{F} is for Far From the Maddening Crowd

How often do you escape: far from the maddening crowd? To a silent spot, devoid of the humdrum and break neck scramble of the city life. Maybe when you take off for one of those precious vacations. Or upon waking up early morning for that walk or jog, or a cycling jaunt, like I do. Well, these moments of sublime quiet are way too valuable, given the busyness we have inundate ourselves with.

It’s a Sunday afternoon and the nine-year old has been “pestering” us now for days, to take her to the Aravalli hills that lie across our high-riser laden city. She has been born to a nature loving family and her nature loving instincts kick in all the time. We give up a bit reluctantly, on our Sunday afternoon siesta, finish a few chores at Courtyard, grab a masala kulhad chai at Chaat Chowk. The DH also digs into some chaat, while the nine-year-old and I gorge on a few lip- smacking pani puris.

As we head towards the Aravallis, a burst of yellow greet us. The sunshine, yellow trumpet flowers lining the entire boulevard, nod their heads in unison, as a gentle breeze casually caresses them. Our dainty Ford Figo tumbles through the uneven, rocky, dust laden track. The wild Keekar trees brush against its bronzed, green body, leaving their mark behind. “Ouch that hurt,” I quip! The Figo has been my precious car for the last six years now.

A family of partridges scurry by the glistening mica, rocky hills. The hills are pretty bare this time of the year. The trees have shed their leaves and the new shoots are on their way to infusing brand new life upon them.

We park the car, and start walking around the dusty trail. We spot an animal skull, that’s purposefully placed upon a high rock. The nine-year old also spots a pair of horns that she wants to carry back home. We dissuade her, and she relents. I keep telling her to lower her voice. I want to soak in the natural quietude. This is a rare moment. Not a soul in sight, just three humans trespassing the jungle in their dusty Crocs.

I close my eyes and enjoy the preciousness of this time. I’m transported to a state of meditative calm. Everything seems all right. All the worries are set aside. It’s as though, I exist in just the now. The sun is about to set on the other side of the horizon. The father-daughter duo have climbed a hillock. My reverie is broken as they prod me to join them and enjoy the glorious view. I oblige.

Sometimes we just need to leave our city lives behind and lose ourselves, far from the maddening crowd. Even if it is for a while. It settles us, it balances the ifs and buts, it brings us closer to mindfulness and it stirs a certain magic in our hearts.

So, what are you waiting for?

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My theme for this year’s Blogging from A-Z Challenge is April Anecdotes. These are twenty-six compelling tales of some real people, and some not so real people. These tales will be surreal, peppered with a dose of non-fiction, but some might just be a figment of my over active imagination. You can read my theme here.

You can read my previous posts from #AtoZChallenge2018 here:

A is for Anachronism or Misplaced in Time?

B is for Burden or Unburden?

C is for Control

D is for Destiny’s Child

E is for Enchantment