Travel , Then and Now

Having served in army for over 35 years one is quite used to all kinds of travel. Some moves are well planned and comfortable but many were unplanned moves in remote areas in difficult weather conditions, sometimes with a huge baggage and accompanied by family including infants. One generally had to be alert every moment looking for connecting mode of transport and keeping an eye on the baggage and a trip with small children meant hunting around for hot water or milk every few hours. At the end of 48 hours or more , one arrived at the destination totally weary and absolutely groggy with lack of sleep .

Recently I had to make an unscheduled trip from Indore to Coimbatore. Of course , there was that anxiety while pouring over the options for move, on the net . But, within minutes we decided on an option and the booking was done online. It was a tedious itinerary going by current standards as it required three legs of flights with a layover of six hours or so.

Today, preparations for a travel means loading your digital wallets, configuring the settings for transport apps and doing the web check in.

From then on it is just walking through airports and hotel lobbies waving plastic cards and tapping on mobile phones.

Food, stay, transport and other services are taken care off while digital transactions happen automatically. For a person well provided for, it would be only of academic interest as notifications keep coming in ,on phone, indicating the charges for various services.

Most of these notifications start with thank you for using this or that . Cab drivers or hotel staff serve you and thank you for letting them serve you. Any tips from your side widens their smiles and expressions of gratitude. So, besides the digital wallets , you only need to carry some currency notes of small nominations to render your environment even more pleasing.

Most of these service staff would be living in congested living space, buying their basic food on street side outlets , paying with their meager, hard earned cash. They would have reached their work place commuting for long hours jostling in a public transport.

Do we really deserve this kind of service? If so what have we done to be waited hand and foot by the less privileged?

In the same trip , we also had an opportunity to travel by a public transport on road, for 40 Km. There were the traffic snarls with the scorching mid day sun beating down the windows . Besides all seats being taken, the bus also had some standing passengers stoically staring into the space ahead. One standing passenger inadvertently tread on another’s foot and the next 15 minutes or so there was such a nasty verbal brawl that could be heard by every passenger. A digital traveler living a bubble existence in airport/hotel/AC car would never understand why the commoners are so ready to take offense over seemingly minor issues.

It is so easy to be unflappable or magnanimous when all your physical and mental requirements are taken care off . The real test to equanimity is when you can be compassionate even after a sleepless night, thirsting for a glass of water and are not sure about your next meal or the next leg of journey.

It is not just a travel, even the journey of life is absolutely smooth for some while every moment is a struggle for many. As I see it, majority of common folks struggle to attain even a moment of peace in their lives . A privileged person living an entitled existence may or may not be aware of what goes though the minds of these less privileged beings. This lot most often, would also include some of our own kith and kin.

Thirukkural has a couplet on righteousness, that says “anyone would understand the need to lead a righteous life as the result of leading such a life is evident by seeing a man sitting on a palanquin and the persons bearing the palanquin.” At least I don’t understand . There are a number of commentaries ranging from one extreme to the other. One says, “one who follows righteous path will get to ride on top rather than bear the load “. Another says ,” One who rides is equanimous to good and bad fortune while the one who bears the load is always unhappy” .

Whatever be, for ages , humankind has seen one class bearing the load of others while another class , a minority, don’t even need to bear their own weight! Machines to a great extent have removed the need for physical lifting of the entitled through muscle power; but even the most advanced society can still be divided into categories of lifters and leaners ,figuratively.

I don’t think we can ever achieve that state of universal equality. As I see it, some are chosen to lead a privileged existence just so that they are in a better position to bring some physical and mental comfort to the less privileged by providing some financial help and by their genial behaviour.