This is a multi-religious land of gurus, 33 crore Hindu Gods, and sub-faiths and subcultures too numerous to be counted. And in recent times, we have come to treat anything spiritual with a hefty dose of scepticism. So, it was natural to begin watching this show wondering if it was going to be about miracles and religious practices. In short, a show with an agenda.
The agenda is present, but overt, much to one’s relief. The storytelling takes away the documentary-like listing and travel to the holy places, and mercifully they do not indulge in easy magic cures for the family in trouble. For many of us, who don’t really mind learning about the ancient tales of worship, it was indeed interesting to see that there’s more to Hinduism than Ramayana and Mahabharata.
Sanjay Suri plays a failed businessman, failed husband and dad with a quiet dignity. He is Madhav Suri, husband of Priya (a woman with suppressed rage and despair played wonderfully by Priyamani) and dad to a 20-year-old conflicted lad Pranav (Abhay Simha Reddy), and a 17-year-old judgemental daughter Revathi (Ashlesha Thakur). This family is dysfunctional on many levels: Priya has the support of her rich father, the children have grown up seeing dad come back defeated and failing at one business after another, and yes, Madhav Suri, who does not know how to take his business through the troughs because he just gives up and loses focus, and hates himself.
Madhav’s friend Deepak (the actor Subbaraju whom we have seen play baddie in movies like Arya and Pokkiri) offers him advice: I can lend you money for your new business venture, but better yet, take this journey to the 18 Shakthi Peethas and discover yourself.
It sounds a tad unbelievable and manipulative, but who are we to deny this self-discovery? So we go along and watch Madhav’s family sneer at the man. The daughter is old enough to comment that blaming the failure of your marriage on the gods is a cowardly thing and she doesn’t want to be a part of it. The son is battling his own burdens: his girlfriend has dumped him unceremoniously (for treating her like she his property, to be ordered around, and not having any goal in his life). Madhav persuades his wife to give him one last chance - knowing she is about to leave him - and the whole family sets off on a 40-day pilgrimage to all the Shakthi Peethas.
Now, Shakthi Peethas are holy temples. Legend goes they were established millennia ago when the God Vishnu used his Sudarshan Chakra to cut Sati’s body (a love-torn Shiva had been traversing the universe carrying her body, ignoring his duties as the destroyer of evil). It is said the parts of her body fell at these 18 places and gave the places powers (as Sati is a manifestation of Shakti, the consort of Shiva). If it all seems like unbelievable ancient tales, then you are like Ranjit (played by Sameer Soni), the American-Indian who is an atheist and has written books about God being a crutch invented by lazy people.
If Madhav and his family are trying to get meaning back into their lives during this pilgrimage, Ranjit is trying to understand why people continue to believe in God even when their lives are in such a mess. Their paths intersect and Ranjit sort of latches on even though he keeps saying, ‘We in America, don’t believe in doing things unconditionally.’ So he buys them dinner because they let him ride in their rental car with them.
This transactional character plays the devil’s advocate, as he talks to priests and common folk who answer any questions that you, the audience, may have. Clever storytelling device, but if you are invested in Madhav’s character and want him to come out a winner, then you are not going to like this American-Indian who looks down on this way of life and beliefs. (It is not Sameer Soni’s fault that he has to play the grouch.)
To be able to shoot in the temple premises must have taken some doing, and I liked the small accompanying details which explained the importance of a particular temple in the hierarchy of things, the nature of the goddess. For example, at the Mahalaxmi temple in Kolhapur, the priest explains the need for married couples to understand one another’s silences instead of running back to a rich home. This affects Priya who has been doing just that. Also after having lived in Kolkata, to see that there is a secret underground temple under the minaret was such a cool fact to learn. The explanation was spiritual - experience not see the power of the Goddess and so on, but reaching that place was like being a part of an adventure, with Madhav’s family. Pranav, Priya, Madhav and the daughter Revati have a change of heart and it’s believable. But Ranjit’s odd change of personality was just too off kilter and unbelievable.
You may or may not wish to visit the temples in your lifetime. But it was good to have a narrative woven into the travelogue. If you wish to check out the details of the Shakthi Peethas, you could do as I did: dive into the Internet. I liked the stories associated with the different temples of Shakti. The rabbit hole you might fall into (as I did) is deep. But the advice an Aghori monk gave to Pranav has stayed with me: You are but a vehicle of something divine. You cannot take your life because your life is not yours. Seek that which is within…
Didn’t think there were little gems hidden in this Zee5 show about a dysfunctional family on a pilgrimage. But I was glad to have watched the show.
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