A backpacker’s wanderlust dream

It’s 3:00 am. It seems like the ambiguous twilight zone of the night, that period when the cold of the midnight seems equally distant as does the warmth of morning sun. And fittingly so, the train of thoughts, the flights of fancy, the ship of dreams leave me in a crossroads of sorts- of life.

Here I am in Chhattisgarh for the past 3 years 3 months- holed up in my largely empty 1000 square feet apartment, working for the largest project of the largest iron ore mining corporation of India, earning a comfortable pay and bugged by an insatiable wanderlust. I’m still searching, elsewhere from the monotony of the present for the meaningful, soul-stirring experience and existence that life is supposed to be. Memories, some clear and others hazy, make a comeback reminding me of those destinations that I’ve been to, those journeys that I’ve undertaken, those experiences that I’ve felt in a not so distant past.

• Karnataka (Agumbe, Jog Falls, Sita Falls, Hanumangundi Falls, Murudeshwara, Mangalore, Udupi, Sringeri)
• Odisha (Chilika Lake, Puri, Konark, Lalitgiri, Ratnagiri, Bhubaneswar)
• Delhi
• Himachal Pradesh (Shimla, Manali)
• Uttar Pradesh (Varanasi, Allahabad, Agra)
• Chhattisgarh (Teerathgarh Falls, Chitrakoot Falls)
• Andhra Pradesh (Hyderabad, Vishakhapatnam)
• Kasargod, Calicut, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Rajasthan and other short stopovers in India.

Browsing the internet, reading up travel stories in India, stirs me up and quite necessarily tears apart my inhibitions giving wings to my dream of traveling and writing, to become the quintessential travel writer. The desire to reward myself with an extended break from the monotony of a desk job is overwhelming. I understand that a certain leap of faith is necessary that would naturally entail me to dig deep into a range of reserves and resources in my possession- mental, emotional and financial. The battle of emotions rage on, hope and courage slugging it out with fear and nay-saying. May the former win. No, not may, but must. Yes, the former must win.

Why, yes I want to travel of course. See. Experience. Feel. The whole mixed bag of exhaustion, elation, tired feet, rejuvenated sprints, harsh nights, warm sunrises, bludgeoning storms, gentle breeze- yes, everything. Good and bad. Ugly too.

Isn’t my blog titled Odyssey of a Lifetime? Isn’t it me who has expressed my wanderlust in two of my poems (here and here)? Isn’t it me who has dreamt for a long time now, to work that lets me stay in different places of India according to the changing seasons? Summers in Himachal, winters in Rajasthan and monsoons in Kerala- the archetypal blessed existence of a writer. Or maybe adopt full time the enchanting concept of Slow travel, arriving a wanderlust traveler and home staying with the local community long enough to become a regular there, working for my rice and dal (read bread and butter) over the internet- writing freelancing assignments and soaking up the cultural, natural richness of innumerable places over a lifetime, an odyssey of a lifetime.

So cutting to the chase, here is what the basic template of the rudimentary action plan seems like:

• 2014 February/ March- Quit/resign/leave for good the present job and move to Varanasi.
• 2014 March/April/May- Join the Basic Mountaineering Course, Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, Uttarakhand.
• 2014 May/June- Volunteer with India Untravelled/ Ecosphere, trekking around and getting involved with local community of Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh.
• 2014 June/July- Trekking in the Himalayas in Kashmir or Leh or Uttarakhand with Trek the Himalayas.
• 2014 July onwards- Volunteer travel across India in the inspiring locations of ARRS (Agumbe), Sadhana Forests (Auroville), Grass Routes (Odisha), etc.

And this is the backpacker’s wanderlust dream of 3:00 am.