
of life lies an exciting treasure trove and very rightly so. In my opinion it
just might be the book with ‘the difference’. Very different from the
mainstream fiction this book has all the potential to do wonders aided with stunning
pictures.
The
Stopover book is due for release this October. More information is available at
their website. Once I get my hands on this book the review will be up here. :).
Wishing
Ram & Deepa all the best.
