WHEN TRAVELLING IS HIS MON AMOUR, AND TRAVEL WRITING A BREEZY AFFAIR

Author Interview with Vasanth Gopalakrishnan

Vasanth Gopalakrishnan is a ‘biker and family man’, who, in his own words, loves gazing at endless vistas from mountain tops with a camera in tow, in his free time. Residing in Delhi, he works in a Multinational company and invests his free time in travelling to faraway places on his Bullet. He has come up with the book “Sojourn in Sub-zero” which details about his travel to Ladakh in winter. In a candid chat with Chirdeep Malhotra, he discusses about his book, his love for travelling and photography, what he thinks about travelogue writing, and also details some quirky and interesting episodes that he had during the journey to Ladakh.


You have written a travel memoir about your trip to Ladakh. Though you had gone to Ladakh many times previously too, what was special about this trip that you decided to share your travel experiences in the form of a book?
Yes, I had been to Leh multiple times and had also travelled a lot otherwise. Visiting Leh has always been a special experience for me. The thing that was special about this trip was that it was the first time I travelled to Leh in the dead of winters. It was such an outrageous and crazy thing to do. It was also the first time my wife visited Leh. During the season time (April-September), Leh tends to get very crowded. Therefore, my wife and I decided to visit Leh in December when even many of the locals decide to leave the place because of the harsh weather conditions. It was a different experience altogether for both of us so I thought I should share it with the wider world through the medium of a book.

Can you tell us more about your writing journey?
Well, for starters, I never imagined that I would write a book someday. I have been that odd travel blogger who would post stuff on Facebook along with pictures. I used to actively contribute on a travel website called www.ghumakkar.com and that was the closest that I have ever been to writing. In fact, I started writing the book as an online blog. I created a free webpage on Google and then on Wordpress. I had pictured that each of the days that we spent in Leh could be a chapter and I had decided to release one each week. When I reached “Day-3” or, let’s say, Chapter-3, I thought why not try and make this into a book. Each book, as many of you know, has a dedicated ISBN number. That was a big motivator for me to write this as a book- to have my very own ISBN number for my book.

Can you give a brief overview of your book “Sojourn in Sub-zero”?
It’s a very short book so definitely easy to read!! I feel a visit to Leh is a life changing event. The place changes your perspective about a lot of things in life. When you see how people live happily in such an arid and harsh landscape, you start valuing your own lifestyle. The book is not a travel guide to Ladakh. It is a tale of myriad emotions that me and my wife went through when we visited the place and witnessed its pristine beauty. I feel a travelogue should be more about the author’s experience than the description of the place. The latter is what is called a travel guide. Nowhere, I have described the places of our visit in detail because the endeavour is to make the reader experience the place through our experience and our eyes.

Visiting a new place, we sometimes tend to experience some quirky or humorous episodes. You have described some of them in your book. Can you share one or two such anecdotes for the benefit of our readers?
There were many such episodes- from pouring hot tea in a vehicle’s radiator to keeping a burning stove underneath the car to defreeze the fuel line, we witnessed many things for the first time in our lives. I think the quirkiest one was when we entered this hotel in Hunder and switched on the TV. For a good 5 minutes we could hear audio but could not see anything. As we waited impatiently, the hotel owner quietly came and said-“Thand ki wajah se TV ko garam hone mein thoda time lagega. Jab garam ho jayega toh picture bhi aa jayega”- (Because of the freezing cold, the TV will take some time to warm. When it does, the video will appear).

Are there any favourite travelogues by foreign authors that you would like to recommend?
My most favourite is “Around the world in 50 years” by Albert Podell. I also read In Xanadu by William Dalrymple a few years ago and found the book quite interesting. I also like watching travel movies. My favourite is our very own Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. Sometimes, I wish that they should’ve made the movie as a road trip to Leh instead of all those amazing foreign locations.

What do you think lacks in the travelogues written by Indian authors? Also, what do you like about Indian travelogues?
I have not read many travelogues written by Indian authors. I wish I had. Ironically, I am not an avid reader myself. I read books now and then but I am not someone who would devour one book after the other. That’s my wife!

What are your favourite books? Can you share with our esteemed readers about the genres that you like and your favourite authors?
I like Jeffery Archer and I specially love reading his short stories. My favourite one is “Paths of Glory” based on the real life character, George Mallory and his quest for Mt. Everest. Another book that really left a mark on me is “Into Thin Air” by Jon Krakauer based on the true story of the Everest expedition gone wrong.

What are your other interests apart from writing?
I love traveling on my bike to different places. I am an avid biker and I have been on many bike rides to Ladakh, Spiti Valley, Uttarakhand, Himachal and Rajasthan. If you are into travel then you really can’t ignore its twin sister, photography. I often say that I have courted both the sisters- travel & photography and have lived to tell the tale. I feel traveling & photography is a unique blend of finding new places and capturing them. I go by the pseudonym of “wanderinglenses.me” on Instagram.

Are there any new literary projects that you’re currently working on?
Not as of now. I am very inclined to publish a Coffee Table book on photographs from Ladakh & Spiti. It’s still in the idea stage. Hopefully it will see the light of day soon.

There are many new writers there who are aspiring to get their work published. What would you say to them?
These days, getting a book published is not a tough task as in the olden days. There are some very good publishers who are quite open-minded about budding authors. If one has the appetite then one can also avail editorial and illustrative services. These days, publishing companies are offering a wide-range of services if one is willing to pay the cost.

Can you share with our readers a motivational quote that keeps you going?
One quote that I find extremely relevant in today’s world where people travel extensively is “Take only pictures, Leave only footprints”. This quote reinforces the need for all of us to be sensitive as well as sensible towards our environment and also the place of our visit.