Around the world in eight dollars

Travel story: Despite the painful past of the woods, you will be filled with the expressed beauty of the place – a fresh and rhythmic cold breeze touching your body, the smell of bark, leaves, flowers, the chirping of birds and small streams.

By Ramsharan Joshi in San Francisco

Having halted here for two nights, we moved back to the airport of Las Vegas for an evening flight to San Francisco (SFO).  Before boarding the plane, an interesting encounter with a young Indonesian happened.

During the chit-chat in the queue, he revealed his ideological identity as a Leftist. He told me that the younger generation was against any form of authoritarianism in his country. ‘We are raising our voices against Ultra-Rightism,” he told me. His few words are evident of inner currents of dissidence all over the world against oppressive regimes.

The flight touched San Francisco after about two hours. Outside the airport, an old song from a Bollywood movie floated in my ears – Around the World in Eight Dollars. The duet was picturised on  Raj Kapoor and Jaishree, and the  playback singers were Mukesh and Sharda.

The song depicted the tourist spots of the city. They were marvelously shown for Indian audiences who loved to see this inaccessible world from their small towns. The movie made me acquainted with the beauty of San Francisco, my dream city.

Bay Bridge Harbor, San Francisco.

 The first amazing thing I encountered was a ‘driverless cab’.  Every fourth or fifth cab is without a driver. The unmanned taxis run perfectly and negotiate the traffic hurdles smartly. If you board it for the first time, you are bound to be scared.

This is a wonderful achievement of modern scientists who apply AI in most spheres of contemporary life. You can book the unmanned cab online and make payment accordingly. These cabs are plying on the designated routes on an experimental basis. An exclusive design has been allotted to the driverless cabs. These taxis are commonly known as robo-taxis.

Interestingly, I came   across a Pakistani taxi driver.  We hired a taxi for dinner at a Nepali restaurant.  I casually told him that we were from India. Having heard me say, “Hum Hindustani hain,” he said: “I am a Pakistani Muslim, but the division of the two country hurts. Partition was painful. My parents belonged to Delhi.” 

I asked about the new trends of Ghazal in Pakistan. His answer surprised me. He was an ardent fan of all the greats: Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Habib Jalib, Ahmad Faraz and other revolutionary poets. He began humming Faiz’s famous ghazal -- Lazim hai ham bhi dekhenge, jab takht giraye jayenge, jab taj uchale jayenge. We were thrilled with his company. These are the serene feelings the commoners have preserved in their hearts and minds, dreaming of a just society. 

I will skip the visits to prominent tourist attractions of SFO since it is well known to most of us. I will straight away take my readers to wander into the Muir Redwoods. The trip to Muir Woods is full of thrills; sharp curves and lush green landscapes. Once you reach the destination, you will move into rare and ancient trees. The wanderers walk through the long corridors and canopies of the trees. You get surrounded by over 600- year-old trees.

The height of the trees, and their age, both are unique. Some of the trees are 311 to 379 feet tall. Amazingly, they have survived forest fires and floods. According to the literature available, “These old trees have provided shelter and nutrients for younger trees, other plants, and many animals.” 

In the 1700s the Europeans displaced thousands of native people, the original inhabitants of this beautiful land, and moved them into Spanish missions. In fact, that is a pathetic saga of enslavement, oppression, torture and physical elimination of the indigenous people by the white aggressors.

A large number of natives died inflicted with European diseases. The white settlers occupied these hills -- the redwoods and trees.  Once you are spiritually connected with the ancient soul of the landscape, the tales of extermination of the natives by the white race will resonate inside you.

Despite the painful past of the woods, you will be filled with the expressed beauty of the place – a fresh and rhythmic cold breeze touching your body, the smell of bark, leaves, flowers, the chirping of birds and small streams.

Fatigue disappears. A freshness rejuvenates your body and soul.

Before bidding goodbye to Muir Woods, the famous lines of Robert Frost echoed in my ears:

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

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Ramsharan Joshi is an eminent author, journalist and academician.

Photos: Except picture 2, all photos by Ramsharan Joshi.