The 'problem' with travelling so often is that it soon grows on you. It grows on you so much that the thought of a desk job, or getting stuck in a single location is enough to start a headache and send your head spinning. The 'problem' with travelling particularly to mountains is that they keep calling you back.By 'call' I mean the voice of a canary, the voice of a girl with the most beautiful face whom you wished a coffee with, an authoritative coach, the voice of your friend you hear after you have downed 4 ales, that whatever be the conversation he cannot be wrong at that time (even if he had banged your girlfriend in the past). In short... persuasive (should have saved you the trouble in the beginning). The idea of living out of a back pack, waking up to the chirping of birds, the cool mountain breeze on your face and the roaring of the wild river in the background is exhilarating. The fact that not a month back I had the perfect days of my life, only makes the sting more potent. I mean, it is not everyday that a southie like me gets a chance to wake up in the Himalayan valley and take a dump on the river side with the ice cold mountain wind blow right up your arse (you get the picture). But that's not what makes it exhilarating (although the thought is scary 'coz shitting was not easy back then). Imagine waking up in a tent with the only constant clue of civilization being the car you travel in and the curt smile of your host standing with a cup of tea, welcoming you to the beginning of the new day.
Himalayas... If you listen carefully, the mountain winds will tell you stories of the old. Stories of courage and sacrifice and hardships and love. The flowing river... the only life line for the people living there. For us as well, in those days. Nature shows you, who you really are. How insignificant you are in this whole design. One higher wind gradient could have triggered a landslide, a little higher temperature could have melted the glacial rivers and flooded the roads earlier than expected. Every moment of our life... nature's charity. She was at her arrogant best. I was nothing. I am nothing. The moment you realize this, you realize there is a lot of room for improvement. Improvement in the way you live your life, the way you treat others. Experiences are there to be seen and lessons there to be learned in every breath you take in the company of nature. You start valuing life. That's when you realize you need a reason to do, whatever it is that you wish to do. Money though a necessity seems insignificant enough, to search for another reason to continue doing the work we do.
I was happy back then. I felt secure in the remotest part of my country, despite the fact that, that week Andhra Pradesh was burning due to Telangana, Delhi was on high alert due to terror threats and I looked nothing short of a terrorist with my long beard and locks. In fact, I felt nothing could go wrong as long as I was on the road. Half broke, fighting for every breath I took, trying hard to stay awake due to fatigue, yet... nothing could go wrong... nothing did. It was perfect. Perfection that I cannot draw any parallels with. That sense of complete happiness which has come so often in my yesteryears but seldom come nowadays, not more than a teaser even if they do. I am blank now. A kind of numbness. Incompetence to think intelligently. Like the pool of thought is draining slowly away from my mind. Nothing that I am doing right now makes sense. Waking up, dressing up in 'business formals', clocking hours of doing nothing in office. I am not sure if it is because of the emptiness that filled me after the trip. I would like to think not. It is deeper than that. I do understand that absolute happiness for the entire lifetime is a myth. But whenever things get out of hand I know the mountains and the rivers and the forests will be there to cool my mind and guide me to peace.
But inner peace...that is something that I would have to find myself.
Himalayas... If you listen carefully, the mountain winds will tell you stories of the old. Stories of courage and sacrifice and hardships and love. The flowing river... the only life line for the people living there. For us as well, in those days. Nature shows you, who you really are. How insignificant you are in this whole design. One higher wind gradient could have triggered a landslide, a little higher temperature could have melted the glacial rivers and flooded the roads earlier than expected. Every moment of our life... nature's charity. She was at her arrogant best. I was nothing. I am nothing. The moment you realize this, you realize there is a lot of room for improvement. Improvement in the way you live your life, the way you treat others. Experiences are there to be seen and lessons there to be learned in every breath you take in the company of nature. You start valuing life. That's when you realize you need a reason to do, whatever it is that you wish to do. Money though a necessity seems insignificant enough, to search for another reason to continue doing the work we do.
I was happy back then. I felt secure in the remotest part of my country, despite the fact that, that week Andhra Pradesh was burning due to Telangana, Delhi was on high alert due to terror threats and I looked nothing short of a terrorist with my long beard and locks. In fact, I felt nothing could go wrong as long as I was on the road. Half broke, fighting for every breath I took, trying hard to stay awake due to fatigue, yet... nothing could go wrong... nothing did. It was perfect. Perfection that I cannot draw any parallels with. That sense of complete happiness which has come so often in my yesteryears but seldom come nowadays, not more than a teaser even if they do. I am blank now. A kind of numbness. Incompetence to think intelligently. Like the pool of thought is draining slowly away from my mind. Nothing that I am doing right now makes sense. Waking up, dressing up in 'business formals', clocking hours of doing nothing in office. I am not sure if it is because of the emptiness that filled me after the trip. I would like to think not. It is deeper than that. I do understand that absolute happiness for the entire lifetime is a myth. But whenever things get out of hand I know the mountains and the rivers and the forests will be there to cool my mind and guide me to peace.
But inner peace...that is something that I would have to find myself.
