Of Travel...

Its almost a year since a bunch of guys packed their bags and went to the corners of the country in search of basically nothing. The places of visit might lead you to believe that we went in search of Salvation or redemption or dope or Charas (Rishikesh, Hridwar and Dehradun) but no, it was just a bunch of guys possessed by a fiery ambition to travel, to see places, meet more people, get to know their country better and beyond all...witness which is arguably the largest gathering for a festival in the world, The Maha Kumbh Mela.

This post is not a description of the trip nor a travelogue, it is just a dedication to my fellow travelers and the places which housed us. Ever since that 10 days on the roads and rails, I can say...I am not the same anymore.

I loved the trip majorly for one reason. I was not told to do anything...I was not controlled in anyway, I was free...I could hitchhike from one place to another, eat at the dhaba, wear a lungi and drink at some local bar, walk to wherever I wanted to, take a dip in the inviting stream by the mountain side...I was myself. My dear fellow friends also were just the same.

I wanted to get piss drunk, my friends didn't stop me, they just gave me company.
I wanted to wear a shorts and walk around Rishikesh, they didn't stop me, they just made sure they looked as bad (good to us) themselves.
I wanted to sleep on the railway benches, they didn't stop me, they just opened the bag and took out the bedsheets.

There a zillion things which they can also point out like this with which each of us were absolutely happy and fine with. That Uncertainty is what kept the trip alive.

Now, let me tell you...traveling is a cruel thing. It draws you towards it with its vicious claws and makes you a helpless slave of her seduction. It opens your perspectives like a fountain. You're transported back into your youth, questioning each and everything which you come across. I no longer live life as a reaction, I live life like a force...

And that is the force which draws me into it again...the wanderlust has entered my soul.