All of us travel at least once in a lifetime for our own different reasons. Some of us love to lay on bright, sunny beaches, enjoy the sun bath and swimming in sea water, some of us love to climb beautiful mountains covered with snow and love to enjoy the thrill of mountaineering, some of us love to travel for pilgrimage to pay the devotion to god. We book the tickets of plane, train or bus or we drive by ourselves to our destination, we stay at some hotel, we visit the places we like, we enjoy the local food, we click the photographs and we come back to our home after spending wonderful vacation. Are we missing something? No? Definitely we are missing something or rather someone. We are missing or ignoring the people of the land, we visit. Most of the times, we are giving them least preference. After all why do we travel to some distant land? The answer to this question is very simple, we travel to see, to experience and to feel a lot more things which are much different from our native land. You can find this difference in customs, food, clothing, houses and nature, in short almost everywhere. Who develops all these different things which we call uniquely as culture? who cares for them? who flourishes it? Its the people who develops,cares and flourishes the culture. Mixing with the people is a very quick and effective way to grasp and understand the culture of the land we visit. When you visit any new place it is not just the nature, monuments, museums and shopping malls. People of the soil are equally important or rather I would say they are most important to feel and enjoy the new land.
I have been to most of the Southern India, few parts of Northern and eastern India, countries like Japan, UK, France, Germany, Belgium and Netherlands. During all these journeys I had met variety of people, had an interaction with them and I gradually started realizing the fun involved in this. It is bit natural that you start comparing your home town, state or country with the one you are visiting. You start thinking about the differences first and off course you get those very easily. But then you come to know few similarities too. Once you get addicted to this fun, believe me you will never feel bored during your journey.
In 2006 I had been to Tokyo, Japan for six months, it was the first time I was away from my home for such a long time. My parents, my sister and my friend (who became my girlfriend and later wife) were giving me non stop instructions on the day of departure. There was one more person who was silent all the time and when I was about to enter the car to airport, he touched my cheeks and told me to take care. That person was my eighty eight years old grandfather. When I reached Tokyo, I adjusted myself to city's tremendous fast life, different food habits and off course the loneliness. On one Saturday I was waiting for a bus on bus stop, nobody was present there except an old couple. In order to make sure about the bus route and time, I asked the old man and he replied me that I am on right bus stop and the bus will come in half an hour. Slowly both of them started talking with me once they came to know that I can understand Japanese. They asked me about my home,country and about my family. They also asked me don't you feel lonely? Don't you feel afraid? Then they started talking about their country and their society. They explained me how the things kept changing rapidly in Japan from time to time and how they have witnessed the transition in their country, society and culture. They also told me how the old time was good and presently how the things are bad. I was wondered, it was the same way my grandfather used to talk about the old time and present in my country to me. Then that sweet old couple started talking about their son, daughter in law and grandson who were abroad for few years. They told me how they are worried about them and how much they love their grandson. But they also told me their grandson doesn't like it when they start worrying about him, hence they can not express these feelings on the phone. I realized why my grandfather was mute when I was about to leave my home. He must have thought I would dislike it. But he must be discussing it with somebody else. Finally when my bus came that old Japanese granny gave me a chocolate and told me to take care. I was in tears, I was touched. Later on that day I called my grandfather and started crying. I told him how much I care and love him and also assured him that I will take very good care of mine. Today I am happy that I could express my feelings at that time, just because of that old couple, otherwise I wouldn't have done it in time, because after three years my grandfather passed away. Today, I don't know where that old couple is, I even don't know their name but when I try to recall that meeting with them, memories of my grandfather comes in my mind and tears in my eyes.
Some time some customs of a place you are visiting gives you pleasant surprise and it delights you very much.
