Of Vacations & Writing

What is it about the mountains and writing?

Maybe it’s how we’ve grown up seeing writers write. Either in cottages with a mountain view. Or by the window in a picturesque villa by the sea. Because supposedly, how else does one let their creative juices flow? Definitely not in the craziness of a city. Not with all the honking and horrible air and just generally having to deal with the realities of life. Like the bai not turning up. Or whose turn is it to do the laundry. (On a side note, ‘doing’ the laundry is the most misleading term in India. Doing it is simply putting it in the washing machine. It’s the who is going to take it out and put it up on the clothesline that’s the real work. Unless you’re one of those rich folks who can afford a dryer, or more importantly, the space to keep a dryer. I mean, who are you and why are you even reading this?)

But coming back to the mountains. They do make you want to read. And scribble. Maybe even sketch just a tiny bit. They make you think about all the beautiful paper and art supplies at home. Supplies that have been locked away in a box (a transparent box, mind you, in the hope that being able to see the supplies will make you want to use them. P.S. Doesn’t work). And you look at the beautiful view in front of you and daydream about just how you’ll use them when you go back. The beautiful things you will create. The words that will flow on paper.

Not really a news flash, but nothing’s gonna flow.

Because by the time you’re back home, you’re exhausted. You need a vacation to get over your vacation. Forget the pens and paint, you’re already worrying about that meeting you have tomorrow, preparation for which you put off because you were in too much of a holiday mood earlier. But now it’s all piled up for today, not tomorrow. And the words and the ideas take a tiny little backseat, you know, just for the time being.

Until they’re pushed just a little further back. To accommodate for the monsoons making your commute to work just a bit worse. And that new project that is amazing but also time consuming. And that other project that kinda sucks but you can’t really put off anymore. And the grocery shopping. The meal planning. The Netflix shows to catch up on. The people to meet. The hours to sleep.

Until the next hill or beach vacation. Where you’re suddenly reminded about this writing itch, and find yourself without a pen and paper, again. And you wonder, what is it, about mountains and writing?