The term ‘globetrotter’ conjures up before our eyes the irrepressible Mandar Bose of Satyajit Ray’s masterpiece, Sonar Kella. Well, Bose turned out to be a fake and a crook, but there are plenty of other instances of globe trotters and explorers in literature, like Manmohan Mitra from Ray’s Agantuk or Shankar from Bibhutibhushan Bandhopadhyaya’s Chander Pahar to prove that we are no frogs in the well. But in real life, Hyderabad-based Indranil Chowdhuri has turned out to be a globetrotter of our times, touring 125 countries in the world, including North Korea, Greenland, and Mongolia, often with hair-raising escapades.
Chowdhuri, an alumnus of St Xavier’s School and Jadavpur University, was bitten by the travel bug a bit late in life. Initially, it was his job that took him to places. His first visit was to neighbouring Myanmar in 1992, and in July this year, he reached the coveted milestone of 125 countries with his trip to Zambia in Africa. This was followed by Zimbabwe and Botswana, taking the total number of countries he has visited so far to 127 nations.
“I always worked in international operations (sales). My job used to take me to a few countries around the globe. Then I thought, why not visit a few more countries? Once I reached the number of ten, I thought of going to 25. The trigger was that,” said Chowdhuri.
Before going to any place Chowdhuri indulges in extensive research. Apart from his large collection of shot glasses, fridge magnets, daggers and knives, coins, and posters, his home also boasts of a huge library which has about 500 books only on travel and on the political, social, and cultural aspects of various countries he has visited or intends to visit in future. The vast collection of travel books and guidebooks also aids in the extensive research he delves into, before visiting a spot. The books by British actor, author and traveller Michael Palin are among his favourites, and he also seemed to be inspired by the adventures of Slovenian endurance swimmer Martin Strel, who swam across many rivers, particularly the mighty Amazon.
He often forays to those places which the average Indian tourist would skirt, like Kutna Hora in the Czech Republic, home to the macabre Sedlec Ossuary, a Roman Catholic chapel which, from the outside looks like a regular church but inside, is decorated with bleached and then beautifully carved human bones of victims of the plague. “Whenever I go to any city in the world, I make it a point to visit the cemetery because you don’t know who is sleeping there,” said Chowdhuri, recalling his visit to Montparnasse cemetery in Paris, which contains the grave of Jean Paul Satre. People bizarrely leave tram tickets on his grave (probably because Satre had supported French Maoists who gave out free tram tickets during fare hikes in the 1960s).
It is at one of these cemeteries that he had a hair-raising encounter. Once in Russia, he went to Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow, and while going in, he thought that the man with a red mark on his head, at the entrance, looked familiar. He recognised Mikhail Gorbachev, former president of the USSR who had ended the Cold War, and he shook hands with him. Gorbachev had come to lay flowers at the grave of his wife Raisa, who had passed away a year earlier. His enthusiasm in extending his arm was misconstrued by the KGB guards around Gorbachev as a gesture of intended assault, and within seconds, he found himself lying flat on the ground. However, he managed to take a photograph of Gorbachev and himself with his handheld camera much before the era of selfies and groupies had begun. A visit to North Korea saw his phone, laptop and passport confiscated at the airport before being eventually returned.
He had a similarly scary experience when he went to visit the ruins of Mohenjo Daro at Larkana in neighbouring Pakistan after coaxing his generous hosts but found himself facing the wrong end of the guns of the security personnel at the site after they reached almost at closing time. He recalled with pride holding aloft the Indian Tricolour in the stands at the Winter Olympics held at Sochi in Russia since the Indian team was initially not allowed to compete under the country’s flag because the scam-tainted Indian Olympic Association had been barred. Since the Russian premier Vladimir Putin was sitting just 600 feet away, Chowdhuri’s antics were not appreciated by his guards.
A keen sporting enthusiast, he often travels to the summer olympics and football world cups in particular since he is a diehard fan of the Brazilian football team. No wonder Brazil remains his favourite country as he fondly recollects the all-pervasive spirit of carnival and, of course, his travel from Manaus to Amazonas (a state in Brazil), where he encountered piranhas and anacondas. “Africa, the cradle of humankind – is my favourite continent, Brazil is my favourite country, but Berlin remains my favourite city. I had a lovely first impression on the day I visited; it was bright and sunny, but there was a nip in the air. I had a great time walking around the Bundestag (German Parliament) and taking a tram ride around the city. The food is nice, the pork sausages are to die for, and at the Brandenburg gate, you get goosebumps thinking about its history. Napoleon walked through the same gate as did Hitler, centuries later. Every time they win a world cup, the entire team comes to the Brandenburg gate,” said Chaudhuri.
An itinerant traveller, he is not content with just ticking the boxes of must-see spots and prefers savouring the local cuisine and culture. He strikes up conversations with the local people and shares their meals in an effort to explore the country beyond the narrow gaze of the average tourist. He also makes it a point to try the local beer in whichever country he is in. He rarely uses the services of travel companies but post-retirement used his vast experience to stitch DIY tours for friends and relatives and help them realise their dreams of travelling abroad.
“I wanted to do 194, but then middle-class dreams usually die young. I don’t think I will be able to touch 150, maybe 135 before I run out of steam, energy, interest and resources,” said Chowdhuri. His next travel plans extend to Brunei and Taiwan and of course, West Africa, which he perceives as a challenge even if one is a seasoned traveller. Asked to share some pointers for the average Indian traveller, Chowdhuri said, “Remember you may not live to see the sunrise tomorrow so travel today. Don’t go wide, go deep, whichever place your budget permits.”