When it comes to family memories, our vacations are the only
things that I remember the most. Now that I am in my late twenties, I don’t
remember the number of toys I had broken during childhood or the number of
clothes my parents had got for me. Even though I was a tough child, mom and dad
never gave up on brining me up well. The best thing that they did for me was
that they took me to places where I collected experiences and memories.
When I was in my early teens, we went to Pondicherry and I
still remember the surprised face of mine. I had my jaw dropped to the ground
and I kept looking at the clear blue waters for a good number of minutes. I
made the sand castles, played in the water, and we got countless pictures
clicked. After more than a decade, those memories are still afresh on the walls
of my room.
Since we live in Delhi, I learned about the Punjabi culture
for a greater part of my life. However, I got to know about the South Indian
culture when we went to Chennai and Bangalore. The cuisines that we tried there
were positively different from the Punjabi food that I had eaten all my life. I
could fathom that this is a great learning experience, but I cannot assume a
life for myself here. This knowledge was really useful when I had got a
brilliant job offer from an MNC in Chennai, but I already had my share of
knowledge to decline that proposal. Even though the salary was great, I
realized that being a foodie and a Punjabi, the South Indian food was not for
me to eat. In the coming years, I would however, accept the job offer from Pune
because of the multi-cultural environment.
Travel helps make an
opinion
Had I not traveled to the various parts of the country during
my childhood, I would not have been able to have an unbiased opinion about the
world. It is because of my road trips with family and friends that I know how
the people are around the world. I have lived in different parts of India, and
I can live with people from almost any culture. I have spent a good deal of
time away from parents, which has made me a flexible person who can sleep
anywhere in the world.
I have had the luxuries of Self-Drive Cars when I had money, and traveled in a basic passenger
train when I was almost broke. Yet, it was only family trips that made me an
enthusiastic traveler. Mom and dad are also passionate vacationers who would
pack the bags as soon as the summer vacations hit. However, we never went to
the clichéd places where everyone seems to rush, which is why even now I don’t
go to the hottest tourist spots.
I have learned the art of finding our offbeat places from my
mom, who never agreed to wasting time in traffic jams just for the sake of it.
Road trips were a learning experience for me, as well as, my parents. They
would cherish the time equally as I would do. And we loved creating scrapbooks as
we returned from road trips, and they are my most valuable possessions till
date. I, being a guy, hear it all the time that I am way more dedicated to my
family than I should. Yet, I cannot forget the contribution of my parents in
making me what I am.
