On the road  

Posted by Nitu in

When I was about seven, the 37th national highway used to fascinate me a lot. It ran along the southern border of our village. It always had something on its stock. All the big trucks, bearded pilgrims, cattle-- different travelers at different times, different seasons. I wondered where the road started, where it ended, where those pilgrims used to come from, where they were heading to etc etc. My mother would explain that one road needs not run forever, that there are more than one road and they are almost always connected, one leading to another. So what matters is once you set out your journey on a road, you can always travel the whole world. I would exclaim, the whole world! She would smile and say, "yes, the whole world."

The bearded pilgrims looked very wise. Legends were abound about them. They can tame ghosts, can heal leprosy, can recite sloks from the Veda even in their dreams.. so on. Later I got the answer of their destination. They always headed to the Parshuram Kund, the holy lake in Arunachal Pradesh. The pilgrims would camp underneath a big banyan tree for a night or two, would cook their meager meals in the small pots. They were barely clothed, always fighting with the weather. They looked miserable even with our rural level of comfort standards. Soon a new question surfaced on my little mind. Why they do what they do? Why they just don't stay at home comfortably like us? My mother would answer that they travel to acquire holiness, to acquire knowledge. I would confront her, "well to have knowledge, they can go to school!!" She would tell then, "there are different ways to learn a lesson, to acquire wisdom. Traveling is one of them." I would imagine, one day I would travel with them. I would go back the road and join them at the exact place where they started from. Later I figured out , "well, going back is illogical. I can start from here, right away joining them."

After 20 years of those days, the son faced the same questions about the myriad criss-crossings of roads of life. I wished I could go back and start picking up the right threads and knots. But going back is not only illogical, but impossible now. Sometimes I wish we could be like gold or silver. Got a scar? Fading into dark? Just fall back into a melting pot and get molded into a new shape, new shine. Alas, we don't have a melting pot. However, what we have is a point to start from, a word to start with our story. The world is much bigger than our own backyard, the road goes beyond our own ghetto. There is enough oxygen to breathe out without suffocating inside a cocoon. As long as someone has a wing, there will be air to fly, a shade to rest.

I am starting from here. This is my story and this is just the beginning.
You say, again?
All I say is, one road leads to another road. When one road ends, another road begins. There is only one world. All we need is to find the roads and to embark the journey.
Stay with me, travel with me, together we shall discover and enrich the world.... our world.

This entry was posted on Friday, April 25, 2008 at Friday, April 25, 2008 and is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the comments feed .

11 comments

We shall we shall

:)

April 26, 2008 at 10:04 AM

@Standbymind,

Thank you.

April 27, 2008 at 12:54 AM

wonderful post, and so well written. i am not sure what the context is, but i think i know what u mean.

ever wondered why we dont have an undo button in life?

April 28, 2008 at 9:57 AM

Excellent post and you already have a fan in me. Looking forward to reading more and I will be adding you to my link list on my site when I get home.

April 29, 2008 at 8:44 AM

Your post makes me think writing is not something new to you and is within. Brilliant post and I see ur first one in blog world too.

Journey stops only when you feel you are done with.. But it continues as long as you wanna explore.

April 29, 2008 at 10:15 AM

very true.everything is connected n u gota know which road to take. n at times,u may even gt stuck in ya decision.pretty meaningful..
thnx for dropping in mine
cheerz!

April 29, 2008 at 12:22 PM

That was really beautiful!Life is a circle and once in a while,we tend to come stand at a point we had crossed somewhere back in time.

Have you blogged before?

Happy Blogging :)

April 29, 2008 at 2:10 PM

@Vinni,
Thank you. Ever wondered? You bet, I do. However, every time I conclude the same..we human beings are such a complaining creature, most of the life time, we would have been undoing only.When we would have started living in that case?

@Beach Bum,
Your kind words mean so much to me! Thank you. You have got a fan in me too.

@Priya,
You got it right, I used to write for myself and few other persons earlier on blog.
Yes, if you are consuming oxygen, there is an extra mile yet not covered.

@Simran,
Yes, true. However, we do get lost sometimes despite of a definite address in our hands. The important factor is - "don't hang up your boot yet."

@Sameera,
Yes, I did blogging, mostly monologues occasionally making way to the web.
Thanks.. I am luving it :)

April 29, 2008 at 8:13 PM

heyaa

yup one road leads to another
but the world is the same
:)

nice wrods

April 29, 2008 at 10:40 PM

Great post. Thanks for stopping by my blog. Have a great week.

April 30, 2008 at 12:02 PM

@Aditit,

thank u :)

@Misty

Thanks for ur visit and kind wish.

April 30, 2008 at 8:58 PM

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