Journeys and Jottings

People Make Places - Issue 14

Sep 15, 2021

Dark times lie ahead of us and there will be a time when we must choose between what is easy and what is right.”

-Albus Dumbledore

If you are a fan of Harry Potter as I am, you will not forget this magical character created by JK Rowling. Crossroads are all about choices. Every one of us feels confused at crossroads, perhaps that is why they are always steeped in mystery and magic and are associated with witches and demons. Spirits have been tied to the crossroads, as shrines and signs can be found here while rituals and sacrifices have been made to them. The crossroads have been the burial grounds of outlaws and rebels, demons could be summoned here and vampires have lived here. No wonder we are always lost and delusional at crossroads and we sometimes need divine guidance.

Hello and Welcome to the 14th issue of Journeys and Jottings. We are travelling down a path in our lives and all of a sudden we are confronted by crossroads and choices. While folklore is always fascinating, we need more focus when it comes to taking a decision and moving ahead in life. And that is what fascinated me about Vidya Venkatesh, who was at the crossroads of her life when she had to decide between passion and profession. An investment banker, she quit her corporate life to dedicate herself to wildlife conservation and forest communities. And as always, there are tips and recommendations, updates, travel news, and views.

Crossroads and folklore

Pic Courtesy - Joe Mazzola, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

The devil has always been associated with crossroads and I stumbled upon the mysterious legend around the American blues guitarist and singer, Robert Johnson. According to the legend, Johnson was working at a plantation and he aspired to become a legendary singer. He apparently summoned the devil at the crossroads, who tuned the guitar, sang a few songs, and then gave it to him in return for his soul. Johnson’s life and death is mired in mystery, but his song, “ Crossroad Blues” is perhaps a clue to his life, where he wrote and sang,

“I went down to the crossroad, fell down on my knees. Asked the Lord above for mercy, ‘Save me if you please.”

Supernatural Shows

If you have watched Supernatural ( I am a great fan of Dean Winchester) then you will see so many crossroad demons and deals being made. And talking about the devil, I just finished watching the finale of Lucifer on Netflix and if you like a British accented fun devil who falls in love and is looking for redemption, then you must watch the show. And if you have watched it, let me know what you think about the finale.

By the way, do you like shows on the supernatural, occult, magic and monsters? I am quite fascinated by them. Another favourite is Good Omens, which is written by Neil Gaiman and the late Terry Prachet and the first season - a friendship between an angel and a demon is fantastic. Do recommend books or shows that you have read/watched.

Gods and Goddesses of Crossroads

In Greek mythology, there are deities associated with crossroads. Hecate often referred to as the Goddess of Crossroads in Greek and Roman was offered “supper” while Hermes apparently guided travellers who crossed these roads.

In Roman mythology, the two-faced Janus is the caretaker of crossroads and is always hanging around doorways, passages, and arches and is neither moving forward into the future nor retreating back into the past. While his two faces look in either direction, he often represents change and new beginnings when you are in the crossroads and cusps of life.

Legba Atibon, or Papa Legba, is the God of Crossroads in voodoo and among some tribes in Africa, he is the keeper of the gates of the spirit world. He is often characterised as a twisted old man and a trickster but is also considered kind.

In Japanese Shintoism, Chimata no Kami or Tsugi no Kami are deities that are enshrined at crossroads and they prevent evil spirits from entering and causing disasters and diseases

More legends and stories here if they fascinate you

Inspiration - Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken

I remember being at the crossroads of my life when I decided to quit my corporate career of fifteen years and took a leap of faith. Another 15 years later, I can say that the journey has evolved on its own. But sometimes decision-making is not easy and our minds are fogged. However, these are three things that I keep in mind whenever I am at crossroads in life

Trust my gut - When the head and heart are having an argument, I often listen to my gut. Trusting my instinct has always helped me whenever I find myself lost. I try to connect with myself and focus on what I really want. Sometimes it may be against reason, but I would rather be happy than be filled with regret.
Accept change - Keeping an open mind and welcoming change has been a mantra whenever I am at the crossroads of life. You know that things are not going to be the same again, but accepting the change makes it much easier and also fills your mind with a sense of curiosity about what lies ahead.
Look forward - Everything is about the decision and the direction we take. But I believe that looking forward and moving on in life is much better than standing there and pondering or even backtracking, regretting, and wondering what if…

If there is one poem that defines my life so far, it is The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost. And the last stanza is still etched in my mind.

