River Lidder, in Pahalgam, Kashmir
“Walking is a virtue, tourism is a deadly sin.”– Bruce Chatwin, What Am I Doing Here?
I was just having a mosey round Pahalgam, a town at the foothill of the mighty Himalayas. Tourists on ponies were leisurely passing by. Tall meditative pines exuding peace filled my being. I was cautious not to step on the beauties peeping from the grass leaf wearing their multi color attires. Everything here from the teeny tiny grass flowers to the birds fox-trotting, hovering kites, dappled ponies, long coated street dogs, the velvet green valley, mountain, babbling of Lidder* and above all, the people are carved from Beauty. Yes, they truly are.
My physic ached for a touch of them yet my boot, overcoat, woolen cap and also the language bar wouldn’t let me do so. My thoughts became faint bubbles disappearing into almost nothingness. My soul longed to be immersed into this deep and vast ocean of tranquility yet the hourglass in the mind would keep reminding me to end the walk and get back to the tourist bus, waiting to take us to Chandanbari and Aru valley.
Dewdrops on leaf
The kite like lightning swoops down
We walk homewards
*a river in Kashmir
Posted for Haibun Monday #13 – Walking @ dVerse
sumanar/lekha 
This was great, full of surprising and inventive word choices. The haiku is a great mirror to the body of the haibun. No matter how much we want to immerse ourselves– lose ourselves even– in the joys of nature, it can be difficult to the point of impossibility to tune out the concerns of our daily lives; that nagging inner monologue in our heads. This felt very honest, and was a pleasure to read
I think we sometimes wish we were more than mere visitors when visiting a place of beauty.. to me this talked of that longing (much like the quote you choose).
That is a stunning sight of a river ~ Sadly when we are just tourists, everyone is hurrying us back to the bus ~ Love this part:My soul longed to be immersed into this deep and vast ocean of tranquility ~
Love the idea of moseying–rivers are the heartbeat of our world.
I love your “listing” here — and I especially liked the twist at the end — that you were one of those on the tourist bus, wishing you could stand by yourself just a bit longer before getting back into the hard seat of reality in the bus. Well done!
That ‘having to’ we live with all the time, keeping us away from spending as much time as we can within nature … oye!
“carved from Beauty” indeed. So is your gorgeous piece.
You describe a beautiful and timeless spot with the problems of being a tourist and back to the reality of time and catching the bus. A finely carved piece.
The symbolism of the barriers between you and nature are striking! Very nice!
It sounds enviable!