Purposeful
travel
It’s
not the destination, but the journey that counts.
//This speech
example was given an Excellent grade in high school.
When I was
kindly awarded the opportunity to orate a speech about purposeful travel, my
mind wandered to mull over memories wrapped around planned expeditions.
For many,
travel is a means to escape the mundane realities of daily routine. Instead of
a voyage, travel becomes a snatch of retreat. For such people, travel appears
as a breath of fresh air out of the staleness of myriad responsibilities
imposed upon them and they desperately grab the opportunity, only to retreat
into the comfort of a hotel room.
The truth
is that people with such an outlook are fleeing, not travelling.
While I
strongly stand beside the proverb, “Variety is the spice of life”, I feel that
many people ignore the benefits that comes with planned educational trips, for
fear that it may be unstimulating and boring. They could not be more wrong.
They are unaware of the thrill of exploring a forgotten culture, mapping your
way along the corridors of history to uncover buried secrets.
Cultural
trips can do more than just exhilarate. It allows a person to step out of the
practices and social norms that they were brought up in and see the world as
their ancestors had. When I walked along the ramparts of Kumbhalgarh Kila, a
fortress tucked in the range of Aravalli Hills near the bustling city of
Udaipur, my eyes traced over the horizon and the lush landscape surrounding the
stone castle.
Behind me,
the group of people surrounding the guide murmured over the history of the
structure we stood upon. The travel brochure in my hand described the place as
one of the largest boundary walls in the world. But when I closed my eyes, I
could imagine among the hushed whispers, the thrum of horses’ hooves clattering
against the stone floors as the cavalry marched towards the call of war, a
scarlet flag whirling in the wind and the hoot of war bugle summoning the
soldiers to attention. My hands rubbed over the rough boundary stone and could
imagine a soldier keeping watch behind the battlement, bow stretched and eyes
narrowed for any sign of movement.
As we moved
on to the next heritage, I discarded the brochure for facts could not account
for the experience of being present among the structures that kept secrets of
the lives they supported.
We stopped
in front of the doorway that showed the room of the maharani and her maids. The
intricate carvings on the wall told the stories of their beliefs, gods and
ancestors. A rope was tied across the threshold, so that our presence would not
alter the preserved history. The women would have looked over the kingdom from
the window, patiently waiting for their husbands and sons to return home.
I could
feel the weight of the high standard of morals imposed on Rajputs as I stood
before the battle shields, swords and armour. I could see my reflection in the
smudged metal and it seemed to be challenging one’s mortality. The other
tourists could feel it as well for they stood mutely and their chatter had died
down. I stepped away from the showcase with my heartbeat quickening as if
almost afraid of the scenes it represented.
Under the
mirror ceiling of the durbar room, I could see my image distorted into numerous
splendid shapes. I acknowledged the beauty that had stood the test of time but
realized something much more profound. Time always moves on. The corridors that
were once adorned by the presence of kings and queens were being traversed,
centuries later, by millennials like me.
Though the
pictures of battles had sparked a response of fear, I realized that there is
only one way to face life’s challenges. Bravely, like the Rajputs had.
The high
walls of their magnanimous forts stood testament of their might, power and
struggle that had seemed to seep into the soils of Rajasthan. Though I am sure
that I will not face the great odds the Maharajas once faced, I pledged to
myself to instill courage in my outlook when faced with testing circumstances.
I went into
my trip like a curious girl with wonder awaiting eyes and returned humbled with
the virtues that ruled the days of Rajputs.
Though the
destination was planned, it took me across a journey through centuries that I
could not have foretold. I learned life lessons that I could not have gathered
from the descriptions of the heritage sites.
I hope
through my experience I have left a mark to encourage you to explore places
that have been forgotten to relive the lives of remarkable men and women that
were here before us.
//This speech
example has been published in RoundPier Magazine