Travel And Leisure
| By : Leena Khan Jha | Previous | Next |
| Posted on : 22 May, 2007 | Total Views : 206 |
TOURISM –A TOUR WITHIN
The hot summer days or the icy winds bring with them an urge to party, to relax, in order to rejuvenate the tiring muscles and embalm the agitated soul. What better way to unwind than heading towards your favourite destination or the one which has held your fancy for quite sometime! But if you wish your sojourn to be etched in your memory for ever you actually need to approach tourism with an artist’s eye. Tourism is a tryst with nature. It is not a mere visit to a media hyped exotic resort, but exploring the nascent beauty of a place in its ever simple, salubrious, serene, oh so solemn sophistication! It’s a genre in itself. It’s also a celebration of the ancient by the modern. It’s about going back to ones roots and coming back rejuvenated. It’s education sans(without) the class-room coaching. Tourism is that parasol of life which shelters both the silent revelers and the Salsa lovers and offers respite from the monotony of life. Right from the exotic parlance of the Himachal and the Himadri,-the life encasing, ever shimmering from gold to silver- the glaciers, transforming themselves into frothing, swaying, tinkling nymphs meandering through the heart of the mainland to the virgin coquettishness of the sub-continent’s large coastal area or the intimidating, awe-inspiring rendezvous with it’s roaring monsoon sea, tourism beckons the adventurous to a close proximity with nature.
A walk down the caves of Ajanta- Ellora emancipates the human mind of gullible thoughts, the Taj mesmerizes, Gaya and Nalanda rekindles the fire of learning and when one takes a sojourn amidst the green grandeur of the North –East life is one with peace itself. The fear of the unknown as one ventures into the dark recesses of the Bethla Forest in Ranchi or the Jim Corbett in the Uttaranchal is transformed into ecstasy as one softly treks into the territory of the winged beauty-the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary. A natural habitat for the Siberian cranes in winters it is not merely an ornithologist’s delight. A tourist is equally enamoured by ‘Purity- in - flight’.
Travelling through the magnificent Rajasthan is an experience par excellence. Here the rumbustious lives in perfect symbiosis with the angelic quietitude. Rajasthan with its landscape changing every fifty to hundred kilometers sashes you gently not only into the realms of brilliant gold but unravels the mystique of life itself. On a vast stretch of the desert land are etched the kaleidoscopic rocks, the strange symphony of the desert wind now serenading now threatening, the ever so rare fragrance of the elusive water body, the majestic sand dunes and ‘the ship of the desert’, the camel, surmounting all odds with equanimity. The spirit of India comes alive here.
Tourism provides succor to the parched soul. From the sensual beaches of Goa to the sensuous ghats of Rameshwaram, from the exquisite architecture of Konark and Madurai to the historical extravaganza of the medieval age, the panoramic view from the ‘Queen of hills’ to Varanasi and Hrishikesh bustling with religious fervour-tourism is actually a tour within. Adequate facilities could see a boom in Indian tourism – it’s potentially ripe.
Written By : Leena Khan Jha
