The End of a Journey
Auli -> Rishikesh -> Corbett National Park -> Varanasi -> Agra
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After the visit to Taj, I packed my bags, checked out and took a bus to Delhi. There were plenty of trains from Agra to Delhi that were convenient as well as safe, but there were none with an empty seat at the hour I was leaving. I reached Delhi in the evening at Sarai Kale Khan inter state bus terminus and checked into whatever accommodation was available nearby.
In the evening, I headed to Connaught Place to indulge in the goodness of the city. It is there that I realized that, despite having immensely enjoyed my month long journey, I still missed some things that the big cities offered. Summer was just beginning in North India and I was longing for the good weathers in which I had spent my entire lifetime. And a south Indian restaurant in Connaught Place offered me all that I wanted – the food of home that I missed during the journey – chitranna, dosa, butter milk and much more, which I decided to choose against many other exotic offerings of food. And the air conditioning in the restaurant isolated me from the mild heat of early summer. Suddenly I felt secure to be in the city. I did not have the constant worry of loosing my backpack or my photography gear. I did not have to worry about how much cash I had and where is the next ATM. Money was just a short visit away at the nearby ATM and everyone accepted credit cards anyway. It seemed good to be in a city. It seemed good to be on the way back. But I knew that the city came with its caveats. I knew inside me that city is not where I belonged to, and city is not where I would feel at home.
I flew back to Bangalore next morning. My mind was empty as the plane landed. I neither felt happy to be back, nor did I feel sad that the excitement of travelling was coming to an end, albeit temporarily. But I was content with the way the last one month passed by. And I knew I had another long journey to look only in a few weeks to come. It was my first long journey, and I was glad at the way it turned out.
– The End –