A Morning at the Bharathapuzha Estuary

Now-a-days, I rarely wake up early in the morning. So on a rare occassion when I did wake up - that too on a saturday morning!!! - it was time to do something. Question is what to do? there aren't many options. Shall I do couple of rounds of walking from one end to other end of Chamravattom bridge? Or go to Beeyam Lake? or to sea shore? Thinking consumed a lot of time and finally just left and hoped that something would come up along the way. Scooter cruised through Tirur - Camravattom highway. Darkenss of night slowly moved away. Paddy fields near IMCH hospital became clearly visible. After a while I reached Chamravattom bridge and slowed down to stop there. Since there was time, thought of going to Ponnani beach via Karma road.

I was waring an open-faced helment. Hence, cool breeze from Bharatapuzha started creeping in to eyes below visor. Karma road is one of the beautiful roads in Malappuram district. Heavy vehicles are prohibited in this road. What make the trip amazing is that one side of the road is bordered by Bharatapuzha, which is very close by and extends till Ponnani harbour junction. This road is mostly for tourism and most people stop somewhere to enjoy the scenery. I too did stop at couple of places to view the calm river. Many on the road looked like regular walkers and runners. 

Finally, I, reached Ponnani beach. Left the scooter at entrance and walked towards the waves. There were a number of people catching fish there. Later I came to know that fish caught by guys using fishing hooks command a premium because they dont use ica and fish are very fresh. I walked up and down through the beach without wetting my legs. At one end stood Ponnani Lighthouse, whose building height is relatively small. Two guys were using bait and catching fish near the shore. Another old guy was sitting on a rock and looking at sea as if he had something to say to the ocean. There was nothing much toso I got back on my scooter. This time towards the estury. 

As I stopped the scooter and started walking there were a number of plastic sacks filled with seashell. There weren't many people on this side; so I moved forward. After a while I could see the breakwaters (pulimutt) made using concrete tetrapods. Long ago when I came here, there only rocks. Now the breakwaters have been extended and strengthened. Tetrapods offer good defence against waves that continuously hit the breakwaters. These four legged structures, interlocked together, allow the water to pass through the gaps, while breaking up the force of incoming waves and restricting water movement. I climbed on top of them and jumped from one to another to reach the end of breakwater. At the end these tetrapods were covered with green alge, making them wet and sippery. I found a good spot on top of one of the legs, which was dry, and sat there. This place is also where legendary Bharatapuzhaa, whose waters are Key to Kerala's cultural wealth, finally reach nirvana. 

Similar to Ponnani side, there is a breakwater on the other side - Padinjarekkara - as well. There one can easily walk all the way to the end. I sat on this side and watched small and big boats entering and leving the harbour. Numerous people go out to sea every day throught his channel to Arabian sea in search of fish. When they return, there is a huge market at the harbour waiting for the catch they bring in..

I sat there idly for a while, waves were continously hitting the tetrapods below me and clouds were making beautiful formations above me in the sky. 

Bharatapuzha

I was always confused about where actually Bharatapuzha starts. On Google maps, Bharaptapuzha is displayed all the way up to Thirumorthy Dam in Tiruppur dstrict of Tamilnadu. However documents says, Thirumoorthi Dam is on Palar river. Well, I think we can confidently say that, headwaters of Bharatapuzha starts from eastern slopes of Anamalai Hills. Here we have Kadamparai River and there is a dam called Kadamparai Dam on it. However, we can't say that its the primary headwater. Primary headwaters might be Aliyar river, which starts from Anamalai hills. Aliyar river has two major dams - Upper Aliyar and Aliyar Dam. You can see Aliyar dam if you are travelling from Pollachi to Valparai. 

These also include some of the most amazing hydraulic engineering systems in South India. Here, water taken from Parambikulam group of reservoirs (Sholayar, Tunacadavu, and Parambikulam) are routed via Contour Canal. There is also a secondary feeder system which feeds Aliyar river. This split happens at Sarkarpathy power station. These Contour canal system is very important in manipulating Bharatapuzha's head waters. Under natural conditions, rivers feeding the project, such as Sholayar and Parambikulam, flow westward draining in to Bharathapuzha and Chalakudy river systems and then flows onward to Arabian sea. However through Canals, Tamilnadu brings in massive water volumes to Sarkarpathy and route it towards eastern Thirumurthy basin.

