It all started with a burning desire for a much-needed
break - a break from the routine, in fact a solitary escape from my known surroundings,
from “living in a box " kind of existence, from the overwhelming academic
load, from the busyness trap that everyday life is! In a way my life had become very monotonous and mechanical to such an extent that I felt totally disoriented and therefore experienced a deep urge to take a break, to pause & reflect, to relax & rejuvenate, to break free from the clutches of the routine that was dictating my life, to embrace solitude and last but not the least to restore my sense of equanimity, wholeness and well-being.
Luckily, December 2017 was
a relatively lighter month considering my academic commitments and hence in one
random moment after consulting a dear friend on her solo trip experience to
Udaipur as well as convincing my super anxious father that Udaipur will be safe
for solo travel, I booked my to & fro flight tickets to the city of lakes
and also Zostel- a bagpackers hostel which my friend had recommended.
Unfortunately,
travelling solo as a woman in a country like India where women safety is still
a big question mark is not a welcomed idea in many households. Hence, the
parental paranoia around this topic is not considered as irrational as it may
sound in the western world. Nevertheless, despite the evident hitches, India is
gradually opening up to solo women travel and things are not as bleak as it was
few decades ago. Also in comparison to my mother’s generation I feel quite
fortunate that I belong to an era, where solo women travel has become a
reality.
So, that’s how I
set out on my solo trip to Udaipur with no clue of what awaited me, no set plan
for my stay there and to be very honest I hardly cared. I was in fact happily
looking forward to embrace the unknown in an unknown city.A part of me was
craving to get lost in a beautiful setting, away from the maddening lifestyle
of a metro to experience the adventure of letting life unfold on its own.I
feel, sometimes it is very important to let life happen rather than always
trying to make things happen, to experience living out of the box and to learn to
face life as it comes.
In the words of
Rosalia de Castro,
"I saw my path, but I didn't know
where it led me. Not knowing where I was going was what inspired me to travel
it."
Just a day before when I had to leave for my trip I had a hectic
day in college and then I went to watch this wonderful movie called
"Wonder " picturing my favourite Hollywood actress, Julia Roberts and
by the time I reached home it was already 7 p.m.I had to leave home by 8:30 am
in the morning, the next day. I hadn't done my packing and I was so dead tired
on reaching home that I straightaway went to sleep and asked my mother to wake
me up by 9 p.m.She woke me up at 10 p.m.I started packing at 11 and finished it
by 12 and went to bed again only to realise I wasn't able to sleep. May be it
was then that the feeling of actually going on a solo trip began to sink in and
all I wondered was why is the idea of travelling itself so exciting that you
always feel so alive when you dream or talk about, plan or go on a trip ?!
That's when I thought of browsing through some travel quotes just to get myself
in the travel mode and as I am addicted to the written world, I knew only words
could give me my kind of travel "high".While surfing the net, I came
across this amazing quote and I think it did set the right note for my trip: -
“To move, to breathe, to fly, to
float,
To gain all while you give,
To roam the roads of lands
remote,
To travel is to live.”
Normally I always carry a book along during my travels, but
this time I didn't because I didn't feel that the books that I was reading were
matching with this trip. I then ended up
buying one at the airport and I must say, it was just so perfect that I have no
words to describe it.I bought Aleph by Paulo Coelho. It is an autobiographical
account of Coelho as he seeks a path of spiritual renewal and growth and
decides to travel, to experiment, to reconnect with people and places around
him. It felt as if it was meant to accompany me to Udaipur and in hindsight, it
has so beautifully helped me in putting my experiences into interesting
perspectives.
As I landed in Udaipur, I was greeted by a warm and sunny
day.It was not at all cold contrary to what I had expected it to be.I quickly
booked an Uber and the moment we started from the airport,the radio played an
old Hindi classic, "Aadmi musafir hai, aata hai , jata
hai...aate jate raaston mein yaadein chod jata hai." (Human
being is a traveller, he(she) comes and goes and leaves memories along the way.)
I was spellbound! and said to myself, what a philosophical, musical entry to
the city! I totally loved the beginning.
It took me 45 mins to reach my destination abode in Udaipur.
