Playing to the gallery!
Have you ever boarded a train with no destination in mind? I have. Travel for the sake of travel. I think you should love travelling to be able to do that. When you travel with no destination in mind, you can feel lighter (not just from the baggage pov). You can take time to appreciate things better. You have no worry of whether you’ll sleep off, you have no doubts of which side to alight etc. If the train gets too crowded or makes you uncomfortable, you can always get down and catch another train. Anyway, it’s not that you have a particular direction or destination.
This travel I refer to, happened about 10 years back. Me and my cousin boarded a train with an idea of going to our hometown. Few minutes into the travel, strangely, we agreed that we drop the idea of getting down at the destination. We thought we will just get down in the last station and catch the train back home. Or basically, we were ready to get down anywhere and go anywhere. Go anywhere but return home by evening. I must tell you, it was so much fun. We felt so free.
I’m sure many won’t do that and even if they do that they won’t really feel proud talking about it. Imagine yourself travelling just like that. You gotta update someone on your travel right? You need to explain to someone what you gained out of the travel. You need to convince others why you did something that you wanted to do. Isn’t it?
I know some people say that they want to be like birds. Being able to fly anywhere, to feel free with no hurdles or hindrances whatsoever. In fact, a flying bird is a symbol of freedom. We may not be as free as the bird but you know what, we are more free than we might think. Birds go wherever they want to. Same applies to you and me. We are as free as we think we are. I know, we have certain roles and responsibilities that restrict our freedom but we tend exaggerate this. The truth is we need a reason, a tangible reason, for everything that we do. If you board a train, you need to go somewhere and to do something. We need a real, visible output at the end of any process. May be that’s because all these things are seen as a process. Also because, you are being watched. By everyone around you. You need to explain things that you do.
I want to be able to do things that need not give anything to me tangible. I may not want to get any financial, social or reputational benefit out of everything I do. Do things that give me peace, calm and joy. Most probably these things won’t be very popular. They will attract remarks like “are you crazy?”. I’m an xbox console addict. When I play on xbox, that does not help anyone but me. I don’t hone any ‘useful’ skill, I don’t improve my knowledge, I don’t ‘gain’ anything. But that’s my time. I don’t care if that helps me or not. I don’t care even if people say I’m wasting my time on it. That’s my private time. Try applying this to travel, you’ll feel as free as a bird.
In fact, for everything that we do, including blogging, we have an audience in mind. Being at office, being at home, being with friends, we play to the audience all the time. Aren’t you tired of playing to the gallery? How about doing things that are just for ourselves? That don’t have to necessarily enhance your health, finance and all that stuff. Just doing things for the heck of it, because you love it and you want it. For all that I talk about destination-less travel, I never did it more than once. But the one time I did ‘travel to nowhere’, I realised the joy of it. That joy need not always come from such travels. Just have to do things with the sense of absolute freedom with a sense of I, me, myself.
I’ve always wanted to travel for the sake of travel. Get off at any station and make your way from there. The older I get, the more distant the probability of my doing anything like that gets. I appreciate this post. It reminded me of a dream nearly forgotten.
Oh man! Reading your posts gets more and more interesting till I have to say – Thats it. I’m adding you to my blog roll!
Thanks Rinchen! I thought, reading this post, some might say ‘you got too much time on your hands’!
I like this favorite quote
“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine
I truly believe,not because, I have travelled, but to experiment in the near future.
Another favoritre quote, which suits with this blog. “A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.” – John Steinbeck
There is a glaring distinction between, a tourist & a traveller.
I prefer to be the later one. – A traveller.Who doest not believe in SMART approach whilst travelling. But most of the time & space, we all end up being a tourist.
I always curious to find out people in India especially start their expedition with travel iteninary but end up being a tourist.
Mr.Opinion – What is your opinion on this glaring contradiction between a tourist & a traveller ?
Wow…
What a post this is.! I liked it very much especially the 4th and last para which made me to read the whole post thrice for now. Its awesome & top lists among all. I completely in the same page of your 4th & last para especially.
If we keep ourselves bound fast to a particular form without freedom or within the same shell or continue “playing for gallery” as said we will end seeing ourselves nowhere one fine day. To me, one should be behind of doing & explore what gives him immense happiness. Though he may successful or fail at end but for sure he enjoys the pleasure & happiness during journey. Our guild at every stage is confining us in exploring as per our instinct.
To my experience one will learn & experience a lot from travel & by comparing with different people, tradition, culture, language, food, climate you will discover yourself. If anyone traveling abroad, new place for the first time alone he can experience the at most feeling of being freedom though he miss the association.
The whole post reminded me the movie “Motorcycle Diaries”
Thanks Vijay its pleasure visiting your blog again & again.
You think Fast, You act Fast & Live Fast…..
Nice point there by Prithivi on traveller and tourist! Here is my ‘opinion’ – if you ever plan to travel on your own, by yourselves, all alone, you’d most probably be a traveller than a tourist. Don’t you think so?
Another interesting post. What’s amazing me is the way you roll back your happy times. I certainly would not be able to recall such small things just as you do.
Traveling without destination is something which I did everyday when I was in Holland in 2005. Me and my colleague (Harinath) had 10 precious days in an away land and had five hours everyday for our exploration. We worked a brilliant plan to board all buses, trains & trams without missing one and reach their last destination. We went by numbers (I mean bus numbers)! Reach every last destination in Amsterdam and had a walk around. It was an amazing experience. Within 10 days we managed to get the complete cultural feel of Holland as a whole package!
As you say we will be able to do such things when we actually do not have anything else to do! Traveling within Chennai in crowded buses gives a completely different feeling, I rather prefer to play cricket whatever it takes on Saturday mornings. I completely agree to the fact that heart feels completely light when we do things we always wanted to do!
Crucial thing here is, what someone actually want to do when he is free! As Swami Vivekananda says, “We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far.” What we do when we are alone can only make us what we are!
Being free as bird is one and misusing the freedom is the other! There is always a perfect balance between the two! Freedom is only for someone who knows how to manage it