If we leave aside all waters diverted through canals from Thrumurthy and Aliyar basins, we have waters from Palar and Aliyar, which meets at Ambarampalayam (near Pollachi). Uppar river also joins this river system. Now, the combined river flows westward and cross Kerala border. Here it is called Chitturpuzha. Further downstream, its called Kannadipuzha. At Parli, Kalpathipuzha joins Kannadipuzha and from here onwards, the river is called Bharatapuzha. Note that, Kalpathipuzha has tributaries like - Korayar, Varattar, Walayar and Maampuzha rivers. Later at Mayannur-Kuthampulli, Gayatripuzha joins Bharatapuzha. This river crosses Shornur, Pattambi areas and joins Thuthapuzha at Irimbiliyam-Kudallur. River continues to flow westward and drains into the Arabian sea at Ponnani.

Sajeev

Hajur Kacheri and the History of Tirurangadi

If we leave out ancient temples and mosques, then Hajur Kacheri is probably one of the oldest surviving buildings in Malappuram district. Located at Chemmad in Tirurangadi town, it was built by the British in the early 20th century. It is widely believed that the construction was carried out using laterite stones taken from the old Mysore fort located nearby.

Tirurangadi has a very rich history. Known to Arab traders as Tiruwarankad, this town was a major inland trading hub during the reign of the Zamorin (Samoothiri in Malayalam) of Calicut. Spices, timber and agricultural produce from the hills of the Western Ghats were brought here, sold to merchants and then transported to the coastal ports of Ponnani and Calicut. Arab merchants frequently visited its markets, settled in the region and intermarried with the local population. Cheranad, which also included present-day Tirurangadi and Tirur, was under the direct rule of the Zamorin.

The peace and tranquillity of this trading hub were shattered when Hyder Ali marched into Malabar with his battle-hardened army of 12,000 soldiers in 1766. The Zamorin's swords and shields were no match for Hyder Ali's massive field artillery. He soon captured Calicut and also established the first permanent military garrison at Tirurangadi. When Hyder Ali moved to Coimbatore, the local population took up arms and started revolting. Hearing the news, Hyder Ali quickly returned and crushed the revolts.

The next major event took place in 1782 – the First Battle of Tirurangadi. In this battle, British forces under the command of Colonel Humberstone joined hands with native Nair rebels to push the Mysore army out of Calicut. Hyder Ali sent a massive army under Makhdoom Ali's command to hold on to his possessions in Malabar. However, Makhdoom Ali was killed on the battlefield, and his army was destroyed.

After hearing about the defeat, Hyder Ali sent his son, Tipu Sultan, to Malabar with a massive army. Tipu pushed the British forces towards the coast at Ponnani. However, following the death of his father, he had to return to secure the throne. As Tipu withdrew with the core of the Mysore army, Company troops, heavily supported by local forces of the Zamorin, moved forward. The Company captured Palakkad Fort in 1783. Ravi Varma of the Padinjare Kovilakam, along with his Nair warriors, also liberated many parts of Calicut.

Then came the Treaty of Mangalore in 1784. The British advantage in Malabar was more than offset by reverses in other parts of southern India, including Mangalore. Under the Treaty of Mangalore, both sides agreed to return to their pre-war territories. This meant the British withdrew their troops from Palakkad and Calicut and handed the region back to Tipu. This was a major setback for Ravi Varma.

Tipu appointed Arshad Beg Khan as the governor of Malabar. However, they were unable to crush the rebellions completely. Knowing very well that he would not be able to defeat Tipu in open combat, Ravi Varma abandoned the plains and moved to the hills. He continued his rebellion from the dense jungles of Kalladikode, near Palakkad. Tipu Sultan sent a massive force of 6,000 soldiers under the command of the French General Monsieur Lally to hunt down Ravi Varma. However, they were unable to capture him and suffered heavy losses due to the hit-and-run guerrilla tactics adopted by Ravi Varma's army.

During this period, Tipu launched some of his most aggressive policies in Malabar. These included demolishing old Calicut, constructing a new capital at Feroke, building Gun Roads and enforcing massive socioeconomic and religious changes. These policies altered the social equation of the Malabar region forever.

