I’m a hillbilly. Upon reflection, i’ve realized that i’ve spent the most part of my life with my head in the clouds, literally. To illustrate this point, check out the following pictures:
This is where I was born and raised:
Mizoram, North East India
This is where I went to High School:
Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu, South India.
This is where I went for Uni and am currently living at:
Blue Mountains, NSW Australia
I’m a mountain goat jumping from one mountain range to another and then to another.
I wouldn’t be surprised if you thought they were all part of the same mountain range. To the untrained eye, they all look pretty much the same.
But this isn’t to say that I haven’t had a taste of the bright lights of the city.
And the Blue Mountains, where I live now, is only 2 hours drive away from central Sydney so i’m not totally isolated from civilization and not fully “hillbillised”. But I avoid the city like a plague and only go down only when it’s absolutely necessary, like say when they’re releasing new Air Jordan sneakers.
True. The city offers a lot of convenience that the mountains don’t. Innumerable. Growing up, I hated the drudgery of the mountains. All i wanted to do was to get out of the hills asap and relocate to a big city and do all the things that people do in cities. Shopping in mega sized malls and watching movies on big ass Imax screens. Going out to eat different cuisines in nice restaurants. Hanging out with friends at the bar. Meeting new people. Partying it up. Going to shows and events. Getting lost in a sea of anonymity.
But for me, the mountains are where it’s at. One of the great but simple joys of living above the clouds is to wake up in the morning and to be greeted with a scenery like this:
Sunrise in Kodaikanal
Now that just makes you happy to be alive. Throw in a nice hot mug of coffee or hot chocolate and a cigarette in one hand.That’s bliss I tell ya.
And another thing that I love about the mountains is space. Personal space. Lots of it.
In the city, I found it suffocating at times to have to constantly fight for space. I hated walking on the streets, manouvering yourself around gawky tourists, grumpy office workers, schoolkids, skateboarders, sidewalk musicians, angry homeless bums, green peace workers, shoppers and millions of other assholes just like me fighting for space. Getting on the bus or the train is no escape either, you find the exact same people shoving each other just for an inch of breathing space.
And let’s not get started on the traffic. And if you’re strapped for cash like I always am, accommodation in the city usually comes in the form of a shared apartment. And finding good flatmates is about as hard as winning the lottery. And even if you do, your next door neighbor will usually turn out to be either one of two types of assholes. Asshole #1: One that’s always really rude and noisy or Asshole #2: One that complains about the slightest noise or sound.
In Sydney, I was stuck with asshole #1 for a couple of months. A Russian dude that likes to listen to classical music on full volume at 4am, constantly screams and swears in Russian on the phone, fights with his girlfriend, have noisy make up sex with his girlfriend after a fight, makes occasional loud puking sounds on the weekends.
Well, that used to be all fun and games for me when I was younger. No biggie. But as I got slightly older, the so called “conveniences” and “fun” the city had to offer started to pale in comparison to the freedom and peace I feel living as a hillbilly way up high in the mountains above the noise, smog and stress of the city.
I’m finally contented to be right where I am. And i’ve accepted that I am truly a hillbilly, and i’ll always feel more proper in the mountains than anywhere else.
Kodai Lake
Tags: Bill Stones, Blue Mountains, Kodaikanal, Mizoram
