When my close relative returned from her 10 days trip to Malaysia and Thailand, I asked her excitedly “How was Thailand? Did you visit those big Buddhist temples? How were the Kuala Lumpur’s Twin Towers?” She said “Yes, it was okay. Once you see America, nothing impresses you!” Initially, I was quite taken back by her non-flattering view of such exciting tourist spots that I myself want to visit one day. But soon I realized that we are not trained to appreciate ourselves, our history, our natural beauty, and our way of life even when we stick to those blindly. We are only wowed by tall clean buildings with cold reflective glasses and super sonic elevator that can get you to the 100th floor in about 60 seconds to be on top of the world!

 

I still remember that out of 4-5 European cities we visited during one trip, the one that I loved the most was Florence, Italy. As soon as we stepped out of the train, I had instant liking for that city. The more we roamed the city, the more we felt familiar. It looked just like my hometown Ahmedabad, with small alleyways and rows of attached three-storied homes with small jharokhas, with fast maneuvering scooters and tiny cars. But of course, the huge difference – their ancient locations did great justice to the antiquity, and the cars and scooters stopped at the red light! It made me wonder – how my city or any old historic rich Indian city can be turned into tourist bonanza, if maintained properly. But the point now is that connection made me appreciate a historic small town of old Europe much more than glittery park avenues of New York.

 

 

Every city or town has its own unique past and its own rich history. How can we not get impressed by an open farmers’ market that has been around for ages and be wowed by slippery cold surface of supermarket that sell the food that was grown 1000 miles away? If we recognized and cherished the obvious treasures that are available to us, we will be able to learn a lot from our own past. I fondly remember my trip to Hampi when we stayed in Bengaluru in 2006. Our last meal was a simple local ‘thali’ lunch at a make-shift place in middle of paddy fields. When we started our journey back – reluctantly – we passed through banana plantations and were stopped by herd of sheep in the small path across of the plantation. While we waited for the herd to pass, I had a terrible sense of nostalgia. It was strange because I grew up in a big city and not in farms. I would love to go to Champagne one day and enjoy the spectacular views of the famous vineyards, but I am sure my eyes will not be shedding tears as they were when I left the paddy fields of Hampi.

 

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Shachi Patel hosts a weekly radio show “The Indian Angle” on a local South Asian Radio Station in Silicon Valley, USA. She is an IT consultant by profession.

 

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