Blast into the Past

A 40-minute film, called Back to Gondwanaland, documents their three-month-long trip to Cape Agulhus, the southernmost tip of Africa. Huddled in three SUVs, they passed through 17 countries, many affected by political instability, civil wars, terrorism, banditry and famine, not to mention the bird flu. Bakshi recalls how in the Kaisut Desert of Kenya, the group came across majestic processions of the spectacular Rendille tribe walking with their saddled donkeys at a swinging trot. 8220;Bright as lamps, they threw stones and spears at us when we pointed our lenses at them. Thankfully, their aim was not as good as their looks,8221; says Bakshi.

The film throws up fascinating images 8212; burqa-covered Iranian women celebrating Navroz with gusto, the vast expanse of African game reserves dotted with antelopes and wildebeest. And what the film does not say, Bakshi8217;s travelogue will. 8220;Like the so-called orthodox Syrian women dressed in hot pants that could shame a Parisian model,8221; chuckles Bakshi. His 550-page book is in its final draft and is scheduled to release by the end of the year.

The trip wasn8217;t entirely about unwinding. The group comprised anthropologists, botanists, geologists and zoologists, among others. 8220;The Gondwanaland expedition gave the scientists an opportunity to conduct exploratory research as well as review and synthesise existing knowledge, while observing geological features,8221; says Bakshi. He recalls Turkey, where they came across a rare species of iris that otherwise grows only in the Himalayas. 8220;Egyptians look so much like us, their houses look like those in Haryana and they even have a monkey god similar to our Hanuman,8221; says Bakshi.