Tipu also ordered the construction of a permanent Mysorean stone fort at Tirurangadi. He stationed a massive, highly disciplined garrison of Mysorean infantry and field artillery there. Under Tipu's rule, the town's famous markets were subjected to severe restrictions, and trade became a state monopoly. Local merchants were forbidden from trading cash crops such as pepper, timber and betel nut with private European agents. Instead, all agricultural produce had to be routed through Tirurangadi's state officials at fixed prices, maximising revenue for the Mysorean treasury in Seringapatam.

To ensure that his heavy artillery and cavalry could move swiftly from Mysore to the coast without being ambushed by local rebels, Tipu integrated Tirurangadi into his massive infrastructure project. Wide, cleared highways, historically known as Gun Roads, were built through forests. These connected Tirurangadi directly to the coastal ports of Ponnani and Calicut and, through mountain passes, to Mysore.

Tirurangadi remained firmly under Mysorean control until the Second Battle of Tirurangadi in December 1790. The Company defeated the Mysore forces in this battle. Under the 1792 Treaty of Seringapatam, the British took control of the town and demolished the Mysore fort to ensure that it could never be used against them.

As for the rebels, during the Third Anglo-Mysore War in 1790, the British joined forces with Ravi Varma. He helped Colonel Hartley of the 75th Highland Regiment crush Tipu's generals at the historic Second Battle of Tirurangadi in 1792. Mysore's forces, under Hussain Ali Khan and Martab Khan, reportedly consisted of around 9,000 troops, along with local Mappila militias.

However, Tipu's defeat in the war did not help Ravi Varma. The Company did not restore Calicut's pre-Mysore independence. Following a series of historical events, Malabar eventually came under direct British administration. Things did not go well for another famous prince, Pazhassi Raja, either. Although he had helped the British against Tipu, the Company had agreed to recognise his independence after the war. This eventually resulted in the bloody Cotiote Wars, and Pazhassi Raja was killed in battle in 1805.

The British administered the region from Calicut, with Ponnani serving as another important administrative centre. Tirurangadi became a taluk station and the headquarters of Cheranad Taluk, with government offices functioning from temporary premises.

In 1906, the British built Hajur Kacheri. The building housed a police station, regional courts, a jail block, a treasury and revenue offices.

An interesting fact is that Malabar was initially part of the Bombay Presidency. It was transferred to the Madras Presidency only on May 20, 1800. The native judicial court established by the British in Tirurangadi in 1793 was therefore governed by Bombay regulations.

Tirurangadi once again rose to prominence as the epicentre of the 1921 Malabar Rebellion (Moplah Revolt). On August 20, 1921, British forces raided the local Mamburam Mosque. Rumours spread about its desecration, and rebels led by religious leaders such as Ali Musliyar launched a ferocious assault on the British establishment. They captured the complex and killed W.J.D. Rowley, whose grave can still be found on the premises.

The building later became the administrative headquarters of the Khilafat government. However, this did not last long. By late August 1921, the British had returned in massive numbers, supported by Gurkha troops. They laid siege to the town, cornered the rebels at the local mosque and eventually forced Ali Musliyar to surrender.

Following this, Hajur Kacheri was heavily fortified, and the Malabar Special Police (MSP) routinely patrolled the streets. On the administrative front, the British dissolved the old Cheranad Taluk and merged Tirurangadi into Eranad Taluk. After independence, the Hajur Kacheri complex housed the Tirurangadi Taluk Office, the local Sub-Registrar's Office and other revenue offices. In the 1990s, Tirurangadi once again became a taluk.

In October 2023, the administrative offices were moved out, and the building was converted into a museum – the Malappuram District Heritage Museum. Hopefully, this historic building will remain a museum for the foreseeable future.

My Visit

I was on my way to visit a relative and was looking for a place that I could include in my trip. Hajur Kacheri came up as an option, and it was not far from the newly built NH 66. We could easily take an exit at Kakkad Junction. This heritage building is less than four kilometres from there.

In case anyone has difficulty finding it, just ask for the Tirurangadi Police Station. The museum is right next to it.

There is ample space for car parking inside the museum premises. Apart from the employees, there was hardly anyone around. In fact, we did not encounter a single visitor from the moment we entered until we left.

There is a separate ticket for photography. Inside this brightly painted, well-ventilated building, the walls are decorated with pictures depicting various artefacts, historical events, rivers and important places in Malappuram district. We can also see a couple of old jail cells.

