|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Looking Beyond Paul Theroux once remarked, "Travel is the opposite of a holiday. It is about enlightenment." And that is what pioneering travel writers and documentary filmmakers Hugh and Colleen Gantzer have been doing for many years—travelling the country and the world and enlightening us with their delightful tales. Their latest book, Looking Beyond, carries on this quest and shares its name with a documentary series they’ve previously done for television.
At another time and place along with the authors, we find ourselves puzzling over the origins of a crater lake near Aurangabad, Maharashtra, in the chapter The Monster who Came in from the Cold. The Lonar lake has different origin myths associated with it, from the mythological and the religious to the astronomical. A local priestess is adamant that the lake was formed when the "Devi Kamalja killed a ferocious demon, Lonasur", whereas the Geological Survey of India sign on the top of the crater proudly proclaims "The only hypervelocity natural impact crater in basaltic rock in the world". The controversy does not end here, as the reader is pleasantly surprised with another explanation, and a twist, at the end of this tale. The chapters in Looking Beyond are all small, bite-sized tales. And it is a credit to the writing and storytelling abilities of the authors that the book does not feel disjointed. One puzzles at how they are able to accomplish this, and it is only after finishing the book and reflecting on it, that the answer presents itself. The Gantzers immerse themselves in the moment, in the here and now. Each chapter is like a short story where the authors pick on a central theme or character. It can be the Welsh tourist guide in The Man who Spoke Indian, the quaintness of the Heritage on Wheels train, the surreal dreamscapes of Guilin, China, or the prehistoric Troglodytes of Kapadokya in Turkey. The reader is quietly led through all the intricate details of the encounter and ends up feeling as if he himself has been there. One thing that this book did not need to have though, are photographs. They only serve to distract. You can easily, however, ignore them and instead dive deep into the lucid and descriptive writing, emerging refreshed, satisfied and inspired.
|
The
book covers a wide geographic and time span, with each chapter taking us
to a different part of the globe. Very few dates are mentioned, but the
reader is aware that he’s also on a gently conducted time travel tour.
We walk through Prague’s Soviet era streets, marvelling at the
architectural landmarks, and sipping coffee with a visiting Russian
journalist who has his own take on the failed Czech uprising, the Prague
Spring, "Very sad, very sad `85 breakdown of law and order. The
Soviet Army came in to restore peace!"