“I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”

Have you also seen the Movie - Roads Not Taken

People Make Places

They called her ” Bachchon Ko Ghumane Wali Madam, ” in the jungles of Bandhavgarh in Madhya Pradesh. They did not even know her name. But for Vidya Venkatesh, this was just what she had wanted. It was the beginning of her tryst with wildlife and her dream of becoming a wildlife conservationist after a decade of working as an investment banker with several corporate and financial institutions in Mumbai. “It all started with a WWF camp that I attended with my sister, Priya and since then I became passionately interested in wildlife, “she told me as we spoke about her journey from the corporate world to a wildlife conservationist and her dream of working on wildlife conservation projects in India.

I wrote an article on Vidya on my blog and the work that she has been doing with forest communities like The Pardhis as the Director of Last Wilderness Foundation. Here are some excerpts from the article.

How did you decide that you wanted to shift gears in your career?

Every year I used to trek in the mountains and spend a lot of time in the forests. But I realized that I was only looking at it from the eyes of a tourist. I wanted to contribute more to the well being of the forest and understand issues like human-animal conflicts better.

And then the opportunity at Last Wilderness Foundation emerged out of the blue. Founded by stockbroker and wildlife photographer Nikhil Nagle in Mumbai, I joined them as director. This is exactly what I was looking for. It gave me an opportunity to travel, especially to forests and work on conservation projects.

So how did it all begin?

One of the first wildlife conservation projects in India was in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve which had its share of human-animal conflicts. The field director wanted us to involve the villagers and create awareness and we started Village Kids Awareness Programme which reached out to over 5000 children living in 96 villages in the buffer areas around the park. We reached out to a cluster of three to four villages at a time and would then take the kids into the forest for a day and create awareness. But it used to be a lot of fun as there would be games and a lot of interactive sessions and presentations as well. The villagers would even cook their meals and sometimes they would have an entire feast, whipped up for over 80 people, including kids, volunteers and their supporting staff. It used to feel like a wedding that lasted for ten days.

How did the Panna and Pardhis movement begin?

We were asked to create awareness and engage with the children of the Pardhis, who had lived initially inside the forest and were also believed to have hunted tigers down in Panna National Park. There were two hostels- one for boys and another for girls and the challenge was in educating them. They were tiny, absolutely mini Mowglis, who were brought straight from the jungle and put in a hostel. I started getting fascinated by their lives, their history, their traditions and culture, and even their names, which were unique like Bisleri or Century.

People Make Places - tell us more about initiatives with the Pardhis.

We have trained the Pardhis and now they have completely transformed from being hunters to naturalists. We started this initiative called Walk with the Pardhis, where guests can go on a nature walk around the forests. The walk is essentially like a wildlife safari on foot, led by the Pardhis. We have also now started Camp with the Pardhis as well. And then we have been training them in arts and crafts and they are so talented. You can even buy unique handicrafts, jewellery, whistles and other products made by them in our shop.

You can also volunteer or book any of these walks, workshops and programmes that form a part of wildlife conservation projects in India, once the doors of tourism are open again. For any other queries, please feel free to mail conservation@thelastwilderness.org. All photographs are courtesy Last Wilderness Foundation.

Travel News and Views

Thailand to open for fully vaccinated travellers from Oct 1. Destinations include Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chon Buri, Phetchaburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan. More guidelines will be released soon.

The updated list of countries that are open for Indian travellers. Check out the list of international destinations where tourists can travel in the month of September

Indian Hotels Company Limited (parent of Taj Hotels) is entering the alternative accommodations market with the launch of Ama Trails & Stays (Homestays)

Go Purple - Vistara’s new gifting card.

You can still register and watch my workshops

In the last two months, I have conducted about three workshops on travel blogging, writing, and monetisation. Even if you have missed my live sessions, you can still register and watch them at your convenience for a small fee.

Message me if you have any questions regarding the workshops and if there is any topic that you would like me to work on.

Congrats to the quiz winners and Feedback, please

And before I say goodbye, huge congratulations to Akshay Shah and S N Ramanath for winning the quiz last issue. I will send out the Garden Art Journal soon. And am grateful to Subhashini for the giveaways. Would everyone like to participate in more quizzes and get more giveaways?

Another request - most newsletters land up in the Promotions tab of your inbox and hence you may tend to miss it. So please click on the same and move it to your Primary tab so that it is in your inbox every fortnight.

And with that, we come to an end of this issue. I am in the midst of shifting my home, although temporarily as I am renovating, but it feels so exhausting and overwhelming right now. More on this in the next issue but for now please do send me some book recommendations to cheer myself up now.

I do hope that you enjoyed reading this issue. Looking forward to your feedback as always. We are going to keep the flow of conversations going and I would really appreciate it if you will share my newsletter with your friends and family.

See you soon! You can also read my travel stories on my blog and follow me on my social media

Blog - www.lakshmisharath.com

Twitter - www.twitter.com/lakshmisharath

Facebook - www.facebook.com/travelwithlakshmi

Instagram - www.instagram.com/lakshmisharath