We Go Away to Come Back

The poet said ‘a thing of beauty is a joy forever’. What he didn’t add was that beauty (and ugliness) inspires a person to push their creative boundaries. A beautiful sunset, snow-capped peaks, a large baobab standing in isolation against a bleak landscape, the endless salt plains of the Rann of Kutch, a herd of camels with their young, a group of women carrying pots on their heads, children playing... We prefer to focus on the beautiful rather than its other half. There is definitely a good reason why artistes of all genres go away to create something new – why Tagore, Gauguin, Maugham and Van Gogh created their best work away from home.

It is easy when we travel, especially on a holiday, to try and make the most of the moment and squeeze it for all that we can get out of it. We don't want to be bothered with larger issues and problems. We just want to enjoy ourselves and forget about everything else. Fair enough. After all, what is inspiring today may well not exist tomorrow.

And When We Are There

When you pick a holiday, go for one that assures you that they have done the homework – that your holiday has been planned keeping in mind the wellbeing of the destination, both in terms of the people who live there as well as the environment in which they live. That way, when you actually get there, you can relax and open your senses to the new experiences that will surround you. Else, being the conscientious person that you are, you will end up seeing only the plastic and the packets – tell-tale signs of unfettered commercialisation and unthinking visitors thinking nothing of spoiling an ecosystem. (Come to think of it, this very apathy can become an inspiration – for