Travelling

“To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world.” – Freya Stark

Attention!! Do not expect this to be a travel blog!! It is more of a personal experience put in an honest and straight way; I hope that my honesty proves as a fine entertainment to you. Go now, Grab popcorn!

So this blog post is basically about the recent adventure that I experienced to convince myself as a self-proclaimed mature adult and an independent woman who can manage herself and make her  life decisions. So, me being a typically picky, choosy person who wrinkles up her nose at the mention of sports or extra physical efforts, or who cries to death if she has to let go of her comfort for a day (cries inside my head, remember I am a strong independent woman?), who unconventionally unlike other females prefers naps over work or who has in past canceled a lot of plans to pastoral areas because of their lack of sanitation facilities(and no I am talking about an era before this “toilet ek prem katha” thing happened). So I, with a little inspiration from the people around me taking trips and camping along with an influence of a friend decided to do something adventurous i.e to step out of my comfort zone. So, the journey began sans khakhras as a part of tiffin to Jambughoda, Panchmahal.

Travelling was not much of a hassle and it took us nearly 2.5-3 hours (I suggest you to not kill time watching a movie on your way because the morning view is beautiful) to reach to the destination. When I reached the sun was at its peak. I was told that a basic hiking would be done and after a brief introduction round I inquired about the time span of hiking in the deep forest to which an answer came “3 hours”. This, my readers was just the beginning. I usually do all the possible tricks to avoid walking even at home. The sun shone bright but the tree covers saved us from the direct rays. I could see how beautifully people had built the houses of mud, decorated with beautiful Pithora paintings, famous in Rathwa communities who populate the village majorly. The houses were cooler and smelled earthly, you feel connected to the nature even through a mad-made structure. The hiking indeed was a long process, climbing down the mountains on the tiny paths made by animals and few humans, avoiding stepping any other way in order to protect the natural trees and vegetation. After walking for almost what seemed like an eternity and not drinking a single drop of water because I had not carried extra water so I needed to save what I had, we reached a silent stream. There was a natural stream of water coming from a mountain somewhere above. It was water in its purest form and I was allowed to quench my thirst with cool, sweet tasting pure water. The tired feet needed rest and I sat on the rock along the stream, removing my shoes and socks, I let the flowing water run underneath my tired feet. That was when I realized that the whole hiking was worth this. Soon it was time to leave and let me inform you that climbing up a mountain is more villainous.

Morning at the Forest

The lunch was at a restaurant nearby after which we headed to a huge mountain made of igneous rocks and trees which had sprouted between them. The whole idea of that mountain was similar to “The Wall” from “Game of Thrones” which protected from the “white walkers”, here this “wall” protected from a dense forest beyond, which was a home to Leopards, Sloth Bears, Wild Boars, Blue Bull, Porcupines and other such good-looking horrendous creatures. The tents were supposed to be set up nearby in that area.

Post some procrastination and nature sightings the tents were set up, building tents required clearing the surface, cutting down extra and thorny plants, removing small twigs and stones and flattening the surface. I learnt to build a tent which actually reminded me of how in the childhood I used to make “my house” with my mother’s dupatta draped on the chair. Soon it was dark, the forest went quiet, the moon followed us like a lime light and the different sounds of insects which seemed like an inspiration to various musical instruments were heard. The food was supposed to be cooked. My mother always feels that I do not cook or I would starve to death if left alone. This time it was a challenge, with a few basic vegetables, fire lit up on collected wood and branches, utensil borrowed from a nearby village, rice and pulses and a huge frog of a size of my shoe to witness the cooking show, the food was prepared. I was so proud of myself with the thought that starvation would not kill me and tensed because my mom, after finding out that I cooked would expect me to visit the kitchen more often other than my rendezvous with the fridge. The food was devoured and the fire soon went out. To my wonder i saw little fireflies for the first time in my life. It was like many small lanterns burning on their way out while reaching somewhere.

Khichdi

Team Work

Sleep, now took the place of a protagonist, the tent felt cozy and with twinkling stars above, fresh dewy smell of forest filling my lungs and sound of some folk music being played in some village nearby I slipped away in deep slumber. I woke up in a middle of the night with a buttery moon shining on my face with the sounds of wild boar or some huge animal walking near the tent, my curiosity was overpowered by my fear and I decided to lay still. There were slithery sounds too and soon I again went off to sleep.

The morning sun was not out yet when I woke up, I headed to see the sunrise, I heard the birds chirping and I felt the dew drops with stories of previous night underneath my feet. There were sounds of temple bells from far away. The earth was painted with orange-ish white light. I took a walk in pollution free air. With the change of weather I had acquired a little cold. Soon the day began and the first task was to scramble on the “wall”. The sun soon was scorching and so was the temperature of my body. Half a way through “the wall” I lost the strength, I felt dizzy and went down for some rest.

The lunch was at a house nearby and it tasted of simplicity and pastoral love. I felt good after eating a little.

The Wall

Beyond "The Wall"

 Then it was time to visit Jambughoda Palace. The legend says that there used to be tigers in Gujarat, the last one was killed by the king of Jambughoda. The Palace was more like a heritage hotel; I found hen, cock and chickens at the back yard along with a lonesome horse. The journey ended with few reflections and thanksgivings.

This entire journey for me was more of a self-discovery along with digital detox. I never knew about my potentials or physical strengths until I took an experience of this. I dwelled in my comfort zone for so long that I had forgotten the fact that I am specie which has adapted itself from all the dangers and that is why I stand here. The nature is beautiful. Wordsworth- like beautiful. It is magical and it brings you close to yourself. It brings you close to the reality. To the realization that how petty are the things that we run or fight for. Dependence on nature feels like the real independence. I will, if the situations and work permit me would like to go on more self-discovery tours and trips.