Dear Jeyamohan,
I recently watched one of your videos on the subject of travel, and it prompted me to reflect on the way travel has come to be understood by many young people today.
For a large section of today’s youth, travel has become either an aimless pursuit of freedom without any sense of purpose or a form of recreation centred almost entirely on drinking, consumption, and entertainment. Travelling in large groups, making noise, taking photographs, and indulging in endless amusement have become synonymous with the very idea of travel. The journey itself is reduced to a temporary escape from routine rather than an opportunity for inner enrichment.
As a result, they return home without carrying any lasting memories of the places they have visited. When they later speak about their trips, the conversations rarely revolve around the landscape, the history, the people, or the unique atmosphere of those places. Instead, they talk almost exclusively about the friends who accompanied them, the amusing incidents that occurred, the arguments they had, the gossip that emerged, or the quarrels that broke out during the journey. The destination itself fades into the background. The place leaves no imprint on their imagination, nor do the emotions and insights that it could have offered remain with them.
To me, true travel is something entirely different. It is the art of dwelling in nature, of slowing oneself down, and of opening one’s mind to experiences that are unfamiliar. It is an act of attentive observation and quiet receptivity. Every new landscape, every culture, every encounter should enlarge one’s understanding of life and of oneself. A meaningful journey should leave us transformed, however subtly, rather than merely entertained.
When I observe how many Europeans approach travel, I am often struck by the seriousness and sensitivity with which they undertake it. They walk through forests, museums, villages, and mountains not merely to “cover” destinations but to experience them deeply. Travel, for them, often appears to be a continuation of education and self-cultivation. Looking at this, I cannot help feeling that it may take at least another generation before many of our young people learn to approach travel in a similar spirit.
Perhaps this is also because our society has only recently begun to enjoy a greater degree of personal freedom. Naturally, the first impulse is to celebrate that freedom. There is nothing surprising about this. But freedom is not merely the absence of restrictions; it is also a responsibility. It is like a valuable currency. Its worth lies not simply in possessing it but in knowing how to spend it wisely. One must learn to employ freedom in ways that enrich one’s life rather than exhaust it in momentary pleasures.
Such an understanding does not arise automatically. It has to be cultivated through education and guidance. Young people need to be introduced to the ethics and aesthetics of travel—to learn how to observe, how to appreciate nature and culture, how to maintain travel journals, and how to engage thoughtfully with places that are unfamiliar. Ideally, this education should begin in colleges, where students are first exposed to independence and the possibility of travelling on their own. Unfortunately, I do not see any serious attempt being made in that direction today.
Warm regards,
Ragavan
