That rut called daily routine goes on and on like the bullock who would once upon a time draw oil with the wood press. The eyes of the poor animal used to be 'blind'ed, and hence the powerful beast would not even realise the mundane repetitive drudgery it would suffer day in and day out.
Now even 'wood pressed' oil is processed mechanically, while human life has grown bovine in multiple ways. In such a scenario, we look for an alternative that takes us away from the rush hours, the chaotic traffic, the cheap petty politicking rampant in every field devoid of any genuine meaning.
Hence the relevance of tourism that teaches us to look at the boring banality around us through new eyes. Let me give a few examples. A city slicker grumbles everyday about the ruined roads. Yet she loves the dirt road that leads up a fort. The plateaus appear worthy once one has achieved a certain height, right?
Look at a pilgrimage, for example. Most of the villagers who walk annually to Pandharpur from Alandi are farmers. The wind-tossed and rain-soaked journey becomes a pilgrimage for them because the entire ambience of devotion breaks the boring routine, while giving a new purpose to their lives.
These days, there are very many 'packages' that allow you to spend a week-end happily, go on solo tours, go camping, visit different sanctuaries here or abroad. Why, the stinking super rich can even afford the space trip! No wonder then that you can be a perfect couch potato, and yet enjoy an online tour, an experience that is getting more and more immersive.
Tourism, in brief, is indeed interesting. For a book lover, a bibliophile like me, truly touching is the ferrying across universes, both outer and inner, that wor(l)ds allow. In the masterful pages are bound vistas that are truly vision-ary, that encompass the far, the wide, the wild and the divine! Long live such tours de source!
Pratima@ Tourism makes you healthy, if not wealthy and wise!
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