In addition to these, the central courtyard houses an artistic stone installation that represents the historical region we now call Malappuram in the best possible way.

Two exhibits that came as a surprise were Tirur Vettila (Tirur Betel Leaf) and Edayur Chilli. Both received Geographical Indication (GI) tags, in 2019 and 2021 respectively.

Outside, there are graves of two British officers. At another corner stands an old well, which has now been renovated. According to the museum officials, the well dates back to the British Raj.

Overall, it was an interesting stop, particularly for anyone interested in the history of Malabar. It is also an easy detour from NH 66 and does not require much time to explore.

Sajeev

Book review: Wild - What the trail taught Cheryl Strayed

Wild by Cheryl Strayed takes the classic theme of finding oneself through travel and hikes and makes it deeply personal experience. In 1995, at the age of 26, Strayed hiked about 1770 kms alone along Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), from Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Bridge of the Gods near the Oregon–Washington border. She later described the journey as an attempt to save herself.

During this journey she tells readers about her past. She lost her mother to cancer at the age of 22; her marriage was collapsed; she went through a period of heroin use; casual sex; many other self-destructive behaviour. She was also struggling with guilt, grief and the feeling that her life had fallen apart. She changed her surname to 'Strayed' reflecting how lost she felt at the time. Four years after her mother's death, she decided to hike PCT.

As a beginner, she was hardly prepared for what was waiting for her. She faced extreme heat in Southern California, snow in Sierra Nevada, difficult terrain, scarce water and constant physical demands of carrying everything she needed on her back. Her backpack, which she nicknamed 'Monster', was so heavy that even getting it onto her back became a challenge during the early days of the journey. She later meet people on the path who explain and show her how to pack.

Then there were her boots.

At one point, after losing one of them over a cliff, she throws the other one away as well. Her feet are badly damaged, and she has to improvise until she can get proper footwear. She ends up hiking in duct-taped sandals. It is one of the most memorable episodes in the book because it captures what  Wild  really is: not a carefully planned adventure, but a series of problems which require solutions. 

She also spends long periods without the comforts we normally take for granted. She goes weeks without properly washing, making a simple shower feel like a holy experience. Food, water, sleep and shelter become things to be appreciated rather than assumed.

Book is much less about the scenery than it initially appears from the title.

During this journey reader also started walking with her and know about her past. Her mother's memory hangs over the book a lot. The physical transformation happens alongside the emotional one. She begins as an inexperienced hiker struggling to walk even a few miles and gradually becomes stronger, more confident and more capable.

At various points along the trail, she collects resupply boxes that she had mailed to herself. They contain food, money, books and other necessities. And the books matter.

Although she spends much of the journey alone, Strayed writes beautifully about the brief and intense friendships she forms with other hikers. At the same time, books become another kind of companion. She reads at night and carries literature with her through the journey. At the end of this article you see the a list of all those books.

The book also follows her changing relationship with her own body. She writes about body image, sexuality and the complicated way she sees herself. There is a memorable moment when she looks at her reflection and questions what she sees. That struggle is likely to resonate with many women, but it also goes beyond gender: it is about how difficult it can be to recognise yourself after a period in which your life has changed completely.

Strayed is also unusually open about sex. She writes about her attraction to men she meets along the way and does not attempt to make herself appear more respectable than she was. Some readers may find this uncomfortable. She doesn't present herself as a heroic figure who went into the wilderness and emerged perfect.

She presents herself as someone who had made mistakes. That honesty gives the book much of its dignity.

There are slow sections in the book; some segment feels like repetative and over described, but the conversations and encounters keep the narrative moving. By the time she reaches the Bridge of the Gods after 94 days, she has not simply completed a hike. She has come to terms with parts of herself that she had spent years trying to escape.

The Environment: The Physicality of the Trail

What makes Strayed's writing powerful is the way she describes the environment. The trail isn't simply a beautiful forest. It is a physical opponent.

In Southern California, PCT passes through dry, hot country where water can be scarce. The Pacific Crest Trail Association notes that temperatures in this section can reach from the 80s into low 100s during summer. Later, the landscape changes dramatically as trail climbs into Sierra Nevada and then continues through the mountains of Northern California and Oregon.

