Gypsy Feet...

Ever had a taste in your mouth - but were unable to point out what it was that you just ate 5 minutes ago?

Lately, thanks to my ankle-injury, life has changed -- just a little bit. Sure, it will take me some 3-4 months to fully recover, but the painful part is over now. Who would’ve thought - a game of basketball, I would come crashing down on someone’s foot, end up with an ankle the size of a tennis-ball - all this, for the betterment of my life.

The first month, I needed my parents to drive me to the Ayurvedic Rehab Centre. People would either stare at my foot, or at how I was leaning on my father. “Will you look at that? The young man, instead of taking some weight off the old man is actually pushing down on him! What has this world come to?”

It was funny, looking at people mesmerized by the beauty of my injured foot. They’d be walking forward, but looking back, with their eyes fixated on my ankle. Eventually, they would bump into a pole, or trip, and injure their foot… Ok, that isn’t entirely true -- but, it could’ve happened. 6.2 billion people with a broken foot - by then, I would’ve recovered, and be named king!

Drastic imagination aside, I’ve been driving to the clinic myself for the past 5 days.It’s impossible to drive with my father around. Not because he’d be pointing out mistakes (I m practically perfect on the road) - but, simply because, he, like Michael Schumacher, needs to be behind the wheel, at all times! Even with his melting knees, he’d rather bear the pain, than lose control.

I, generally, don’t really care. But, every once in a while, I prefer driving alone. The only way to have that pleasure is to wakeup by 6:00am and head out while half the world is still asleep. Or, is the world half-asleep?

Either ways, just, the thrill of hearing a CD I may have burnt the night before, wandering through the empty roads, drifting in my own mind… There is some form of spiritual ascending and eternal satisfaction in rising with the sun, and realizing that you are one of the few people enjoying it. Almost makes you feel like The Chosen One!

With not much traffic around, it’s easy to stay calm and composed.

A 10 minute wait at the clinic, and my therapy begins - nothing hi-fi, really, just massaging the ankle. If I m lucky, I manage to get my doctor to share a few stories about the Himalayas. I can’t begin to describe the image it paints in my head. All I know, is that it pushes me a bit.

On my way back, stuck in just a bit of traffic, I almost feel… floated. I m reminded of the constant urge to break-free, which many seem to share. It simply gets stronger. Revitalized!Even in that traffic-filled, fumed, congested environment, I take a deep breath of the fresh air – the thin layer that has managed to survive at the bottom of the contamination.

All the running around seems point-less, if you don’t seem to be getting anywhere. If life is simply a marathon, why not run in style? I’d rather have a pair of Gypsy Feet - just, travelling and writing - accompanied by some good coffee, every once in a while, and my cherished headphones and CD case.

I now realize, the taste in my mouth were the fresh green grapes I just had…

End quote:
A good traveller has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.
- Lao Tzu