The Travelling Crab

I am a Cancerian. No, I am not a frantic believer in astrology, but I find the definitions amusing enough to ponder over them once in a while. I have a few friends who have deep interest in astrology, so my generic knowledge is pretty good, even though I am not a follower of the faith (ah, believe me, it is pretty much a cult). Hence I have read about my sun sign, which is Cancer, symbolized by the crab, and surprisingly a lot of people (including me) think that I pretty much embody the description of a Cancerian to the letter. There is not a single thing written there which doesnt match my behavior, and it amuses me. Someone once told me that its the way the astrology people write the stuff, you can read any one of these and think its you. Ummm... maybe not. Even if it is that way, well its a nice muse, and I let myself indulge in it once in a while.

And sometimes it is a bit of an irony. Cancerians are known to be clingers. They cling to everything in life. Relationships, possessions, people, jobs.. and even cities. They love the concept of home. It is supposed to be a very important thing for a cancerian to have a "home" and go back to it everyday. Cancerians in effect make bad vagabonds and bad gypsies. And it holds true for me. Cancerians love the security of home, and are not fit for travelling jobs. Holds true for me. But it seems Someone up there wanted to have a good laugh at my cost. And hence wrote the script of my life with that in mind. Out of my home at age 17, I have lived in 7 cities since then. And have travelled to more than 10 states in India and 8 countries in Europe... Finland, Estonia, France, Holland, Sweden, Denmark, Italy and Czech Republic and one in Asia. Dont get me wrong, I am not complaining about the wonderful opportunity I have had to see new places. I love seeing new places, its just that I dont like travelling to get to see them. Ok, I know it sounds ridiculous, but maybe its not about cancerians, its just plain simple me.

So the reason why I am writing about this? Well, the list is going to get longer.. here goes:

2nd-3rd May: Travel to Riga. The beautiful capital city of a beautiful country called Latvia. This is to celebrate a very special day in my life (those who know me, please do not ping and ask me what, the powers of Merlin shall be nullified if the answer to this deep secret is revealed). I take an A-Class Classic View cabin on a 9 storey cruise liner which takes me from Stockholm to Riga, and back the next day.

15th-17th May: Travel to Manchester. I escort my client to watch the tussle between Manchester United and Arsenal live at Manchester. Some of my football crazy friends would kill to be in my place. These are some of the few perks of being in a client facing position of one of the largest and most respected consulting companies in the world. In my profession after a certain point, playing golf, going to business dinners and networking on the side becomes your bread and butter. Yes, it seems enticing, but I have been told by some wise men that a regular 9 to 5 job is much more relaxing and rewarding. The grass is always greener on the other side.

25th-29th May: Travel to Switzerland (Zurich, Interlaken, Lucrene). A mini vacation I have promised my parents for a very long time. Planned and executed by yours truly. My parents continue to cover Rome and Paris and the seasoned traveller, yours truly, who has already visited these places returns to Stockholm.

I know I am lucky to have these opportunities. But once, just once, take a moment to think of this guy who would give anything, literally anything to have a simple unchanging life with a "home". And he ends up having all that he could ask for except this one khwaish. You have to admit, Bhagwan kuch leta hai aur kuch deta hai, so this is the deal that I have got. Well, I am not complaining.

P.S. If you are a cancerian, or know a cancerian who travels, you might be interested in reading this interesting article about the Cancer Travel Profile HERE!!!