I had planned to stay with a friend in Kolkata. I
met him in Jaipur. I was in the city for the literature festival. Between one
of the sessions, I decide to go to the festival bookstore. I see another boy,
about my size, round spectacles, short hair, standing in front of the poetry
bookshelf at the store. He was looking at a collection of poems I had recently
read. I commented,
'That is a great book'
'Yeah, it sure looks like one.'
Your first time at the festival?
Yeah.
Mine too. Where are you from?
I’m from Mumbai.
That is awesome.
Mumbai is a nice city. You should read this one too. I read it a few
months ago. I really enjoyed reading it.
I think I will buy this one. Any other books you
recommend.
You know what, do you have any important sessions
to attend now? If not, I was heading to the green lawns, you could come along.
Sure’
That was how we first met. For the next four to
five days of the festival, we went for a few book readings and panel
discussions together. We also had a few meals together at a rajasthani
restaurant nearby. Their combo lunch thalis were delicious. We had a common
friend in Mumbai. He was from Guwahati too. It was all such a coincidence. We
would exchange the book we bought at the festival and have hour long conversation about some of our favorite books. We promised to keep in touch, when the festival got over.
We met at the festival the next year again. By
this time, we became good friends. I told him about my wish to, travel around
the country. He was on a gap year himself and was quite open to the idea. He
told me about his father, who was quite the globe trotter himself. He also told me about some of
his own travels around the country. I asked him why he thought, people,
traveled anywhere? Why did people leave the comfort of their homes and go off,
to far unknown places?
We pondered over this question for a while. There
seemed to be no one perfect answer. I decide to look for answers in the book of
secrets I carried in my pocket. The Internet on my smartphone
I started looking for quotes on google, about
travel and why people undertake these journeys? I thought, I would find some
answers there. These were the few quotes, that I made a note of that day,
'We travel not to escape life, but for life not
to escape us.' - Anonymous
Anonymous was a wise person. This was definitely
one of the reasons, I wanted to go away for a while. I was worried. I needed to
understand myself better. I needed to understand my place in the world. I was
in such a hurry, that I never paused, to ask why I was doing, what I was doing?
I was making important life decisions, without putting too much thought into
it. If I did not do something about it now, I would get too deep into this
problem to choose an alternate path.
'If you are 22, physically fit, hungry to learn
and be better, I urge you to travel - as far and as widely as possible. Sleep
on floors if you have to. Find out how people LIVE and EAT and COOK. Learn from
them wherever you go.' - Anthony Bourdain
I was 21, physically not so fit, hungry for good food
and definitely wanted to be better.
'The greatest reward and luxury of travel is to
be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time.' - Bill Bryson
What will the food be like in this new place? Ah,
a hot shower after 5 days on the road. A clean pair of clothes after a week in
dirty undergarments.
'Traveling. It leaves you speechless and then
turns you into a storyteller.' - Ibn Batutta. Every person has an interesting
story. I feel like on the road, you get to be part of so many different life
stories. So many different ways of looking at the world. Then you come back and
people ask you what happened on the the road. And you share stories.
'The real voyage of discovery consists not in
seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.' - Marcel Proust. Before
reading this quote, I was worried, I was halfway through my journey and did not
feel a tinge of transformation occur. I mean transformation in the true sense.
The caterpillar - butterfly sort of transformation. But then maybe,
transformation does not always have to be of one sort. Maybe you come back,
with new eyes. New ways of looking at the same thing. Maybe that was the
transformation.
I shared all these thoughts, with my friend in
Jaipur that day. He told me his perspective about the same subject. We thought,
that one day, we will, travel together, or at least go around some part of
India together. He studied Literature at a college in Pune. A few months after
the festival, I call him up.He tells me his plans for the summer. Two weeks at
his flat in Kolkata and then two weeks back at home with his parents in
Guwahati. I don't know why, but I asked him, if I could come along. He said
yes. He said yes. I was beyond excited.
Sat-chit-ananda
Sat-chit-ananda
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