The driver left me at the edge of a steep hilly road where vehicles were not
allowed.I enjoyed my short and scenic climb to Zostel , which is situated in
the centre of the old city overlooking the lake Pichola. Least did I know then
that it was just the beginning of my journey into the beautiful unknowns! As I
approached Zostel, I instantly fell in love with its caption at the entrance
gate–“Live it. NOW.”-that’s what I had
aspired to do after all-to soak in the present moment as if it was all that
was! And as I stepped in I went all gaga to see Badshah - the one year old pug
who I met at the reception. Having this little bundle of joy around was indeed
a beautiful blessing during my stay there.After completing the check-in
formalities and getting a happy high on meeting Badshah, I proceeded to my room,
which was a very pretty four bedded female dorm with all the necessary
amenities(super liked my bunk bed and the reading lamp near my bedside) but what
stole my heart was the lakeview from my bedside window.It was simply BEAUTIFUL!
Hardly 20 mins had passed since my arrival at Zostel and I was already in love
with this place.I think I was more than happy with the bedside view and
Badshah. Even if, Udaipur was just that, I think I couldn't have asked for more
because it was super amazing- the vibes and the view. The other three girls who
I shared the room with had gone out for sight-seeing.I quickly changed and
headed to the rooftop restaurant and once again a step into the restaurant took
my breath away! It offered the most amazing 180 deg lake facing view of the
city.Everything there was so dream-like.It was difficult to accept such a
beautiful reality, but at the same time it was a fantastic feeling to be in a
place as awesome as that! To add to the fantasy, I had a glass full of super
delicious oreo shake by the lake and revelled in my new found fairytale like
reality.This was also the best oreo shake I had ever had.I loved it so much
that I had it every single day during my stay at Zostel. By now I was already
feeling completely at home in Udaipur. Never did I feel I was in an unknown
city. I guess, that's the magic that travel reveals - the magic of
soul-connections - with places and people alike!
Even though I didn't feel like leaving the rooftop
restaurant I yielded to the urges of my mind which was prompting me to explore the city- that a lot more was in
store! And so, I dragged myself down to the reception and enquired about where
all I could go that day and until how long was it safe to roam around in
the streets at night. The person at the reception told me that I must take an Uber
to Sajjangarh to see the Monsoon palace which is also a perfect sunset point
and then should attend the sound and light show at Bagore ki Haweli which was
at a walking distance from Zostel. He said , I should come back by 9:30
pm.
This plan sounded good to me and I thought of following
it.So as per the instructions, I took an Uber to Sajjangarh. It took me 15
minutes to reach Sajjangarh which is also known as Monsoon Palace. It's a
palace of historical importance situated on a hill top overlooking Fateh Sagar
lake.This place gives you a 360 degree view of the city and is known as a
marvellous sunset point.I bought the entrance ticket at the gate where they
give you a taxi coupon to take a taxi up hill to the palace.While I was waiting
for the taxi, I met a foreigner from England, who was just about my age and we
started talking.She happened to be in a 6 weeks solo trip to India.It was
lovely meeting her and we were completely enjoying talking to each other at the
taxi point so much that we didn't realise that she missed her taxi.Her missing
the taxi was indeed a blessing in disguise because had she boarded it, we might
not have met.Finally, both of us were put in the same taxi and that marked the
beginning of our journey together.We explored the Monsoon palace, talked about
life, purpose, relationships while watching the picturesque sunset in the
background and surprisingly it never felt as if we had met just a while ago. Interestingly,
I got to know that she was staying in a hotel which was at a walking distance
from Zostel and so we decided to go back together.On our way back we walked
along the narrow and colourful streets of Udaipur,with balmy breezes kissing
our faces while we were engrossed in some deep conversations about the meaning
of life and magic of travel.We spent some good amount of time in a lovely cafe wherein we decided that
we'll explore the City Palace and go on a boat ride to Jag Mandir together, the
very next morning. Yes, we had really started liking each other to the extent
that we felt like spending our travel time together.After the cafe, she went
back to her hotel and I proceeded to Bagore ki Haweli for the sound and light
show. The show was simply wonderful! I was awestruck to see the performance of
a 71-year-old lady who carried 13 earthen pots one over the other on her head
while performing a traditional Rajasthani folk dance.Her energy and performance
was awe-inspiring! I thought this had marked an end to my day one in Udaipur
which had been remarkable in every sense but far from what could have been my
wildest guess, there was one more beautiful encounter waiting for me at Zostel.
By now, Udaipur had already casted a spell over me and I was totally enjoying
being enchanted by what constituted my NOW in the city of lakes.
