सैर कर दुनिया की ग़ाफ़िल ज़िंदगानी फिर कहाँ
ज़िंदगी गर कुछ रही तो ये जवानी फिर कहाँ
As a kid I once went on a school trip. It was an all day trip to some of the historical and fun locations across Delhi. Our Hindi homework next day was to write an essay about the trip and the experience. I started my essay with the aforementioned lines. I was 12 years old.
Since then, up until a couple of days back, my life has gone through phases where I was all excited about travel, where I disliked it to the fullest and where travel was as exciting as the place in question. Of late, trips became more of an escape from regular mundane life - to have some low time, to have some fun, to recharge.
Last weekend I visited Los Angeles. Delayed, exhausted and perhaps on edge with reasons unknown, City of Angels met with a frustrated myself! I was oscillating between moments of frustration (read - why is Universal Studios so crowded) and fun (read - holy smoke I'm doing this ride again!). Needless to say, it reflected reasonably poorly on my face and in my correspondence with few friends I was talking to. One of my friend asked me to go to hell while the other one asked if I am finally feeling the loneliness! A sensible friend responded, "Dont get frustrated ... Just take a breath and enjoy!!". I love my friends and I choose to believe they love me too - so definitely I was not at my best. Eventually, I happened to find peace in the noise of Autobots and Decepticons. Towards the fag end of the day, while sitting near the Universal exit, I met these four "freaks" - and everything changed.
"Are you visiting LA?", said a guy while flashing his cap with big Los Angeles logo. "Are you on a solo trip? Going what all places?", the girl shouted while dealing with her skateboard. While I was still trying to comprehend this unexpected barrage of questions, "Guys, leave him be" coming from somewhere felt like a respite. "It's ok", I said, and went on to answer the questions asked. "Thanks for being a sport, man!", said the fourth guy who was pretending not to be there and followed it up with "Hey, if you don't have any plan for today, you can join us. No pressure. We are heading towards Venice Beach you know!". "It's a good place", said the girl. I thought, hesitated, but finally said yes and there I was riding with them to Venice Beach, a place with unbelievable vibe.
I am still in awe of the city of Venice - it is free spirited, almost walking the very thin line between carefree and careless. Graffiti, eclectic music, basketball, body building and people, tons of them, some walking, some driving their bikes, some surfing and many others skating - Venice beach just has a different tune to it - that somehow makes you groove. We made some baskets, cheered upon some musicians, walked on the beach and eventually landed up on the grass, talking. I got some inputs on places to visit, food to try and the things to do. Amidst all the things told and untold, something struck me the most - "When you come to LA, do what everyone does. Go Disney, go Universal, shop at rodeo if you have money, get yourself clicked at Hollywood or Beverly Hills - you should do all of it. But, thats cliche man! You come to LA, you live the city vibe - Venice, Santa Monica, Inglewood, Malibu. You be the city."
I'll probably never meet these folks ever again. They neither told their name nor asked for mine. In fact we never went beyond "hey". I'll always remember the two and half hours I spent with them. Not just because they were fun, but because they somehow reminded me of what travel is supposed to mean. It is not always just low time, it is not just visiting a place either, it is not just doing and seeing what is being written and talked about, it is probably about getting lost in the place so much so that you almost become a part of it. Ok, yes, it is a bit philosophical. But hey, "this is the way!"
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