THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Tribal community in Meghalaya that has a sound for a surname, and a rag picker, who turned into a professional photographer—Discovery’s newest show #IndiaMyWay goes in search of some eccentric folks and stories from the sub continent. The 13-part series that premiered this week will see actor/surfer, Paloma Monappa and travel writer, Meraj Shah drive a Maruti Suzuki Brezza through 29 states covering over 28,000 kilometres. “This is not a regular road trip with places for destinations, but a wander in search of extraordinary individuals from the farthest corners of India,” begins Shah, who kick-started the road trip from Delhi before driving through Amritsar, Rann of Kutch, Daman and Diu and along the west coast to Kerala and onto Odisha and the North East.
“Seven months on the road and I realised that people in the cities are living in a bubble. In Jharkhand, I meet girls helped by NGO Yuwa, which is using football to help soothe victims of trafficking. I also went to places that were completely lawless, ignored and forgotten by urban India,” says Monappa, who also meets Mollywood star, Dulquer Salman in an episode, with whom the actress had appeared in the blockbuster roadtrip movie Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi.
Uncharted territory
“From the backlands of Odisha— a 500-kilometre stretch from Damanjodi to Bhubaneswar—and the road through Tenga Valley in Arunachal, surrounded by impenetrable jungles are some of the must-try road routes from the show,” adds Shah, who confesses that he was left red-faced after interacting with Ziwame CEO, Richa Kar, amidst a lingerie shoot. Enroute, the duo encounter Mirakle Couriers, an enterprise that solely employs hearing impaired boys, try their hands at handling snakes and engage in a gig with Kerala-based rock back Masala Coffee.