Looking Back at 2016 || A Traveller's Response to Change

Sydney Harbour Bridge on New Year's Eve - Photograph by Bharat Sharma

Greek Philosopher, Hiraclitus observed "The only thing that is constant is change." This proverb has since been quoted everywhere, by people from all walks of life, belonging to all age groups. This wisdom has been passed down from generation to generation, and is still relevant. It is an eternal truth that we are taught through various didactic tales during our childhood. But change still manages to take us by surprise all the time, every time. 

As 2016 makes way for the new year 2017, I try to process this thought and make sense of why human beings haven't evolved much on the psychological level, at least when it comes to our primeval reaction to change, and whether travel makes you any more adaptive to sudden change. 

Some changes are imposed on us, but often we deliberately bring about a change in our circumstances. Be it quitting a secure job to start an enterprise or a change as small as shifting homes, sometimes we impose it upon ourselves despite knowing the amount of inconvenience it will cause us. These changes lack that element of surprise and, therefore, are bearable. 

However, changes that take us by surprise reveal several important aspects of our personality. Be it Brexit, Trump, or, closer home, demonetization announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, change has indeed been a constant this year. No matter whether we are for or against these changes, we did deal with them in some way. These changes were more like natural phenomena, in the sense that we were powerless in their wake. Only our reaction to them was in our control. Some of us were happy about some of these changes, while others were dismayed. 

Regarding demonetization, some of us took to social media to hail the ruling government for having the right intention, while others vented out against the inconvenience the change caused them or the people they knew. However, the fact remains, that most of our reaction was instinctive and it is equally true that even centuries ago, our instincts would have been the same, and our reactions similar. When it comes to psychological evolution, we have covered a much smaller ground than social, physical, and intellectual evolution. Our connection to our origin, psychologically, remains as strong as it was, and this fact is beyond judgement. It is another eternal truth, something that is beyond our control. 

As travellers, change is an integral part of our life. Anything can happen anywhere, and travellers need to keep their sanity despite everything. Something as small as a hotel booking gone wrong can ruin our peace of mind, so what happens when something big happens. The decision about how you will deal with these changes is made much before these changes strike. It is made when you choose to be a traveller. A traveller needs to stay calm and collected when faced with something unexpected. A traveller needs to "adjust their sails" when the wind changes. Travellers need to be flexible, grounded, and compassionate. They need to have a wise head on their shoulders, or at least a head that is willing to learn. True travellers are seldom unreasonable. So, yes, indeed being a traveller makes you less resistant to change. Travel educates you in the practical aspect of life, and is a huge responsibility. 

As the New Year inches closer, this may be a good time to question yourself and ask whether you really are up to facing a change like demonetization every day. Because really that is what true travel (not tourism) can seem and feel like. On this note, let us once pay our regards to the eventful 2016. Here are the highlights of the year:  


Travelling Camera, despite the name, is not just about travel. It is also about many related aspects, such as the art of photography, learning about gadgets associated with travel, getting to know the personalities to take inspiration from, exploring little known wonders closer home. This year we had ample opportunities to indulge in all of these and much more. 

Here are some of our most popular travel related posts of 2016: 

My son's first encounter with sea, backwaters and much more in South Kerala (By Bharati Malhotra) because there is nothing more magical than a young child getting his/her first glimpse of the enormity of the universe.

Main places to visit around San Francisco Downtown simply because it is San Francisco, one of the our favourite cities.

Tungnath - The third Kedar and Chandrashila (By Raghav Arora) to give you the chills.

Exploring impossible landscapes on Kheerganga Trek, Himachal Pradesh - By Ankit Gupta because not many people know about this trek.

A visit to Konark Sun Temple in Odisha - One of the 7 wonders in India because people rarely talk about this temple after passing school.

Gateway of India - The most visited place in Mumbai, India  because we don't want to appear partial to India Gate.

आओ लेके चलें आज हिमाचल प्रदेश की बरोट घाटी - Travellingcamera's First Hindi Blog because it is our first ever Hindi blog. 

Places to skip when travelling to Shimla, Himachal Pradesh because this was perhaps the most controversial post of 2016.

8 Days road trip to 4 main Hill stations in Himachal Pradesh because this was an ambitious journey to undertake. 

This year we started a new series called the Time-Turner series, to focus on the lingering memories of past travels. The series is named after a time-travel device used in the Harry Potter series.

Here are some of the posts:

The Time-Turner Series || Memories of a shrouded, fragrant Dhanaulti

Click here to read more posts in the Time-Turner Series.

Besides the Time-Turner series, our regular series the Great Indian Chai Experience too saw several new additions. Click here to read them.  

There are those who click selfies and then there are others who take selfies to the next level. They demonstrate that though underrated, selfies too can be transformed into art. You just need to have the right vision and perspective. Here is one such person who excels in the art of clicking selfies: 

Most inspiring selfies of an Indian Photographer you definitely don't want to miss

If you liked this, you will also like going through this list:

2016 Inspirations - Posts that we revisit at every excuse

This year we also discovered an enchanting weekly ceremony that we didn't know was open to public. We visited the President's House with our entire family and all of us were in awe of the precision with which this is conducted. 

The elaborate 'Change of Guards' ceremony at Indian President's House, New Delhi

If you liked this post and found it helpful, I would request you to follow these things when traveling -

- Manage your waste well and don’t litter

- Use dustbins. Tell us if you went to a place and found it hard to locate a dustbin.

- Avoid bottle waters in hills. Usually you get clean water in hills and water bottles create lot of mess in our ecosystem.

- Say big no to plastic and avoid those unhealthy snacks packed in plastic bags. Rather buy fruits.

- Don't play loud blaring music in forests of jungle camps. You are a guest in that ecosystem and disturbing the locals (humans and animals) is not polite