Landscapes of Wilderness

Landscapes of Wilderness

Author: Narendra

Publisher: HarperCollins 

How do you think we would live without any gadgets, talks, and intentional overstimulation we engage in our lives for everything?

No big houses with all stuff inside, from fancy clothes, bedsheets, curtains to electronic devices. A totally blank slate. In a pure natural environment without even talking unnecessarily. I don't think we can even imagine a single day like that. Why am I saying so? Because just in a two-day weekend when I get the privilege to sit quietly and rest, I plan to go outside and do some activities. I may just read somewhere, but still, sitting quietly and saying nothing is so difficult for the restless mind we possess that we would do anything but sit quietly.

But in Abujhmad, it's totally opposite. They do nothing and never feel boredom like us. Once we enter the realm of nature, in reality, it happens. Mostly in the name of nature visit, we end up taking pics and polluting the place with noise, plastic, and the rest of the waste we carry. In reality, when one sinks with nature, all other things get dissolved.

Just imagine the Farmers in the 17th and 18th centuries. They also didn't have much work always. They used to sit quietly, live slowly. Just like nature itself. They don't speak much. When the author experienced the same while doing his research, he had no specific words to explain it. I once went on such a trekking trip where our guide made us experience nature quietly and slowly. I still have those memories fresh.

This book gives us on-ground realities and experiences of people. They don't get their knowledge from books, media, or any other outside resources like us. That's why they're also mostly disconnected from the world and content in their lifestyle. Their wisdom comes directly from the land, nature, and surroundings.

The author has done an in-depth study of the daily routine of them and even the overall lifecycle of people from birth till death. The way they operate in marriage, the place of women in society, important of deitys, religion and caste, festivas they celebrate, all covered in great detail. It's interesting to see that there are no disputes regarding inheritance as they don't have any property or wealth to carry. They live with nature and mostly have just a small hut to stay underneath.

The book has several chapters covering many different topics. A few personal and the rest general. And this is the reality of today and not of previous centuries, which is quite fascinating to read and realize. It's beautifully narrated and carefully crafted after years of research and experience, which is why it's the best in its genre. Without any doubt, one must read and experience this rich content, which otherwise is not available to us, who live far away from actual natural reality.