I always wanted to know what a jungle actually looked like, after having seen them in Nat Geo, Phantom Comics, Studio Ghibli films. I was 15 when my uncle took me for a camping trip to Purulia. I was initially skeptical, but it gradually ebbed away. I was in what I would like to call a forest, not a typical forest, but serves the purpose here! The experience, however, was fantastical! I was entering one film space to exit another musical space almost like in an infinite space loop. My uncle heard me hum ‘Hey You’ by Pink Floyd. To my surprise, he told me he was a Pink Floyd fan as well. I felt a tinge of guilt for always being so closed off.


'Hey You' sounded so amazing as we walked along a beaten path. When David Gilmour’s ever heavenly guitar solo began I felt as if I wasn’t walking, I was gliding along the path aided by the kiss of the wind. I was really glad that I didn’t stay back at home and agreed to do this.


As we walked along, we saw a man who was offering horse rides for a price. I was no equestrian and still am not. I wanted to see how far I could go on my own. The horses yet took me to an Erino Morricone space, I felt like a child excited about cowboys and gunslingers. My horse was cantering down the beaten path and I could hear the theme of ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’ playing in my head. My evermore love for Westerns, well, like a dreamscape now!

It skipped my head that my uncle and the man who was offering the horse rides were perhaps getting tired keeping up with me. I was there jumping into another song from ‘Red Dead Redemption’ (a game!) called ‘Compass’ by Jamie Lidell. On horseback, in the forest, among those tall trees and the cool breeze embracing me, I went...


Finally the ride was over. I feared my uncle would get angry but he wasn’t.

I was lost in my own world, admiring the lush green meadows, the birds and the lush green meadows. Part of being an audiophile means you catch music from any source. Also, you all must have figured it out by now, I also love gaming! So, while I was admiring the forest, the scenery of another game called, ‘The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’ hit me, along with the brilliant music the game has. It was like this attack of musical stimulus that I was facing! It has a lot of amazing soundtracks and a lot of them really suited to roaming along the jungles and valleys. I felt like I was in a medieval world looking for monsters to slay. Had my Frodo and Gandalf moment there!

Soon, like a screen projecting reality, Mei ran hurriedly to the passage in search of Totoro, and what played was magic:


I saw a passage below a boulder which took me back to this Ghibli film, ‘My Neighbor Totoro.’ I wanted to explore the passage but it was too small for me to pass through.

By now, my uncle was sadly reduced to a minor character in my story. I was too engrossed in my own world trying to visualize make-believe scenarios in my head. We entered a tunnel and I teleported to the world of Chihiro of ‘Spirited Away’. I could see her and Haku seeing each other for the final time before the former reluctantly bade farewell. A soft flash of a previously uttered goodbye sprang through my memory. Ghibli films do have enviable soundtracks! This time it wasn’t any different. The piano theme has stuck with me ever since I’ve seen the masterpiece, and the song when the ending credits started rolling were the icing on the cake.


The trip was over in the blink of an eye. My father sent me to this trip for he was assured I had turned into a complete couch potato! I was convinced too. Little did we know, my mind had sprouted imaginations so many, potatoes felt a little more like French fries!