Say Travels and it brings to mind the images of misty mountains valleys rivers and endless roads , green and rolling fields on one hand and tall cloud, kissing towers and technology driven cities ; All aspects like the seasons and the cultures all have a romantic tinge in dreams and reveries.
The first travel writer was an ancient Greek geographer of the second-century who wrote the book Hellados Periegesis, or descriptions of Greece.
Megasthenes, Ambassador of Seleucus, Chinese traveller Fa Hien, Al-Masudi, Fa-Hien, Hiuen-Tsang, Marco Polo and Abdul Razak, etc came to India and wrote about our ancient riches. It made the Europeans find a way to this magnificent land and in the process discovered the Americas, introduced cruel colonial rulers and destroyed old cultures. It also started the Industrial Revolution and set the stage for Man’s own disaster of killing nature spreading diseases , and the fast death of the planet.
Indians must have travelled a long time ago other wise Hindu culture would not have reached as far as Bali.
But the country also had customs like “Kala Pani” where it was taboo to cross the oceans.
Travelling has many facets like a diamond. Some travel for a living, some for a vacation, some for adventure , some for spirituality . Some in search of themselves because they are restless and feel unanchored. Like kites they feel free but don’t know whose hands pull their strings or don’t care. Some travel for they are born like that and are vagabonds for life.
Life is travel. Travel is movement. Movement is dance and dance of life means you are living . Migration is also travelling for humans hope for a better living and from the ancient times ,when the first ancestors walked the earth, in search of food and water, waves on wave of our fore fathers spread from Africa across continents and populated the world.
Do you also know there are arm chair travellers?
Without stepping out of the door, you can be a traveller reading and writing about countries because of other travellers and their experience. Now Internet and u tube, Instagram and face book has made it more easy to do virtual travel and have the vicarious pleasure of enjoying other people’s experiences. So what sort of a traveller are you?
There are people who fear to travel because they have phobias and fears .
In a self prison they live . There are superstitions and rituals too in travelling which are quaint and funny in different cultures.
There are people who want creature comforts wherever they go and spoil their joy cribbing, critically looking at every aspect of their experience turning out to be bad travellers and kill joys. Some travel to eat authentic food in search of culinary delights others to soak in the the language and the stories. For centuries people have travelled and kept journals and records and written truthfully and in fantasy about people and creatures of imagination in history. The kernel of the truth is civilisation happened and grew ; wars were fought because of ancient travel writings which lead to the exchange of ideas and practices, whispers and gossips about wealth and cultures spread like a wind or storm gripping the human imagination.
Some travellers like to be surprised and rough it out as they travel for its adventure and spontaneity. With increase in transportation and accessibility travelling is like breathing . How would you like to be a traveller? Have you thought about it and tried it? What sort of a traveller are you?
Have you ever wondered it is better to travel inside your head and find the gem called you?