I've admired Milind Gunaji (despite those totally disappointing villanous roles he chooses to do in Hindi and Marathi cinema). When I heard about his book "Offbeat tracks in Maharashtra", my awe about him increased! He is not only very well-traveled but is also a terrific photographer. His show called Bhatkanti on some Marathi channel (not sure if its still on) used to be interesting.
This book is a travel guide costing Rs. 250 (second edition - Popular Prakashan). Gunaji has reviewed some of the rarest spots in Maharashtra, and presents them in categories such as forts, temples, hill stations, jungles, sanctuaries and nature parks, lakes, reservoirs, hot springs, waterfalls, caves, museums and unusual places of interest. An exhilarating spread!
Gunaji gives you a run-down on each place along with a brief history, the route you can take and the facilities available out there. The product is almost an encyclopedia and even an avid traveler in Maharashtra may find a few that s/he hadn't heard of!
The forts are the best part of the book, since Maharashtra is credited with a long and understated history of forts. I'd seen a photography exhibition a few years ago on forts in Maharashtra that left me spellbound; Gunaji brought back those memories. The museum section has very few that I didn't know of, but the section on caves and lakes and sanctuaries was a bouncer - I had no idea there were so many different places to visit in a radius of 100-250 kms from where I live! I'm least interested in temples and could as well seal the section forever, so I wont comment on those here.
One among my (small) set of cribs is that the book could have included some more information under each category. Currently, the material is a wee bit too brief and you have to look up further info on the internet to actually plan a trip here.
The maps are pretty useless, and do not add value either in terms of getting to the place or figuring out the location. It would've been better to include a center spread with places and roads marked off. More photographs would also have been welcome.
My verdict: All in all a fantastic attempt. Hats off to the man. This is a must-have coffee table book for people like us who just love to get into the car and zoom off! We've already started ticking off from the table of contents.
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