Spectator by Seema Goswami: We need a new POV

If your daily commute and routine is boring you, try acting like a tourist in your life. You’ll see the magic in the mundane

A few months ago, I was introduced to an Italian lady who is a big India lover and visits our country every few months. It was her last night in India and as is routine these days, we exchanged social media handles and started following one another on Instagram. So far so banal.

It was only on her next visit to India that her Insta handle came to life — and gave me pause to stop and reexamine my own life. She was in Delhi for a few days before heading off to Rajasthan and her Instagram was full of images of the city that I live in. But these were not images of Humayun’s Tomb or Sunder Nursery or even Lodi Garden. These were pictures of ordinary life, the kind that we take for granted in the place we call home. There was a colourful Ganesh idol under a sprawling banyan tree; there was a roadside stall selling colourful clothes; there was a leafy Delhi colony, looking green and verdant after a monsoon shower.

Looking at the those images, I realised that I had become blind to the beauty of my own life — and to the attractions of the place in which I live it. I had lost the sense of wonder that a fresh eye brings to familiar surroundings. But these pictures didn’t just remind me of what I had lost. They also made me fall in love with my city — and my life — all over again. If that sounds like something you might want to try, here are just some ways to begin.

First off, teach yourself to become a tourist in your own city. You can do the normal home-office commute through the week, but use the weekends to explore your city with the eyes of an outsider. I began doing this during Covid, when it was impossible to travel anywhere else. After beginning with the obvious stuff like old Mughal era monuments I had just driven by in the past, I moved on to exploring the different parks and forested areas that dot the city. That period of exploration helped me realise just how much beauty lay around me if only I took the trouble to look. So, I can’t recommend it too highly.

But it’s not just touristy places that hit the spot (pardon the pun). Even the everyday stuff of life can be elevating if approached in the right spirit. A steaming cup of coffee paired with a brownie at a little-known pastry shop can make your mornings more bearable. A trip to old Delhi to stock up on spices — rather than a visit to your local market — can become an adventure with frequent stops to sample the street food. A walk through Connaught Place to sift through the second-hand books on sale on the pavement. None of it is out of the ordinary or expensive, but all of it can make you appreciate — dare I say, love? — your city and your life a little bit more.

So when the next weekend rolls around, no matter where you live, have your plans ready. Go out and explore. Fall back in love with the place you live in. And you will find yourself back in love with life itself.