One of my most surreal experiences has been standing in front of the Ganga on a quiet evening, where the water keeps moving, bells ring in the distance, and monks chant mantras. You close your eyes, say a small prayer and suddenly the air feels lighter and slower. You don’t do much there, you just exist. And somehow, that is enough to make it one of life’s best moments. Travel often begins like this. Not with checklists or planned destinations, but with a moment. A moment where you pause just to feel something. In Rishikesh, it feels peaceful, in Goa, it feels cheerful, and in places like Jaipur or Varanasi, it feels chaotic, yet deeply alive.
When travel makes space for such moments, it's slow tourism. It is not about how many places you visit, rather about how deeply you experience each and every spot. You stop counting attractions and start noticing every small detail. Here, travel is more about presence than movement. Yet, not every place asks for stillness. Some places are meant to be loud, crowded, and constantly moving. This is where loud tourism finds its meaning. The chaos and overlapping sounds are not distractions, but the identity of these places. Cities like Mumbai or Bangalore feel alive because so much happens at once, the rituals, conversations, and daily life unfolding together. Even amidst the rush, there are moments worth noticing.
Over time, travel starts to feel like a conversation. Not a loud one, just an exchange happening quietly between you and the place. The way you enter a city, how long you stay, what you choose to notice, all of it adds to that exchange. On National Tourism Day, it feels right to think about more than just travelling, and focus on what it asks of us. Because being a traveller also means remembering that this place isn’t new to everyone, it’s someone else’s everyday life.
Visitors eventually leave. With memories, with moments, with pieces they carry back home. But the place stays, it absorbs the footsteps, voices, and habits. It changes, slowly, with every person who passes through. Maybe tourism isn’t only about discovering new destinations, but also about becoming more aware of ourselves, and of how deeply we move through such new spaces. So the next time you travel, even if it is in your own city, try to slow down the experience. Take that local transport to experience the hustle, and above all, stay present. Let the place meet you halfway.
- Mrunmayee Pataskar
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