Inspiration can take many shapes and forms, and on my travels, I found myself not just inspired but also broadening my mind to other ways of living. I measure life’s worth by the songs I sang facing mountains, the unhurried conversations with strangers, the stories I heard, the people I admired and homes I discovered in strange places. Travelling makes you learn more about the world than our newspapers will accommodate & I believe that the more I learn about the Universe outside me, the more I immerse myself in the universe inside me. As I grew up and as I travelled more, I could not cherish the things meant for tourists. like luxurious hotels, sunset points & must see guidebook lists no more excite me. I seek local encounters & stories. Like last year when I decided to book a home stay while I was planning A road trip to Coorg with my siblings, I realized that with alternative income opportunities, the local families were warming up to the idea of opening up their homes & unique way of life to mindful travelers. I will never forget the hospitality of our host family, who served us homemade local delicacies in breakfast with familiar smile and great conversation along with coffee which was planted in their backyard. Slowly this is helping me to grasp & promote a way of travel that is meaningful, more immersed in local life, & mindful of my impact on the ecology. This way of travel is known as “Sustainable travelling”. This way of travelling made me realize that there are families across the country, who gave up well-paying jobs and invested their lives in refurbishing abandoned heritage and culture of their locality. I met one of such inspiring personality during my trip to Goa, Dr.Subodh Kerkar, A medical practitioner turned an artist, activist & director of museum of Goa. He gives platform to local artists, he runs an NGO and He is great artist himself and is exhibited widely across the nation as well as abroad. When I met him at the museum, he was excited about the fact that I belong to the city where Gandhiji did his schooling. I am still in touch with Subodhuncle through social media. These kinds of connections in several corners of the world based on meaningful interactions are really precious. I do not know what the future holds, but I have feeling that I will continue to challenge the conventional definition of travelling and I would keep intersecting my path with the paths of those who inspire me to see life differently.
-Niyati Shah