Move away from the Crowd – Reach out to Your Senses

Has it not happened to you time and again, when some vision of beauty and serenity has flashed by and made your soul restful? When a holiday spent away ‘from the madding crowd’ has raised the desire for a home nestled in cozy silence?  When the wind blowing through a pine forest or waves lapping at the shore has evoked strong memories of blissful solitude? The option of having such a home may not be a romantic desire anymore.

I remember summer evenings from my childhood, spent sitting in my own private nook, under the overhanging jasmine bush, in our ancestral house; I would dream through the haze of alluring smell, while the tinkling of bells announced the returning of the herd to the village, farther away. Every week, we came down to this house for two days of solitude, to be with, what my father termed as his ‘nature time.’ However, when my grandparents slowly lost their confidence to stay alone, my father insisted that they come and stay in our house. My grandparents never really settled down, despite all the love and comfort that my parents tried to provide; they longed to be at their peaceful home while we wanted them to be at a place where medical attention and other facilities would be within reach. The best of both worlds was not easily available, because no one had the vision to plan it such.

When a friend bought a flat in one of the new housing schemes, in Kolkata, the first two years we would be terrified that he would call us home. In spite of a luxurious place, which promised great food, ambience and conversation, we shuddered at the idea of crossing the miles from mainland Kolkata, over terrain that was yet to shape up as commutable stretches, as the city makers were perhaps caught in the age-old debate of ‘ which comes first – the egg or the chicken?’

There is a highway just behind this house, in this far away land. Yesterday night I went to sit on the steps by the highway, to see the cars zooming by. Evening it had rained heavily and there was a fresh wind to soothe my senses. It was a strange feeling, sitting on strange steps, in a strange country, in the middle of the night. The music from the Chinese chimes hanging outside the house, combined seamlessly with the sounds of the cars. This house in this modern city was a haven of peace, while not failing to be away from facilities. Someone had the vision to plan it such.

Strange though it may seem, such modern world class planning that combines the dream of tranquility with modern resources is here for the take. The visionaries, in this case, did not fail to conceive the moments of beauty to fill your heart. Will you not take this chance to fill your senses with pleasure, while not having to worry about facilities of modern life?