Every time we travel, I wonder how much of what we see or who we meet, will remain unaffected through our interaction. After-all, we did come from the outside, and that in-turn would alter the reality of those living in a world – very different from our own. And through every subsequent visit, by people, belonging to different worlds; there will be little left of what one originally set off to see.
And, yet, tourism may be the necessary evil for many dying local economies. In a nondescript tribal village in Nameri, Assam; Latun is well acquainted with greetings in English. His apprentice and he, know how to cook a meal, one that would normally have been cooked by local women. He picks up names of birds – ones he may have already known in his native tongue – on trips with tourists accompanied by a naturalist. Latun changed when the first visitor chose to visit his village.
In a rustic desert village in Rajasthan, kids are in a state of nervous excitement. We decide to click a snap together.
As I put my hand on a girl’s shoulder, she squeals, “Ooh…A boy!”.
To which, another kid replies, “No! She’s a girl wearing pants.”
After our photo, they make frivolous demands for money. I’m not sure, if they realised how their demand had changed them.
And then, there are those who don’t meet people from the outside. They have probably never faced a camera and don’t know whether to smile or not.
Not because they don’t know how. They simply haven’t done this before.
As we drive along a derelict road, in rural Maharashtra, we come across an elderly lady bathing her buffalo.
I ask her, “Maushi (aunt) can I click a snap.”
She replies, “Should I let you click my snap because you called me Maushi?”
I turn to myself. How much have I changed through every interaction? Initially, I was the one who was observing and probably been a catalyst for change. But, through each trip, it was hard for me to stay unaffected. For if travel cannot change you, perhaps, nothing else will.
As a traveller, haven’t I tried to live a life of a myriad realities? Often, I tried to forget where I came from or who I was. Tried to escape everything that I disliked in my own world. On every trip, all I did, was search for a world that I could call my own. Maybe, a near perfect world. Ironically, the more I seek, the more I’ve become distant from the world I will always return to.
twobrownfeet 
I really like the way you have connected everything, it’s hard to tell if the article is about the images and the journey or the journey was solely for the article… Beautifully written and connected persistently.. 🙂
Thank you Hiraa! 🙂 I’m getting a little nostalgic these days – collating past trips. So probably, this post was a result of all that mounting emotion. Or maybe, we haven’t been on an road trip for a while now. Our last road trip was in November ’14.
The way you have expressed all those emotions and narrated the whole journey, seems like you traveled there just yesterday 🙂
Oddly, I’ve got a poor memory. And yet, I do feel like I met these people – yesterday. 🙂
Deep thoughts! Not typical of you to be so philosophical!
Haha! I’m pretty philosophical as a person. Often, I find it hard to bridge the gap between pragmatism and idealism. But, I must remember, this is a travel blog. One, I started to help travellers, like us – to see different worlds. I’ve contemplated having another blog on abstract thoughts. 🙂
You should go for it! 🙂
Thank you! Now, only if I could overcome my habit of procrastinating. 🙂
Yes, I am like that, too. Takes me ages to come up with a post. But I’m not going to put pressure on myself by committing to publishing one post a day, or two posts a week for that matter. It’s so stressful!
I totally get it! 🙂
Hopefully, as we gain a better understanding of another part of the world, so do the peoples who interact with us.
True. There are some worlds that need to understand each other – and not rely solely on projected media perceptions. And then, there are those, mutually exclusive from our own. Some, best left alone. 🙂
the best part of travel is connecting with people. You have some beautiful candid moments collated here!
I do like interacting with people on trips. Although, I wouldn’t call myself an extrovert. But, travel changes you in many ways. Doesn’t it? 🙂
Ofcourse it does! That’s what I love about traveling! Self growth 🙂
Interesting exchanges there! Talking to people out of the blue can give something that stays with you a while 🙂
Sure does! Thanks for stopping by, Ami. 🙂