Nous Sommes Prêts

Till yesterday we followed an orthodox ritual of traveling. We would wait for months to first think and then travel. Our hopes stuck to the availability of tickets; we never made a choice that contested our fascination about train journeys. Though this fascination was an imposed one, over the years, we ended up gingerly falling in love with it. This love spanned between the geographical limits of Mumbai and Kolkata. Summers after summers, we relied on a solo vacation; a vacation that comprised learning English and Bengali grammar too.

Over a period of time, this fascination took a beating; other destinations started casting their spell. We did try to make an exception. Long back the three letter word ‘Goa’ resounded. A travel agent was approached; the yellow colored cubical type office was tucked somewhere between a barber’s shop and a general store, somewhere near a badly smelling fish market. Somehow the plan didn’t materialize the way, we had wanted it to. In fact we never traveled to Goa. We had saved enough for this trip. Our hearts were left broken by the immense agony of cancellation. There were two ways to vent it out, scream wildly or calm down. We calmed down, purchased a Videocon washing machine with the saved amount and never ever spoke about it. On certain occasions, it seemed like we had taken a pledge to never reveal what happened to our plans of a so called different vacation in Goa.

Years faded, desires matured, faith soared and the feet developed an itch; this itch carried the sensation of tramping across destinations. From trains, we made an upwardly move; this time we chose to fly. This wasn’t a fascination but a better option to travel. A perfect time saver; journeys by flights attracted both; raised eyebrows and swollen egos. Even though Kolkata topped the priority list (yes I mean it; the priority list) of vacations, we discovered other destinations such as Gokarna, Chennai, Puducherry, Shimla, Manali, Chandigarh, Pune, Kolhapur, Dharamshala, Silvassa and of course Goa (we visited on multiple occasions). We didn’t limit ourselves to national boundaries, we traversed partly across the globe, to another Asian destination. This time we found ourselves in Thailand; we went exploring through Pattaya and then Bangkok. We shot photographs with tigers, prayed in Buddhist temples, walked through the nights and enjoyed eyeing Dolphins, Orangutans at their comical best. Even though it was our first international trip, our passports bearing the first international stamp; the experiences were quietly brushed beneath a carpet of hushed anguish. Some complained of not being informed; we wondered if they would have towed along! Some complained of the trip being an ego trip; we regret that the ego they spoke about never showed up. Once again we took another pledge to lock our Bangkok memories with an unbreakable password. The 3500 odd photographs remain copied to one of the four or perhaps five external hard disks that we share between us. 

Throughout the years, we realized that breaking away from an orthodox ritual attracts antipathy from all quarters. The society reacts in strange manners. Ties of blood weaken. Promises of friendship are forgotten; it’s really funny how one international trip ends up being a controversy. Will we not take another international trip ever? Why shouldn’t we? Our passports are not meant to rot between their date of issue and renewal. We will travel of course, we will break a norm again; if not in the near future, definitely maybe immediately.

Having lived for long in memories of bygone years, the mind continues demanding freshness. Social media continues to tell us about the restless journeys, our friends, our family and our extended families embark upon. We used to stare at them, on our computer screens, till one day we decided; break the rules, hit the road, take the first left turn, move a little ahead, then turn to the right and continue going straight; without once, thinking of taking a U Turn.

Therefore to many journeys ahead, we wish to say, “Nous Sommes Prêts”.

-Virtuous Vociferous 

REOPENING THIS SEASON

No more tall claims. No more long waits. No more thinking through darkness. No more remorse over wasted weekends. This list of ‘no mores’ carries the burden of running longer. This list also poses the threat to end up ruining my future course of writing… Let me add an extra no more to that or should I save it for some other time!

So where was I between these unblogged months?

Migration: Between 2008 and 2010, Pune was my most favoured destination to stake my claim for being a second home. The weather, the people, the food and the possibilities looked highly defined. The trips I made back then to Pune were a blend of personal and professional inclinations. Never did I foresee a migration. Between May 2015 and December 2015, I migrated to Pune; holed up in a terrace flat. Peaceful locality, closer to my place of work, pleasant weather; everything seemed picture perfect. Except that I had started missing Mumbai immensely from the day I unlocked the door of my apartment. During my course of stay in Pune, I did nothing great about my passion but, kept imagining about it, talking about it and slept by setting myself on a paid vacation mode.

Books: Reading gives me indefinable joy. My greed to read increased; I read books after books after books after books. Crime fictions, suspense thrillers, nonfiction, biographies, journeys, deaths, births, revolutions, destruction and evolution; I read them all. I felt like I was possessed by a hungry reader’s soul. This soul replaced my original part, auto installed itself and I continued to read. Traces of that reader’s soul can still be found in me, I am still reading and going by my instinct, I am not letting go the habit. 

Cinema: There are two types of cinema; the ones you want to watch and the ones you are suggested to watch. I fell in love with the later. In the long list of suggestions, I watched THE SHIP OF THESEUS, FIGHT CLUB, ZERO DARK THIRTY, THE SHINING; it’s a tiresome list of choices I made. But cinema gave me a lot. Thankful to two specific guys from my Pune office, who introduced me to the kind of cinema, which I knew existed but, didn’t endeavour to secure an access.

Weekends: Posted on domestic duty. I went shopping for vegetables, clothes, perfumes, shoes, accessories, snacks and a lot more. I promised to write something on Saturday, postponed it to Sunday and by Monday, the less it’s written about, the better. I combed through weekends, I flipped through them and when I counted down the wasted ones, I cursed.

Lethargy: It is not in my nature but, I did extend to it my olive branch of friendship. Even though for years, I treated it like an alien, its commitment towards me was unquestionable. There was no specific reason behind this partnership but, of course my desire to try it once. Thank you for being there and now having disappeared.

All said, all written, I now cut the ribbon; a satin red one with regards to REOPENING THIS SEASON.

-Virtuous Vociferous