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The Vanished Path: A Graphic Travelogue

Bharath Murthy

3.41 · Rating details · 29 ratings · 5 reviews

Ye dhamma hetuppabhava tesam hetum tathagato aha, tesanca yo nirodho evam vadi mahasamanno. Of those phenomena that arise from a cause, the Tathagata has said, this is their cause, and this is their cessation. Thus the Great Sramana teaches. A common dedication in Pali on votive stupas.

In 2009, Bharath Murthy took refuge as a lay Buddhist. Soon after, accompanied by his wi ...more

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Paperback, 232 pages

Published March 5th 2015 by Harper Collins India

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Dec 17, 2015 Dibyajyoti Sarma rated it really liked it

With the air rife with cultural dissent, this is perhaps the right time to read and appreciate Bharath Murthy’s breezy and sharp Manga-like graphic novel The Vanished Path.

While Buddhism remains the fastest-growing religion in the world, it’s ironic how in the country of its origin, the teachings of the Buddha is largely forgotten. Today, we discuss Buddhism in the context of the Dalit issues, as political shorthand for caste issues and that’s that.

Yet, the historical Buddhist sites, from Gaya With the air rife with cultural dissent, this is perhaps the right time to read and appreciate Bharath Murthy’s breezy and sharp Manga-like graphic novel The Vanished Path.

While Buddhism remains the fastest-growing religion in the world, it’s ironic how in the country of its origin, the teachings of the Buddha is largely forgotten. Today, we discuss Buddhism in the context of the Dalit issues, as political shorthand for caste issues and that’s that.

Yet, the historical Buddhist sites, from Gaya to Sarnath, dotting Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, are the major tourist destinations visited by thousands of Buddhists from all over the world. These locations are part of the Indian geography, yet they seem to exist in a separate time-space continuum, where the idea of the ‘real India’ is suspended.

What happens when a recently converted Indian Buddhist travels to these sites? This is what The Vanished Path is all about.

After his conversation, Murthy, who teaches film direction at the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, undertakes a journey from Sarnath to Nalanda, accompanied by his wife Alka, and returns to document his experiences in the form of a graphic novel.

It is the graphic element that gives the book, which has been nominated for Shakti Bhat First Book Award, its heft and power. Murthy is clearly inspired by the art of the Japanese Manga comics, which celebrates black and white line drawings, focusing on impressionistic description than real representation.

So, we have the couple navigating their way through hinterland India, by train, taxi, auto and other means, meeting assorted characters on the way, and visiting the landmarks associated with the life of Siddhattha Gotama. This modern track is interspersed with historical facts and musings from Buddha’s life.

Murthy’s narrative is largely straightforward. He goes, observes and reports. Yet, the political undertone is unmistakable. It is no accident that he is in Varanasi on the day the Ayodhya dispute verdict was to be announced. He observes how Buddhist Asian countries have invested heavily on these sites. He meets a Dalit kitchen help in one of the lodges, who tells him that though he is Buddhist, he did not really know the teachings of the Buddha.

Yet, what’s fascinating about the book are the drawings, the monuments, the scenes from rural India, and even the retelling of Buddha’s life. In all this, Murthy makes a curiously interesting choice of representing Buddha not as human, but as the dharma wheel.

While the country is seeing resurgence in publishing in the recent years, we still have very few graphic novels. For this reason alone, The Vanished Path is an important book, and the best part is that you can finish it on one sitting.

(In the years, HarperCollins India has published some groundbreaking graphic novels, including Amruta Patil’s dazzling Adi Parva. For the best Japanese Manga based on India, check out Yukichi Yamamatsu’s Stupid Guy Goes To India.)

(The book review was first published in Sakal Times.) ...more

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Jul 18, 2015 Aparna Singh rated it really liked it

As someone with a casual interest in Buddhism and a stronger one in traveling this book ticked two boxes for me.

I do not know enough about art or graphic novels as a form to comment on the book from that perspective but The Vanished Path is a very enjoyable read otherwise.

It made me want to visit some of the places mentioned in the book. I also enjoyed the author's wry observations about the persistence of caste and prejudice in many places, without getting pedantic. The conversations feel nat ...more

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Feb 23, 2016 Ambar rated it liked it

TL;DR - An interesting read, probably worth your time and money... especially if you have any interest in Buddhism.

** NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD **

The true-to-manga style is pleasant, and some of the ideas (like how a particular animal/creature at the start of each of the six chapters is a motif for that chapter) are refreshing. Some of the single and double page spreads are just beautiful. The text is very matter-of-fact-ish and the general tone throughout the book could perhaps be summarize TL;DR - An interesting read, probably worth your time and money... especially if you have any interest in Buddhism.

** NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD **

The true-to-manga style is pleasant, and some of the ideas (like how a particular animal/creature at the start of each of the six chapters is a motif for that chapter) are refreshing. Some of the single and double page spreads are just beautiful. The text is very matter-of-fact-ish and the general tone throughout the book could perhaps be summarized as "down-to-earth."

Which brings me to my only gripe, and it's a minor one. The story isn't particularly exciting or even memorable. Yes, I get that it's a travelogue, but it's a bit too quotidian for my taste. A whole page devoted to just retrieving a fallen lens cap from the mud - without adding anything of interest or value to the narrative - is just boring filler to me. Unless perhaps I missed some metaphor or something. Or perhaps this is just how mundane most travelogues are, which explains why this isn't my favorite genre.

Some time before setting out on the pilgrimage of The Vanished Path, Bharath Murthy and his wife converted to Buddhism (probably from Hinduism). Their anti-Hindu sentiments echo throughout the book, and their knee-jerk reactions are to be partly expected. But the hate comes off a bit too strong sometimes, and I can't help but wonder: doesn't this aversion fly in the face of the Buddha's most direct teachings that craving and aversion are the source of sorrow?

The irony is that towards the end of the book, Murthy's "Wheel of Dhamma" speaks on letting go of mental positions:

When there is a clash there is dispute. When there is a dispute, there are quarrelling, annoyance and then frustration. Envisioning this, he [a wise person] both abandons that view nor does he cling to another, thereby relinquishing those views.

Sound advice, for sure. I guess mature Buddhists wouldn't get annoyed or frustrated if a Hindu offered prasad or teeka to them. Even if refusing to partake, the refusal itself would be a form of peaceful equanimity. Or perhaps I too am clinging too tightly to my own views that should be relinquished, haha.

In any case, I enjoyed the book, especially the cameos from the Buddha himself and the excerpts from Tipitaka and other Buddhist scripture (e.g. the story of Angulimala). I've always relished the Buddha's discourses as beautiful, inspiring and even "enlightening," so I'm delighted that the author chose to include some of the source material directly - because you simply can't top that ;) The trivia around the historical places/people recounted along the journey made for tasty tidbits too.

I couldn't help but feel the influence of Osamu Tezuka's epic manga, Buddha, while reading some parts of "The Vanished Path," and it was nice to see the author acknowledge this at the end.

One of the most beautiful and scientific religions of the world originated in India, spread throughout most of Asia, and then gradually vanished from the land of its origin. Just at the verge of becoming vestigial, this grand spiritual tradition had a kind of fortuitous renaissance. And yet the "Path," though not yet lost, has to be rediscovered on a very personal level. This overarching theme and the accompanying melancholia pervade "The Vanished Path," and the outer journey in the book is, of course, really a metaphor for the inner spiritual seeking. It is this subtle poetry that tugged at my heart-strings the most.

The book is illuminating ("a light unto itself" of sorts?) and perhaps this is where it really succeeds. ...more

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Jun 07, 2015 Venkatarangan Thirumalai rated it really liked it

The other day I picked up from library this Japanese Manga influenced comic novel titled The Vanished Path by Bharath Murthy. The novel is a travelogue describing the experience of Bharath & his wife Alka on their travel plus pilgrimage to places associated with the life of Lord Buddha.

I liked their style of travel, which is done in a leisurely manner, they don’t experience any travel stress by doing elaborate pre-planning. They seem to simply land in a place, find an accommodation and move ar ...more

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Dec 08, 2015 Nidhi Srivastava rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2015, delhi-byob, india, own-physical-copy, comic, graphic-novel, memoir, non-fiction

A beautiful graphic travelogue that I purchased on a whim. It is supposed to be Manga-inspired but it reminded me very much of Indian comics I read as a kid. Maybe they were Manga-inspired too. Full of the usual travelogue tropes, it nevertheless springs up surprises when you least expect them (wait is it a surprise if you expected it? Ugh). I usually dislike travelogues as a genre because they such naive yet judgemental perspective of places... Give me a Delhi travelogue and inevitably I will h ...more

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About Bharath Murthy

Bharath Murthy

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Bharath Murthy is a filmmaker and comics author.He studied painting at Faculty of Fine arts ,M.S.University of Baroda, and film direction at Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute,kolkata.