As I reached Zostel and was proceeding to the rooftop
restaurant a girl who appeared to be very lively greeted me and introduced
herself as a volunteer at Zostel. She joined me on my way up to the restaurant
and somehow, I got along so well with her that we just went chatting and
chatting until a boy who was sitting on a table behind us joined along our
banter and then the three of us started talking and once again it felt as if
we've known each other since ever.I mean it’s hard to believe how sometimes strangers
make you feel so comfortable that you open up so easily with them but find it
hard to form such connections with your own blood relations or relatives. Life
is full of ironies, isn’t it? This reminds me of a poem that I had penned
sometime back exploring the meaning of true connections and it rings true even
today. Here it goes: -
Strange or Not?!
I
was walking on my path,
a stranger came along,greeted me with a smile,struck a sweet conversation.I felt a sudden jolt of warmth,gushing down my spine and the other moment he
was gone.A stranger feeling this wasn't but a stranger he
was or was he not?
I was sitting with someone very well known.
We sat and chatted but there was a big
disconnect.
We could never strike a good conversation nor
hit the right note.
A stranger feeling this was, but a stranger he
wasn't but was he not?!
Life is full of ironies, we know, yet we find it
strange!
Isn't this strange or not?!
Have
you ever thought of how sometimes we find familiarity in the strangest of encounters
and distance in close quarters?
Life is pretty amazing and it's even more amazing when
strangers become friends.And I think this happens very rarely in real life.I
was lucky to have found three strangers who became very close friends.In fact,
it's unbelievable to form such serendipitous connections -I mean, four
different people from four different places meet at a random place but never
did they feel they were strangers before! - It was a truly magical meeting!
And that’s how I wrapped up my day one with a reading from
Aleph and was astonished to end my day with these words from the book , “ In
magic- and in life- there is only the present moment, the NOW.” And my
NOW at that point of time was simply WOW!
(Note: For
simplification’s sake I’ll use F to refer to my foreigner friend, A to refer to
the girl volunteer&G to refer to the
boy I met at the rooftop restaurant at Zostel)
The next day was all about exploring the gorgeous city of
Udaipur along with my new-found friends. In the morning I set out walking with
F to City Palace first. While walking through the beautifully carved doors of
history and admiring the architectural marvel that the palace was and also
getting bowled over by watching the stunning view of the city from the coloured
glass windows in the Palace, we also discussed about how the people of our
generation are losing touch with their artistic side and also the role that
technology is playing in our lives-its pros and cons and came to a consensus
that even though technology has its own perils but if used wisely it can indeed
make our lives better and who better than our generation can then provide
testimony to the various positive facets of technology.We even shared our
favourite books with each other and realised that even though we belonged to
two different countries but we shared a common thread of dreams, likes and
interests and were driven by the same elements of curiosity, passion and
aspirations because after all we belonged to one world, one species&one
generation.
After a mesmerising walk through history in City Palace, we
proceeded to the boat house to buy tickets for a boat ride to Jag Mandir- a
small Island in Lake Pichola. As we had to wait for around 40 minutes for the boat,
we decided to walk around the place and in turn got an opportunity to know each
other better. I knew that F was a freelance event organizer for musical
festivals and her next upcoming event was a musical festival in the Alps. When
I told her that I find her job profile very interesting and it all sounds way
too exciting to me, she told me, “The
grass is always greener on the other side, my friend. Yes, it’s way better than
a full time (9 to 5) job, as I get to be my own boss but then a job is after
all a job and every job tends to become monotonous after a point of time and
comes with its own set of compromises.” And I couldn’t agree more with her.
Then she asked me about what brought me to academics and I told her how I have
experimented a lot with life and career alike and it’s the set of those good
and bad experiments/experiences that finally brought me to pursuing PhD, which somehow
makes me feel optimistic about my career ahead. She told me it has been the
same with her and that she completely believes that experience is the best
teacher and we must never shy away from experimenting with new experiences and
ideas.She told me that after school, she had got admission to the London School
of Economics- the most coveted institute in the world, where she had an
opportunity to study geography but after attending few classes she left her
studies and joined a primary teaching course in a university I have forgotten
the name of, because she had always dreamt of studying in a campus university
and LSE was just a glass building in the posh localities of London which didn’t
fit her idea of a university. I was stunned to know that here is a woman who
shunned the opportunity of graduating from LSE which has always remained a
far-fetched dream for many scholars across the world! The discussion was
turning interesting.So,after having taught as a primary teacher for few years,
she again realised that wasn’t her true calling and that’s when she started
working as a freelance event manager and now organizes large scale musical
festivals all around the world.I was happy that I was with one of the rarest
few people in the world-who actually dares to follow their heart against the
pressures of the world views and perceptions of right/wrong and truly own up
their decisions/choices.
