I saw a clip of Maya on YouTube. I was hooked! Bought the series on DVD. Boy am I glad I did. Loved it. The Allapur Conspiracy is my favourite episode. They are all good though. I love the way the entire series was filmed in the beautiful country of India. No sets required.
In this episode Terry shows his headstrong and determined character by going alone to the hostile village of Allapur to find clues as to father's whereabouts. His Indian friend who has become a brother, Raji, begs him not to go. He has a bad feeling about Allapur, that it could be dangerous. Raji is so concerned he kindly gives Terry his Ganesh pendant to wear around his neck. Perhaps this will bring him good luck, or if nothing else, keep him safe. Terry then ventures to the village of Allapur despite Raji's protestations and agreeing to meet later.
But the people of Allapur greet Terry with a frosty reception, nobody is willing to talk to him, they even try to totally ignore him but he doesn't give up. He refuses to leave until he has some answers. Unfortunately this means poking his nose where its clearly not wanted. He ends up snooping around for clues in a house rifling through drawers and checking wardrobes and is caught unawares by the man in charge of the village who everybody fears. Outsiders are not welcome. This was made clear to Terry earlier in the episode but Terry remained unperturbed.
By this stage this man has had enough of Terry and his henchmen grab him roughly by his arms. Terry tries to explain he is not a spy and even tells them the real reason he is in their village. But his explanation falls on deaf ears. Terry is then gagged with a white cloth with a knot deliberately placed inside his mouth and then tied several times behind his neck. This is to prevent him spitting the gag out or wriggling it off. Terry is then dragged away by the two burly men, despite Terry struggling hard and muffling through his gag. They literally throw him into a room and one of the men stands guard over him. Terry is being treated as a high risk prisoner. He must have been shocked by this, and nobody from the village would dare to try and help him fearing the wrath of this village dictator.
But luckily, Raji finds him, by checking the barred window of his room. Raji bas been trying to find him. Raji would never give up on his brother. Raji seeks the help of some people to help rescue Terry. He must hurry. They could move Terry to another location at any moment. Then it could be impossible to rescue him. And they might never see him again. Raji and his helpers rush into the building where Terry is being held and have to take the extraordinary measure of using a shotgun to break the lock on the door to the room. A very dramatic rescue. By this stage he is not under guard but his hands have been tied tightly behind his back. Being bound and gagged in a room with little air on a hot day in India, Terry is obviously glad to see them. Probably more relief than anything else. Terry is untied and his gag finally removed and they don't waste any time getting out of there. However as they do, the town's feared ruler returns. Luckily, the boys manage to escape.
I really enjoyed the suspense around this episode. Terry was not wanted in the village of Allapur the moment he set foot inside the place. He was absolutely convinced Allapur held answers to his missing father's whereabouts. He believed his father had perhaps been there and his watch could still be there too. Having got this tip from another man Terry felt compelled to follow it up, however unlikely. I loved Terry's perseverance and his reluctance to leave until he found out the truth. This says alot about his strong character even when he knew, he could well find himself in serious trouble if found to still be in Allapur having been told, in no uncertain terms, to go away and not come back. Even when he got tied up and gagged I got the feeling Terry had no regrets about his decision to go to Allapur. To not go, and possibly not unlock what could be the golden nugget of evidence that his father was still alive, everybody else was utterly convinced he was dead (he was a tiger hunter, and had left to hunt, lets just call it "the big one" and never returned) could have been the biggest mistake of his life.
Seeing this episode inspired me to purchase my very own ganesha pendant. I treasure it. Having watched Maya in its entirety, including the movie they made the previous year, I have become very interested in India, it's history, it's culture, it's wildlife, it's people and even its religion. I continue to find it intriguing and would love to visit it myself. Its definitely on my bucket list!
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