[The following has been republished with permission from the author, as seen first on Behance.]
This project began as a spontaneous decision after returning from one of the best road trips I went on with a group of friends. I had a bucket load of images that I took with my simple phone camera that I was waiting to show the world, but something was stopping me from the usual upload on social media. I had a strong feeling that there was something magical about the sights and experiences that I had, as I am a huge lover of nature, and that was when it struck me, that I could create a whimsical photo-story of all the images I captured and compile it into a project where I uploaded two images a day along with the corresponding paragraphs of the story on my social media handles. The response I received during and after this project was overwhelming.
I hope you enjoy this visual trip as much as I did the real.Buckle up, it’s going to be quite a ride. Let’s begin!
I had a dream, I think, that the eight of us got into a flying car and headed for the mountains. Eight girls and the big bad ghats. To say we were not scared would be a lie.
With the wind in our hair and treats for our eyes, the fear diminished. All of a sudden, we came across a water beast that caught us in its trap.
Us being us, we managed to calm him down. Heck, we became tight pals!
A kid, he watched us. He was trading golden corn for silver coins and costly paper notes, all while dreaming of flying jets, bustling townships and owning kingdoms.
But soon enough, dreams turned into nightmares. We were lost in a maze of gravel paths and immobile creatures staring down at us. No one to help or guide us. There we were, eight girls in the ghats.
Yeah we were lost, but obviously we were found again! Soon we were there, what to call the destination I do not know. There was a gate of red petal thingies, wooden bridges and the birds, they came to greet us! It was wonderland where we were at.
As we walked through the gate, the unexpected happened. We were transmitted back in time! Time travel! I thought it didn’t exist but dude it did!
They greeted us with a feast of potions and God’s own edible jewels, the people of the old world. Kind hearts they are.
Chaa-ha. The magical potion they served us. A liquid that can change the state of mind and body, rejuvenate, cleanse and above all, make you super happy.
The calm waters stood in front of our tent, singing so loud we ran to meet them. But these waters, they held for us yet another surprise.....
It was the Alligator!!! The one we were warned about, he was really there! The crow got scared. What still keeps us wondering is, only we could see him. Just us.
As we walked along and explored this magical place, we came across a kindergarten school. The kids seemed more excited than ever. They played with us.
Yet another surprise. The tree houses and swings could sing. Here we swung and sang to their melodies.
The adventurous bunch that we are, we had to wander into the mushroom forrest we were warned had creatures that were unspoken about. What we found was marvellous. Ants. Here they were bigger than us.
Who would imagine that while polishing the white gems in our mouth, we meet a graceful beauty, known here as the “chilly wind”. She hugged me so tight I felt warm.
Time came calling, like our mothers waking us for school. Go back to real time? Who in their right minds would do that after all of this! But we are taught to obey.
While heading out we had to meet a human. Jhadav Kaka we were asked to call him. The conversation began. One thing led to another and it was soon known that a treasured secret was in our midst.
I thought the magic was to end, but the best, was yet to come......
And when I say treasure, I mean treasure. A silver treasure chest shining in all its glory in the corner of the tiny sun lit room. It opened by itself, as if it were commanded to. It heard us. As we went close, there were voices, they were conversing, the unseen creatures inside.
Silicon dioxide was her name. Like the story of the princess and the frog, when she was once kissed by a certain temperature, the kiss turned her into the glorious jewel and when Jhadav kaka found her lying somewhere, he got himself lucky. I could hear the birds singing.
Was it a plane? Was it a kite? No! It was the Atlas moth! The largest in the universe he said. Out he flew from the treasure chest while the fairy dust from its wings left the little room sparkling. I made friends with a moth.
The chest rumbled. All eyes on it. A treasure chest quake it was. Out jumped a wild boar with his beady eyes scanning the room. We were glued to the walls. The next moment a cloud of dust blinded us and as our eyes gained vision again, all we saw was the skull. The skull of the Wild boar.
It did not stop there. A slither from a ribbon like tongue. It spoke, “Who should I make friends with first?” We screamed. All of a sudden if froze in action, it was Jhadhav kaka, using Ethyl he froze the miniature beast. We stared with awe.
We were full of praises and sinking in as much as possible of kaka’s wisdom although even years would not suffice for the same. What none were aware of was a black creature that had its skeleton inside out, he was creeping towards us. But of course, Jhadhav kaka did and within a second he was hailed immobile, it’s venom and claws hard as rock. Yet again, we were saved.
The ghats were crying, now, it was high time we took off. We left with entire new views about this world, our lives changed, magic existed and we knew it with more proof than we wanted. She said her goodbye’s, this place, we were invited to return and we promised that we surely would. The beauty that she was.
Back in the flying car, into the ghats we went. Strange, the time travel did not occur yet. As we flew along the ghats, in this place called nowhere, a few more cars, a few more travellers, they were parked aside shrubs. Excited to see more humans, we told them of our story. When they heard of how we got lost in the ghats, they let us in a little secret. Behind the shrubs between shining black stone falling hard into a glittering pool was the biggest water monster, During this trip we met a hundred, but this one, it was the biggest of them all. “Fly into it”, they said, and we would be home in a jiffy! So what the heck! In we went! Yeah we got drenched. We were drenched, but we were home.
Was it a dream? I’m not sure yet, but you know what, I don’t care. A dream I will remember for life it was.