Nan age of penthouses, holiday homes and uber luxurious hotels 39 year old Apurv Satdev lives out of his car. He is driven via the road and narrow streets of India feeding his wanderlust and catching the encounters on a simple record. That is his raison d’etra. And if you are looking for a catch there is none. I want to inspire people to look at place all over again he explains, including it is nit journey that I am doing. That is too particular a world I am on a journey.
Ten year ago he would not have fit in the mould of what he is these days. A visual merchandiser he was full of doubts worries and fears right from where I would stay to when I would marry he confesses. Cut short of circa 2012. Today he is a jobless man high on life full of wanderlust and with zero worries. I remember how mad it was with work and other pressures. My life was packed in a sense it is new as well but with the things I love. There are no work deadlines no frenzy he says. Apurv is covering India as you read this traveling over to Pakistan. He aims to drive through the world.
The road not taken
Why Pakistan? Why not he counters. I have seen all our friends. I want to see this place also. Having began off last year Apurv has covered the entire south India, Karnataka, Kerala, as well as chhattisgarh and part of coastal Maharashtra. You want to see India like I have he declares. My parents who are based in France do not believe what I show them. No amount of research gives the right insides into a real journey.
Several of the three to five minutes movies reveal a different side of an Indian hinterland. In one you have a giggly American visitor earnestly trying to down some spicy fare at a dhaba. Other shows Apurv in conversation with wayfarer children after he gave them a lift in his car. One video shows tribal people having by dousing each other with water. Apurv says he want to upload the videos and motivate people.
Some of the short films also capture India’s scenic beauty. Of all the wonderful states Chhattisgarh and kerala are my favorite places.
But there are a few eyes opener as well. One video shows the home of a village mystic where apparently mentally unstable women are chained by there ankles to a nearby pole. The local people can be seen declining to answer questions about it.
Pet chat
Remarkably Apurv does not carry a cell phone with him. Also he want read up the places he is moving via. I do not want to see weather updates. Too much data confuses me. I would rather find out. It is like what I would do when I marry someone…….
There is no per verdict. The countryside is like a movie. You go and watch it without reading the review beforehand.
Apurv’s only companion is jazz his rottweiler. He takes up small jobs wherever he goes to sustain him self.
Apurv does not have a location or any plans to return home. Many people may undertake journeys but I am not coming back. Once in a while checks into his farm at Kolad or viewing Mumbai for an update on the world he once knew. But I get restless and long to get out again. The city is a big ball of impression to me now.