These enlightening and interesting discussions kept us so
engrossed in the conversation that we didn’t even realise how 40 minutes had
passed and it was time to board the boat.The boat ride to Jag Mandir was a
perfect slice of tranquillity. Totally enjoyed the scenic boat ride to a scenic
island. We took some good pictures on the way and also at Jag Mandir and I was
happy to see how a foreigner, that too from an advanced land was so
appreciative of the beauty of the place that we were a part of in that moment
of time, a place in my own country. And I think sometimes it becomes important
to see yourself or your country through a foreigner’s eyes- it helps improve
your perspective about your own self/country and makes you more appreciative of
its beauty, something that we often tend to take for granted.
On the way back from Jag Mandir, she told me that she needs
my help in readjusting her train tickets for her subsequent travel in India and
narrated to me how she was fooled by a travel agent in Delhi who took undue
advantage of her ignorance about travelling in India, who not only drained a
lot of money from her but also booked her on trains with odd timings. I felt
sad to hear that and more so to know that she was fooled by someone from a
country I belonged to but then reality is mostly hard to digest and this wasn’t
something unusual to hear. She told me she didn’t like Delhi at all- it didn’t
vibe well with her and I told her that even though I belong to this country, I
myself don’t feel safe in Delhi and reassured her that her feelings were quite
valid and reasonable.So, after the boat ride, I brought her along to Zostel and
with A’s& G’s help we could solve her ticket problem and were happy to hear
from her that she has finally experienced her share of kindness and beauty in a
country she didn’t have a good experience to start with. We were glad she was
feeling completely at home with us. And we reassured her that this part of her
journey in India and the one that followed will be smooth & happy.
A, then took the three of us to Amrai Ghat to watch the
sunset and then to Fateh Sagar lake to relish on kulhad coffee(coffee served in earthen pot),
finni- a sweet delicacy served in kulhad and some delectable street food. Four
of us had an amazing evening and it was amusing to see F enjoying the taste of
Indian cuisine.Finni became her new favourite in India. Needless to say, we had
a FUNtastic gastronomical experience and more than that we thoroughly enjoyed
our new found camaraderie. We went walking back to Zostel and I must say
Udaipur is a city that exudes a lot of warmth in the form of constant flow of
balmy breezes and tranquil vibes that envelopes the city. Walking in the
streets of Udaipur was truly therapeutic. Trust me not only walking with
friends but even a solitary walk in that city always felt so good; I never
wanted the walking to end. As we approached Zostel, we hugged and said farewell
to F, who was leaving Udaipur the other day and then she walked away to her
hotel. It was absolutely amazing to meet her. On our short climb up back to
Zostel, I pondered on how life never remains constant, on how everything, every
experience , every meeting for that matter is so transitory and that life goes
on but then everything, every experience and every meeting certainly leaves
impressions on our minds and our hearts; some occupies a place in our hearts ,
while others gets etched in our minds as lessons and guide posts and the most
trivial ones or the ones we hardly pay attention to just vanish from the realms
of our minds or get buried deep down inside away from our conscious grasp.On a
hindsight,this leads me to contemplate on the sources of fleeting vs. lasting
happiness. It is true that experiences like having good food, watching a
sunrise/sunset, reading a book, deep conversations are indeed fleeting
experiences as they don’t last for long but they do leave a lasting impression
on our minds. I think that lasting happiness is not exclusive of fleeting
happiness but is derived from the meaning behind our reflections on experiences
that provide us fleeting happiness. Travelling for sure is one such experience,
that exposes the traveller to explore new avenues and fresh perspectives and
certainly broadens one’s mind.
I wrapped up day two with a simple late-night dinner with G
and A, some soulful conversations on the merits of solo travel, when G told us
that how even after being in a committed relationship for more than 7 years, he
makes it a point to go on a solo travel at least once a year and his girlfriend
is totally supportive of his choice. During these few days that I got to spend
with him, I also noticed that he was never on his phone which is very unlikely
for those who are in a relationship these days. This also led me to think, that
a true relationship is not possessive and we must all strive to achieve the
level of understanding and trust like G had with his girlfriend. It was highly
inspiring to listen to his story. After these wonderful soul to soul talks, I
headed to my room, exchanged few words with fellow travellers in the dorm followed
by some reading from Aleph and was again taken aback to read something that
again rang so true to me in context with the kind of experiences I had that
day.
