The Anatomy of Journey
A Soulquest
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Rohit Karthik Nalluri
Copyright 2015 Rohit K Nalluri
Edition 2015
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Reader’s Review
…great book not just for bikers but anybody who wants to seek more out of life and understand the existence! – Shekhar B via Flipkart.
Beautiful Narration, good travelogue. A good read for an aspiring Leh-Ladakh rider. It’s a long book just like the journey. – isen via Flipkart.
This is a very well written travelogue of the road trip. The story resonated with several of my travel across India. A must read for anyone planning an adventurous road trip. It beautifully brings out the essence of travel and author has done a brilliant job by connecting it with the philosophy of life and living. – Vinay Rajagopal via Flipkart.
Author's Note
I wanted to say something about the linearity of the novel. In the last seven years, I've undertaken many road trips, many journeys, the dates of which are intact in my mind - I'm not yet an old, cranky, absent-minded writer, although I do like the idea of becoming one, complete with a bristling white beard. I remember the date of each and every journey. Dates are important to me. But to form a single, flowing narrative, I have had to shift the dates of some journeys and events around. These events did occur, but they may not have done so on the dates I have mentioned, except for the trip to Ladakh, which did begin as mentioned in the novel, on the 23rd of July, and end on the 6th of August, with our return to Bangalore.
I also wanted to say something about the truthfulness about the events and circumstances. Most of the book is true to form, and derives from personal experiences. All the places mentioned in the book, we have actually visited. There is no fiction in them. And, although the characters in this book are not fictional, they are only a derivation of their real-life counterparts. Any flaws you visit upon them, any judgment, is a judgment upon me and my skill as a writer, and is a flaw totally my own. They have only been the best of friends. I have also taken the wonderful liberty of embellishing the story where I deemed it fit, but you will find that I have never strayed too far from the truth. It is, after all, our sole pursuit.
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Table of Contents
Of Legends
Travelers
Xession: Ocean Cave
Preparations
The Anatomy of Plans
The Hazrat Nizamuddin Express
Delhi to Chandigarh
Xession: Speaking with Dogs
The Anatomy of Roads
Chandigarh to Manali
The Anatomy of Mist
Rohtang Pass to Jispa
Xession: Eye and 'I'
Zing-Zing Bar
Xession: Illusions
Leh at Last
The Anatomy of Mountains
Magnetic Hill
The Anatomy of Sky
This Way of Life
Khardung La
The Anatomy of God
The Anatomy of Rain
Catharsis
The Anatomy of Death
Gestation
Rebirth
Nights
The Anatomy of Words
Epilogue
For those who understand
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For those who must