I had the most beautiful but brief reading spell last month. While my menagerie of books gather dust, those few days were a reminder as to why to be able to read is central to my well-being.
Like a quick spell of summer rain that transforms a parched landscape, I caught up with a few days of magical reading. My vocabulary changed to match what I was reading, trying to keep pace with the author, with the place she was driving through and with the people she was meeting. I was an invisible observer, privy to her thoughts and feelings. I knew she was not infallible just as I knew she had strength that few others could see.
Like the rain, this too would dry up in a few days.
April 25 – 30, 2018. Eravikulam National Park.
- I was not in Bangalore
- 2. I was in a place that hasn’t changed much in thousands of years
- 3. There were mountains
- 4. There was no contact with civilization – no internet, no phone
- 5. There was crystal-clear water
- 6. The nights were beautiful and cold
- 7. I could walk to my heart’s content
- 8. There were no roads, only cloud-kissed mountains & wind-swept grass
- 9. My camp was built nearly a century ago
- 10. I had a great book and the most amazing views
- 11. There were peaceful neighbours