There are as many right answers to that question as the number of people you ask, so I’ll just give you mine. (My family and friends will insist it’s so I can take a million pictures to torture them with when I get back, but I digress) The urge to travel is born of so many things. The call of places not yet explored, of friends not yet made and new experiences waiting to be had is something all wandering souls can relate to. But I think we all have that one special reason, whether we realize it or not, that drives us to pack that suitcase, kick our comforting routines and get out there. To be perfectly honest, I’ve never really stopped and reflected on it. And when I did, the answer was as clear as it was unexpected. I realized that I travel so I don’t lose my connection with nature and the joy it brings me.
An army brat, travel has been a part of my life from as far back as I can remember. And if I look back at my memories of all the places I grew up in, my most magical and happy ones are always connected to nature. I can’t remember what my room looked like or what my best friend’s name was at the age of 7 when we were living in Assam, but I will never forget the wonder I felt as night fell and the bushes outside my bedroom window came alive with the glow of a thousand fireflies. My favourite memory, by far, of the time I spent in Nasik as a 12-year-old is when our entire unit went for a moonlight picnic on a hilltop lit by a brilliant full moon. I swear I can almost feel the breeze on my face and hear the laughter wafting on the breeze that night if I try hard enough. Snapshots of a time that, despite not having been captured by a camera lens, are as clearly etched in my mind now as they were all those years ago.
My childhood is studded with many memories like these. And then, of course, adulthood happened. I got my requisite job and all the trappings and stress that go with it. And somewhere along the way, life became all about the daily grind and being confined to boxes, whether they be house-shaped or office-shaped. About 10 years ago, I took my first trip on my own and I haven’t looked back. All the journeys I’ve been on since have all had one thing in common: my happiest and most memorable moments all have a “natural” connection.
Nature has a wonderful way of elevating everything it touches. Florence is beautiful. But Florence framed by a sunset or lit by moonlight? Now that’s a magical memory. Those wonderful London skyscrapers would not look half as magnificent if they didn’t have the perfect frame of that ever-changing sky. I have experienced moments of loneliness in the middle of the most bustling cities, but never once felt alone while hiking for hours on my own. And though I’m not a fan of generalizations, I’ve generally found that the happiest people I’ve encountered in my travels have been the ones living closest to nature and all its beauty.
As our cities expand, nature contracts within them more and more , until it becomes almost a distant, hazy memory. I’ve realized that traveling is my way of keeping that connection alive, of making as many of these memories as I can. To chase Mother Nature as she goes about her business across different longitudes and latitudes, waiting for those times when our paths intersect and I’m privileged to experience a moment of perfect happiness. Whether they last for a minute or an hour, it’s in those moments that I am most myself and truly content.