A generation where one cannot even consider a case of staying away from the internet, social media apps etc. We are so used to it that moving away from these things seems like a daunting task.
But, the story of this may change your perception of it.
A 56 year old Karnataka man, Chandrashekhar had been living in his ambassador car parked quite deep inside a forest near Dakshina Kannada.
This dense forest falls between the villages of Adtale and Nekkare.
Far away from the city life and all the civilisation, he took shelter in nature.
The man who has ditched life amid civilization and retreated to the wilderness, ‘casts himself away’, for a specific story.
To reach this man out, you will have to walk 3-4 kilometers through the jungle soon after which you will see plastic sheets resting on bamboo sticks from far away. Besides the small tent, you will find an old ambassador car, white in colour with a radio that’s the only functional thing inside it.
Only then, you will come across Chandrashekar, who now looks lean with strong limbs, half bald, not shaved or had a haircut in years, rubber slippers and who only owns two pairs of clothing.
But what actually made Chandrashekhar choose this life ?
There were times when he owned a farm of 1.5 acres in Nekral Kemraje village and was leading a peaceful life.
But all of sudden everything vanished.
Actually, it all started when a cooperative bank in his village seized his home and rest of the belongings because he could not pay an amount of Rs 40,000.
It was 2003, when had to take that loan from a co-operative bank but could not pay it back. In return, the bank auctioned his farm due to which he along with his sister’s family moved in Adtale.
A few days later, he had to rift with sister’s family, so he moved from there as well since he was not getting along with his sister’s family and decided to live alone. He drove away into the deep jungle and parked his car there itself.
For the sake of protecting himself from the rain and sun, he put up a small tent, basically a plastic sheet.
Since then, he has been living there the same way for 17 years.
He takes bath by the river that flows inside the forest, he weaves baskets using dried creepers around him and sells them in a shop in the nearby village and takes the rice, sugar and other groceries in return.
Now, all that he wants is to get back the land that the bank sold off for which he has preserved all his documents.
Wild Elephants, wild Boar, Antelopes, Leopards and Bison are the organisms that visit him very often.
Nothing stops him from not escaping the place. Be it the snakes that keep crawling around or any obstacle caused over there.
The forest department also does not seem to have a problem with him since he has caused no harm to the jungle.
Chandrashekar does hot have an Aadhaar card but the Aranthod Gram Panchayath visited him and gave him his dose of COVID-19 vaccine. During the lockdown period, he managed to stay alive on water and wild fruits for weeks.
He has become a ray of hope and inspiration for those who think only a luxurious life is way of living.
He still hopes of driving back to his home in his ambassador, although his age now makes it difficult for him to trust the same.
