Urban India goes on vacation!

When it comes to vacationing, urban India is bitten by the “Resort” bug. The city animal heads to resorts in exotic places to spend his holidays. More far-flung the place, more the “likes” earned on social media! The places are chosen with intent- there’s Munnar and Wayanad, Coorg and Chikmanglur to name some destinations.

You follow a fixed pattern to select the Resort. You read the reviews on the internet before you zero-down on one. The selection is not easy. Previous travelers leave their remarks in full detail. Take any resort and the opinion is divided. There are some who endorse the place wholeheartedly. Others are brutal in expressing disapproval- “The place is just not worth your money!” It leaves you totally confused.

The problem runs both ways. Up-scale Resorts are pricy. Often, you wonder whether the price quoted is for a stay overnight or for the cost of the resort itself! By jacking up the price to such extreme levels, customers come with unrealistic expectations. The disappointment is natural. Customers complain about a variety of things- from lizards on the wall to frogs in the rest-room! It is disconcerting all right, but what do you expect when you are in a wilderness? There are others who whine- “The breakfast spread is too limited!” You feel like retorting, “Sir! You are in the middle of Bandipur Forest! Any more breakfast spread and the bears will come sniffing right up to your table!”

The urbanite just cannot leave the city behind. At the Resort, he frets that the WiFi speed is very slow or the TV channels are too basic. Or the Gym is not equipped. It is as if, his rippling muscles will melt away without hitting the Gym. He fusses there is no Spa or Jacuzzi and the Indoor-Games Room does not have a “Foosball” table! Resort owners have to mollycoddle the disgruntled customer to ensure the rating does not suffer.

Some tough questions have to be asked. Why have we come on vacation? We been part of the urban rat-race for much too long; in the process we’ve actually become rats, so much so, we need our rat-hole to be recreated wherever we go! Let’s step outside the rat-hole and look at the world as a whole!

For the two days, we’ve chosen to spend in the wilderness, let’s enjoy the communion with nature. We tune the ears to listen to the sound of the rain and the crackle of the cricket. We allow the eyes to reach out for the morning mist and mellow sunshine, for the riot of green and the pug-marks of the majestic predator! Why are you hiding under your headphones in the Resort room?