Excerpts from a filmmaker's journey to the Maoist lair in the heartland of India:

We travelled on and had no inkling of where we were heading to. Our young guide smiled whenever we asked him. 'Come on, he said, you'll get to know in good time'.  The road seemed endless as we went on and on. It was getting warmer and we were hungry. After a quick meal in a roadside dhaba the jeep began climbing a hilly road. By this time I had figured out that we must be going towards Bastar. Darkness fell fast on the hills. We passed dimly lit villages with groups of people sitting at tea shops and listening to radio sets. There was no more halt, and the high speed of our vehicle didn't allow us to read the signs that flashed by from time to time. After some more distance we saw bright lights, pucca houses and outposts of Police and CRP.  We had arrived at Jagdalpur, the district headquarters of Bastar, which meant we had covered a distance of nearly four hundred and fifty kilometres.  It was quite late at night when our jeep pulled up in front of a small STD booth. Our guide asked us to make quick calls to our families,   adding that the next opportunity may not be soon. The anxious voice at the other end had many questions, had I eaten, was I safe, was I in a hotel? I had no answers, our whereabouts and plans were far out of my hands and I finished the conversation in monosyllables. I thought of my parents and my little daughter. Maybe I had been unwise to take such a big risk, I thought.

 Today in hindsight, as I write this account, I am glad I could take the risk and accept the challenge. An experience of a lifetime has been gained. I have been able to document a major turning point in history, a feeling very precious to any documentary film maker. The filming experience too was unique and completely unconventional without a script, without correct usage of camera. 'Days with guerrillas -phase I' remained like a journey. More phases had been planned, but in this country one gets blacklisted by attempting to make such kind of films. How does one convince the State and Bureaucracy that a democracy cannot be saved unless we listen to all voices, even those of dissent?

From JOURNEY THROUGH CAMERA: My Days With People’s Guerilla Army

                                            The Unknown story of the Maoist territory

                                       By Soumitra Dastidar  

                                      (will be published soon)