This is a question I was asked several times after I became a frequent traveller in the last few years. For me, answer was simple – “because I like travelling”. To say simply, there are many things that people like, and there need not always be an answer to the ‘Why’s. But as I got this question from more and more people, I thought of it a little more and tried to list all the things that I get from travelling. I could list many things that made my journeys worthwhile though it would not be complete. There are things that are fairly obvious, like –
1. The thrill of adventure – like when I go skiing.
2. The joy of being part of the beauty of nature – like in the mountains or when I go hiking or trekking.
3. Experiencing the pleasures of life – like when I go driving, taste exotic food, lie in the beaches or go to a disco.
4. Seeing the beautiful things created by man is a worthwhile experience – like visiting the Taj Mahal or the temples of Belur and Halebeedu.
5. There are places that just make me feel good. I stop thinking, worrying, or bothering about anything worldly. I can sit on the bank of Ganges at Rishikesh and spend days and days without a care about anything in the world.
6. See variety. See different type of people, different ways of life, etc. It is a great experience.
And then there are some things that are not so obvious. Travelling helps us learn. I have come to understand that the much-used cliché “travelling broadens your mind” is indeed true. We become open to new things. We come out of our shells and come to understand many things that we would not know earlier. It could teach us to live happily within our means after seeing all the chaos that the world has to offer. But again, it could also leave a longing for the beautiful and exotic places. Six months of travelling has taught me to be more humble. It has taught me to be happy with what I have and yet strive to achieve what I wish to. It has taught me that the world is not a bad place to live, but we can work to make many improvements in it.
And then you meet fascinating people. The best thing about an Indian travelling in India is meeting Indophiles from the west. They come in every size and shape, of all ages and all kind of background. The only thing common with them is they are crazy about India and they can’t help but keep coming back. I have met several of them on my journeys and everyone told me how lucky I am to be Indian! And then there are some unforgettable people like the man I met at Varanasi who had retired from his good corporate living and was now striving to do some good for the holy city. Such people also play a role in opening up our mind.
There are so many good things that come with the joy of travelling. But then, it is very much possible that you miss these good things if you are not looking for them, but just hurry from place to place ‘sightseeing’!
Now, for all those travellers who read this blog, why do you travel?
Edited by: Aruna Nambiar
Publishers: Unisun Publications
pages: 210
It is now an established fact that the ‘Indians are everywhere’. You find an Indian in practically every part of the world, and the book “The Itinerant Indian” showcases the travelling Indian and the Indians residing all over the world. It is an excellent collection of short articles written by Indians living or travelling abroad, and some of them are about the non-resident describing their feelings of returning to India.
There are stories from every part of world, including the Arctic, Antarctica, the down under and more popular places like the North America and Europe. Some of the stories are incredibly funny and keep you engaged. You get to read about the Indians who made friends by speaking in Kannada or trying to learning to make Sambar in Canada, and being chased by camels in the deserts of the middle east or trying to convince an American Indian at the wild west that there is another kind of Indian! Each one of the stories, besides being funny, makes interesting read and keeps you hooked. A book worth reading for every travel buff from India, whether or not you intend to travel abroad.
Auli -> Rishikesh -> Corbett National Park -> Varanasi -> Agra
+Previous: The days in Corbett
+Next: About Corbett
+Go to beginning of the series
One fine evening, we were exploring the grasslands of Dhikala looking for birds, and anything else we could come across. Summer was then just setting in and some elephants were starting to come out of the jungle and graze in the grasslands. We hoped to find some of those. I was especially keen to see some baby elephants. And lucky that we were, just before we decided to return we saw a mother elephant with calf.
As it always happens, the mother saw us before we saw them and it was cautious. It decided to move a little further from us, just to be safe. I was aware that I should not disturb them, especially with the calf around, as the mother will be extra careful. But I hoped to get a little closer without troubling them and get some photographs. Our jeep was noisy and there was no place to hide in the planes, so the mother, always aware of our presence, kept moving away as we pressed forward. Seeing that the she was uncomfortable, we did not press forward, but decided to just wait and watch them.
Mother elephant watches us wearily
We watched them for a few minutes as the mother grazed and the kid was just hanging around, not straying too far. After sometime, mother grew weary again and they decided to move away to some place more peaceful. We now decided to follow them from a distance. But seeing us behind them, it looked back, stood firmly, raised it trunk trumpeted loud enough to make it clear that it did not stand our presence. The message was clear now and we did not want to trouble them any further and retreated back to where we started from!
More on Corbett National Park at paintedstork.com
* Images from Corbett
* Arriving at Corbett
* First day at Corbett: safari day trip to Dhikala
* Corbett: In the nature – A struggle between fear and love
* The desperate tourist’s tiger hunt
* Photo Essay: Landscapes of Corbett
* My Days in Corbett
* Encounter with Pachyderms
* Information about Corbett National Park
* Moving on from Corbett