I remember a book by G.K.Chesterton that I had read in fragments. I couldn’t complete it because of the untidiness of the book and the small typeset that strained my eyes. I was extremely impressed by the small bits that I read. Chesterton describes his travels on horseback across the English country side. He is the most carefree traveler who lets place and time take care of all his needs. He has no occupation, no avocation, no serious pursuits or pastimes. He just lazes around eating what fruits he can find on the wild trees or the scraps of food that his bag keeps fetching him. His pursuit is enjoyment; precisely enjoyment of his situation, of the solitude which is uninterrupted. His company is amusement; a pleasant attitude of geniality and individualism. He makes sure he has a good stock of tobacco. I liked his description of a night scene in the English countryside: of how he had to make his bed alongside the cicadas and the foxes. He has a clean English sky to look at and lies down cross legged on his mattress smoking the most delightful cigarette of his life. Chesterton reflects on life in general and of the advantages of such a life as he leads. He is alone and desires no company. He has got his horse to talk to and may be a few personal favorites (books).
It is an immensely romantic view of life but also an allusive commentary on why happiness or contentment stirs from living like that: without attachments or possessions. Chesterton’s life is unlike Huck’s. Huck Finn cannot tolerate any sign of civilization. It is all very boring and makes him terribly sick. Chesterton has learned to live amidst people and not let anyone interrupt him. Huck being a boy cannot be so sophisticated. He chooses to run away. But it is interesting to see that both of them yearn for the same thing; a freedom that comes without any strings. Huck wants to smoke his pipe which he most certainly cannot do in front of Widow Douglas. He wants to laze around and go hunting and eat his breakfast without any frills attached. Chesterton can delve deeper into the existentiality of his situation. Huck is Twain’s design to explore the humor of life and the sad nostalgia that grips every heart. However only few people can quench it and a vast multitude has to consign it to deferral. I found Chesterton’s style absolutely exhilarating. There was no nuance or complexity in it: just delectable, straight forward, individualistic prose. (Cannot remember the name of the book. It was almost in tatters and borrowed from the public library. The post is only to share an impression made by a beautiful literary work and by no means encourages the use of tobacco).
The aftermath of this was my attachment to travel writing. I started to read more about travels and the pioneers who had ventured to write about the world. Prof Adinarayana has written several works like Bhubramana kanksha, Gypsilu, Stree Yatrikulu and Paravastu Lokeshwar ,Silk ruotelo sahasa yatra, Chattisgarh lo scooter yatra in Telugu. All delightful works which take you with them. Two works I have been waiting to read are , “In Patagonia and Travels on a donkey.” Seven Years inTibet was an astonishing read.
More about travel works and tourists in the ensuing posts. British explorers in India, Mark Tully’s travels in India. Well so many of them, one could go on reading and discovering again the world that is all too familiar now. But why do people travel. To know about the world or know the self.
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands but seeing with new eyes.” Marcel Proust