Today after a gap of 1.5 years I am going back to Chandannagore for a vacation. I have got this excitement of visiting my home town. Due to whatever reasons, I decided to go by train, which takes an average 36 hours to reach Chandannagore from Bangalore, unlike the flight, which takes only 3 hours. The journey by train has increased my excitement. It has sort-of prolonged it.The joy in me today is the joy to revisit and cherish some old memories and the thought of the calm and serene lazy life in Chandannagore, the taste of the Bengali sweets and “rasogollas”, the sight of ponds, the sound of the Ganges flowing through the small town, the smell of the fresh oxygen.
As my idle mind in the almost endless train journey wandered in the distant green fields that kiss the horizon, I realized that it has a lot to do with my roots. The roots, which we all have, but take for granted. And those who don’t have repent for it. The roots -- a place where we were born or may-be spent most of the childhood days, a place where in the initial days of our life we got nutrition and water in the form of the rich virtues and values from these roots. A place for which we all have a soft corner. However much we ignore or try to look the other way, this root will never leave us.
Obviously, we all move on in life in search of a better life. The herd of buffalos in the Serengeti forest does, the migratory birds do, the nomads of early days did. Streams flow into rivers and rivers surrender themselves onto the seas and oceans. Its just a part of life. We all move. And for that we may have to leave the place where we used to once upon a time be a part of. But, we can’t leave the roots. We can’t ignore them, however much we try. Roots are the sources of our identity in this vast world. It is an identity that we all inherit during birth. And every type of roots has its own merits and demerits.
My roots is in the small sleepy town is very much in contrast to the always-active Bangalore. In my town, the streets are mostly illuminated by 100W bulbs, the shops shut down by 10 and the town falls asleep by 10:30, only to be woken up the next day morning at 6 am by the mild sunrays and twittering of the birds. After a long time I hope to enjoy the setting sun and spend days without having to worry about the project deliverables or check emails. Its like being in this world, without staying connected to it, which is not bad at times. These are the times when you discover more about yourselves, more about the human values - the relationships, the bondings, the world beyond the material world.
Truly, the greatest journeys are the ones that bring you home...
