A Traveller's diary

I will have to confess that I was not a well travelled person,atleast not in India.Except of few hill stations and regular trips to Agra and Jaipur I havent explored different regions of India.Nowadays whenever I leave for some trip or talk to any European who has seen more of India than me,I feel quite guilty at my lack of effort.

But like many other things this too changed in Europe.Here I discovered the nuances of travelling in a big way.One of the reasons for this is surely the ease of travelling in Europe and the fact that most countries are no bigger than Indian states.I became so confident that I left for my last tour of 18 days without making any reservation before.Somehow the prospect of travelling in India never seems to give the same kind of joy and confidence that Europe inspires.First reason for this is obviously the climate.With almost 7-8 months of the year spent battling the heat,it becomes just impossible to travel around in oppresseve heat and humidity.Another is the Great Indian Population which makes it difficult to find tickets even sometimes a month beforehand.

Travelling acts as a relaxant for me.Years of reading books and watching movies have created many images and led to many pre conceived notions about the great European cities.And I find it an exhilirating experience whenever pictures of chilhood memories or just something seen and read in history books materialises in front of me.It seems to validate all those pointless looking historical events and makes me feel educated.It was this adrenaline feeling which made me go to Pompeii and Pisa.When I was standing in the priceless preserves of Pompeii where the vanquished is still watched over by the vanquisher(Mt.Vesuvius) ,I couldnt but help thinking abt our very own Harappan artifacts and world famous Khajuraho Temples.One has to give this to Europeans -they know how to promote tourism and go all out to conserve the historical monuments and palaces.

After quite an extensive travelling in last few months,I have made some impressions about different cities.There are some cities that just overawe you by their beauty and historical or cultural background.Paris,Rome,Vienna,Barcelona are these kind of cities.One can
spend days in these cities and still find some new facet or avenue to spend time on.
Paris being pure art-its easy to see where the impressionists got their inspiration.Being the heart and soul of France,its truly a beautiful place.
Rome being the historical capital of Europe-the Roman culture and Baroque architecture just oozes out of every nook and corner.
Vienna-can easily be called the music capital of the world.They sure know how to promote Mozart,Schubert,Vivaldi,Beethovan and many other great composers among tourists.One can easily understand why Before Sunrise was inspired here.Its musical environment,coffee houses are just perfect for philosophical conversations.
Barcelona is simply the most dynamic and vivacious city in Europe.One can say this for Barcelona that this city never sleeps.With its Salsa beating atmosphere,there's no better place for partying.

And yeah we cant forget Amsterdam,which puts all ur worst desires(urges) in front of ur eyes making it absolutely impossible to ignore its many mires of darkness and satisfaction.

And then theres Stockholm,one of the most beautiful places I have been to or French Riviera which is simply a playground for the rich and famous.
Yeah I suppose that I can atleast become a travelling counsellor if not anything else on my return-I sure can suggest places satisfying every mood and occasion.

Here,I remember my first visit to an art gallery.It was at the India Habitat Centre with a friend.We had just gone there to eat at the restaurant,when we saw an art gallery with some important looking people around.Curiousity getting the better of us,we decided to enter the gallery to find us among some prominent art critics and the editor of Indian Express supposedly enjoying a private viewing.This became clear to us after we were offered wine.We decided to finish it before clearing off and mockingly stared at the paintings in front of us wearing track suits and sipping wine.Well its certainly been a rapid journey from that innocent bystander to one who has visited Museum of Louvre and Orsay at Paris,Prada and Picasso at Madrid,Van Gogh at Amsterdam,Vatican with Sistine Chapel at Rome,Museum of Contemporary Art at Vienna and countless others at Florence,Milan,Venice etc.

For the last some months it has always been like this,travelling or just making plans for travelling.And all the travelling has fuels an even further desire.I remember an Australian whom I met at Rome saying to me,'The more I travel and see the world,the more a realization sinks in that there are so many places that I will never see'.But I have no complaints.I have already seen more than I thought would be possible in my lifetime.I cant wait to go back and finally explore those lagoons of Kerela(God's own country),the forests of Assam and the forts of Rajasthan.