Into the wild

Previously I had posted about this movie – based on a real story of a teenager who sets out to “live off the land”.

Right now I’m reading the book of the same name while traveling back to Mumbai.

There are a lot of differences between the movie and the book. The movie simply romanticizes McCandless’ journey and the adventures he had along the way. Nowhere in the movie there is a constant reminder to the viewer of the innumerous perils which a traveler may face if unprepared. Watching the movie for the first time had made me want to throw away my laptop bag, burn all my visiting cards, deactivate all my email accounts, permanently switch off my cellphone and head out on the road.

But the book is more sober and realistic. There are constant reminders to what may go wrong in such a journey. Other such adventurers are referenced who lost their way while following the call of the wild.

The movie (directed by Sean Penn) was beautiful but the book (authored by Jon Krakauer) is responsible.

Between the movie and the book, I still like the movie more. The sights of Alaska have a totally different pull than reading about the dangers.

I surely can’t leave the life I’m living and set out on such a journey. But I hope this book can. I was thinking of an experiment. I was planning to leave this book abandoned somewhere where someone with a more adventurous spirit would come across it and take it forward from there.

Maybe I can leave it in this train itself, maybe in a taxi someday. Someone may decide to follow the trail of McCandles and return successfully.

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