In quest of my lost soul

by Santosh Medisetti (India)

A leap into the unknown India

To be completely aware of yourself Be in a place that you aren't aware of So far completed 26 revolutions around the sun, But haven't ever been to a place that I am not aware of. 5 days a week job, the 2 days of lazy weekend and the daily lives in a metropolitan city pampered me to snore in my comfort zone. But still some where in the corner of my heart, the desire to explore the unexplored is blossoming. When immersed in the profound thought of the least unexplored places with mountains and forests,The word meghalaya knocked my mind first. Surfed through the google to have a complete glimpse of the culture,nature and the people of Meghalaya . North east India is known for its indigenous tribes and their culture , Meghalaya is one of them. Unfortunately one could rarely find a travel agency arranging a trip for Meghalaya .Almost everyday in my office i would open that pic of double decker living root bridge, which is one of the famous spot in meghalaya and used to imagine myself posing there with pride .This has continued for a while and in the time being I completely immersed in my profession, Ignoring the thought of adventure for a while. one fine day, on a lazy evening in my office canteen, I peeped over my friend's facebook feed out of boredom. The ad of backpacking to meghalaya brought me back in to the shoes of an explorer. The details were noted and decided to do the bookings. Attempt to sought for a company in my circle were futile, so geared up for a solo back packing Finally I boarded the flight for the first time and landed in guwahati one day prior to the commencement of trip. Strolled there as a local by using the public transportation to enjoy the nativity of guwahati to maximum. Tried some local cuisines and keenly observed the locals over there. Packed my bags for the next day and had a good sleep. The day is arrived and boarded the Tempo traveler to explore the meghalaya with 7 other strangers. The climate in guwahati is hot and humid and the vehicle started its cruise to our dream destination. Gradually the temperature begin to drop, the windows of the vehicle were opened and the width of the roads were lessened, Commercial shops were replaced by the orchid stalls in bamboo huts. Moisture in the air is replaced by the drizzle from the clouds It is a place where the earth with vibrant greenery carrying its fresh fragrance through air ,kissing the thin clouds of blue sky and paving way for the pristine waterfalls . Just lit a campfire for your warmth , the five elements of the nature will be in unison. We have done cliff jumping and boating in dawki, crawled through the caves of mawsmai , climbed the mountains of Mawrenkyang , the scariest treks of north east india ,walked 5 hours through the steep way for the nongrait double decker living root bridge,enjoyed the breath taking view of sunset from nokhalikai water falls,understood the love of nature by visiting the Mawphlang sacred forest. In the course of this voyage, we dived,we slipped, we gasped, we paused and we resumed to enjoy the nature at the fullest, because the nature seeks your will and effort to reveal its sublime state to you. Besides the beauty of nature, we have lot to learn from the locals of kashi tribe . Their beaming faces with no worry of future, their livelihoods keeping the setbacks of technology at bay and their superficial respect to the mother nature are the greatest thing that anyone could possess. Now I am completely aware of myself after exploring the natural paradise that I ain't aware of. Being an introvert, I never really thought that I could do that crazy stuff, we danced in rain, we slept on top of the moving van in the chilled night.This amazing experience reminded the poet in me and started a website named "nerdy insights".Finally A leap in to unknown gave me an opportunity to pursue my skill that I am not known till now.