Its The Journey That Matters

"Every journey matters. It adds to the existential experience Life offers."

Although my roots lie in Bhubaneswar, I have always been amazed of beauty in the stark barrenness of the desert lands. Thanks to a boring job in Pune, I was hunting for a chance to travel. And so, when I was invited to join some friends in Jaisalmer, my excitement knew no bounds, as I hadn’t visited the city yet.

After a short flight to Jodhpur, we began the road trip to Golden City. One of the friends had an SUV, which meant we had no hassle of booking a cab. We went to his village, near a railway station called Bhagat Ki Kothi. After refreshments and light snacks, we started for the highway.

Suddenly, my tablet dropped a notification. Yes, bosses never leave your trail completely. It was a work email, with directives for a presentation I needed to make. No problemmos! I said to myself as I opened Powerpoint on the tablet, transformed it into a laptop by attaching the keyboard segment, and finished the presentation in minutes. With the Internet, two browsers, and my favorite driving anthems running in the background, the processing was as graceful as ever! Thank God, barely after a few days I had bought it from http://asusindia.co.in/T100/ it had come real handy.

Much to our surprise, the route was filled with greenery; instantly shattering our conventional image of the desert state that is Rajasthan. It was a pleasure to see the greens in the desert this time. The clouds of course added to the drama.

A pleasant five hours on roads worthy of a road trip and the grand Jaisalmer Fort was in sight. While commercialization hasn't spared it, it still retains some old-world charm with some of its architecture still intact, like the jharokas and lattice work.

A few hours later we reached Suryagarh. It is known for its gracious hospitality and its grand manner of celebration owing to its rich, history having been home to the maharajas of yore. And our welcome was nothing less than that fit for sheer royalty. We were greeted by soulful musicians belting the popular Rajasthani tune ‘padharo maare desh’, which roughly translates to ‘welcome to my home’. You do not wake up every day to roads being flooded in Jaisalmer.

After freshening up, I realized that I hadn't talked with my family since a day. And it was high time – my family would be really worried, as they call at least twice a day just to make sure I am okay. But this time I was so happy inside – I did a long Skype chat with my family on my tablet. Thanks to its never-ending battery, I got all the time to cajole them into deciding upon a family trip sometime in winter to here again. Then, cooped inside the palatial fortress, with a glass of wine and a wide selection of gourmet cheese, watching the monsoon rains drench the desert from my window, my heart was longing to step out and soak in the atmosphere.

Though I have always been fascinated by sand dunes, this monsoon didn't at all allow us to move out. As departure time arrived, I realized that visiting Jaisalmer only increased my love for the desert. Never before in my life I had experienced the simple joys of watching the raindrops kiss the parched desert terrain, or spotted an oasis, or better, a full-fledged lake, in the middle of a desert. Even as it bloomed with patches of green grass and prickly cacti, Jaisalmer was something else during the monsoon, truly enchanting and admirable.

De facto, the real utility of Technology lies in how it helps you live through the journey of Life. And my striking new, ultraportable Asus Transformer Book T100, is just that. What I remember, is the memorable journey I had. My tablet saved me from any regrets after I got back to Pune.

Note: This post is written for Asus Transformer Book T100 activity in association with Indiblogger.