When I was in UK few months back to attend a training, on the very first day when I came out of my guesthouse on the street and was heading towards my workplace, one young man who was coming from opposite side greeted me by saying "Good Morning" with smiling face, I too replied him by saying "Good Morning". I was trying to recall whether I know this person but that was not possible because it was my first day in Leamington Spa. After moving further two girls who were passing by my side greeted me too. Later in the evening when I reached my guesthouse I asked the land lady about the experience I had in the morning. She smiled and replied back, "this is the custom of the country and people usually greets the person they meet, even though they don't know him. I really liked that custom. In our life we meet millions of people, it is not necessary that we know each and every person and may not meet that person at all in the future but at least we can greet them with smiling face. I am trying to follow this beautiful custom in my country too.
You know we find numerous trends, customs and people with different moods and behaviors at different places. Sometimes before going to some place we are full of prejudiced thoughts in our mind about the place and people but when you actually visit the place you get altogether different experience. I had similar experience, my father and me were in the Agra (city of Taj Mahal) in the year 1997. We were in Agra to catch the train to my home town Pune and we had very narrow time line hence we had to drop the idea to visit the Taj Mahal. We were in hurry and knew nothing about the city's bus routes so we decided to hire an auto. It was a general practice to settle the fare amount before sitting in the auto in Agra. Auto driver told us the fare amount to drop us at station to which we did not agree and we moved forward. We were searching for a bus stand but we could not find and we were running out of time. All of sudden we realized that auto driver was coming after us, we got irritated and warned him not to follow us. But he told us to relax; he guided us to the bus stand and stayed with us till the right bus came on the stand. We were surprised and offered him few rupees but he did not take that amount and wished us "Happy Journey". In that short visit in the city of Agra I was impressed by the helping nature of that unnamed auto driver.
Sometimes you enter into a entirely new world you have ever experienced. My wife and me were on the tour of Indian state of Sikkim at the foot of Himalayas three years back. What we found there was long ranges of Himalayas covered with snow and were able to see the beautiful peak of Kanchenjunga.
Sikkim is the state of monasteries, you will find a plenty of Buddhist monasteries all over the state. We were near Gangtok and got opportunity to visit one monastery. I don't remember the name of the monastery now but it was pretty big in size. When we reached the monastery all the Buddhist monks were standing in a row, in their red and yellow costumes to welcome some high priest. The monks were steady, looking straight and without any emotions. Monks were from all age groups. There were small children of age five and also I found monks of age eighty. After few minutes few cars appeared and one young monk got down from the car, everybody welcomed him and gather around him. I was expecting some elderly person as a chief priest but he was hardly of twenty five. Shortly the chief priest and other elderly monks went inside the main prayer hall of the Monastery. We too went inside to see the monastery and when we came out what we saw was all the child monks were playing football and were enjoying just like any other normal kids of that age. They were out of their monk hood and were back in their child hood.
People are soul of the soil, you can not avoid or neglect them when you are visiting that place, understand the people first, you will understand the land very easily.
I have been to most of the Southern India, few parts of Northern and eastern India, countries like Japan, UK, France, Germany, Belgium and Netherlands. During all these journeys I had met variety of people, had an interaction with them and I gradually started realizing the fun involved in this. It is bit natural that you start comparing your home town, state or country with the one you are visiting. You start thinking about the differences first and off course you get those very easily. But then you come to know few similarities too. Once you get addicted to this fun, believe me you will never feel bored during your journey.
