People, Places, and Perspectives

Prologue

“I covered the entire Coorg in one day,” he said.

I looked at him, silently making a note in my head:

“It’s going to be a tough day ahead.”

The day started with no big expectations.

Bharath, a friend I met during a trek and a fellow hobby photographer, had come to Coorg. He said he wanted to explore it with me. Somehow, I felt trapped waiting for him. And when he finally arrived, reality unfolded.

Long story short:

Throughout the day, he kept complaining—

“This isn’t nice,”

“That’s boring,”

Comparing every place with another,

Voicing unrealistic expectations,

Checking his phone more than he looked outside,

Talking to friends in other countries rather than to the person sitting beside him.

What I want to talk about today is the mindset behind phrases like “Edi nen cover chesina”—which roughly translates to “I’ve covered this place.”

Travel, to me, has never been about “covering” a place, a district, or a state in a short span of time.

I’ve been travelling for more than seven years—mostly solo.

My definition of travel is different.

It’s about understanding the culture, the history, the backstories if they exist.

It’s about noticing the intricate details of a monument, appreciating craftsmanship, the thought behind design.

It’s about feeling the place.

Talking with locals.

Learning something new from them.

Even in this AI generation, I still believe that travel is about the experience—tasting local food, engaging in conversations, understanding the ethos of the people, and taking back lessons that can enrich us.

Of course, everyone has a different way of approaching travel.

Some like to tick boxes, take photos, and move on.

Some enjoy rechecking their itineraries more than living the moment.

And maybe that’s fine.

But today, I realized the different types of people one meets while travelling.

Some take endless photos.

Some don’t even touch their phones.

Maybe it’s time I made peace with that.

I didn’t say anything aloud today, but my mind was racing.

This trip, I’m trying to redefine things—understand myself and others a little better by simply taking a chance.

Somehow, my thoughts drifted again—to married couples or people in relationships.

How do they handle each other’s dislikes, their dissimilarities, day in and day out?

At the end of the day, I was simply trying to understand, adjust, and respect his space and views.

Maybe… this is what life teaches us when we live with others—

That it’s not always about matching wavelengths,

But about finding harmony in the dissonance.