Mein Kanyakumari

“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.” 2days I spent thinking, brain storming and introspecting of where to start the real me story with you… how to share and where to start. And then I read this quote somewhere and decided, lets take you places!

My father and I love traveling and that’s why since childhood he would take us to all possible places for vacations. Those days foreign travel was a big deal, and my parents were the humble vegetarian kinds, so we fulfilled our extensive travel desires by scanning the Indian states. Get train tickets, call & book breakfast-nashta hotels and cover as many attractions as possible, was the agenda of most of our summer & winter holidays. I’m pretty proud of the fact, that out of 29, I’ve seen 20 states of my country. So while most of Indians would want to boast of Singapore, Dubai… I used to, and for that matter even now, boast of Sikkim and Kerala. And why not so?!

My sister is married to an Investment Banker in London, and I’m here in USA. But believe you me, India is the best country if you really want to travel & explore. Like UK, India is historically very very rich, or may be much more richer. Almost every state of India boasts of at least 1 historic fort, one religious city, and some ancient culturally rich site. History and India, were made hand-in-hand so while you would totally love the Buckingham palace, chances are you will find the Gwalior ka Qila equally fascinating.

USA has vast varieties of geological and geographical resources. On one end you will find the white sand beaches of Florida, Midwest will be jungles of Pennsylvania & great lakes that are jaw-droppingly amazing for the Pushkar Lake-me and grand canyons on the west. Similarly, back home in India, aren’t we also equally rich in terms of geology and geography? From the amazing Himalayas to the amazing Kanyakumari?

Wow, and while I typed the word Kanyakumari, in my mind it brought back a slide show of the wonderful memories of my South India visit in one of the Delhi winter holidays. I don’t know now, but 15 years back when I went there as a kid, it was breath-takingly beautiful and an “awesome” place. Go to the tip of your country and all you would do is “awe” with your mouth wide open and eyes wanting to capture as much as they can without blinking.

It was a long one and a half day Rajdhani that got us to Madras (now Chennai) from where our trip began. Papa, my sister and I played UNO with 2 bhaiyas who joined our compartment from Bhopal. Those days, Rajdhani food used to be really delicious. So these train journeys was a way to feast and meet new-new people, look through the pale-glassed window – the gorgeous villages & farms and not so gorgeous cities with even dirtier stations. But nevertheless, trains were and are the most fun way to travel. Even if you are alone, you have a train full of characters performing live for you. Laugh, chat, live, eat with them for the next stipulated hours of your life and you will end up loving your journey as much as you will love your destination.

Coming back to Kanyakumari, it is, see-it-to-believe-it awesome. The southern most tip of India, where you can actually see with your own naked eyes, the green Arabian Sea on your right, the brownish muddier blue of the Bay of Bengal on your left and the distinct Indigo blue of the Indian Ocean in front of you. Not just that, the sands also differ for all three of these. I really don’t know whether population & pollution has taken a toll on this extremely “Awesome” place but when my eyes saw it, I was amazed and out of words. As a kid, I had never ever imagined, to be able to see such an amazing natural beauty. On a classroom globe or on maps and atlases (notice the lack of Google back then), these seas and oceans looked just blue. In fancy wallpapers of the net, the sea comes in different colors, but to be able to see the merger of three different seas in real life, how its not just man made names, but god made distinct water entities is a total See-it-to-believe-it phenomenon. Travel, once in your life to Kanyakumari in order to marvel how partial God was while hand crafting India.

For that matter travel, travel anywhere away from your city whenever you get a chance. Not just will it bring you closer to the nature, but also to your family, friends, to your life. International travel, inter-state travel requires time & planning. Don’t wait for all of that, switch off this Friday evening, go discover life in the nearest weekend getaway. Go smell the smell of trees, gaze at the stars, eat at dhabas, shower in waterfalls. Go live life this weekend!

Do it now, sometimes ‘lets plan’ becomes never.