Writer: The Universe of Nomadic Writers

All I needed was to get away from the dusty storm of negativity, unrealistic expectations, and extravagance, that blurred the potential in me.

All I needed was the breeze of hope to touch and cool my burnt heart.

All I needed was the rain to fall from heavy eyes, tired of carrying evaporated burdens of life.

All I needed was the fragrance of nature to clear my nosy mind that kept peeping in the past and future.

All I needed was to search for a path instead of building a destination where I stood

This verse by Mariyam Saigal describes the insight of nomadic writers.

Nomadic writers consider themselves essentially zero, which amounts to nothing generally, but when paired with the inspirations of the world, i.e, other numbers their value amounts to almost everything.

Now, this might seem like a weird set of lifestyle for someone because usually, when we talk about writers, the image of a bespectacled, shy, introverted individual comes into the mind who would prefer the safe walls of the library or their study area over going out and interacting with people. But not many people are aware that this is just one aspect of writing area – the other picture is of traveling or nomadic writers.

They write about their nomadic life – where the inspiration comes from not merely the human factorials, but also, non-human factors. If you are familiar with the works of Robert Frost or William Wordsworth, you might notice that these poets have a beautiful blend between nature and human life.

William Wordsworth’s Daffodils describes the life of a nomadic writer in a beatific manner,

 

“I wandered lonely as a cloud,

That floats on high o’er vales and hills,

When all once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils…”

The experiences they get through the enrapturing nature and creature, merely as an observer contribute to becoming of writers and writing – through mutual construction.

It is the wonderful places they see, the diverse and interesting personalities they meet, and the adventure in each and every frame of their life that recharges their spirit and creativity, thereby adding a new depth of maturity in their writing.

Their nomadic lifestyle drives them towards the enhanced level of confidence and enabling one to draw on the multitude of knowledge. The toughest journey of being a nomadic writer moulds the minds of the young writers and helps them understand the present human conditions and to comprehend the global behaviours and cultural diversities. As a result, the rich descriptions of passages become easier and it breathes – in a new life to the imagination of a writer.

Carina Hermansson, in her thesis “Nomadic Writing – Exploring Process of Writing in Early Childhood Education”, posits nomadic writing as “a movement that emphasizes on the connectivity and change in the process of writing that contributes to an understanding of the factors, creating potentialities in the writers and acting as a site of experimentation to test their potentialities. Everything in the life, from womb to tomb, being the parts of a learning curve, it needs some experiments to be done by an individual for progressing. And the experiment on writing, in terms of nomadic writing involves four conceptual formations i.e., writing as a skill, a development, a social phenomenon and a semiotic activity that emphasises the study of a meaningful communication. These formations conceptualise writing depending upon the power of human agency, based on the experience and knowledge of an individual.”

Thus, nomadic life is challenging and, that in turn, leads to the journey of becoming a writer and self-exploration.

In nomadic writing there are no bounds of a desk or a specific working environment – it is the beauty of nature or the worldly hub-dub – watching it as a passive observer. But there is nothing passive about writing. What you write affects you, and it changes you from within!

And wouldn’t it be glorious to just take up your bicycle, items of minimal necessity and a laptop – your world in your backpack, as you embark on a never-ending journey of observing, learning and writing – through it all – discovering.

The air clears the fog in our minds

No desire to leave a legacy behind

Roaming, restless, reckless beings

Our souls will wander even when we stop breathing

Our written words will survive

You’ll find us there, fearless and alive

-Mariyam Saigal

For the world of nomadic writers is not run by deadlines and publishing deals. The fear is somewhere lost in their minimalistic ways, making their words intrepid and equitable.

And there seems to be something amazing about just dumping all of your worries about the materialistic world – it gives you time to lay back and really see what the world is, what nature is trying to convey and what in the end, is the all-encompassing purpose of life, because for nomadic writers believe… 

Image Source: [1], [2], [3]