A very wise friend who loves to travel said to me recently “The destination is not important. What matters is the company and the experiences that you have on the way.”
It’s been almost ten years since I became a tourist in my own country and began travelling to places both known and unknown. In the process I have learned so much about my country and myself. Travel truly is the best way to discover both.
But this post is not about my journey of self-discovery which; if truth be told, will be of interest only to myself. Nor is it a travelogue in which I wax eloquent about all the marvellous places I have seen and all the memorable experiences I have had.
Every time we set out on a trip, it’s with certain expectations. We read up on the place, we surf through ‘Top 10 things to do’ and ‘10 best places to explore’ type articles that are peppered with attractive images and captions, we watch videos that show us other people having a wonderful time in said places and all this hype gets our hopes up even higher.
Not any more. Now with every trip I realise how it can be more enjoyable and enriching even; to have no expectations and to just soak up the experience of being in a different place, to have a break from the usual routine and best of all- to look for the little things on the way that make for more memories than visiting the destination itself. And NO, I am NOT referring to any ‘hidden gems’ please. In my opinion, the discovery of ‘hidden gems’ and their subsequent crowding by eager throngs of visitors has caused as much harm to the environment as littering, pollution and over consumption. But that’s a matter for another rant.
This is my little collection of ‘little nuggets’ from a recent trip; ie interesting moments, sights and experiences, some of which I could capture in my camera and others which I hope my memory can retain for a long time. And if my memory fails me at a later date- I can always return to this post!
Since we were going to visit the Kaas Plateau of Flowers, some of the sights were (not surprisingly) of flowers. This was my fourth time of going to Kaas and each visit has been a different experience. Now I don’t even go to see the flowers, it’s more for the joy of walking around that vast, green plateau, surrounded by lush green hills that are reflected in the serene backwaters of the Koyna dam.
Mother Nature doesn’t care how many people have come to Kaas; from how far and with what expectations. If the conditions are just right, the plateau will be a colourful carpet of wildflowers. If not, it won’t and that’s just too bad. This year, the conditions were mostly unfavourable so we overhead several disappointed comments from disappointed visitors who had arrived with hopes of seeing the plateau covered with flowers of varying colours.
But for those who like a slower pace, enjoy looking around for the smaller, more interesting details, Kaas is the perfect place to be. Which brings me (finally!) to my collection of the little nuggets we spotted along the way.
This flower will always remind me of an amusing experience we had. We had stopped our vehicle on the side of the road and were walking down a track that led to the lake to look for more of these flowers. A little ahead of us was a herd of cows that were champing away contentedly at the juicy green grass that grew in abundance on the slopes. There was no one else around. Then I noticed one of the younger cows staring at me with a fixed, slightly alarmed expression. Just as I was mentally trying to calculate the distance between me and the cow, me and the lake, me and the vehicle; while also trying the guess if the ditch between the place where the herd was and the road where I was standing; was deep enough to deter a charge, the young cow turned and fled in the other direction. This alerted some of the other cows who turned to look at us, decided that they did not like the sight of these two strange ladies in their territory and also fled. Within seconds the entire herd had taken to its heels, scrambling to get away from us. We watched them with surprise and amusement as they disappeared among the trees. Accustomed as we are to city cows that occupy the centre of busy roads and don’t move even when honked at, this was completely unexpected. But the memory of this moment still makes me smile.
We had trekked halfway up a hill and then climbed 250 steps to reach the top where we could see the remains of an old fort built in the 13th century. The fort was later home to a temple and was the final resting place of a much revered 18th century saint. As expected, there were crowds of devotees who had come for a ‘darshan’. But what we saw at the entrance to the fort was certainly unusual!
The stone tablet dates back to the time when the fort was under the rule of the Adilshahi dynasty. It is divided into 6 decorative sections with the lines carved on it in elegant, flowery calligraphy. The fort changed hands several times during its history and there is another plaque just below this one, with the translation in Marathi.
This little nugget is specially precious because of all the bright, vibrant colours. No photo shop, no filters!
That’s all in this little collection of little nuggets. There are many more- both pictures and memories, but that’s for another post.
