To Travel is a virtue. Stillness, hence, a Sin

Mujeeb Jaihoon urges to explore the power of travel writing, embracing the diversity and purpose of journeys.

As a travel writer, I am delighted to address you today. Instead of dwelling on mere facts and figures, let us delve into the philosophy and psychology of travel and travel-related writing. Questions like the essence of travel writing and the greatest travel writers can be easily found online. So, allow me to share my experiences and the wisdom that fueled my humble writing career.
Every human being loves to travel in one form or another. Our souls crave mobility, and without the freedom to move and interact, we’d go insane. We are all travelers on a long journey called life, passing through various stages such as school, college, job, and family. Our lives are finite. From an unknown starting point, we head toward an equally unknown destination, destined to pack our bags after a few decades.

Bad Borders Terrorize Travels
We’ve all heard of renowned travelers like Ibn Batuta, Al Beruni, and Marco Polo. Recently, while traveling with a senior writer from Kerala, he shared his concerns about how modern travelers face challenges with sophisticated travel documentation, unlike their earlier counterparts who roamed freely without visas and passports. Today’s travel restrictions, fueled by political rivalries, can be a burden on wandering souls.

Travel & Writing: Like Coal for the Engine
Saintly scholars and scholarly saints of all faiths traveled to different parts of the world in their thirst to discover new material of learning. New ideas and thoughts are inspired mostly during travels. Comfort zone is the sworn enemy of new ideas. The seed of innovation cannot sprout in the lap of comfort zone.
We come across new modes of lifestyle during our interactions with new cultures. Strange diet patterns and dress codes take us by surprise. Our value system, assumed absolute, is challenged when we see the lives of other communities.

Diving into the Sea of Diversity
During my visit to London, I witnessed women holding their infant babies in freezing temperatures at a protest gathering in support of the refugees from other distant lands, including Muslim nations.
When talking about the British, all we think of is the colonial era, the bad white people; and not about the mothers who could stand out in the fierce cold with their children protesting for the Arab refugees in Europe.
The biggest source of adulteration of our mindset is from the biased sections of the media. Traditionally, the Jews are portrayed to be always against Muslims, plotting and planning against Islam, whereas they were in majority of the protest in London. Such experiences challenge our values and open our eyes to new realities.
Travelling informs you about the infinite sea of diverse humanity.

Anticipation: The Catalyst for a Creative Journey
Anticipation is the key to good travel writing. The more you build it, the better you will experience the travel and the more you will gain knowledge during your journey.

Purpose is the King
Not every trip results in writing; having a purpose for your travels makes them meaningful. Knowing why you’re going to a particular place is essential. Without purpose, your travel will be defeated.

Travel Checklist
While traveling, having a good camera is an asset. Also, a notebook to write down all that you see and a mobile for searching maps and places is necessary. While in London I used to walk 15 km every day. Before going for a trip, it is better to do a little exercise, or else it will make you very tired.

Be good. Being Good
What we do when we go to a foreign country talks about our home country. Travelers or tourists are the unofficial ambassadors of their culture. Be good by being good to the people. Embrace good manners and respect while interacting with others. Bring home the good from their culture too.

Travel: An undeniable human right
There is one phenomenon in Kerala which stops you from traveling, namely the hartal. Freedom of mobility is a human right. I will say it is a God-given Divine right. No political party has the moral right to stop you from traveling. However, travel does not always have to stretch to far off places; it could be in and around your nearby places too.

To Travel is a virtue. Stillness, hence, a Sin
This world is an amazing place of faces and races. Every person you meet has abundant experiences to share and you could learn. God has created this world with rhythmic rivers, birds, reptiles, and mountains with as many stories to tell.
Almost all of us are expected to live around sixty to seventy years. When we die and return to God, we may be asked, ‘I created a beautiful and colorful world for you, and you just lived all your life in and around your hometown ignoring the rest of the world?
If you die before appreciating the diversity and the glory of God’s creations, you are committing nothing short of a sin. The Holy Quran urges to ‘Travel around the world and see how God dealt with the people’. Traveling, as a divine command, is therefore an act of worship. May your life be blessed with this act of worship before you pack bags from this world.

Summary of Jaihoon’s speech on travel and literature at the PG Department of English, Unity Women’s College, Manjeri – Kerala, on march 10 2017