In 2006 I had been to Tokyo, Japan for six months, it was the first time I was away from my home for such a long time. My parents, my sister and my friend (who became my girlfriend and later wife) were giving me non stop instructions on the day of departure. There was one more person who was silent all the time and when I was about to enter the car to airport, he touched my cheeks and told me to take care. That person was my eighty eight years old grandfather. When I reached Tokyo, I adjusted myself to city's tremendous fast life, different food habits and off course the loneliness. On one Saturday I was waiting for a bus on bus stop, nobody was present there except an old couple. In order to make sure about the bus route and time, I asked the old man and he replied me that I am on right bus stop and the bus will come in half an hour. Slowly both of them started talking with me once they came to know that I can understand Japanese. They asked me about my home,country and about my family. They also asked me don't you feel lonely? Don't you feel afraid? Then they started talking about their country and their society. They explained me how the things kept changing rapidly in Japan from time to time and how they have witnessed the transition in their country, society and culture. They also told me how the old time was good and presently how the things are bad. I was wondered, it was the same way my grandfather used to talk about the old time and present in my country to me. Then that sweet old couple started talking about their son, daughter in law and grandson who were abroad for few years. They told me how they are worried about them and how much they love their grandson. But they also told me their grandson doesn't like it when they start worrying about him, hence they can not express these feelings on the phone. I realized why my grandfather was mute when I was about to leave my home. He must have thought I would dislike it. But he must be discussing it with somebody else. Finally when my bus came that old Japanese granny gave me a chocolate and told me to take care. I was in tears, I was touched. Later on that day I called my grandfather and started crying. I told him how much I care and love him and also assured him that I will take very good care of mine. Today I am happy that I could express my feelings at that time, just because of that old couple, otherwise I wouldn't have done it in time, because after three years my grandfather passed away. Today, I don't know where that old couple is, I even don't know their name but when I try to recall that meeting with them, memories of my grandfather comes in my mind and tears in my eyes.
Some time some customs of a place you are visiting gives you pleasant surprise and it delights you very much.
You know we find numerous trends, customs and people with different moods and behaviors at different places. Sometimes before going to some place we are full of prejudiced thoughts in our mind about the place and people but when you actually visit the place you get altogether different experience. I had similar experience, my father and me were in the Agra (city of Taj Mahal) in the year 1997. We were in Agra to catch the train to my home town Pune and we had very narrow time line hence we had to drop the idea to visit the Taj Mahal. We were in hurry and knew nothing about the city's bus routes so we decided to hire an auto. It was a general practice to settle the fare amount before sitting in the auto in Agra. Auto driver told us the fare amount to drop us at station to which we did not agree and we moved forward. We were searching for a bus stand but we could not find and we were running out of time. All of sudden we realized that auto driver was coming after us, we got irritated and warned him not to follow us. But he told us to relax; he guided us to the bus stand and stayed with us till the right bus came on the stand. We were surprised and offered him few rupees but he did not take that amount and wished us "Happy Journey". In that short visit in the city of Agra I was impressed by the helping nature of that unnamed auto driver.
Sometimes you enter into a entirely new world you have ever experienced. My wife and me were on the tour of Indian state of Sikkim at the foot of Himalayas three years back. What we found there was long ranges of Himalayas covered with snow and were able to see the beautiful peak of Kanchenjunga.
Sikkim is the state of monasteries, you will find a plenty of Buddhist monasteries all over the state. We were near Gangtok and got opportunity to visit one monastery. I don't remember the name of the monastery now but it was pretty big in size. When we reached the monastery all the Buddhist monks were standing in a row, in their red and yellow costumes to welcome some high priest. The monks were steady, looking straight and without any emotions. Monks were from all age groups. There were small children of age five and also I found monks of age eighty. After few minutes few cars appeared and one young monk got down from the car, everybody welcomed him and gather around him. I was expecting some elderly person as a chief priest but he was hardly of twenty five. Shortly the chief priest and other elderly monks went inside the main prayer hall of the Monastery. We too went inside to see the monastery and when we came out what we saw was all the child monks were playing football and were enjoying just like any other normal kids of that age. They were out of their monk hood and were back in their child hood.
People are soul of the soil, you can not avoid or neglect them when you are visiting that place, understand the people first, you will understand the land very easily.
Awesome post! You certainly have a flair for people. Thanks for introducing me to your this hidden complementary personality. There's more around about people and I propose you to post many such posts about the same and share your vast experiences. Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much Bhushan
ReplyDelete