Nature is an enchantress.
Travelling around the city has made one thing clear, that the monsoon changes the face of our land. I had made a point to not miss out on the glory of monsoon this season. I barely took notice when the last 2 went by.
What began as a wildlife trip, quickly turned into more of a location scouting ride.
The question is what do you do when you travel?
Apart from the sightseeing, eating, talking and outdoor activities what else is there to do which is truly engaging?
productive travelling if you may say, it’s leisure but you surely are learning something new. So the interest of our choosing was wildlife, especially birds, while trekking along new paths, taking in the sights and thinking, what else can be done here?
Now forests are places where you need to go with utmost planning and direction to truly explore it in a productive way. Speaking about conservation, life and pop culture we were on our way to where we decided to trek.
In vain we had no concrete plans and after going around locations, before returning home, out of nowhere we were surprised by the following form of nature.
Dark and mysterious. Flowing yet still. We just decided to stop in the middle of nowhere, while one of my friend’s slept in the car, three of us were just standing outside and taking in the view silently. Standing at the edge of a hairpined road, called a Ghat in Marathi, my native tongue, meaning a “Mountain pass”, we were taken by surprise when we suddenly observed streams of mist flowing our way, thicker than we imagined, moist than we thought and refreshingly cold with its windy drizzle.
In my conscious memory, from the time when I have truly started observing the world for what it really is, I think this was the first time something like that happened. Not another vehicle in sight, sometimes flowing of wind making a sound and all we could do was observe without a thought in mind.
In that instance we knew, we haven’t done what we came for here, but sometimes just appreciating where you stand is a beauty in it’s own time. Something I will remember for a long time to come. Glad I have this images and a video.
The blog post main image, and the video and image above were taken on 2 separate days. One day we failed, we decided to go better prepared the next day and we failed again. Intentionally speaking.
We also visited a well known mountain fort, a “GAD”, this had to be done in sparse time if possible but it became one of the major destination. As it eventually became a major destination it also was ill planned. So to be honest we were incompetent in our initial approach, just because we are out now, we decided to go back after have seen something instead of nothing.
We were 2 minutes away from the top and the watchman told us, “The top of the fort is closed for the day and if you want to see, you will have to come back tomorrow.” There it was, this is how we truly got to see nothing and explore, I think it was because focus was lacking and there was no commitment.
On our way up, I captured the main blog post image. A view which I would have rarely explored on my own was shown to me without a thought. A view so grand, that all I could do was imagine the minuscule nature of our existence. And while returning back home on the second day, after the fort, we were greeted by the glimpse of nature’s fury.
The lake in the view, an unnamed territory, got itself a name when we enquired about the other route home. When driving through the mountain pass, slowly descending land, it smoothly revealed the huge presence of that lake to us.
Thunderous clouds and roaring wind. The weather was about to get fancy. When it rained we returned to our car, one moment we could see everything and the other nothing.
We did not get to see what we came for, but we got to see something we never imagined. It naturally becomes motivating.
Our flaw of commitment and focus was revealed, while after the lesson we got a equally rewarding experience.
Conclusion
The fruit is not promised but labor is always an option. Take it and try it. Or miss it and loose what little chance you have got.
I was dreaming of being able to climb atop that mountain and experience all this which I was experiencing from ground. Is seeing the world is only seeing the cities? or visiting where you want to, even if it’s nowhere part of the exploration too?
Life is a bigger place than what we know or can think off. Your sense of self-expands when you are amidst nature.
I intend to quench my thirst for exploration and adventure in the future, such visits fan the flame, next year I want to get certified as a mountaineer and slowly, I want to learn how to truly globe trot.
One life to live and it’s beautiful. If you are willing to put in the work, then the world is for your taking.
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