The Firsts of Firsts

by Veena Verma (India)

I didn't expect to find India

The firsts in life is what makes it interesting. Like the first time you rode a bicycle or visited the zoo or bungee jumped from the top of a mountain that overlooked an ancient ghost town. I personally believe that you can never run out of firsts in your life and as long as you don't try something it scares you because you don't know what to expect from it, but, life has its tendencies of surprising us. When I was a kid I was never a big fan of travelling call it the perks of motion sickness or whatever, but, the idea of a three day trip to Nainital made me freak the frick out. As we sat on the Lucknow Railway station at 6o'clock on the summer morning of 2k16 I was running an agenda of things that could possibly go wrong on my first ever trip. I snapped out of it when our train arrived. We were travelling in an AC- Sleeper class that ran from Uttrakhand to Lucknow. As we hurried in our chamber I saw a bunch of people around some sitting in solitude while others chat and laughed enjoying themselves, as for me, I quickly marked the top bunker as mine. The trip began as the train started moving and all settled down in our coaches. The temperature started to drop slowly yet steadily as we inched closer to our destination. My family and I got cozy in our blankets and start conversing the topics ranging from embarrassing childhood stories to vine references. Then we had our lunch of chips, peanuts and water. I don't remember falling asleep after but I definitely remember the site that welcomed my eyes when I woke up to. Tall mountain ranges surrounded us, their peaks hid in clouds and evening mist. Below that was a meadow filled with dark green shrubs and grasses that moved to the rhythm of the wind. The sun was already set but it left behind its light that mingled with the colours of pinks, reds and blues creating a gorgeous hue of colours in the sky that reflected on the mountains as if giving them their last departure with glory before the darkness drowned everything in its void. I remember thinking that there are so many beautiful things in the world but as a human I can only know so much, see so much and do so much and it kinda threw me off but it also kinda excited me. Soon we got to the Uttrakhand Railway station and booked a cab to Nainital Mall Road. This was the part I was scared of. Sitting in a car that moved in an upward motion around a mountain was really triggering my body to yeet itself out of the car, but even though my tummy was destroyed and was giving up on me;there was still a charm to it all. So, I calmed myself down and just went along the ride. A long yet surprisingly joyful ride later we reached our hotel, checked in and had a proper meal of Chilli pander, Naan and Pulao at our 'Hotel Citizen Inn' banquet. By now it was 10:30pm and we decided to walk to the Naini lake and have some ice-cream. Once we got there, it was mostly empty. The lights from the mountain in front of us reflected on the lake making it look like a beautiful constellation of stars floating in the space. It was at this moment I realised how at peace I was and how much significance going out and seeing new things held for me. This was just the first day of my first trip but I didn't expect to find my passion for travelling and exploring more of the world from it. P.s. it also helped me overcome my motion sickness and write about travelling;)