silentcoNsent: Traveller

When I went to Hampi*, I met a family in one of the tourist attractions, in a monument. They were from Canada. Husband wife and two little daughters, one aged around 7 and another around 5. Pretty girls. What caught our attention was the man sitting and drawing the monument in his note book and he was really good. I am inclined towards anything artistic, so I went near him and looked at his drawing closely. I couldn’t help complimenting him. He was really good.  He showed me the other drawings he made. He was a pro at sketching. I asked if he was an artist or in a profession related to art. He smiled and said he was a maths teacher. Drawing is just a hobby. He further added, “we are on a vacation visiting Asia and I am trying to capture the place in my drawings.” He pointed at his girls and wife who were around.  And as I looked again in his sketch book, I could see, he had covered all the landmarks of Asia.  I grew curious. I asked the duration of his vacation. He said they had been in Asia since a month. They have been to Singapore, Thailand, Bangkok, and now in India. They will stay in India for a month and then return. I was amazed. I asked how did he managed to plan such a long vacation with his family.What about his job. He said in his country, they are permitted to take such long leave for travelling. Comparing with leaves we are granted in India, I was amazed.  His elder daughter was standing near us, trying to understand our conversation . I asked about their schools. I thought they might had missed school for his trip. His father answered, “oh no, they don’t go to school. We home school them. And this trip, the places , the culture, the people , the experiences, this is education, can these be taught in a school?” He smiled and resumed his sketching.