Note: This blog post was written in August of 2018, and was originally posted on my old blog.
i got in that mood i always get when i’m travelling (and not), where i’m struck by an overwhelming love for every creature and every human i encounter- almost painfully strong
and then i feel somewhat emotionally attached to a place, which makes it hard to leave (such an ironic situation, as travelling means almost always moving)
we met rajesh today, while buying clothes
we spent hours with him, first bargaining, then drinking chai and talking about his life and dreams
“i dream to fly, fly, fly- to leave this shop and obligations, to become an actor. once my children are old enough, i will fly. i am a good actor”
he entertained us for a long time, imitating all different types of customers who come in his shop
people here ask to be photographed
the way they look directly at the camera, at me, gives me something completely fresh
the haveli in jaisalmer was a victorian dream with a twist
i always visit cemetaries everywhere, but bada bagh was a completely different experience- i think i’ve leveled up in the graveyard exploration game
an abandoned village in the middle of nowhere- where people are said to get nightmares if they spend the night
the movement of the car
through the desert
safari
fast enough to create a collage of overwhelming images,
but freezing time, once a face turns to look at you- that electrifying millisecond of eye contact
someone carrying water, a basket, the only colour standing out in the monotony of sand
for miles
in the darkness, on the way back home (“home”?),
with a running nose and
overflowing feeling
i thought about everyone i’ve ever known
and all the ways there is to communicate
to understand
and how we had just jumped and danced on sandhills at sunset with the camel boys and laughed in a language no one spoke
but everyone understood
and i thought
this is how to live