A Traveler's Memoir

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

It was my tenth day now, I was left with just about 700 rupees and It was the longest I have sustained in such budget. Yet, to have travelled over 2000 kilometers made me feel better and I knew tough times were ahead.  I woke up at 8 and meditated for some time.  Meanwhile Nitesh kept my breakfast ready, three idlys and a vada with two types of chutney and sambar. I had only eaten a few biscuits and was craving for some real food. As I finished eating we went to clean the rooms at Kairali, another cottage near fairy falls. I cleaned the rooms while he cleaned the washroom. The room was filled with buds of cigarettes and bottles of alcohol. We completed the task and went to have some chai while a couple called asking for a room. As we waited for them with some chai, they came in on a Royal Enfield machismo 500, we showed them to the room, collected the laundry and got back to Meadows.  That evening Nitesh took us to his friend's place where two giant pit bulls welcomed us in style

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