“Lifetimes of ecstasy crowded into a single moment,” I yelled and banged The Innocents Abroad on the table. With a piercing gaze, this startled my father, who fumed, “That’s Twain’s bestseller, and respect wouldn’t be too much to ask.” I huddled around my father and said, “All travelogues are tiresome. All travels are needless. And this book is boring,” I purposefully stretched ‘boring’ to emphasise how tiresome it had been to read this highly recommended book by him.
My father was not convinced. He couldn’t digest that his recommendation was not accepted. He tried to convince me about travelling which led to a lengthy debate between him and me on the necessity of travel. I had my points. He had his. This argument outlived its shelf life. Finally, in a bid to end it, my father said, “When you travel, you don’t gain anything in terms of tangible material benefits. Travel adds depth to your soul. How else do you explain Gandhiji’s Indian travel before formally dedicating himself to the great Indian freedom struggle? Perhaps a better example would be you. Today your soul is a local garden.” This had me. I interrupted him and exclaimed, “So if I travel will it become a Malabar Hill garden?” Papa was not bothered by my sarcasm. He continued, “As you travel, you will pick from different nationalities, learn diversity, appreciate its necessity, embrace differences, but most important, celebrate those differences. You will realize that slowly your soul has turned into the garden of Eden, carefully nurtured by you. I’d say travel, click pictures, make memories, fall in love, suffer a heartbreak, become a child, and add maturity to your age. Don’t let anyone fool you. Travel opens up not just the mind and body but also the soul. Travel as long as you are capable of travelling. Later, you can read the travelogues better still write some.
Years later as I travelled across continents and countries, I realized my folly and how silly I had been. Travel has been the most efficient way to keep narrow-mindedness and bigotry at bay. It is also one of the easiest ways to fall in love and move on, pun intended. 2019 was the last time I had travelled before the world was shut down by the horrific coronavirus pandemic. After more than two years of being locked up and working long hours, Goa was my natural choice to unwind. Goa was also my mum’s choice of preference because she wanted to firsthand witness the Goan culture. But as we were booking the tickets from Mumbai to Dabolim, Goa, a ticker came up. The ticker was about Srinagar, Kashmir. It was a touristy advertisement about all the awesome things that can be done in Srinagar. Mum and I looked at each other. It was a moment of unison agreement. Perhaps the first time, mother and daughter had agreed without debating. Immediately, Dabolim was parked for another day. And Srinagar was booked. Little did I know that I had booked more than just tickets. I had booked ecstasy, memories, happiness, smiles, unknowns, knowns, and everything in that one click of a mouse.
Reiseberichte 
beautifully written ❤