Strayed uses these changes in landscape to reflect her own emotional state. The desert, the snow, the mountains, the trees and the rocks aren't merely scenery. They become part of the struggle. When she loses her boots and has to continue with damaged feet, the environment becomes almost a form of punishment. Every step reminds her that she cannot escape the physical reality of what she has chosen to do. But that is also the point. The wild doesn't care about her grief. The trail doesn't stop because her heart is broken. It simply continues; perhaps that is exactly what she needs.

The Deeper Insight: Survival as Forgiveness

This book is less about hiking and more about experiences of author's past life and her transformation to a new one. Its also about a lot of grief. Strayed goes into wilderness carrying far more than food, water and equipment. She carries guilt about her mother, anger about her past, the collapse of her marriage and the consequences of her own choices. The trail doesn't magically solve those problems. Instead, it gives her enough distance from her old life to finally face them.

Everything she needs to survive has to be carried on her back. Food, water, shelter, clothing and books—all of it becomes physical. And somewhere along the way, she discovers that she herself is capable of carrying it. That may be the deeper transformation in the book.

The woman who begins the journey thinks she has lost herself. The woman who reaches Bridge of the Gods has not become someone completely different. She has simply discovered that she is stronger than she thought.

Understanding the Scale of the PCT

1. The Distance

To understand the 'Monster' backpack Cheryl Strayed carried, we also need to understand the monster trail she was walking on. The Pacific Crest Trail runs from the Mexican border through California and Oregon to the Canadian border. The current Pacific Crest Trail Association figure puts the trail at approximately 4278 km.

Strayed did not hike the entire PCT. She covered roughly 1,770 km, from Mojave Desert to ridge of the Gods. If you have difficulty in visualizing 1770 km distance, it is roughly like travelling from Delhi to Bengaluru by road. She didn't make that journey in a car, train or bus. She walked it; also the terrain is not flat she has to cross mountain ranges, deserts, forests and high-elevation terrain on foot while carrying her supplies.

2. The Elevation

PCT is not simply a long distance walk. It repeatedly climbs and descends through major mountain ranges. PCT Association has estimated the total elevation gain of the entire PCT at approximately 4,89,418 ft (or about 1,49,180m). That is roughly equivalent to climbing from sea level to summit of Mount Everest about 17 times. Of course, this figure applies to the entire PCT, not Strayed's 1770 km section. Still, it gives some idea of the physical demands of the trail. 

3. The Temperature Extremes

PCT crosses dramatically different environments. Southern California can be extremely hot and dry. The PCT Association notes that summer temperatures in Southern California section can reach the low 100s F. Later hikers encounter snow  at high Sierras. Same journey can involve desert heat, snow-covered mountains, cold nights and dramatically different weather conditions. One is effectively travelling through several worlds on foot in a matter of weeks; if not days.

4. The Solitude and Wildlife

For someone used to India, the solitude of the PCT is difficult to imagine. You can walk for long periods without any human presence all. But being alone doesn't mean being without company; there are black bears, mountain lions, rattlesnakes and many other animals. The wilderness therefore creates a strange combination of solitude and vulnerability. There may be nobody around to help you.And that is precisely what makes the experience so revealing.

You are exposed not just to the sun, rain, snow and cold, but to the reality of your own strength when there is no one else around to help.

What the Trail Finally Gave Her

The most interesting thing about  Wild is that, Strayed doesn't return from the trail with some grand philosophical answer. She simply becomes more capable of living with herself. Her mother is still dead. Her past mistakes still happened. Her marriage is still over. Nothing she does on the trail can undo any of that. But she can finally stop running from it.

That, to me, is what makes  Wild  more than a hiking memoir. It is about the possibility of rebuilding yourself without pretending that your past never happened. Strayed went into the wilderness because she was lost. She came out not because the wilderness gave her a new life, but because it helped her understand how to live with the life she already had. And perhaps that is why the book stays with you. Sometimes finding yourself isn't about discovering someone new. It is about finding the strength to become the person you already were capable of being.

Sajeev. 

