6 things that road trips teach you.

December 8, 2016 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged car, deep, deeper, drive, explore, family, food, happy, home, live, maharashtra, marigolds, mumbai roads, nashik, nasik, nature, patience, rajashree menon, raji, respect, road trips, silence, stanleyfernandes, sula, sun, sunset, supermoon, wines, wineyards, writing

I went on a couple of road trips in the past couple of months. And I love road trips. The chance to drive along open highways and expressways give one the feeling of absolute contentment. That said, I love to drive too. Driving outside the hallowed moon-surfaced precincts of Mumbai, one first come across roads that are, well, not craters! It is such a pleasant breeze to drive on roads that are smooth. Yes, the highway does have occasional ditches, but that is pardonable, given that this is India.

So what do road trips teach you?

1. Road trips teach you a renewed love for the vehicle.

You hear a tyre being impregnated by a nail, over the music that you are playing. You learn to respect this mechanical extension of you. You value and are filled with respect and pride for the brother who loaned you his car. And say a silent prayer for him.

2. Road trips teach you patience.

And when your only passenger is the epitome of patience, it rubs on you. And it is nice to hear some different gaalis from her when some jerk decides to well, be a jerk on the road. It is calming in a different sort of way.

3. Road trips teach you to respect Nature.

The changes of the colours of the earth, the sun, the moon, the grass and aromas of the places you are visiting; the vistas, the ability to stop and smell the roses, in our case, the marigolds, the vineyards and the fragrance of sunset; following the Super Moon of 2016, as she follows our car to now appear only in 2025.

4. Road trips teach you to value your co-pilot, friend and co-conspirator.

I totally understand Bonnie & Clyde.

5. Road trips teach you to value silence.

The lull in conversation; the switching off of music and listening to where you traverse; of listening to the deafening silence in your head; this and a lot more.

So, if you are too tired to speak, sit next to me, because I, too, am fluent in silence. R. Arnold

6. Road trips teach you to look deeper.

To look at the value of the people, the vehicle, the art of driving, the life you live, the life you want to live, to look deeper than merely seeing.

Drive. Explore. Live.