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TRAVE(BL)OG

While walking down the road of rec= all, often with the ‘maybe some day’ stance of recording reminiscenc= es, a lot of memories usually get crushed- accidentally. So, with my ‘bet= ter today than tomorrow’ attitude, I laid aside my procrastination along = with the stylish excuse of a ‘jet lag’ and have started writing right now. For you.

We have returned from the study to= ur to the UK and Sweden,= less than 48 hours ago. My husband was nominated for this trip, in connection wi= th transfer of technology of maintenance of EMU coaches. I honestly cannot spe= ak on how much the Railways have benefited from this ‘coaching’ expedition but after almost three weeks of a glorious sojourn I cannot thank Air India enough for introducing the ‘free companion’ scheme. Even after shedding a few pounds (pun intended) for that extra fee for a diversion to = Paris+long walks+hungering for plain dal+chawal+achaar, I feel all the richer and al= l the heavier with the abundant knowledge that I have gained with this exciting v= oyage.

Although I have traveled before, I = never actually documented any of my experiences in writing. I don’t know why. Maybe = because earlier, a travelogue somehow felt like a pompous declaration of ‘I&#= 8217;ve been there. You haven’t!’ But this time the spectacular beauty = coupled with the grandeur of history simply quashed that flaunty feeling. This time= it warranted nothing but a sincere sharing- something like ‘If you’ve been there, relive your memories. If you haven’t, live= them with me.’ Moreover people who write travelogues are not mere cou= ntry collectors who do nothing, see nothing, just shop till they drop, meeting, = greeting, eating and hoarding as many passport stamps as they can while hopping around from country to country. Rather they are the collectors of intangible art a= nd know for a fact that there is a lifetime of discovery, not only in every city bu= t in its every lane, in its every monument, in its every tale. While writers hav= e to make do with just a few days, a few glances and the ti= ttle- tattle of the locals, the readers can avail of this imaginary trip for an i= nfinite era through the endless vision of their mind’s eye.

I couldn’t afford to t= ake anything back home, except perhaps for a few lusterless souvenirs and a hea= p of dull photos, both of which can never match the true elegance or wonder of t= he architectural expertise- of both the creators of the memorials or the Maker= of this universe. Therefore I took full satisfaction in longingly gazing at an= d lovingly grasping the natural and the historical merchandise that every country so generously offers to its tourist.

So like I said, I’ve n= ever really written a travelogue before. Therefore I really wouldn’t know = if this could qualify as one or simply be termed as the ruminations of a roving eye. Whatever the result, with the kind permission of the steadfast but ‘old gypsy man’ Mr. Time and more importantly, depending on the fickle Mr. Mood, I will soon start to blog the = recollections of my travel abroad. This will be posted in my blog section on the ‘Bloggers Park’.

Nargis Natarajan= .