The article "Urban India seeks rustic charm on rural holidays" on April 7 stirred memories of life in the villages where probably many of us grew up. I am sure that those of us who grew up in rustic villages where life moves leisurely can easily empathize with India's urban dwellers seeking respite from the rat race in the cities. Over the past decades, our lives have become too complicated so much so that many of us often feel tired after a hard day's work. It seems that civilization, which brings us modern technology, is not addressing human cravings for inner peace. Technology, ushered in by the so-called dawn of industrialization, has made our lives more complicated, hurried and harried. Joan Tenorio, Jeddah