roughghosts:

Thinking back on February, and riding the ferry across the Hooghly.

Good conversation. Calcutta in the distance.

Feeling restless again.

In 2011 volume of Granta titled ‘The New Granta Book of Travel’ Jonathan Raban introduces the collection and their authors who have a similar restless urge and step out by whatever means, to get to the places that invades their imagination to the point of restlessness.

Raban asks, perhaps half realising the import of his question, “why do we continue to need and read travel narratives?” . I would venture forth and add an elemental question – why do we continue to travel? What is this restlessness about, which afflicts those with perfect, loving families and those who turn the key to their house every evening with no one to look forward to, in the same degree?

Every single trip out, grabbing the rucksack, this question knocks at my door. Carry it along, unanswered, I continue to hop on those buses, trains, planes, ferries and occasionally the motorbike.

I share the same restlessness as J and have no answer to it except dive back into memories.