Around the world in armchair

Who wouldn’t cherish the memories of exciting experiences like riding a houseboat on Dal Lake, strolling through Ooty’s fragrant coffee gardens, or marvelling at Jog Falls’ cascading spray, the winged wonders of Chilka Lake, the silver sands of Havelock Island, the Thousand Pillar Temple in Warangal, and the elusive tigers of Ranthambore? What if I tell you some do it right from their homes?

Tourism is a significant contributor to economic growth, but it has its adverse impacts: increased consumption of energy, land and materials, increased generation of solid waste, sewage and greenhouse gas emissions, and reduced biodiversity.

There has been a surge in nature, religious, and wedding tourism in recent years, and the impact is visible in various ecological events. We trample all over the natural greens and carve our names into trees and rocks, throw coins and flowers into lakes and rivers, clear rocks and forests to construct tourist places, build highways and hotels without a thought to the trees cut in the process. We have forgotten that trees are our shield and defence against natural disasters like floods, landslides and earthquakes. 

My family does not travel much, but I watch and read about natural and human-made wonders, on electronic and print media. I am part of five WhatsApp groups, where I get to see pictures of visits by friends and family to exotic places around the world.

I have seen and heard an Antarctic cruise and emperor penguins, the majestic pyramids, Indonesian rice terraces and temples, Turkish architectural and culinary delights, American canyons and caverns, the Andes mountains, the Amazon forests, the Thames and London bridge, the Scottish moors, the snowy Alps, the Norwegian sunsets, the many facets of the Buddha, the majestic Himalayas, the musicals of Broadway, the weddings of the who’s who of India and the world, and so many other sights and sounds.

I have para-sailed, cruised, sky-dived, canoed, jet-skied, climbed mountains, smelt the pure air of the hills, trekked and marvelled at our world’s abundant flora and fauna.

All this I have done, from my comfortable armchair, without adding my bit to the waste and consumption on tourism and travel. I am certain that in future, I will roam the moon and marvel at gravity when family and friends reach that silver orb.

Anton Chekhov’s The Bet comes to mind -- the protagonist, a lawyer, is confined to a room for 15 years, with only books for friends, and finally realises that material things are fleeting. I am quite happy to be able to watch, hear and read about beautiful places and lovely people on the social and print/ electronic media, from my armchair at home.