Recently I got the opportunity to write my first paid travel article. This was in OPEN magazine, May 2018, travel issue. They wanted to feature the joys and sorrows of a woman solo traveller. It was an interesting assignment because hitherto I had never written an actual summary of all my experiences solo travelling in India and the World! I would generally write about specific experiences, or do a year end review, but never really traced the journey from my first trip in 2009 until now.

Fitting the myriad experiences into 2000 words was a tough one. I wasn’t sure what to include and what to leave out.

Moreover, when I finally finished the piece, it was in line with this personal blog style with emojis and all. The editor then did quite some work of snipping it up to make it formal magazine style which is a tad bit less conversational for me. But thankfully, he brought it down to a fairly straight forward format which I only had to polish by adding a few interesting incidents on the road and such tit bits here and there.

Read the final article that was published: “The liberation theory of the singular traveller”

Writing this article got me thinking. And I learned a few things which I kind of knew, but now it was right in front of me. 

All my adventures aren’t on TOP of my mind ALL the time!

People who go on smaller holidays from work and routine life probably remember the vivid details and experiences. But since I travel and work, the experiences also merge into the usual fabric of Life. So a lot of times I don’t remember too many details about specific places unless I consciously dig into it. For example, I remember my first solo trip well, but not so much the second trip. I am pretty sure it was somewhere in the South. But I have been to the South so often in these 9 years on myriad trips exploring different places that I can’t fathom which was the second, third or fourth trip! It also happens that someone may talk about visiting national parks and I may completely forget my safari trip to Nagarhole National Park once with a group of Isha meditators through Sacred Walks. Or the safari into the national park of Dandeli on one of my first sponsored visits.

I wonder if this happens to other travellers too?

There is something exotic in the mundane

mushroom spotting in the Australian bush

Incidents that are commonplace if I was in the city, living the usual life, but on the road they become a tad bit more exotic. Imagine in your city apartment you get up early just to go and see the sky. Or spot your neighbourhood houses to see whether they are into any interesting activity, like the village ladies who start sprinkling fresh cow dung water in their yards and outside their houses in the mornings. Or a bird that comes chirping at your window is a type you have never seen before. It’s mundane and yet exotic. This is the coolest part of travelling for me. All of sudden I am watching people, nature and even the social hustle bustle around me with interest and curiosity. How are we alike, and how are we different?

And this curiosity doesn’t die out when I return back to home turfs. Over the years I have found myself a lot more interested in the stories of my relatives, neighbours, watchmen and also exploring the nooks of same old city I have grown up in.

The Internal Situation & The External

Travel has always been a tool for spiritual seekers and sadhakas since ages. As the outside situations keep changing for a traveller, there is a starker contrast with the inner situation and it is easier to fathom many life truths. In the mundane life where the external situation is kind of the same everyday, it’s easy to have the same outlook and response for a specific external happening. For example, the same old angry tiffs with someone at home. But when one travels, one may find inspiration to tackle the person differently. Or one may even realise that the same anger keeps erupting inside even without that person as a trigger. With a changing external situation that keeps bringing new impetus with it, it is sometimes easier to understand the inner nature of ourselves.

Whether or not we actually gain wisdom, we at least do see the difference in what is outside and what is inside a little bit more starker.

It’s Easier to Understand the Social Hustle Bustle

Earlier I felt isolated from people. Being a girl makes the cocoon of our privileged lives around us even  more obvious because of the various layers of basic safety precautions. When I was younger I would look at the people moving around and I didn’t get what they were going on about. How can they care so much about little little things. But now I have better insight into their lives and struggles. And if I am curious I am much more adept at going and chatting with them.

Life is more connected and filled with understanding than before.

The Colaba Market square – hawkers, vendors, pedestrians, vehicles, stray animals, school kids playing everything bundled together… even the mundane looks exotic with a different perspective.

The Person I was Has Changed

People often ask me how I have changed since all my travels. It’s tough to answer. I think it’s one of those Qs that belittle the change. Asking such a question implies that the change is small enough to be articulated. But it isn’t. Borrowing from a line I read in a Jain stotra,

“A bowl of water can capture only the reflection of the moon and never the moon itself. Similarly when the experience is deep, words can only allude to it.”

Moreover, travel experiences combine with other aspects of life too. All my spiritual sadhana, family situations or my work related experiences, they all come together to form ‘me’. And it’s hard to specify which one thing changed what in me. Suffice to say, I have changed over the years.

There is now a feeling of happiness and gratitude for all my myriad experiences. There is a strength to face whatever the future brings with fortitude. And I feel good all in all.

It was good writing the OPEN mag article, it got me thinking of my travel journey so far. And so, I have been thinking of doing some more travel writing. It makes me think differently about things. Quite useful.

Is there anything you would like to read about from my 9 years of solo travelling in India and the world? Let me know!