I find myself in midst of a madding crowd, the air grows dense, it chokes me. I allow my feet to follow directions but my heart cries aloud unable to bear the strife. I feel weary, my heart sinks each time the air carries a pungent city odour and whishes by. I try to calm down, I tell myself, this ain't the place you belong to , it's all gonna pass.
I never wished to be a crowd. I always wanted a world where solitude would weigh much more than what the glittery crowded world could hold. The tall buildings decked with pride could never please me more than the faint mountain view which wishes me good morning every day though miles apart. While my friends were busy dreaming of cities, I kept on praying to never drag me into one for I knew, I could never have the calm and quiet which I always cherished.
As years went on rolling, I got to see crowds of all kind. Crowds which knew to deceive, which knew the trick to turn you into a living corpse without you even realising it. From an individual, it could turn you into a random face which no one would care to find even if it were to get lost. And I knew, if I wanted to live and not just survive, it had to be a place where I could breathe fresh air and stay grounded.
Recently, I got the chance to be in a village, a remote one located near the foothills of Bhutan, where you can actually hear the gurgling sound of streams which flow through people's backyards. The people out there, happily carry water in silver vessels singing merry tunes, it almost looked like an art school scenery that our teacher taught us to sketch back as kids. The blue mountains surround the village like the protective gaze of a parent. You can see wild flowers and berries growing by road sides. What caught my attention was the self sufficient nature of the villagers, they grow their own paddy, vegetables, fruits. Ask them and you would find most of them have never been out of their village, they said they never felt the inclination to, their village being their world. If you talk of education, surprisingly despite of the limited opportunities, they still have managed to excel. But the best part about these people is, they carry their village in their heart even if they are far off minding their higher studies or jobs. The whole village is one big family where everyone cares for everyone.
I am going to carry this village in my heart for the rest of my life. Life out there taught me what it takes to hold onto something no matter how big the difficulties may seem. While I packed my bags to leave, I packed some good memories along.
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