TRAVEL DIARY #AGE IS YET ANOTHER NUMBER #ACROSS THE WORLD
On my first trip to Delhi way back in 1991 or 1992 from Chennai- by The Tamilnadu express if I am not wrong, I came across this old North Indian couple from Madurai. Must be on their early eighties and they were going to Haryana on a pilgrimage to Agroha dham ( at that time I had no clue of what it was! and where it was? ) later I found out that it was where , the Agarwals (community ) originated from and that this temple was built by the Agarwal community . On the way they wanted to cover some temples in Delhi, of which I remember only the Kalkahaji Mandhir. They seemed to be familiar with those areas very well, as the old man was working till his retirement for some central government office in the North of India .
Since they were settled and living in Madurai , they were fluent in Tamil . As we shared the same cabin, for two full days, we lived together temporarily, shared food , exchanged stories. .. by the time we reached Delhi we know each other like family members .They were good enough to share a spare sweater to me for two nights otherwise I would have frozen alive in that December cold ..... I would say they were the first old TRAVELLERS I interacted with.
People say travel when you are young, but in my experience -for travel - age is just a number. I have come across so many septuagenarians, octogenarians and nonagenarians who travel to remote places with assistance or without assistance and distance is not a matter at all for them. They are there everywhere in the trains, airports, temples.....Their energy and enthusiasm belittle us. Their eyes reflect their curiosity and their ‘never stop exploring’ attitude. I have seen a TRAVELLER in them ; an EXPLORER in them. They don’t want to limit themselves to whatever they hear about , read about. They wanted to see it personally to believe it and experience it ; and with their age , knowledge and experience they come back with a totally different story after seeing it .
I have a 93 years old uncle who worked for the railways, As a retired employee he was entitled with a railway pass and he uses it efficiently and meticulously to travel to new destinations. Only when he travels alone he uses his railway pass and in my family who ever wanted to travel towards the North of India... let it be to Mount Abu or Amaranath or Vaishnodevi, they will ask only him, He was a kind of a human travel App for us, in fact more persponal , friendly and practical than the present day travel apps. He knows where to halt!, where to stay! , what to take!, what not to take! and he can guide us till our way back home . And he enjoys doing it .
Given an opportunity ,even today , he will travel anywhere in India all alone. With his restricted knowledge of Hindi he can get thru and manage the situations very well; with his limited possessions he can adjust and occupy anywhere and with accessable comfort he enjoys every moment he comes across ....And ....Train is his mode of travel . .
Where ever he was, he used to call home and update where he is! he carries a phone only for updating his family of his whereabouts or his family to reach him to find out where he is ! .. He had been travelling from his youth and travelled well thru till his late eighties,,, now he was restricted and his movements were halted by his family because of the Covid protocols. Poor old traveller!
He hardly talks, but sometimes during a lunch or dinner, some conversation will trigger a connected incident, a distinctive moment or knowledge what he gathered in remote places, it will come out subtly as an anecdote or quip from his mouth. I saw a TRAVELLER in him....! not many in his age group does it , forget his age group , even many in the younger age group had become very lethargic and settle and satisfy with whatever they see thru their mobile phone.
I mean ...in today’s world , many see the world thru their mobile , and I agree , , they see something extra ordinary and they see the green as fresh green and blue in refreshingly blue ,but the fact is ,it is more than what is in realty! , the green what they see is an exaggerated green and the blue they see is a touched up blue ; the scenery is an outcome -a poster of colour filters , light adjustments and managed resolutions .... and they also complain at the real world that it looks so dull . And they cuddle themselves up in the warmth of this mobile world and yield to the fantasy it offers
Whatever we see in the web or whatever we read in our mobile..Let that be in any D’s? 3 D or 5 D or whatever? Nothing can replace whatever we see in reality. What we see in the picture may be so inviting but when you go to the real site it may be boring or wearisome, whatever you read might give a dull picture of the location, in reality it may me very exciting. And these golden agers are the best precedence in showing the real world.
This February , I came across another character in a Temple near Uthiramerur, near Chennai , an old lady, must be in her late 80s, with a bend in her back. I saw her cleaning the temple premises, and shouting out to somebody for throwing garbage. With her vibrant face and eyes I made out that she was not an ordinary worker there and talked to her to find out the fact! She was so excited to talk and I found out that she is also a TRAVELLER.
“I could hear only 43% in this and 43% in that” she made fun of herself showing both her ears.
She works in the temple all day and saves the money whatever the people offer , and give it to a regular tour operator and the tour operator takes her at a subsidised charge to places of interest all across India along with other groups. And she does this annually.
She started talking about her tours, experience, and family and when I asked her and made her to understand with much of difficulty owing to her hearing problem , about her Pakistan border visit.... She explained it in her own words with much of energy and enthusiasm.”Punjab border!, Himalayas ! wow!... this side is Vande Mataram and that side is Muslim Flag” ... She was ignorant of telling the name Pakistan and still referring to Muslim Flag and she was referring the Indian flag as “Vande Mataram” she is still in her pre independence mood !.
She is eighth passed and can understand English, her sons are well off and she had dedicated her life for the up keep of the temple and she considers herself as dedicated for lord’s work. And she travels and enjoys her life.
One similarity I found in them is, all these people are, despite their age they are fit and in good spirit, they are lean and mean, and determined. They talk more practical things than most of their peer groups and the most important of all is “they are interesting “
In Indian context, I am really astonished by the strength and the determination and the curiosity of these elderly communities, they know who they are ! and what their capability is!; nothing stops them and they live their life and keep it very interesting in their own way. They travel and come back with the fresh mind, they know what is happening in the other side of the world, and where they are ? in that context . And they find out the truth themselves, rather than whatever a TV reporter or somebody says thru any visual media.
- As seen and experienced in many occassions - Rajesh Whistler - 3rd of August 2022
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