Adventure, is walking aimlessly in the by-lanes of a strange city and admiring the people and the surroundings; their colorful attire, toothless smiles on the faces of a group of kindly old women sitting by the roadside. Adventure is finding interesting things to take back home as mementos, sometimes the memories themselves make for great memorabilia.

Adventure is the first glimpse of a place you had always wanted to visit; the tangible reality is so much dearer than the elusive fantasy. The sights and smells there, rickshaws and bikes along with the cows and dogs jostling for space on the busy roads make you smile. You hear the loudly honking vehicles and encounter an aggressive driver refusing to reverse his SUV even though he is in the wrong; it makes your blood boil. Finally the peacemaker, swallowing his pride and being the bigger man by reversing his smaller car, wins you over with his sensible gesture.

The sunset painting the sky in various shades of red and orange, the majestic Sun bidding us goodnight and disappearing in the waiting arms of the ocean is no less than an adventure. Also the rickety boat on the holy river, rolling and pitching with the swish-swoosh of the oars and in the wake of the boats sailing nearby is equally exciting. The gentle lapping of the cold water on the sides of the boat, faint haunting melody reaching our ears, temple bells tolling, kids shouting, cars honking, Adventure, for sure.

Other wonderful definitions of adventure are; a gooey chocolate fudge eaten warm fresh out of the oven, my daughter watching television with her head resting on my lap. My son calling up to tell me about his new Ronaldo haircut, and the greatest adventure of all is my hubby surprising me on our 25^th wedding anniversary by taking me on a scenic tour of Himachal Pradesh.

Adventure is nothing more than a special moment that brings a smile to your face when you think of the same. It is not just bungee jumping, paragliding, mountain climbing, snorkeling or the many other adrenaline pumping activities, but so much more. It could be a pat on the back by the elders in the family, playing dumb charades with your siblings, an encouraging smile by your dad when you are afraid to get back on the bi-cycle after a fall, or your mom’s heartwarming no-reason hugs. Just like ‘Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder’, Adventure is what you want it to be 🙂

My absolute favorite adventure is always going to be about my pet Dalmatian, Sparky. Her rushing to the door to greet me every time I came back home, didn’t matter that at times I was only gone a few minutes. My last adventure will be meeting her at the rainbow bridge, her final resting place.

Here’s to another adventure…

By Sulekha Rawat

“This post is a part of #AdventureNme activity at adventuren.com.”