Solo Travelling (एकला चोलो रे)

जोड़ी तोर डाक शुने केउ ना असे तोबे एकला चोलो रे (When nobody responds to your call, then walk alone). Solo travelling in a way espouses this philosophy of "एकला चोलो रे". 

Courts are closed for summer holidays and I had plans to travel. I frantically asked people in my contact to come along but, for one reason or the other, nobody turned up. That is when I decided to travel alone. Therefore, my solo trip was originally not by choice but by compulsion.

I decided to travel solo because I didn't want to let the fear of uncertainty ruin my plans. I was never afraid, though, initially I was uncomfortable but soon the qualm vanished and I embraced my decision wholeheartedly. I witnessed that we have to muster our courage and take that one step and thereafter things automatically start falling into place.

I discerned that traveling alone begins with how much we trust ourselves and more so our abilities to deal with strangers and unfamiliarities. It as well entails being assertive with ourselves.

With the progress of the trip, I started to contemplate that how dependency affects our decision making and in fact our personality as a whole. It basically develops in us a propensity to think that we can not do things on our own. It also leads us to believe that we always need somebody known to help us fulfilling our wishes.

Solo travelling however accords us an opportunity to come out of our comfortable shells and experience the uncharted waters. It thus helps us to enhance our confidence on ourselves. It also teaches us to face and fight the difficulties all alone without seeking somebody's assistance. In nutshell, it helps us to get rid of our dependence on others and thereby impacts our lives in numerous positive ways. 

However, having highlighted the positives, one major challenge to solo trips is owing to almost the lost art of human to human interaction these days. To elucidate a little, I was having my dinner in a restaurant and a couple came and sat in front of me who had to share the table with me due to lack of space. I welcomed them with a smile. They passed a forced smile and put back their shared earphone lids plugged in to their mobile phone. Presumably, they were watching some random YouTube video. The guy had long beard and a conspicuous ponytail to flaunt. Having been intrigued by his looks, after a while I told the guy that the idea is not to interrupt you but, you look quite an artist. The guy said, "I am not" while putting out and back his earphone lid, as if in a fraction of second. Let alone me, they didn't even talk to each other while completing the whole dinner. This in itself is a point of grave concern.

The other negative which I noticed is that solo trips are financially unrewarding and therefore may be unviable at times. For instance, I had to rent a room alone which could have had been booked for upto three (3) persons, I had to hire a taxi alone which otherwise could have had been hired for upto four (4) persons and likewise. Sadly, alternates are not always available and/or feasible. 

Be that as it may, but certainly solo trip liberates us; mentally, emotionally and psychologically. There is always a first time to do something and on this occassion it was mine to do a solo trip in true sense and I must say it was indeed a lifetime experience despite initial discomfort, several challenges and a few inherent negatives.

PS: On a lighter note, only dependence which develops with solo trips is to look for an appropriate person to take our photographs!

©Both the text and the photographs are protected works of the author Bibhuti Bhushan Mishra. They can not be published, reproduced, adapted or otherwise dealt with without the prior permission of the author.