In the words of Coelho, “This was a sign confirming that
I was where I should be, in the right place, at the right time, even though I
didn’t understand what had brought me here.”
He was just so right. I had set out of home on a solo trip
and then first Mr. Coelho joined in and eventually I met three more very
interesting solo travellers who completely redefined the concept of a solo trip
for me. This one was about meeting strangers who turned out to be great friends
and it felt as if it was a reunion of long lost friends.
I felt as if this book was speaking to me in a perfect way
that was helping me to put my everyday experiences into meaningful
perspectives. Everything about this travel was so surreal! And after quite a
long time I felt that one must never stop believing in fairytales because what
I was experiencing was nothing short of a fairytale experience! This also
reiterates that one must never lose hope. We never know what lies ahead in the
next turn that we are about to take and must be ready to get surprised.
The next day, which was my third day in Udaipur, I decided
to attend a painting workshop. This was something I had heard from my friend
who attended one during her travel and I myself also came across a lot of
miniature painting workshop signboards during the first two days of my roaming
around in the streets of Udaipur. I thought of taking up one just to challenge
myself to explore a side of me that was still lying dormant inside. So, in the
quest of giving birth to the painter in me, I made my way to the workshop. The
workshop was conducted in the verandah of a house of an old aged painter and
his painter son. The old painter was busy painting on a canvas for a foreigner
who also happened to be sitting in the verandah appreciating the painter’s
artwork and talking about the exhibition that he was holding in his home
country on traditional Rajasthani paintings.They greeted me and asked me to
occupy a chair at the table.The painter introduced himself and his son to me
and told me that his son will mentor me during the workshop. They asked me how
much time I was willing to devote for the workshop.Being completely ignorant
about the intricacies of painting, I said 2 hours and based on that they gave
me an option of either drawing an elephant, camel or horse. They also told me
the symbolic meaning behind the three. An elephant they said is a symbol of
luck, a horse is a symbol of power and a camel is a symbol of love. Without any
thought, I said-I want to draw a camel because love and Udaipur had become
synonymous for me and also because love is the centre theme of my life and I
believe that holds true for most of us. So, my mentor showed me a sample
picture of an euphoric camel who had set his foot on a river and asked me to attempt
that. I had already fallen in love with the picture- It was such a happy
picture, who wouldn’t like to paint it! I was given a quarter size chart paper
and the instructor first asked me to draw the outline of a camel with a
pencil.He showed me how to start on a rough paper. I must say, I struggled a
lot to arrive at a reasonably good outline of the camel. There was a point when
I felt so frustrated because I was not able to draw even the eyes perfectly,
something that appeared to be so simple but while drawing I realised that the
challenge was to make the eyes come alive on the paper. That is when I
realised, every art needs to be mastered, drawing being no exception for that
matter.I was lucky to have a very patient and encouraging mentor. He was
encouraging me with words like, “it takes a month to master the art of drawing
a camel and you having neither experience nor expertise in art have done a
great job in your first attempt. Just concentrate well and draw freely. Let
your pencil move freely, don’t hold it tightly or in a restrictive manner.” His
words of encouragement helped me complete the drawing at last but it took me
2.5 hours to just draw the camel.Another
1 hour was the painting part, wherein in I played with a lot of colours,
enjoyed mixing colours and playing with different kinds of brushes and learning
few interesting strokes, like the shadowing effect. I must say that I enjoyed
the painting part more than drawing , may be because playing with colours is a
therapeutic experience and drawing is more like climbing a mountain, a strenuous
exercise. Only when you reach the top of a mountain you are appreciative of
your efforts to reach there.It also emphasises on the importance of not giving
up or taking one step after the other or one stroke after the other till you
reach the mountain top or till you complete the drawing and the drawing starts
making sense. I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed the painting process. It was
therapeutic, meditative and gave me a feeling of inner expansion. In a strange
way, I felt liberated on giving birth to the painter in me. I am sure, I will
continue painting till the rest of my life and will look for opportunities to
master it. The four hours of struggle was worth it and the happiness of
carrying your painting home was unmatched. I also wondered on the point why we
don’t teach traditional painting in schools when India has a lot of traditional
heritage to boast about. It is ironical to see that foreigners are taking more
interest in our artwork and we the inhabitants of this country are totally
ignorant about something that has a potential to add a lot of meaning to our
lives.Nevertheless, I am happy atleast Indian travellers are benefitting from these
kinds of workshops.