Books Cheryl Strayed read during the PCT hike,

• The Pacific Crest Trail, Volume 1: California — Jeffrey P. Schaffer, Thomas Winnett, Ben Schiffrin & Ruby Jenkins. Her main trail guide for California.
• The Pacific Crest Trail, Volume 2: Oregon and Washington — Jeffrey P. Schaffer & Andy Selters
• Staying Found: The Complete Map and Compass Handbook — June Fleming, A practical navigation book.
• The Dream of a Common Language — Adrienne Rich, The most important book in Wild. Strayed carried it throughout the entire hike. On her first night on the trail, she read the poem 'Power' repeatedly. She describes the collection as something close to a sacred text.
• As I Lay Dying — William Faulkner; One of the novels she deliberately chose to take with her. She later burned it to reduce the weight of her backpack.
• The Complete Stories — Flannery O'Connor
• The Novel — James A. Michener
• A Summer Bird-Cage — Margaret Drabble
• Lolita — Vladimir Nabokov.
• Dubliners — James Joyce
• Waiting for the Barbarians — J. M. Coetzee
• The Best American Essays 1991
• The Ten Thousand Things — Maria Dermoût

Other books written by Cheryl Strayed

• Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail (2012) based on 1995 hike
• Torch (2006)
• Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar (2012)
• Brave Enough (2015)

'Into the Wild' review - The romance and reality of escape

Movie poster

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer is the story of Chris McCandless, a young American who walked into the Alaskan wilderness in 1992 and died there a few months later. In fact its more than just a story; its also about idealism, freedom, anger, loneliness, nature and, ultimately, the value of human connection.

Who Was Chris McCandless?

Chris McCandless was a talented student at Emory University who came from a financially comfortable family in Virginia. He graduated from Emory in 1990. Soon afterwards, without telling his family, he donated roughly $24,000 of his savings to Oxfam and set off on the road. Later he adopted the name Alexander Supertramp. Emory itself confirms that McCandless was a 1990 graduate and that he gave approximately $24,000 to Oxfam.

His motivations seem to have come from a mixture of idealism and anger. He was strongly influenced by writers such as Tolstoy, Thoreau and Jack London. At the same time, he discovered that his father had maintained another family and had concealed this from him. Krakauer suggests that this discovery had significant effect on McCandless and his relationship with his parents. 

From 1990 to 1992, McCandless travelled across the American West and Southwest, working odd jobs and hitchhiking. He travelled by canoe through Mexico, worked in grain harvesting and spent time living in an abandoned car.

Along the way, he formed genuine connections with people. There was Wayne Westerberg, who gave him work and friendship. There was Ron Franz, an elderly man who became deeply attached to McCandless and even wanted to adopt him. There was also Tracy, a young woman who developed feelings for him. But McCandless always moved on. Connection and permanence seemed to frighten him almost as much as the wilderness attracted him.

Alaska

In April 1992, McCandless hitchhiked into Alaska and walked into the wilderness near the Stampede Trail. He carried very little food—most notably about 10 pounds of rice—and a .22-calibre rifle. He eventually found an abandoned bus that became his shelter. The named the bus as - Magic Bus.

He hunted, foraged and kept a journal documenting his life in the wilderness. The Stampede Trail area is genuinely remote and difficult terrain. The National Park Service currently describes the area around the Stampede Trail as difficult to travel through, with brush, boggy ground and difficult river crossings. It specifically warns that the Teklanika crossing cannot be depended upon on foot in mid-summer. In July, McCandless tried to leave the wilderness. But the Teklanika River, which he had crossed earlier in the season, had become much more difficult to cross. He turned back. 

By August, he was extremely weak. His body was eventually discovered by hunters in the bus in September. The remains weighed about 67 pounds, and starvation was recorded as the cause of death. This is where the central question of the book begins. There are some more theories around his death. However, I am not going in those details.

Was Chris McCandless a Hero or a Fool? Was McCandless a romantic idealist who died while pursuing something real and noble? Or was he a reckless, privileged young man who underestimated nature and hurt the people who loved him? Krakauer clearly has sympathy for McCandless. But he doesn't completely resolve the question for the reader.

How much go we really know about McCandless? There is another problem when trying to understand McCandless: he isn't around to explain himself. His journals were often terse and practical, recording what he ate, what he hunted and what happened to him. Krakauer therefore had to reconstruct McCandless's thoughts from journals, photographs, postcards, notes and interviews with people who knew him. 

