28 May 2020  |   03:24am IST

Holiday flashbacks are all we cling to when the world is closed

The memories of a great holiday can last you a lifetime and in these strange times, the photographs taken while on a holiday can help you deal with the challenges the world is throwing up

Ajit John;

A break in one’s regular schedule does wonders. It helps the individual to switch off completely and relax and basically recharge the batteries. Some people do this by reading a book or watching a movie and others decide to step out into the world and visit a different part of the country or the world. Travel does wonders and stretches the mind.  The landscape of one’s imagination is enriched immensely. The good people of Goa step out of the state every year to visit countries in the neighbourhood or in Europe or even visit other states of this vast country. Sadly, that will not happen now and perhaps for some time in the future.  The coronavirus has ensured that. That, however, does not mean that people forget about the good times they had while visiting the interesting parts of the world.

Disha Khade was in Coorg last year for around five days. Presently unemployed she usually visits places with friends who are all working and cannot go on extended holidays. Disha said “Coorg was just beautiful and we went at the right time during the monsoons.  It was fantastic, the culture is so different and yes, the food was great too. I took a lot of photographs.  It was very green and it was just fantastic. We don’t have a fixed time to go on holiday. It depends on the place. This year we wanted to go to Manali but now with this virus, everything is down. I still have my photographs, that I look at and remind myself of the wonderful time I had during my holiday”. Elston Dias was planning to go on another vacation but the virus struck and left him sitting at home. He said “I had visited Italy which is without a doubt my favourite place to visit. I visited several cathedrals and loved the beauty, the architecture and the history behind it. I have visited other parts of the world like Dubai but Italy remains the favourite.” Now with a holiday in Europe not possible he is contemplating a break in South East Asia and he is thinking of either Thailand, Vietnam or Sri Lanka with the last-named the favourite.  

Ninoshka Andrade also seemed to have loved the many wonders of Western Europe. Last September, along with her mother, the duo went on a nineteen-day package tour that took her through Italy, France, Spain, Portugal and Switzerland.  She said “Visiting Paris was like a dream come true. I spent an hour on the Eiffel tower and it was interesting to meet the locals. Italy was great, everyone was so friendly. I made a lot of friends.  Switzerland was interesting, we were the only coloured people there and everyone was staring at us. It felt a bit strange”. The memories she said would stay with her for the rest of her life.

Some people travel the world, others like Shivani Kerkar last went on a holiday in 2014 which she found memorable.  She visited Darjeeling and then Sikkim a place she called heaven on earth. She said “Sikkim was absolutely beautiful; the clouds were all around us and it was green. It was so beautiful. Yes, I took a lot of photographs and I keep looking at them from time to time to remind me of the wonderful time I had and the need to go back”.

Photographs help retain memories of the good times. In these rather strange times, perhaps they can help us try to live a regular decent life by reminding us of the wonderful places out there waiting for us to visit them.