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Rakhi was visiting her native place almost after a decade. A decade back she was in school, an innocent girl playing around chickens and butterflies when she visited her native place during Diwali vacations. In the last ten years she transformed from being a silly teenager to a “matured” woman. A woman who knows her rights and finds interruption an insult to her identity.

But this time it was a bit different.

She wasn’t eagerly waiting to arrive at her village. She wasn’t waiting for anything that would come along when she steps on the red soil. She was neither waiting for the ripe mangoes nor for the fragrance of fresh juicy Jackfruit. She was rather worried.

Rakhi is a young and vibrant 23 year old public relations consultant, working at the city’s top PR agency. In a span of 3 years she had created a good name for herself in the industry. She was one of the most sought after PR consultant.

“How will I adjust with no WiFi! There’s hardly any mobile network in the surrounding area.” Murmuring to herself while packing her mobile battery adapter and her laptop. Her mother asked, “Why do you need your laptop there? We have to attend a wedding there. You have taken an official leave from your work, so why are you packing your laptop?”, Irritatingly she replied to her mom, “Can you ask one question at a time? I might need my laptop.” Her mom replied, “You might? For what reason? What if it gets stolen during the journey? What if it gets damaged during the journey? What ifff..” And as her mom was about to utter her next doubt, Rakhi swiftly tucked her laptop back into her cupboard. She asked, “Are we cool now?” Her mom wasn’t going to leave her that early so she again asked a question, “Have you packed your sarees, jewellery and make-up kit? I don’t want to see any of your tantrums in front of our whole extended family!” Her mom knew this sentence of hers would trigger Rakhi’s self esteem and as she was about to launch her next question, Rakhi reverted, “No mom I think I’m okay in my T-shirt and shorts at brother’s wedding!” Her mom could only smile, because she was a wise mom. She knew her daughter would learn her lessons only after making mistakes. Well, Rakhi smiled as well, proud of being able to make her mom speechless.

The day arrived, an eight hours long journey from Mumbai to Ratnagiri. Her family planned to take a road trip by bus. They could have afforded to travel by an AC luxury bus, but her dad was a man high principles, he booked three tickets of the public transport bus. He had his own list of luxuries one mustn’t indulge into and necessities one must own. And an AC bus was in his list of luxuries.

The bus was scheduled at 9:00pm and left on time, but leaving Mumbai is no easy task. Slow traffic with the heat of March felt like sitting in an oven. Although it was a night journey, the temperature for the day was around 40°C. The maximum she could do was to listen her songs and her audiobooks. Finally after a 3 hour drive, the bus left Mumbai, marching merrily towards the destiny. Her phone lost the network and so did her mind. She was now about to connect to herself, listen to her own self and learn about her own self by observing the world around her.

Mumbai – Goa highway is a road full of exceptional natural beauty and simple yet cute houses. Rakhi remembered her younger days when she would visit her native place atleast once a year, visiting her grandmother, taking her blessings and just absorbing all her love. Her nostalgia was disturbed by tricky roads going round and round the western ghats. A beautiful highway dreaded by most drivers. She felt a bit dizzy, so she thought of taking a nap.

The Morning

In the next three hours the bus reached the town nearby to her village. Her village lied in the most obscure parts of the district, it lied in the mountains, beyond which only the sunset can be seen. It was from here, her excitement of her brother’s wedding started gripping her mind. Her family got a local rickshaw and somehow the driver was familiar with their family and the wedding that was about to take place. In cities, we find it a bit scary to know that someone knows about us or about our family, but in villages it is rather considered a good thing. A way to connect with new people and make good bonds. It was 6:00 am and the sun had risen into the clear blue skies. The Spring was rolling out her magic into the atmosphere. The rickshaw drove past the grand mango trees, vast stretches of farmlands and the sweet smell of burning firewood. Rakhi felt like she was breathing for the first time.