That leaves plenty of room for interpretation. For example, when McCandless described the Teklanika River as impossible to cross, Krakauer interpreted this as evidence that he wanted to leave but was prevented from doing so by the river. That may well be true. But we cannot know exactly what McCandless was thinking. This uncertainty is important because much of the emotional meaning we attach to the story comes through Krakauer's interpretation.

Alaska National Guard helicopter airlifting the bus from Stampede Trail (2020 June)

What Actually Killed McCandless?

This is another area where the story is more complicated than the simple explanation that he "starved to death". Starvation was the recorded cause of death. But Krakauer became convinced that something else may have contributed to it. McCandless had eaten seeds from Hedysarum alpinum, commonly known as wild potato. On July 30, his journal recorded:

"EXTREMELY WEAK. FAULT OF POTATO SEED. MUCH TROUBLE JUST TO STAND UP. STARVING. GREAT JEOPARDY." Krakauer initially theorised that the seeds contained a toxic alkaloid. That theory was subsequently challenged by other researchers.

Nature as a Character

Krakauer doesn't paint Alaska as a postcard; he describes it as a merciless, indifferent force. He uses the phrase "the unsullied enormity of the Last Frontier" to capture the scale and isolation of the place. To Krakauer, the environment isn't a friend. It is almost a mirror.

If you come prepared, it can be a sanctuary. If you make even one serious mistake, it can become a trap. Nature isn't mean. It simply doesn't care. That may be one of the most important lessons of 'Into the Wild'. We often project our own emotions onto nature. We imagine the mountains as beautiful, the wilderness as liberating and solitude as peaceful. But nature doesn't care whether you are brave, idealistic, angry or searching for yourself. It simply exists.

Understanding the Scale of Alaska. 

Before judging McCandless too quickly, it is worth understanding the environment he entered. We often hear that Alaska is enormous, but numbers don't always convey what that actually means. Looking at it through the lens of Indian geography makes the scale easier to imagine.

1. The immense scale

Alaska covers about 1.72 million square kilometres, while India covers about 3.29 million square kilometres. So Alaska is slightly more than half the size of India. But the difference in population is much more dramatic. Alaska had about 733,000 people in the 2020 census, and its population density is only around 1.3 people per square mile—roughly 0.5 people per square kilometre. India, by comparison, is one of the most densely populated large countries in the world. That difference is difficult for someone living in India to intuitively understand.

2. The isolation

This is perhaps the most important part. Around 82% of Alaska's communities are not accessible by road. Think about that for a moment. In India, we are accustomed to the idea that if we are in trouble, there is probably a road, a village, a town, a phone signal or another person somewhere nearby. In much of Alaska, that assumption simply doesn't work.

3. The deceptive rivers

The Teklanika River was particularly important to McCandless's story. The National Park Service describes the crossing as unreliable on foot during mid-summer and recommends a pack raft for mid-summer travel. The surrounding terrain is also difficult, with brush, bogs and other obstacles.

That makes one thing clear: this wasn't simply a small stream that McCandless casually decided not to cross. The conditions had changed significantly between his arrival and his attempt to leave. The river didn't need to look like a wall to stop him. It simply needed to become too dangerous to cross.

4. The extreme cold

We often think of places like Dras or Siachen when we think about extreme cold. Alaska has also experienced extraordinarily low temperatures. The state's record low is −80°F (about −62°C), recorded at Prospect Creek in 1971.

But cold was not the only danger McCandless faced. Isolation, food availability, weather, difficult terrain and the inability to obtain help can turn a relatively small mistake into a life-threatening situation. That is the environment McCandless chose to enter. And it is worth remembering this when judging his decisions from the comfort of our homes.

What the Wilderness Ultimately Taught Him. 

The tragedy of 'Into the Wild' may be found in the margins of its final pages. Near the end of his life, McCandless wrote: "HAPPINESS ONLY REAL WHEN SHARED". The words were written in the margins of Doctor Zhivago, beside a passage about how an unshared happiness is not happiness.

It is difficult not to see the irony. McCandless had spent years moving away from society, family and permanence. He wanted to experience life on his own terms. Yet, near the end, he seems to have recognized the importance of sharing life with others. However, we should be careful here. We don't actually know whether this represented a final philosophical transformation. Krakauer himself acknowledges that we can only speculate about what McCandless meant by it. Perhaps he had finally realized something important. Perhaps he hadn't. We will never know.

