My Ideal Yatra!

I work at New Delhi. I live alone. I have no friends. I earn something substantial. I sleep like a dog. I work like there is no tomorrow. One fine day, I woke up and felt uneasy. I tried hard to focus, but I couldn't. It felt as if I was missing something/someone. After a few precious seconds, I realized that I was missing a vacation. My hometown was calling me, my soul was calling me!

I applied for a leave and packed my bags. I checked a few Domestic Flights and booked a flight ticket to travel to my hometown: Bhubaneswar. I was going to my hometown almost after three long years. A surge of happiness ran through my body as I boarded the flight at Indira Gandhi Domestic Airport. After exactly 1 hour and 50 minutes, the flight landed at Biju Patnaik Airport. The fresh smell of my hometown's atmosphere greeted me. Even the rain god blessed me with a few drops of rain. I felt happy after a long time!

The very next day, I decided to enjoy the natural beauty of my hometown. I had my shower, had a heavy homemade breakfast, got hold of my DSLR and reserved a cab. The cab driver asked, "Where do you want to go"? I replied, "I want to see all the less crowded places of Bhubaneswar, I want peace".

As the cab zoomed on the Bhubaneswar - Puri highway, I plugged in my earphones and played "Yeh jo desh hai tera from Swades". After covering a few kilometres, we came across a stretch of land which was covered with trees and there was no sign of homo sapiens anywhere. I requested the driver to stop the cab there and wait for sometime.

I started exploring the vast greenery around myself. It was an amazing feeling. It felt surreal. I felt like a nomad who was lost in a desert and suddenly who came across an oasis. The sight of greenery provided such a soothing relief to my eyes which were accustomed to the harsh concrete jungle!

I lied down on the grass, closed my eyes and found peace. After a few minutes, I opened my eyes, It was almost the sunset time. The setting Sun looked so gorgeous. And the canvas of sky was painted with golden rays of the Sun. I clicked a picture of the setting Sun and preserved the memory of that instant for a lifetime! I fell in love with my hometown, once again!

At that very moment, I understood that money is not everything. Money can never buy peace. Getting close to nature is the only way to find inner peace! I didn't want to leave that place. I was lost in my thoughts when the driver shouted "Sir, It is getting late. Time to go back". Reluctantly, I walked back towards the cab. While returning back to Bhubaneswar, I promised myself to explore the unexplored parts of nature every year. That was the story of my ideal yatra!