When we are traveling and sightseeing, there is a constant urge for us to not miss anything worth visiting. Since we are in a city closest to the world's tallest statue, how can we not visit that? It will be too regretful, right? Okay, so we are going to Kevadia because of that. Kevadia, also known as Ekta Nagar is a place where the Statue of Unity and the surrounding tourist attractions reside. A town rebuilt to be visited! As we move from Vadodara to Ekta Nagar via train, it takes us through the various farming sites of rural Gujarat. From ground-level farming to hilltop farming, all those help us understand the scales and possibilities of agriculture. Since the train is mainly meant for tourists, a special enthusiasm can be felt throughout the journey. My seatmates were asking a lot of questions thinking that I was a local, and in the end, they realized that I am also just like them :)
Once we reach the railway station, there are shuttle buses to the Statue location. They know that we are meant to be picked up at the right place. After passing thorough security checks, we can enjoy the beauty of the Narmada River and the mighty statue, all while simply standing on a moving walkway. Then we get to see the iron statue as near as possible by going to the upper floors via escalators. The scorching sun will be there to make sure that we won't look up for so long :) But the actual size can be felt only by standing there, near to it. It's not just the statue, the museum and the entire surrounding is amazing. All the information about the history and life of Sardar Vallabhai Patel, whom the statue depicts, is enlightening. Ekta Nagar has so much more to offer like the gardens, parks, and more, but we have to go now.
Coming to Ekta Nagar is easy, but going out on our wish is not. Since it's a small town, there isn't any public transportation. My hope was on a bus stand which Maps showed. Only when I reached that location did I realize that there wasn't any bus stand like shown. We are now officially stranded :) After walking many miles with the 10 Kg rucksack on our back, luckily, we get a ride to the railway station. Thanks to the policeman who offered the free ride. So, when is the next train back? Around 7pm. What time is it now? 2 pm. So what are we going to do at the railway station? I spent time reading a book called Discover Yourself written by Sadhu Vaswani. You may remember, that we went to his museum in Pune. We can also take multiple naps in the public seats and then simply walk around. The station was completely free and peaceful. A good environment for meditation!
The life of Patel, the readings of Sadhu Vaswani, and the lone time, all led me to dig deep into myself. I realized that I always wanted to start a company not to get rich, but to build a foundation for social impact. That was my end goal, not the money or the business. And I was acting stubborn that the goal could be only reached via the path I chose. That's terribly wrong. I was able to figure out that the path that I chose wasn't fit for me. So, I decided to totally get rid of my entrepreneurship dreams. Normally, when things don't work out, we get angry and quit everything. I would suggest, don't quit the goal, instead, quit the path. Even for happiness, it works the same way. All of us consider happiness as our end goal. Some of us work very hard to make money and buy happiness, some spend more time with our loved ones to experience happiness, some just appreciate the beauty in everything to perceive happiness, some feel happy at what they do, and so on. There are hundreds and thousands of paths to happiness. But why are we acting so stubborn and sticking to that one path that we hate? Let's leave it, get out of that trap, and find the path that's meant for us. That's going to be a tough decision, but worth it in the long run. And if we already found that path, let's reflect on that frequently. Because what we feel right today may not necessarily be right tomorrow. Life goes on...
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