Day 100 : Contemplations - The walk never ends...
It only changes its form...
I won’t lie, it has been extremely difficult coming back into the society. While walking, I was like that raindrop, like that leaf, drifting slowly through the top of the mountain, with the wind, with the currents of the flowing river, towards the sea of life. I was everyone’s son, everyone’s brother, everyone’s friend— not anymore. I have my limitations now. My house ends when I take ten steps towards the gate. My house isn’t this entire Konkan Coast, this entire world, that mother nature had initially created for me, for you, for everyone. Maybe that is why I felt deeply about the bruises and scars that have marred the skins of the forests, the rivers, the shore. Maybe that is why I accepted everyone’s invitation, lived in their house as my own, because I knew that it was all one big family.
…and even though I have lived in numerous different houses, I feel sad that I didn’t share my time with more people. I skipped many invitations, many people who could have been a part of this wonderful family. I saw a ray of hope in every individual I met. None of the people, nor the ones who were for the cause, or the ones who were against it, became my enemies. Having been labelled in many ways, I still found a friend, when I met the people in person. I heard it countless times, “we thought that you were this kind or that kind, but our presumptions were wrong. We are sorry for that.” I do not condone anyone for the people that they are. Although I might condone them for the stance they have taken, but that doesn’t mean that I hate them.
Once again I am back in my house, feeling sort of shaken, for I can’t randomly start conversations with anyone that comes in my vision. I feel terrible that time will constrict me, that I will have a schedule and that schedule will constrain me. I have been feeling this since the day I ended my walk— I won’t be a catalyst for someone’s laughter anymore; that I won’t make their day by sharing a compliment.
It is a strange world and in this strange world, only the ones who go out of the normal and live their life the way they want are appreciated. A normal man living the same way seems like an idiot. They are terribly ostracised. Now, I understand why people don’t share a genuine laugh when they see each other. They have a thousand things running in the back of their mind. Their mental task screen is always open, always wanting to hop on to the next thing in line. They never live in the moment, enjoying it for what it is. We don’t have the touch of the mother nature to uplift us every time we feel down— in cities there is no silence of the woods. We don’t have the wisdom of strangers to bring us out of anxiety. I admit, I feel the difference already.
My appearance, my white t-shirt, which was the mark of peace, is already a mark of poverty in my city. My overgrown beard, hair, which carried the wisdom of countless elders that I met along the road, is suddenly bothersome for the city people. My free-spirited nature is anti-social for many. My ideas were good while they were in the form of text, in the form of videos, but the person behind it has become unpleasant to watch. My family too wants a normal person out of me… and since the praises have waned, so have the ideas of a person who was walking on the frontiers of the western shore.
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I sat in silence at the back seat of a State transport bus as I made my journey back towards Ratnagiri. While ruminating, I realised this, I was no longer the guy who saw things with a different perspective. My journey was no longer the point of attraction. I was just a guy, sitting in the back of a bus, inhaling the same dust like everyone else, watching out at the distant mountains like everyone else. I felt in that moment, what I had never felt in the 90 days of my walk, “what can one single person like me do?”
It is a daunting thought. I realise why no one gets out on the street and does what I had done. It is the blanket of comfort that pleases us, it makes us lethargic. It tells us that that one guy walking on the street is surely mental, you on the other hand have so much at stake. You have your house, your car, your wife, your family, why should you care about the mountains like he does? Why should you care about the jungles and wildlife like he does? Why should you feel the pain of others, when there is enough pain in your life already?
It is at this very moment, when you should shake yourself up, shatter this comfort, push away this voice that wants to keep you numb. You are a man that this universe has created with great effort.
Say to yourself then, “trust thyself”, for every heart beats to that iron string. We cannot run away from the society just because it deems us different. We are but obeying the almighty effort, advancing onto chaos and dark. We aren’t cowards fleeing before the oncoming storm of events. That storm, wild as it may seem, is but the chisel shaping us into who we are meant to be. It is not for us to retreat into the shadows of comfort but to walk forward, unshaken, knowing that even a single drop of rain, in time, carves its mark upon the stone.
Perhaps one person alone cannot move mountains, but they can plant a seed in the hearts of others. And if enough seeds are sown, if enough hearts awaken, then what once seemed impossible may one day become inevitable.
So walk on—not for the applause, not for recognition, but because the path itself is the answer. Walk on, because the earth remembers those who tread it with love. Walk on, because the rivers do not stop flowing when they meet a rock; they carve their way through. Walk on, because every step taken in truth, even if unseen, shapes the world in ways we may never fully understand.
Yes, there will be days when the weight of this world will press against your shoulders, when the silence of understanding fades into the noise of indifference. There will be days when even your own heart will whisper, Why bother? But it is in those very moments that you must remember—change has never been the work of the many. It has always begun with the ones who refused to accept things as they are.
The world will call you foolish. It will try to tame your wild spirit, fit you into a mold that makes sense to it. But do not let it shrink you. Do not let it convince you that wisdom is found only in the acceptance of things as they are. True wisdom is knowing that the world is always becoming, that nature renews itself, that people, even those bound by routine, can awaken to something greater.
So take heart. The mountains you love, the forests you weep for, the rivers that once whispered their songs to you—they have not forgotten you. They will call for you again, in the rustling of leaves, in the crash of waves, in the wind that once carried you forward. And when they do, you will remember that you are not just a man sitting at the back of a bus, inhaling dust. You are the storm, the river, the unbroken wave.
The walk does not end. It never does. It only changes its form.
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After walking with you for 4 days,as I returned back to my home,I was in denial and despair for few days,I felt like I left my real home in the villages and I have come to some strange place,where these four walls of the house seem like a jail,as I step outside my house,I can’t just randomly smile at somebody and receive the same innocent smile that I used to receive from humble villagers.My mother’s first comment is that why have I lost weight?To which I reply that I wish you could see my inner exuberance,pleasantness and contentment that my soul feels.The traditional attire I wore in villages which complemented so well with the traditions and culture of the village,now the same attire is judged by the so called modern people as outdated and I get comments”why you dress like Grandma?”Although for me this comment is not derogatory,rather I feel happy because I feel proud when somebody compares me to grandma,for me our grandmas and grandpas,our farmers are an inspiration and role model,they are artists who know how to make simple things beautiful,the small mud houses with beautiful paintings made with natural colours is just one example of that,they are scientists who never published research papers to prove what they knew,because for them science was not in papers,it was in their way of living!
Fortunately I have found a village nearby where I go for a long walk everyday,interact with my fellow villager friends,see the endless green fields,listen to the songs of birds and most important,the journey of my 4 days Konkan walk continues,and it will continue forever.