Since I’m writing after so long, I’ll just start off from
where I am. Some changes have happened in the last year, but I will attempt to
reflect those in the writings that will follow in the next few days. I hope
that makes my story contiguous and understandable.
Its nearly the end of the year. Peeps and I returned from a
week long road trip in the Southwest. On our return journey, we got talking
about what the US has and doesn’t have to offer. Amongst what it doesn’t have,
are clearly, learnings from a long historical past or an intriguing culture.
But we quickly moved to what it does have, something that most folks disagree
with.
To start with, the geographic beauty in the US, from what
little we have explored in the last few months, is nothing short of mind
blowing. Specifically, our experiences in the Redwood forests, the lonely
expanse of the Death Valley, never ending rocks at Zion or the vast
grasslands at Tehachapi, all uncovered a magnificent visual, incomparable to
anything I’ve seen before. We did enjoy the coast at the Big Sur, but
acknowledged that it doesn’t come close to the ocean in South East Asia or East
Africa, or the highway diversity, which can’t compare to India’s. But
geological formations such as the one I just mentioned, were an eyeful for us.
Another thing which the West, and specifically the United
States, offers is an insight in to the history of the last 200 years. The
contrast across the last two centuries is strikingly visible here, probably due
to the absence of anything meaningful before. But credit where credit is due.
We travelled through the Borax works in the Death Valley and realized just how
recently these vast distances were covered in much less sophisticated manner.
India and most of my beloved third world, unfortunately doesn’t offer such
contrasts as the extreme modernization still evades us there.
Moving beyond the travel, a third aspect of the US, which I absolutely
and passionately love, is the choice of food it allows. I’m a relatively simple
eater and don’t enjoy restaurants as much as many others do. In fact, holidays
are often my reason to detoxify with simpler food, owing to the lives we
ordinarily lead. This country allows me to do so much with food. I get what I
want, where I want. It’s a joy to cook at home, and it’s not difficult to find
clean and well-made food outside either. I can cook all kinds of healthy food,
without it having to be boring. My experiments so far include burgers (medium
rare), hung curd wraps, roasted sweet potatoes, lots of green juices, a variety
of salads, and many more. For someone who has very little time but a big desire
for well made, clean food, this country has a ton to offer.
I’m happy to be able to breathe some life in to this space,
but know better than to commit to it yet. It’s that time when I make new plans
and set new goals. This year I’ve asked Peepu to humor me with an experiment.
We will make 3 resolutions (big or small), of which two will be those that we
set for ourselves, but the third will be set for us, by each other. We need to
be kind and practical, but at the same time, suggest something that we believe
will overall make life better. Peepu has agreed to participate, so I’m keen to
see how this works out. And as I type this, I realize how this is one of those
grown up things, at which I would roll my eyes, a few years back. I guess the
world will have to cope with me growing up.
There’s no music as I OD-ed on my playlist on our 530 mile
drive back. But the song that’s still playing faint in my mind, is ‘This is the
life’ by Amy MacDonald