The Rash Idealism of Youth

Ultimately, this is story about rash idealism of youth. Most of us eventually learn that the quiet joys of family and community can be just as valuable as any grand landscape. McCandless might have reached the same conclusion if he had survived. Instead, his life remains a monument to the intense purity that many of us gradually leave behind as we grow older. That doesn't mean his journey was meaningless. Nor does it mean he was right.

We can admire his courage while recognizing his mistakes. We can understand his anger without approving of the way he treated the people who loved him. Perhaps we can recognize a little bit of ourselves in him. Most of us have, at some point, looked at our lives and felt that they were becoming a cage. We have imagined walking away from everything, starting again somewhere else and discovering who we really are.

The book makes you question what happens when that desire for freedom becomes more important than everything else. And perhaps the most uncomfortable question it leaves behind is this: What if the freedom we are looking for isn't found by escaping everything, but by learning what is actually worth holding on to?

I'd recommend this book if you've ever felt like your life was a cage. It makes you question what you really need to be happy. Perhaps more importantly, it makes you question what you are willing to leave behind in order to find it.

Sajeev

Other popular books by Jon Krakauer

• Into the Wild (1996)
• Into Thin Air (1997)
• Eiger Dreams: Ventures Among Men and Mountains (1990)
• Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith (2003)
• Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman (2009)
• Three Cups of Deceit (2011)
• Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town (2015)
• Classic Krakauer: Essays on Wilderness and Risk (2019)

References: 

1 https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=3680748&page=1 
'Into the Wild' Inspires Adventurers, but at What Cost? - ABC News
2: https://magazine.emory.edu/2007/autumn/wild.html Emory Magazine: Autumn 2007: Wild Life
3: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/95440/into-the-wild-by-jon-krakauer/
4: https://home.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/unit61-62-63.htm  
5: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1016/j.wem.2014.08.014  
6: https://www.enotes.com/topics/into-wild/questions/on-what-page-in-the-book-into-the-wild-can-this-179527  

Shubh Sukh Chain

Wish you all on the happy occasion of 80th anniversary of India's Independence day. 

Today, let's also sing the official National anthem of Provisional Government of Free India from 1943 onward. 

History of this song - Shubh Sukh Chain- goes as follows. Lakshmi Sahgal, who was an INA member, favoured the selection of Jana Gana Mana, which was composed by Rabindranath Tagore. She arranged to have it sung at a women's meeting attended by S.C. Bose. Later Bose commissioned a free translation of 'Jana Gana Mana' to Hindustani. This translation - Shubh Sukh Chain - was written by Capt. Abid Hasan Safrani and composed by Capt. Ram Singh Thakuri. became the official national anthem of the Provisional Government.

Lyrics:

Shubh sukh chain ki barkha barse,

Bhārat bhāg hai jāg.

Panjāb, Sindh, Gujarāt, Marāṭha, Drāviḍ, Utkal, Banga,

Chanchchal sāgar, Vindhy, Himālay, nīla Yamuna, Ganga.

Tere nit guṇ gaeñ, tujhse jīvan paeñ, sab tan paeñ āsha.

Sūraj ban kar jag par chamke, Bhārat nām suhāga,

Jay ho! Jay ho! Jay ho! Jay, jay, jay, jay ho!

Bharat naam suhāgā!

Sab ke dil meñ prīt basae teri mīṭhi vāṇi,

Har sūbe ke rahnevāle, har mazhab ke prāṇi,

Sab bhed aur farak mita ke Sab godh men teri ākhe, gūnthe prem ki māla.

Sūraj ban kar jag par chamke, Bhārat nām suhāga,

Jay ho! Jay ho! Jay ho! Jay, jay, jay, jay ho

Bharat naam suhāgā!

Shubha savere pankh pakhere, tere hi guṇ gaeñ,

Bhās bhari bharpūr havaeñ, jīvan meñ rut laeñ,

Sab mil kar Hind pukāre,

Jay Āzād Hind ke nāre, pyāra desh hamāra.

Sūraj ban kar jag par chamke, Bhārat nām suhāga,

Jay ho! Jay ho! Jay ho! Jay, jay, jay, jay ho!

Bharat naam suhāgā!

References:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shubh_Sukh_Chain

2. Youtube - Video