Hi readers, It has been many times that this same topic has been discussed over and over, and people will say that it is my wish where do I want to live. My motive is just to share my experiences with people living particularly in cities.

I was born and brought up in cities, and hence I was very much convinced with living in a city with so many facilities along with issues like pollution, scarcities of natural resources etc. I never thought of staying in a sub-urban area or a rural area prior to settling down in a town now. It was very tough at first phase to establish my self in a town but then gradually I got accustomed and now I am influenced to write a blog on this matter.

I agree with the facilities available in the cities, like hefty pay packages, medical facilities, businesses, malls, transport, buildings etc., but now when I do not have so many such facilities in my life, I personally feel my life is running the same way or probably better. Now the question How???.

When I used to live in cities, I have spend my life running; running for this or that, but now I do not run, I do not run for transport, I do not spend more than an hour in transport to reach from my home to my office, thus saving more than two hours daily to spend for my personal use. I had medical facilities like big hospitals in cities but rarely used it, so what is the use of a facility which i do not use it; and now also I rarely fall ill and when ever I fall ill I have doctors and medical shops here also in town which solves my necessities. I used to purchase my daily commodities from malls while living in cities and used to feel proud, but now I purchase it from a near by grocery shop or from a near by flea market (called as hat bazar in Bharat) which happens twice in a week, and it looks like a Mela (a fair in Bharat). It does not mean that we do not have malls in here, we have three malls here, but yes they are much smaller in size than in cities. I remember while purchasing goods from malls I always used to purchase extra items, items which are displayed in scheme and are not so much required by me, but now I purchase according to my needs, thus saving extra money which I used to spend it. While staying in cities, very often I used to go to the restaurants, but now I go to the restaurants in some occasions, rather eat food cooked at my home and thus staying healthy and less fatty, it does not mean that we do not have good restaurants here in town, but yes we do not have those high class star hotels in town, but the restaurants here serve pretty good foods. We also get the facility of “Thela walas (food items sold in small carts in Bharat)” serving different food items which are fresh, cheaper and delicious. I remember when I stayed in city I used to change my cloths almost every day as it used to get dirty due to pollution on the streets, but now I live in a place where the quantity of fresh air and oxygen is more than pollution, it is so calm and quite than cities. Some times near my house, I even hear the shattering sound of leaves when wind blows, and even hear the chirping sound of birds also. Apart from these there is abundance of natural resources like, fresh air, water, sunlight, atmosphere, and nature and scarcity of hefty pay packages.

So finally and above all, while living in cities, I used to go to the sub-urbs or villages for spending vacation and enjoy those things in resorts, camps or picnics and used to share those moments with my friends and relatives, but now I am in a full time vacation and working along with my vacation. There are so many things which are smaller in sub-urbs and villages but are better than cities, and I ask myself that do I really require those facilities which I rarely use, or hardly require???

I remember a story which I always share with every body who is running after name, fame and money. There are two sides of world shown in this story, a guy who is living in a lovely small island with his wife and two kids (lets name him “Mr. Hap”), and the other one is a multi millionaire living with his wife and a kid (“Mr. Mil”). So, as usual the multi millionaire, Mr. Mil does not have time to spend for himself and his family and is always running for his business and earning more money, though he has all the facilities in his life, a private jet also, and gradually he is getting old. At a point of time he realizes that he has become enough old and bored from his business and thus goes in a vacation in the island where Mr. Hap is living, giving all his charges to his managers and his kid.

While laying on the beach, every day he used to watch Mr. Hap going for fishing and coming back with only four fishes caught. One day he becomes very curious and calls Mr. Hap, “Hello Mr. Hap…how are you”, Mr. Hap says “good and how about you Mr. Mil”?? Mr. Mil says “super good” and explains Mr. Hap that he is a multi millionaire and about his possessions and now he is spending his vacation in this beach; then he asks Mr. Hap, “I observe you every day that you bring only four fishes, whereas there are plenty of fishes in this ocean”, and suggests, “why don’t you catch those fishes and become rich”. Mr Hap says “then”??? Mr. Mil says then, “you can have cars, bungalows, servants and probably your private jet”, Mr. Hap says “then”??? “then when you become old you can also spend a vacation like me in a beautiful beach like this and be a happy man”. Mr. Hap says, so, what am I doing now ????

Now the motto of the story is that how much fire do you need, depends on you, “you want to make light in a room, or you want to light up a room”. I depends from person to person, but believe me if you are spending more of your income in maintaining yourself, paying your medical bills, rentals etc., then probably you are wasting your time, as you are also becoming old day by day….

Those are the community pics i gathered from net….

Author : Debashish Ray, Jalpaiguri, W.B., Bharat.