Why I love travelling - "To explore the world"

I have been travelling since I was three years old and now it is one of my favourite things.

One main reason why I travel is to explore the world.

More than cities I go to jungles and historical places. I love jungles as I get to see a lot of animals and birds. Jungles are a good place to take pictures, so I started taking pictures. I tried my hands with the DSLR camera when I was pretty young. I would click anything that I would see in front of me. That is how I realized that I could become a good photographer.

Travelling helped figure the things I was good at. Going to historical places for me is a must because these places take me back in time.  I find forts and palaces very interesting and I love the architecture of the Mughals, the most. The geometrical designs on the windows are one of my favorites. (Nature and Geometrical designed inspired sketch  by me)

During one such travels, when I went to the Gwalior Fort to watch the Light & Sound show, there were hardly any people there and we were sitting on the open in a chill winter night. I found the show interesting and the story of the fort and the dynasty was very tragic. When we were watching the show a strong wind blew and we felt the chills. After sometime we realized that clouds were passing through us and that meant we were in the clouds! That was a very cold and nice   experience.  When travelling you have many good and bad experiences that you will never forget.  At the end of that day you will have fun and you will learn a lot.
 
Also, while travelling I collect a lot of things that belong to the place - like souvenirs, handicrafts or even small things like pebbles, sea-shells etc. I create designs from these articles and one of them is shown here(sea Shells).

I love trying out new types of food because I am a foodie. Eating different types of cuisine belonging to the place is a very good enriching. The food of the place can tell you a lot about the culture of the place. When I travelled to Gujarat along with my classmates, I had paneer(cottage cheese) every day and lots of vegetarian food, which may indicate that Gujarat is primarily a vegetarian state.

So, while travelling please try out new things like cuisines, local handicrafts and finally don't harm nature.

- Contributed by Shreya Mishra

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Why I love travelling - "To find physical and mental limits"

The unknown places help me discover myself, and the known ones help me feel at peace. It allows me to be myself, go funky, try out local dresses, and most importantly helps find my passion!

My mom once said: “Dude! We’re going on a jungle trip!!! It’ll be amazing!!! Get your camera!”

I had a fear of dogs then and I was going to see tigers! I was scared! Being too young, I thought that I would be eaten by the carnivores in the safari… How foolish?!

That one trip to the jungle helped me find a photographer in myself!

I travel to see how it changes me. I used to hate touching the vim bottle when I was young! Thanks to the Himalayan Excursion, I now wash my own mug!

I travel to find my physical and mental limits. Sleeping at 11:30 pm and waking up at 4:30 am; and trekking are very stressful! But that cannot be your limit. I push my limits to the farthest possible point at times I travel!

I have become so open minded and accepting to the people around. When I see a local dressed up according to their culture, I just let them be. But some of my friends, who do not often travel, see them, the burst out in laughter and make that person conscious.

I am curious to know what it is living in places other than where I stay, what they eat, how they behave, what they talk, do they also have emotions like me? Do they also sing and dance? What do they do when they are happy? And of course the wonderful life of plants and animals...

The world is so beautiful...I have just started...And have many miles to go…Do you want to join me?

#Nikhil Kumar

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Lost in Transit

Crowds, traffic, pollution and noise are synonymous with travel in India. Tourists are usually overwhelmed when they encounter these. So, it was, even to us city dwellers, a pleasant surprise when we came across these signposts and traveled through these villages. Can there really be a place that has only 22 or, for that matter, 80 people?
 
Kurith and Shichling are tucked away in the Himachal mountains. Both these places are very far from any airport, train station, bus stand or a cross road - you really cannot ask for directions as there are no people on the road to these remote places. On our journey, we did not encounter a single person for more than 70 kilometers. It was broad daylight but it was eerie to be on a nice, flat, newly laid metal road and not find people for such a long distance in India.

True to the sign post, 22 people live here. There is a school, a post office, a BSNL outpost and a few houses. 6 months of the year, they are blocked and cut away from the rest of the country due to extreme weather and the blocking of roads. People are hardworking, donkeys are a great asset (often defining the worthiness of a groom) and Potato (Pahadi Aalu) is grown here.

The most prized possessions that are hoarded here are matchboxes and portions of salt. Both are key assets to prepare for the harsh winter when the region is cut off. There is not really any trade here so the existence of the nice flat road surprised us. People were very friendly but could not speak our language. In broken Hindi, we figured that many foreigners often wander into these mountains and camp here. The numbers have been slowly increasing in the past years. The place is not very far from the border and there has been increasing army movement in the area (that explains the road) and the importance of a telephone booth.

The people of Shichling are a little larger population (comparatively :-)). Surprisingly, the women are engaged to clear the roads of small stones that keep rolling down the mountains during landslides. For centuries and for generations, these women have picked stones from the main pathway and set them aside along the road making a nice-looking wall formation. When it snows, these become picturesque and these spots are often used for shooting movies. During summer, the landscape is barren. The weather conditions are unforgiving and the difference of temperature between the shade and the sun can be up to 30 degrees. If you were standing in the sun at 20 degrees centigrade, you could feel the harsh sun burning your eyes, if you went to the shade, the minus ten degrees will urge you to move to the sun. Its an interesting disparity often confusing us, ignorant tourists, on how to dress for the occasion.

The mountains are serene, the air is crisp and still. The sight in the morning is overwhelming.
During winter, the landscape is covered in a sheet of white. The people in these mountains deserve praise to live here, to greatly enjoy the community and survive through the unforgiving weather, often huddling for warmth during the extreme winter and coming together to clear roads for wanderers during summer. Our experience was enigmatic, we were blessed to be here and it was with a mixed sigh of sadness and relief that we left Kurith.


#latebloomer for Enigmatic India.

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