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Journalism of Courage
Sitting in their small apartment in a building on Pune8217;s southern outskirts, Moreshwar and Vijaya Kunte are busy planning their next trip.
8216;8216;Just three districts left,8217;8217; says the frail Moreshwar opening a cupboard in his living room-cum-study. It is full of neatly-arranged cloth packages that hold more than 18,000 photographs.
Moreshwar, 64, calls his venture a vanprasthashrama yatra8212;a pilgrimage after renouncing life8217;s daily drudgery. 8216;8216;I had nothing specific to do after my premature retirement from a Garware company in 1990. Then we decided to go on a temple pilgrimage with a difference.8217;8217; In 1991, they began with Pune8212;and found 600 temples in the city alone.
Born in Ajmer, Vijaya had hardly travelled anywhere before this. 8216;8216;There were rarely any pleasure trips. The farthest I travelled was to Hardwar when my brother got married in Gwalior. And once we took our kids to Mumbai.8217;8217; Moreshwar agrees: 8216;8216;For 22 years, I just shuttled between Pune and Pimpri. I never even had the need to ride a two-wheeler.8217;8217;
Which is why on the first day of their first trip, the Kuntes had an inexplicable fear of being alone. 8216;8216;But it soon waned,8217;8217; says Moreshwar, when they encountered two helpful people in a small Konkan village, who played hosts out of the blue. Tales of many more unknown people helping out in several unknown places followed.
8216;8216;On our first trip, we8217;d left with Rs 1,500 on us. Petrol then used to cost Rs 18 per litre.8217;8217; Their costs mainly involve petrol, photo film and camera batteries. 8216;8216;I do not remember hiring a hotel room even for a single day,8217;8217; says Moreshwar.
And mishaps? Hardly any major ones on their 96,000-kilometre run. Except one. 8216;8216;I cannot forget my 60th birthday. On that day we met with the only mishap in our travel life. It was near Latur,8217;8217; says Moreshwar. Vijaya was unconscious for three days, though Moreshwar and his moped escaped unscathed. In another incident, Vijaya had to stand near a burning pyre for more than half an hour to escape from a bee attack.
But more than anything, what has left lasting impressions are the temples. A temple dedicated to Mallimardana in a small Konkan village near Chiplun and a few in Goa, stand out. While a certain disdain shows up when they talk about renovated, marble-splendoured ones. 8216;8216;Some temples have just been turned into 5-star places,8217;8217; quips Moreshwar.
Six books down, they are planning their next one. And after they complete the remaining districts, a few more compilations are planned, perhaps one on deepmals, the traditional lamp posts on temple premises.
Armed with a semi-box camera, they continue to shoot8212;for posterity.
