Goat Herders

(c) Photo by: D.G.

Children working as Goat-Herders in a village outside Ahmedabad, India

You think you have traffice problems?

Organised Chaos in Ahmedabad, India

The Emergence of Wanderer

As a child, I wasn't hungry for travel. In 1980s Ahmedabad (India), most people I knew took few vacations, just as we did. Now and again in school holidays, or trips to religious destinations. More often, there were day trips, either from school or with family. I enjoyed those trips immensely, but they were just fun outing. I didn't appreciate their importance then. Growing up I used to say, "Oh I would love to travel the world one day" and that was just so I could say "I have been there and done that."

But then I went on a study abroad program for one semester, and everything changed. It was then, being away on my own for the first time, going through a personal soul-searching journey as well as studying that I understood what travelling really meant to me. It wasn't just about seeing the sights, or bragging about how much of the world I'd seen. Travelling was a way to experience life. It was to go somewhere I had never been before, and see how well I coped with it. It was to find myself in strange surrounding, and through the journey, know myself better.

Over the years, my belief that travelling is not only important in my life but essential has steadily grown. Each place I have lived in or visited, has contributed a little bit to my growth as a person.

I have actually lived in 3 countries (India, USA and UK), and it has been quite an experience. Now, I feel myself to be either a global citizen who belongs everywhere, or a wanderer who doesn't belong in any nation. Most of the time it's half-way between the two. And I wouldn't have it any other way. :)

Look out for some photo posts next.