Some longings unsated - by Pratyush Parashar Das

 

Truth be told, it sometimes feels quite surreal to acknowledge that I haven’t really set foot outside the boundaries of my home, or apartment complex to be specific since the nth of March 2020.

I mean, because I mostly do whatever it is that I do in the course of my daily life, I really don’t think about it much, but when I do, it gives me quite an eerie feeling to be honest, although yes one could argue I do not have valid grounds for the same, given that I’m not professionally engaged yet, which absolves me of the need to commute to an office or a professional workspace, thereby leaving me no actual reason or cause to actually step out onto the road; as a matter of fact, when I do wish to step out of my flat, I usually go for walks within the confines of my complex itself, with my own self for company, as I am a person to whom solitude is quite genial.

That is not to say I do not entirely miss stepping out, although my definition of stepping out when life was normal, (which happens a phrase I’ve done to death in the course of these 1.5 years, mentally speaking) is something I’ve spoken about below, as one can see.

Now, usually, it meant catching a bus to my college, and back again, almost everyday till Thursday or Friday depending on my roster for that particular semester, or in the very rare instances of the same, catching a bus (as one can or may have deduced by now, I do prefer public transport quite a bit, because of the economical costs and the experience that comes along with it, which I have come to love in the past couple of years, something which only those who share my love can understand) to the Inox near me for a rare film (as I generally don’t prefer commercial pot-boilers), or catching an auto-rickshaw/metro (subway) on my way to catch up and hang out with one of my old friends, although the latter experiences occurred about 2-3 (or 4, though I confess this is a hypothetical figure) times a year, (yes, I haven’t mistyped what all of you’ve just read).

The reason was that I mostly spent the remaining year at home, doing my concepts (studies in the usual sense), reading (a hobby which has been my constant companion for as long as I remember and which nothing or no one can replace), enjoying my solitude, interacting with the people close to me (apart from my family, that is) via phone calls, or text messages (that latter was and is more common), and watching the rare film or tv serial on my laptop and so on and so forth.

I do confess that most of my time was spent doing my concepts, reading, and enjoying my solitude too, I dare say, but that is how it was and is, which was and is why I didn’t really think much about or engage in other things, or with other people, save the ones close to me (apart from my family, that is).

And now, as I sit on my desk expressing my thoughts, I come to the original point of my musings, that is to say, namely, my longing for travel, which has been growing readily stronger for the past few months, making me visualize our earlier family trips to say, Puri, [which will always be my preferred choice for a seaside getaway, never mind the presence of other beaches in our country and abroad (of which I’ve been to the beaches of Goa, Chennai, etc)], or the jungles of Tadoba Andheri National Park in Maharashtra and Pench National Park in Madhya Pradesh, the mountains of Shillong, Meghalaya, the charming hill-side places like Darjeeling, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, etc and so on and so forth.

It would not be amiss of me to say that of all the spots, it is the memory of Puri which so very teasingly calls out to me, luring with its beaches, the roar of the ocean, and the booming and crashing of the sea-waves as they break upon the shore, the sounds of the people bustling and milling about, the sacred, ethereal, and peaceful ambiance of the Jagannath Temple, the roads smelling of flowers, incense, sandstone, and cow dung, the general nature of the place, ahh, all of these sights, sounds, and smells coalesce into a beautiful memory for me, rendering the landscape of Puri firmly etched in my mind, no matter where I go or what I do, for such is the beauty of Puri.

However, that does not imply that I am indisposed towards other places for the jungles, the mountains, all call out to me equally as well; wherein the mountains call out to me with their purity of air, the ever-pervading silence that wreathes the trees and the peaks of the ranges themselves in a shawl, lending a sense of timelessness and majesty, as the mountains stand unbowed, their crowns encircled by rain-clouds, with the rays of the sun shining on them, the suggestion of freedom nestled in the verdant valleys ensconced with the laps of the mountains, where the chattering and babbling stream speaks to us as the mouth-piece of Mother Nature herself, teaching us the eternal lesson of looking forward and moving on and so on and forth.

The jungles or forests beckon to me, with their paradise-like silence (as my reader may have concluded by now, I do have a pre-occupation and love for complete solitude), their leafy bows which cool our heads as we wait in the safari jeeps, waiting for the predator of the jungle, usually a tiger, or other beautiful animals, such as rhinos, elephants, the gaur bull, and so on and forth to make their entrance, as we hold our breath in eager anticipation, something which is followed by the sheer beauty of a landscape not entirely hewn or touched by human hands, along with its accompanying sights, smells and sounds such as the smells of the various herbs, flowers, and trees as they gently sway in the wind and rub against each other, the smell of the earth and the animals themselves, blending seamlessly with that of the evening dew on the leaves, the cool winds that fan our and the animals’ and birds’ faces, the sounds of the owls hooting softly, of the barking softly, the peacock warning of a tiger’s approach and so on and so forth, which as with the beaches and mountains, blend seamlessly to create a memory whose essence remains evergreen within the confines of my heart.

 It is all these various places and their accompanying experiences that call out to me, beckoning me with their respective qualities and audio-visual sight and sound-scapes, as I sit on my desk, or even as I look up at the sky, seated by my window side, as my plants gently sway in the wind, thereby reminding me of the jungle.

Now, I truly hope that my article, or rather, my musings have managed to assuage the grief or longing of the people who like I haven’t ventured beyond their nearest grocery store or confines of their neighborhoods or complexes, and who have thus been wanting to travel to their beloved spots, and explore many such more places.

Do let me know your thoughts on the same in the comments below, and as of always, do reach out to me in the comments box itself, about any critical feedback all of you might/might not have.