Last Resort in the South by Bill Aitken summary.

Last Resort In The South.

(Travelogue)

Last Resort in the South by Bill Aitken summary.

Bill Aitkens travel by lesser line was published in 1993.

Bill Aitken was born in Scotland in 1934; he became a naturalized Indian by choice in 1972. He has written a number of books about India, capturing its Himalayan majesty, its scenic beauty and its spiritual core.

He studied Comparative Religion at Leeds University in England and he moved to India in 1959. He lived in Himalayan ashrams for some time and undertook many trips all over India, extending from Nanda Devi, a Himalayan peak in the North to Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip in the South. Most of his excursions were either on an old motorbike or by the steam railway. It was not only the Indian scenic beauty that fascinated him, he was also attracted by the steam engine that helped him cover the whole of India from the North to the South, from the East to the West.

Last Resort In The South.

(Travelogue)

Lesser line refers to the meter gauge rail track, and implies that the look is an account of journey undertaken by the author on the metre gauge Railway track from Ledo ,the easternmost station in Assam, to Bhuj, the westernmost station in Gujrat,
and again from Fazlika in Punjab to Kanyakumari In Tamil Nadu.

The journey as we can imagine made him travel through many states across the length and breadth of the country.

The entire journey was made on meter gauge to answer to one of the most famous “travel riddle” i.e.

“Can one travel all the way by one gauge?”

The travel was alike a railway marathon, which includes all the four corners of India.

A bonus we readers get while reading this amazing piece of text is that we get to know the writers perception of various cultural and social differences that exist in various parts of this Vibrant Nation.

Mainly the cultural differences between South India and North India are evident in his writing.

Another notable point from this text is the writer’s fascination for Steam Engines.

The theme of the text is basically the description of things that the writer sees during the journey.

He sees the railway station at Tiruchendur.

Which he describes as having been remodeled “tastefully”.

He describes the station as having same “Aesthetic” value as that of the temple (such is the beauty of the station!).

Further to add more similarities both the temple and the Station are situated at the shore.

There is a giant lance at the top of the tower of the temple which appears like the hour-hand of a clock.

It is also a symbol of the mighty lance of Lord Murugan , which in turn symbolizes strength and solidity.

What we need to note here is the stunning description of the hour hand of the clock and its comparison to the lance of the mighty Lord Murugan.

While commenting and describing the cultural and habitual differences between people from the Southern States of India To the people from the Northern States Of India, Aitken does not show any bias however, what he describes is seemingly true and we seem to believe it!

He refers to the verbal bickering(heated arguments) between the pilgrims of North India and the South Indian bus staff.

This proves to be a good difference between the two groups of people.

Secondly, Aitken remarks, that the people from South India were punctual and always on time. However, the people from North India were not punctual and often late.

Third point of difference as the writer describes it is evident in the sense of Hygiene. The South Indian people are described as more civilized and as people who maintain good hygiene.

However, the people from North Indian States don’t give much importance to hygiene.

To prove his point Aitken Remarks that paying 25 paisa was an extravagance for people from free peeing North India for using the public toilets.

However , the bus driver described in the Travelogue is a South Indian who didn’t mind spitting on the roads throughout the journey much to the consternation of the travelers inside the bus.

The North Indian luggage conscious people have another heated round of arguments with the bus staff on the point that their luggage has been placed on the open roof of the bus.

While the bus staff takes this lightly the passengers are worried about their luggage and hence end up bickering with the staff.

By the end we realize one who would undertake such journey would feel elated just as one would have felt at the start of one's journey on the majestic expanse of the Brahmaputra was echoed exactly in the furthest pounding of the waves at Tiruchendur, though the cultural chasm between the two is enormous. In shrinking the physical poles the meter gauge had performed a kind of alchemical union of opposites.

The travelogue throws light on the basic fabric of unity.

No matter what(North Indian or South Indian we are Indians).