Destination Unknown .
Sometimes in life we take a journey ,to acquire a ticket for a future date and destination about which we do not have a clear idea. In my faith system we call it Moksha. The ultimate release from the cycle of birth and death. Man struggles through life to get a ticket to moksha, mostly in vain.The path to this is neither well defined nor easy, therefore we keep coming back on earth to serve our time as humans.All cultures ,faith and society has certain path and dictum laid down for us to follow. The journey of life often perceived as an uphill task can do with a helping hand from time to time. Our eagerness to hold on to that support system makes us a very vulnerable race. We walk through this zig zag maze of need, desire, good, bad, tolerance, intolerance , creating our own road maps. Our map in hand each one of us seek a journey. To put my metaphysical thoughts in simpler words, mans quest to eternity has many avenues .Pilgrimage being a simpler road is often taken by many. My journey this time was of a tourist ( being me ) traveling to a pilgrim destination.
The sun was shining bright and happy, reflecting the sparkle on the ocean below.The windmills all along the coastline added wind to our drive on the high way. The speeding car, old romantic songs and the monotony of the topography lulled all my thoughts to a meditative silence. Topography, a word I had learnt and liked since school days. It is a detail of hills, mountains, ups and downs on the surface of the earth. Like the topography of earth my emotional topography too keeps changing all the time. On this particular day I feel like a world traveller, never wanting this drive to finish, never wanting to reach any destination. I want to stretch these few hours of drive to a timeless period. But the fuel tank of the car mercilessly breaks my reverie, the world traveller jolts back to the reality of a petrol station on the side of a dusty road in Gujarat. The car needs to fill up its tank and I need to look for a toilet. Over a period of time most of the high way roads in India have become smooth, pot hole free. But the condition of the public utility services remain dirty and pathetic. Depriving myself of oxygen for a minute or so I finish my business and come out of the toilet feeling horrified. In my mind the stench keeps following me inside the clean ,air conditioned, ‘ Ambi Pure’ sweet scent of the car. Our drive resumes ; this time all romanticism swept underneath the undulating topography of mind and earth. 
The car gains speed and the conversation inside the car changes to a philosophical level of all that is needed to be done for the country, wether it is our duty or the political leaders duty whom we elect every voting year. Conversations of such micro issues often reaches a point where every sentence gets soaked in apathy and is presented with disdain.My brain longs for a respite from this atypical monotone of discussion which was going no where. Even the romantic songs on the music system had gone on a repeat mode. As though in answer to my minds longings I suddenly spot on my side of the window a lake type water body ( back waters from the sea ) and in it wading away majestically about fifty or more white and pink flamingoes. These are migratory birds which flies from cooler climates to warmer places every year. Such grace and beauty in the middle of nowhere lifts my spirits instantly. We get off our car, click pictures, feel mesmerized , get a new lease to conversation and then resume our journey. After seeing these birds appear like magic I am enthused with regained imagination to take my flights of fancy to soaring heights.
Our car reaches destination after a while. We always had a chartered plan of starting point and finishing line, it was only in my mind that I was having this desire of being without a terminating point in this journey. The illusion of endless ness created by the ocean and horizon was playing tricks with my senses, wanting to merge reality with the surreal .

Two temples , one on an island and the other on the shore. Both temples of Lord Krishna . The Lord who had more girlfriends than wives ! We love this God of love, he does not frighten us with dire consequences if we err in our paths. His wit, charm and playfulness is almost human, thus we can identify with him easily. He teaches us to do our duty in life and not focus on the outcome. But the temple priests threaten us ( donate or suffer ) ;the crowds of pilgrims threaten us (give way, or get trampled ),the free roaming cows and bulls threaten us ( with their horns ) .But we have our focus on God, and with this determined focus we finish our darshan and come out feeling victorious! 
With the hint of dusk in the western sky the day is announcing closure. We get back to our waiting car for the return journey.This trip has earned us one ticket on our way to moksha. There are many such tickets to be earned before the final journey begins.There is a creeping doubt in the mind about ones eligibility to get this ticket. Is it all so easy, a drive, a darshan ,and my future is secured ! The mind is wavering between belief and disbelief. With the patience of a hermit, understanding of a saint, and strong will of a true devotee, I have to pave my road ,block by block for the ultimate ‘ destination unknown ‘.