When we started the trip we were superbly excited about it. But certainly the trip was a million times more mind blowing than our expectations. Six weeks straight with friends on a trip spanning all of India – what else could you ask of life. Still can’t believe that we’ve completed the journey that we had been planning for so long.
It was an exhausting yet exhilarating experience. We did stuff that we would have never done if not for the trip. We slept on railway platforms, ate at the cheapest places, bargained for absolutely everything and traversed miles on foot. We had that tenth standard geography book come live in front us. We saw the peninsula, the gigantic Himalayan ranges and the wide stretch of the ganges planes. We rafted through the turbulent waters of the Ganga and enjoyed the solace in the music of waves of the Arabian sea. From hills in the south to the mountains in Gangtok, the ghats in Benaras to farmlands in Punjab, the palaces in Jaipur to market streets in Kolkata; we were enthralled each time. Not just this, people everywhere were more cooperative and helpful than we thought. There were a few bad encounters but the good ones outshine them bigtime. Our only worry was why every other person thought that we are kids who have been separated from their parents. Well we got used to this in a first few days itself. We enjoyed delicacies from all around the country. We tried the local cuisine in almost every state. We ate lavishly almost all the time, and we definitely don’t have any regrets.
Our perspective about the government changed greatly. We were able to appreciate the convenience of the state transport buses, the waiting halls on railway platforms, the public water counters and various other facilities. We could also point out some loopholes in certain places and that made us feel more responsible to work towards bringing our bit of change. We grew up mentally and emotionally all along the trip.
One other thing that came our way a lot was how when we introduced that we come from gujarat; people would react saying, “ Oh you’re from the prime-minister’s state”. Slowly we were able to understand how people everywhere recognise every state in certain specific ways. But even after all the stereotyping that exists, most people recognise themselves as proud Indians. And the whole idea that cricket unites this nation is extremely true. While we were on the trip champion’s trophy league was on and be it north or south, east or west ; people everywhere absolutely love cricket.
The trip has nurtured us and we’ve grown up a lot in these forty-two days. We were able to break countless stereotypes of our own. We challenged our limits by pushing ourselves out of our safety zone countless times. And most importantly our friendship has strengthened exceptionally.These six weeks have been the best ones of our lives yet. We will forever cherish these memories.
