INTO THE WILD!!

4:10 PM: I step outside the examination hall. Another one down. How do I feel? Numb.Yes, Numb is the word; I stagger past the crowding multitudes and head for the exit. I have been waiting for this moment for some time now.No, I am not referring to the examination that I just negotiated, my plans have a subtly higher purpose. I wave down the nearest passing auto rickshaw.
“Boss, Brigade road ….” I probe. He nods. Alls well and I’m on my way.

4: 45 PM: I am standing in front of BLOSSOM’S book store(It’s my getaway, You should try it some time, it’s a great place to be , for both you and your wallet).

God! The place is choc -a- block with people. You have your regular kurta clad journo-types devouring Algebra of Infinite Justice and likes. Then you have the IT crowd lapping up Warren Buffet and The Apple Story simply because they could mention it on their resume and how can I forget the posse of teenage girls going gaga over the Twilight series. I head straight to the counter.

“INTO THE WILD by..John..John..Krau…Krau..” ,Now I’m just embarrassed.
“Krakauer..John Krakauer…”.says the guy behind the counter.

Mission accomplished. Clutching my new prized possession I head home,but not before I stop by at CORNER HOUSE to pick my chocolate fudge and mocha Ice-cream.(You see, celebrating after an examination is a ritualistic process and Ice cream is an important ingredient, without it, the gods of the “F@ck around after exams “ pantheon will not be appeased).

A quick shower, I slip into my “happy feet” t-shirt and Bart Simpson boxers. (Yes, I have a t-shirt that says “happy feet’!!) and I’m ready. In my hand is a copy of INTO THE WILD, the glossy paper back a dilapidated green and white bus numbered 42 on its cover. I hold the book close to smell the paper. God, I love the smell of new books, makes you feel all clean and fresh.

3:00 AM :Roughly seven hours later as I leaf through the last page of the book. I lay in bed, choking with emotion. It’s not an emotion that can be defined as black or white, its anger, awe ,sadness and a sense of hope all arranged in one chocolate box.(The kind of chocolate box that Forrest Gump talks about).

INTO THE WILD is a riveting account of a young man named Christopher John Mccandless who defies supposed rational thought as defined by society and marches into the Alaskan wilderness to experience what he aptly describes as “the most ancient human conditions”. Christopher Mccandless or Alex Supertramp as he later christened himself is real, not a figment of some rubber tramp’s imagination.

Christopher was born in well-to-do family living the American Dream. Born to a NASA engineer and his equally competent wife, Christopher graduated from Emory University at the top of his class majoring in anthropology and history, his grades he quoted were good enough to pave the way for an Harvard Law school degree, just as his parents hoped for. But little did they know that their son had other plans.

Christopher John Mccandless donates all the money he saved up for his college education to OXFAM ,a charitable organization. And just leaves. He travels the length and breadth of America, hitchhiking, canoeing, and freight train hopping. His ultimate adventure lay in Alaska, for which he trained rigorously. Sadly, it was to be his final resting place. He survived 113 days in the Alaskan wilderness before succumbing to starvation at the age of 24.

When his story was first made known to the world. There were mixed reactions. Some called him a visionary, a man living his dream. Some called him narcissist who had caused his family immense pain and suffering. Some called him fool hardy for undertaking such an adventure without adequate preparation and reprimanded the media for making him a hero. Everybody had an opinion and I have one to.

I put down the book and I let it all play out in my head like a movie. Christopher John Mccandless in my opinion is human, but with qualities we could probably hope to imbibe. I feel a strong wave of anger consume me when I think about the void he left in the lives of his parents. I feel hopeful and reassured when I know that it is actually possible to live your dream irrespective of its consequences. I feel sad that all dreams come to an end. I admire Mccandless for his determination to achieve his Alaskan dream inspite of countless people dissuading him from doing so. Another observation that really fascinated me was his ability to the touch the lives of every single person he met on his peregrinations, from a seventeen year old girl who had a crush on him to an eighty year old war veteran who wanted to adopt him as his grandson. Their bonds with him really leap off the pages and become vivid examples of the man he was.

My Mccandless experience doesn’t end here. I crawl out of bed and switch on my computer and check my torrent software .Yess, it’s done. C’mon, you have to agree that this story deserves a film adaptation.

Directed by Sean Penn and starring Emil Hirsch, the movie doesn’t disappoint. However as is the unwritten rule, the book is more fulfilling. The movie pays attention to the sights and sounds that Mcclandess experiences whereas the book focuses more on the people that were a part of his brief but extraordinary life. They book and the movie compliment each other perfectly.

There are some instances both in the book and the movie that will remain in my memory for a long time. The green and white abandoned bus no 142 where he camped at while living his Alaskan dream. The references to Jack London, Tolstoy and Thoreau.
A particularly touching chapter where his parents visit the bus where he spent his last few days. His mother picks up his tattered pair of jeans that lay strewn in the bus, holds them close and then says to husband.” They still smell like Chris”.(This was one of those choke moments; where I go okay now easy there. men don’t cry…n stuff)

But above all the most haunting impression is that left by a self portrait taken using a minolta camera in his last few days and his last words that he carved into the bus. They read :

All Hail Alex Supertramp!!!

I HAVE HAD A HAPPY LIFE AND THANK THE LORD AND MAY GOD BLESS ALL!!

Perhaps someday when I have made enough money,I would like to head to a sleepy little town called Fairbanks,catch this path called the Stampede Trail and pay a visit to Bus no 142,the last remaining proof of a man who dared to live his dream .

The movie has a fantastic soundtrack and there is this one song that really encapsulates the whole Christopher John Mccandless experience ,it’s a beautiful track and there could undoubtedly be no other person that I can think of who could have remotely come close to pulling it off other than Eddie Vedder. The song is called Hard Sun.Here’s the link
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HARD SUN -EDDIE VEDDER