A Traveler's Memoir

Hill stations are the best places to blend in with nature, to be surrounded by a million creatures, living so close to each other in harmony is a happiness many have stopped cherishing. This is the kind of life I need, I told myself.  The bus was slowly climbing the Kodai ghats when my thoughts started haunting me again. What if the given phone number is turned off or if nobody came to pick me? What do I do next? Would I have any cash left to go back home? I even thought of going to Palzhani, shave my head and then go back home if I was left alone. I reached around 3 PM and called Nitesh, Shaju Ettas cousin who was supposed to pick me up. He came in a yellow scooter and took me to a lodge run by them. He showed me to my space where I rested the luggage before going out since he had some work in town. We had to book a horse for photoshoot, then fuel his Honda and later waited for a guest to make a payment. Meanwhile it started raining, as the rain slowed down, he took me to treat some h

The Indian politics loves the MNC'S over any Indian farmer feeding them to oversize.  A job valued 2 lakh in the USA is done at 1 lakh in India, where there is a about 20% to the Government, then a share in every penny spent out of the remaining 80%. The higher the pay scale, the higher the tax. The higher the income, expensive are the things you buy, the costlier the things you buy, the more you feed the system for free. All you trendy ladies and gentlemen in the cities feasting of the grains and veggies, the ones who grow can hardly afford a proper clothing. All oversized humans, enjoying the protein from cows and chickens. Do you know there is hardly one veterinary doctor for every 30 kilometres and every time an animal gets sick, it sufferers until someone reaches on time. Does anyone have any idea, what you are living on and what you are living for? Had any of them once opened the religious books of each other, this world would have been a much better place with all beings ab

I called Shohab Bhai to tell I left Kutch and he told me to reach an equestrian farm where he was practising to become a farrier for sport horses. When he was unable to join, he directed me to reach Kolhapur. I stopped at a sugarcane juice shop by the highway, 60 kilometres before and he asked me to reach The Tararani Statue. Me being sober for weeks, I requested him if he can arrange a smoke and he said things will be taken care. As I Passed a toll booth, a traffic constable was in a double mind whether to stop me or not but he finally did. He then asked about me and I told him the story. I don't know what happened to him, He forced me to go with him to a tea shop and bought me tea and pakodas, he asked me numerous times if I had finished my lunch, also went to buy me a couple water bottles for the journey when I stopped him and said it was really an honour to meet such a Cop, who can be so humane. I was simply amazed at the way he treated.   I called Shohab Bhai to say, I reached

I have left bits of me in various places that I can visit anytime in the blink of my eye. As I rode on towards Dharamshala, I understood that the best part of my journey was over and I was coming back into senseless civilization and meaningless lives.  I found a place to dump my luggage in a small crowded town and went out to visit the Dalai Lama monastery or the Kalachakra Temple. The place was lit with numerous lamps and was glittering like gold. The streets were filled with their traditional style of art and craft.  The next day I started riding to Vaishno Devi temple in Jammu. My intention was to touch the last state on the north and  The Kutch of Gujarat on the west before returning home. After riding through the day, I reached Katra around 6 PM, I got my pass to enter the temple, left my luggage in a locker and started hiking.  When I saw food being served, i ate and continued to climb. This was where I realised I had become numb. I didn't feel any pain and was simply rushing

Reaching Chougan around 4 pm, I called Yudhvir Singh, he said we could fly the same day. He took me in a taxi to billing for my first flight after an 18-kilometre drive through the winding roads of the Himalayan Mountains. He strapped me and himself into the Harnesses and all I had to do was take a few steps to be airborne. I don't know why, tears started rolling in down my eyes. It felt so beautiful. I thanked him for the ride and decided to spend that night there. Found Amar guest house run by Sanjay Dutt, no not the actor, who offered a room at 400 and I stayed.  That flight, Opened me up to a very different dimension, a new feeling, a feeling of self-love, a feeling of being alive, I felt a change in me forever. My mind was so full, I couldn't think about anything beyond that flight. Some things just cannot be explained and I decided that I must learn the sport though didn't have the money. I thought if it costed less, I'll do it else it wasn't my cup of tea. Y