The Vanished Path: A Graphic Travelogue

The graphs are poorly executed and I find it confusing to follow

A beautifully observed, meditative journey to the heart of a hidden heritage we all share. If you are Indian, chances are you are descended from Buddhists, and an ancestor of yours was once stirred by the words of 'the great shramana' - as this gentle travelogue is sure to stir you. Startlingly real, and frequently baroque scenes set in the heat and dust of UP and Bihar only serve to heighten the relevance of 'the one who has thus gone' in this day and age of universal suffering. This brief foray down 'The Vanished Path' could well be the beginning of a great journey in your own life...

Admire an Indian graphic work of good quality. A superb choice of topic, travelogue of the places associated with the great Buddha’s life. Superb illustrations.Had a sense of De Javu at some of the illustrated work & I came to know why when the author mentioned 'Osamu Tezuka', one of favourite manga artist too. Murthy is definitely influenced by Osamu's masterpiece manga. Wish it went only so far as illustrations. But sadly no! Murthy seems to have adopted the thinking of the Buddha’s period as depicted by Osamu where caste system was a cancer in the society during Buddha’s times. While it was so relevant in Buddha’s story of 400+ century BCE, doesn't strike as serious a chord in 2015 when Murthy himself is undertaking this travel. But definitely the author has very strong sense of objection to caste system like most thinking Indians do anyway but sadly he blames it on a religion which he is born to and he ends up with lot of bashing of the caste he's probably born into. Whether his own inter-caste marriage and the couple's possible personal suffering on that account (one knows that this suffering very much exists in India even today - one only need to check our surroundings or read Chetan Bhagat's 2 cities or watch the related movie to see the ugliness), had anything to do with the overall thought process, one wonders... Such limited views does jarr the scheme of a great work on a great master , at intervals, but overall it’s a very good read.Wish Murthy dwelt more on the positives of the Great Master's path than negatives of what he denounced in his times. Probably answer lies in that author is a 'recent convert to Buddhism' as he himself claims. And somehow one feels that after seriously practice of the Great Master's path, say after 20 years, Murthy himself might be inclined to go back and rework on this book that otherwise is such a brilliant work.

An evocative book, almost cinematic in narrative and observation. The Vanished Path is equally a quick read as a travelogue, as it can be a jump off point to contemplate the inception of Buddhism, arguably the most rational of organised religions, through the life of Tathagata (as Gautama Buddha liked to call himself). Strewn with delightful sensory details, The Vanished Path is quite obviously a labour of love in word and picture.

Passionately composed without drama and sentimentality. Bharath skilfully and eloquently shares his journey through a trail traversed by pilgrims from the world over but largely forgotten by India and Indians whose vignettes appear in counterpoint, giving the narrative an interesting literary depth. I will carry this book in my bag when I retrace the Vanished Path.