Adinath Kothare takes viewers on a journey across Konkan in 'Konkan Diaries'

Travelling is as much about savouring the journey as it is about experiencing the destination. This new show will take viewers on a journey of discovery of our culture, customs and tales that are relayed on NEXA Journeys presented by Konkan Diaries. The ten-episode show will introduce us to the Maharashtrian belt of Konkan region and will premiere on March 5 on Zee Zest and Zee Zest HD

Konkan Diaries on Zee Zest and Zee Zest HD will be hosted by Adinath Kothare, a National Award-winning director, actor and producer, a popular face of Marathi cinema, and famous for his performance in the Bollywood Blockbuster 83. Adinath’s infectious energy and spirited persona make him an ideal host to take us on an adventurous, entertaining and thrilling journey across Konkan.

In conversation with Adgully, Adinath Kothare speaks about his new show, the overwhelming experience during the shows, his upcoming projects, advice to travelers and more.

What makes Konkan Diaries different and how can the audience relate to it?

I'll tell you about myself because I consider I'm also an audience, and for me it was a completely out-of-the-world experience. Basically I am from Mumbai. I've been around Maharashtra. I've also been to Konkan before but this journey across Konkan was unbelievable because of the things we got to see firsthand such as the culture, the festivals, the lifestyle, the history, the and architecture. In 20- 25 days I think the way I saw Konkan was absolutely insane.

Tell us about the key moments and experiences during the show that will stay with you for the rest of your life

When you go to a particular place which has got a lot of reviews and all and we experience it's very normal. But sometimes in these planned trips we miss out on all the local details. Sometimes we miss all the interesting stuff like we go to the commercial places we go to, for example Bombay. Maybe there are some beautiful things around us which we Mumbikers don't know about. I have two, three unforgettable moments. We went to Sawantwadi and there is a temple called Upralkar. They have this festival celebrate where the local deity’s birthday is celebrated. We went there met the dashavatar group. And they do a play related to Vishnu’s dashavatar. It's a world-famous folk art form. The play runs for six seven hours and sometimes the whole night. It's just half a page script because the entire play is extempore.

These people are so talented and I had the good fortune of playing the character of Brahmarakshas and it was such an amazing experience.

It was so overwhelming. I was in tears because I was so overwhelmed with the euphoria of that entire atmosphere of that play. It was mesmerizing and was emotionally moving.

These are edited excerpts from the panel discussion. For the complete conversation watch below: