Kushal jhunjhunwala (@KushalJ2w)Traveler | Photographer | Co founder of myroamingspirit
Last Autumn, I travelled to Spiti, one of the remotest places in India (and probably one of the remotest in the world). A place which has remained untouched by modern times. It’s raw yet magnificient beauty is an absolute delight for any photographer. However there is much more to this place than just its stunning surroundings. It’s the people here who make this place much more special. Happy, helpful, and humble – this precisely describes every one of them.
One day when we were heading towards Pin Valley in Spiti (known for its wildife reserves), we stopped at the last village on the route to Pin - a small village, rather an extremely small one with only two mud houses and with a total population of 8 people. Finding ourselves in a dead end, we knocked at one of the doors. A young chap in mid twenties greeted us and invited us for tea in his house. There were some 3-4 kids as well.The parents had gone to a nearby village, so these guys were alone here. As we entered the room, the sight infront of us was unbelievable. The guy was watching an english news channel and on further inquiry explained that he is a graduate and plans to complete his B.Ed as well. It was too surprising to see an educated village boy at such a secluded place. The guy used to walk up 2 miles to get to the only mobile network range they had access to. It was an absolute eye opener for us. Can we ever imagine to live in such harsh conditions and still manage to be happy and be so helpful and generous. Today every one you meet cribs about what they don't have. Our desires have surpassed our means and we hardly bother about others. We are so bogged down in our daily lives that we hardly appreciate the things we have and the people who care for us - the things which actually matter. You may be thinking by now that this guy is another preachy bore! But the truth is - this incident and many more here in Spiti and all the other places which I have travelled, actually changed the way I look at my life. Every one of us struggle with the daily grind of our lives waiting for that big moment that we think will change our life – that high paying job, that promotion, that new house in a posh locality and so on. They come sometimes and sometimes they don’t. What ever the case be, in the process we often forget to appreciate the little moments of joy that we create for ourselves and others every day of our life. When you travel to places like Spiti, you get closer to yourself and your needs – both emotional and practical and you realise your true purpose. With the experiences that I have gained over a period of time, I firmly believe that every one can bring about a positive change in their lives by just being a regular traveller. I am not asking you to travel the entire year. Just two long trips in a year is good enough to start with. Here I have listed some of the changes that most people witness when they start their affair with travelling and I can guarantee you too will. A start is all it takes !
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Photos from wuestenigel (CC BY 2.0), wuestenigel