Due to my gross underestimation of the time required for
painting, I missed my lunch.I headed back to Zostel and showed my painting
to A who was very appreciative of my efforts; I then had a soul-satiating
oreo shake to compensate for my missed lunch. There A told me that as it was a
Monday, the owner of Zostel paid a customary visit to Eklingi temple every
Monday evening and whether I was interested in joining them for a drive to the
temple. I told her I am interested in going for some shopping as I was leaving
the other day and wanted to buy some souvenirs for family and friends but
wouldn’t mind joining them in the evening if I am done with my shopping by
then.She said we have around 1.5 hours with us and that she’ll accompany me for
shopping and then we’ll visit the temple. That sounded perfect to me and that’s
exactly what we followed and I must say I could shop to my heart’s content
before the temple visit. Saurav , the owner of Zostel, Udaipur took us in his
car to Eklingi temple which is considered a pilgrimage in Udaipur and which was
around 30-40 kms from Zostel.I couldn’t have imagined visiting this place on my
own.We were also joined by another volunteer who had arrived at Zostel that day, one
more Zosteller like me and the owner’s friend.On the way, I got to know that
the other volunteer who had just joined had quit his job at Microsoft to devote
a year to travelling and soul-searching .I told him that he is indeed a brave
soul and that we need more people like him who are not afraid of following
their hearts.A, herself was an inspiration. She had just completed Masters
from NID and was volunteering in Zostel for a month just to make sure solo
travellers at Zostel have a wonderful time and also to reconnect with her
passion and love for travelling.
Visit to Eklingi was a total blessing.It was a temple
devoted to Lord Shiva and it is known that the king of Udaipur considers Lord
Eklingi as the king and not himself.He has a habit of seeking his
blessings before embarking on every important meeting/task.The temple has a long history.It
is believed that the Shivling in the temple originated as a result of a cow’s
offering of her milk at the place somewhere around 5th century
BC.Many consider this place as a very auspicious place and I must say that the
peace that I felt at the temple was beyond description.I felt completely
blessed to have got an opportunity to visit the temple and owe my thanks to A
and the owner of Zostel who took me along with them. I was happy my Udaipur
trip ended on a perfect note with a thanksgiving visit to the temple and also
ended on a prayerful note.
That day when I reached Zostel, I met a German lady may be
5 years older than me or even more who was a new member in my dorm and was only
an overnight guest at Zostel.She had a very calm aura and appeared to be very
well composed and extremely kind. She told A, me and one more fellow traveller
at the dorm that she is on her way to exploring other parts of Rajasthan and
even south of India after attending a yoga retreat in Rishikesh. She asked us
many questions on why there is so much of filth in India, on why casteism is so dominant
here and also why India presents a contrasting picture in terms of the
diversity in culture, population clusters and so on. We tried to answer her questions in an unbiased way and tried our best to help her understand the reasons for lack of civic sense in
people, for the dirty casteism thinking which is so rampant in India. After
hearing our points she expressed a sense of appreciation towards our forward
thinking mindsets.We
were happy that she was also convinced with the reasons we presented for the
questions that she had posed and she felt sorry, helpless and disturbed for the
unprogressive side of India in the same way as we do.
This was my last night in Udaipur and I skipped reading the
Aleph as I was already feeling completely overwhelmed from the kind of experiences I had
had during my stay in the city of lakes. My trip to Udaipur felt like a big warm hug from
life.It felt as if these 3 days had been more meaningful than the routine life
back home.My heart was heavy with gratitude, gratitude and more gratitude for
getting to experience a time as fabulous as this and I was
reminded of a quote from ‘Travels with Charley : In search of America’ by John
Steinbeck which I had read a long time back.In this book Steinbeck mentions, “After
years of struggle, we realize, we don’t take a trip; a trip takes us.”
I was grateful that Udaipur called me and showered me with lots of love,
wisdom, friendships and true happiness which was way beyond my imagination.
The next day I just went to a sweet shop, bought some
sweets for my family and spent good quality time with A and of course Badshah
and just gleaned through the pages of Aleph and I came across these lines which
Mr. Coelho has used in the starting pages of the book.He has borrowed these
lines from Oscar Wilde’s ‘True knowledge’ and here it goes –
“Thou knowest all- I cannot see,
I trust I shall not live in vain,
I know that we shall meet again,
In some divine eternity.”
This was
just so apt that I had no other words to describe my feelings as I was preparing
to bid farewell to a city I had fallen in love with.
This trip certainly makes it to the list of one of the best
experiences of my life.
