Back when I used to be mole-less, I would enviously watch others show-off their black dots and listen to stories of what that mole 'meant'. Yeah, each mole came with a story - like if you had a mole somewhere around your mouth , then you were beautiful. And having one in your palm meant you would be rich.
So imagine my joy when I discovered this teeny-tiny black dot on the sole of my feet! I remember running to Grandma ('Naani-Ammi' as I fondly call her) and asking her if this mole meant anything as well. She looked at it and told me very matter-of-factly that this mole would take me places, in the literal sense. That people with moles on their feet were born to travel.
Looking back, I feel proud that my dear old naani-ammi was right after all!
I started traveling very early, accompanying papa on some of his work tours whenever I could get away from school. With him I saw steel plants in different cities, a coal mine, naval bases, the inside of a submarine, ships, toffee factories, a milk-bottling plant, handloom houses and a tour of few other small cottage industries which I can't recall now. We even stayed among the tribals of rural Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. We'd almost always travel by train and on occasions that we didn't, we'd travel by road in a good old ambassador or a Willys Jeep. Bringing me up true Railway ishtyle, he even took me to the inside of a rail engine and the driver was kind enough to let me stand there between two stops. I've seen how food is cooked in a Pantry car, and have even traveled for a short distance in the guards van! Since papa's work required him to relocate frequently, we would see ourselves in a new city every three years or less. So there were always new places to explore, new forts to conquer, new rivers to cross, and new rail-lines to chug on.
My grandparents had complete monopoly over my summer and winter vacations and I spent it with them in either Uttar Pradesh or Madhya Pradesh ever year. There we'd often travel to rural interiors and stay in small villages, sleep on 'charpoys', milk goats, pluck henna leaves, eat fresh corn - right off the farm, bathe in the cool well-water which some good-hearted villager would draw for us and listen to stories of ghosts who lived on Pipal trees!
Growing up brought with it the advantages of traveling unaccompanied by parents for the first time. College excursions, traveling with friends, and sometimes alone or with just my bro was a whole new experience. In some thankless way it meant I had more freedom to do whatever I wanted to do minus the watchful eyes of papa-mummy. Actually, traveling alone is actually a misnomer. I could never really do that back then - papa always had someone look over me, sometimes even have them escort me and the destination was more or less restricted to places where there were family friends or some family member, however distant. Much as I hated that I accepted it as some kind of breakthrough.
Moving to Bangalore was another feather to my already established travel record. There I met friends and colleagues who shared the same passion for travel and together we hiked our way through some lush green valleys and mountains and rowed a few boats every now and then . Every other weekend was a getaway weekend with a long trip added now and then. By the time I left Bangalore there was not a place within 400 - 500 kms of that city that I hadn't seen ! This was when my love affair with road-travel matured. Of all forms of travel that I've used, this is my top favorite. To discuss why I love this form of travel the most, I shall print another blog.
And then US happened. In my first 4 months of stay here I had already traveled across 9 states. A feat I am quite proud of. And had it not been for frequent travels to Ohio and Michigan, my average would been a lot higher by now! I still have 39 stars to reach now. My dream travel right now is to do a road-trip across the country. Sounds a little daunting at the moment but I am damned if I leave this country without doing this!
My worst nightmare is to wake up one day and find out that that teeny-tiny black dot has vanished! Every now and then, the superstitious me checks if that mole is still in place and feels comforted seeing it right where it was first spotted.
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