A new ‘ferry’ tale
A boat ride across a river is worth the experience than crossing over the newly-built bridge
Inan era of connectivity, it is the bridges and roads, optical fiber cables, modems, Wi-Fi, Hot-Spot and so on. Since one year, every time I visited my hometown I personally felt a strong disconnect within this connect. And I have my personal experiences to support this ‘Slice of Life’. However, well garnished with the herbs of modernity and presented on our daily platter of life it lacked the original taste and flavour.
Under various developmental projects undertaken in the recent past, widening of the roads and building flyovers and bridges for a better connectivity between towns and villages topped the priority list of a new era connectivity syndrome. Undoubtedly it saved lot of commuting time, but at the same time it took away the pleasure of travelling across the river to your village in a ferry.
Now you cross that distance in two to three minutes with the newly constructed bridge, but what you miss is the cool breeze and the splashing of water droplets on your face every time the ferry boat waded its way through high tide.
Over the bridge you can barely see the lush greenery that surrounds the river banks in form of mangroves and variety of birds making their presence felt as you pass them. Early morning or evening ferry boat ride has its own charm; it brings you more closer to nature. With the sunrise you see the flock of birds flying towards their chosen destination for the day. And as the sun sets, you witness them return back to their nest comfort.
As you cross your half way mark, you see another ferry in the opposite direction, with some kids along with their elders waving out to you. It is a moment enough to feel welcomed and wanted by the village and the villagers you are visiting. Your reciprocation to their gesture adds to the same glow and joy on their face.
In that five to seven minutes river journey, you witness and experience so many unexplored moments that you want the journey to continue as long as you can. Interestingly, these ferries carry four-wheelers too with a bare minimum charge and they do not charge a single rupee for you or fellow passengers who are on their own or on two-wheelers.
Next time when you visit any destination which offers you two options: road or river, embark on that ferry journey that nourishes your mind, body and soul with breathtaking moments of nature rather than embarking upon the newly constructed bridge. In the name of connect, I don’t want to be a part of disconnect with this life’s blissful experience. And above all, unknowingly for those five to seven minutes ferry ride, I’m making a small contribution towards reducing sound as well as air pollution. As my four-wheeler mean machine is silent, while I enjoy the scenic beauty to the glory.