my bedtime story

As I traced my finger over the thin blue of the Ganga and dipped it into the darker Bay of Bengal, I knew that I could stay here: in front of the wall sized parchment, covered with shades brown, green and blue, forever. If you could suddenly fly across to the chalky pyramids in Egypt, before clearing your lungs with the lighter air of the Himalayas, just in a few moments, wouldn’t you?

21°N 78°E, India. I’ve lived in India my entire life; navigating through my experiences belief, culture, identity and politics. Throughout my childhood I was immersed in different layers of Indian culture, but as I grew older I stamped various other nations on my passport of experiences. From exploring Indonesian traditions in Bali to savoring Panamanian delicacies on a scholastic excursion, these short glimpses of diversity excited me. They made more curios.

We often tend to forget what’s out there. We suffocate ourselves in one place defined by a single latitude and longitude, a tiny speck on this huge planet. There are limitless horizons to explore; the diversity that the globe has to offer is breathtaking. So I often trace my fingertips across the world in awe, reminding myself about all the rich traditions and experiences waiting to be explored. After a long admiration involving a lot of research and a lot more fascination, I shut my atlas before I go to bed at night.