Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, UK

“Blogger! Blogger! Wherefore art thou been?“

I think modifying Shakepeare to depict my absence is a perfect way to start an explanation! No, I didn’t die! (obviously!) Definitely did not get married! (much to the disappointment of my dad and the “Indian society”!) Did not protract some terrible illness! Nothing weirdly dramatic happened. It was just melding of lot of small things. I just got lost! I lost my “voice” briefly because I planned a trip with a guy I was dating in 2016 and he just cribbed throughout the entirety of it! And not to my face directly, but as a taunt to his bestfriend. It was so annoying that by the end of this trip, this wonderful place – that normally requires government permissions and clearances except for 2 weeks of the year (my favourite item from the list for my own country), completely lost its hold and charm! I just didn’t want to write after that! I got called a temperamental bitch so I lost a bit there! I lost my professional shit briefly when my replacement boss didn’t like my work ethics and started finding reasons to fire me! I lost myself in a new job in a new city trying to figure out the next stage of my life! I lost myself in a new country, trying to find my groove back to books after 4 years of hard work! I had to lose few friends because I realised a smaller and healthier circle of your village is better for your emotional health.

So here am I. Back to regain some momentum, recapture some stories before I go senile. So let’s start with the man who inspired my rant…. Shakespeare!

When I first started my life in UK, the pipedream was to revisit all the places that has some connection to the books I have read – may it be the birthplace, place of inspiration, or even scene setting! Shakespeare has never played a great momentum in my life in terms of influence, except for the horrors of classroom where you are trying to pen down a 2500-words essay on the metaphorical manifestations of King Lear’s madness…(or was it Tempest? I think Lear only!) I did not get influenced to write or blog because of Shakespeare, but he did play a great role in “fixing” my English.

So here I am… ambling along the lanes of Stratford-upon-Avon, birthplace of one of the greatest English playwright, to glimpse into the word which he described as:

….. a stage, and all the men and women merely players

Act II, Scene 7, As you like it

And you learn a very interesting and completely random fact, as you take a stroll through this medieval town…. Charles Dickens helped save the house where Shakespeare was born from the cunning plans of PT Barnum, an American showman. Dickens was apparently a huge fan of Shakespeare, and after his visit in 1838, poured his love for the stage and Shakespeare in Nicholas Nickleby. When in 1846, it was announced that the house would be auctioned, Barnum planned to buy the house annonymously, ship every brick and timber back to his homecountry, and reconstruct it as a star attraction of his museum of curiosities. Dickens was one of the “interfering English gentlemen”, according to Barnum, who put a halt to his plans and purchased the premise in the name of Shakespeare Association.

Like it happened on many of my trips within UK, I got lost strolling down the charming lanes of Stratford-upon-Avon, and ended up making some new friends (who looked equally lost), found an unusual museum (which I will talk about in my next post), and clicked some more pictresque memories to carry back home.

Moral of the story – Not all who wander are lost. Just a temporary diversion in the route, even if it is 5 years later!

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