I believe that human consciousness is a conjuring trick designed to fool us into thinking we are in the presence of an inexplicable mystery. Thereby, I fall into a trap of constant ideological conflicts even with the people who have known me for years.
Solo travelling is significant and feels right to my conscience. I have discovered different aspects during solo trips. However, our societal stereotypes find it absurd when a woman chooses to go on a solo trip.
There are a few critical reasons that I have taken into consideration, why Indian society finds solo travelling absurd, particularly when it comes to a woman.
I feel that Indian culture is a community-based culture, unlike the self-eccentric cultures of the West. Hence, it is difficult for Indian society to adapt to the idea of solo travelling. Group travelling is fine.
Indian families are close-knit and family members worry about the safety of their kids. They often tend to misunderstand the concept of solo travelling and form an opinion that solo travellers are loners and introverts who have no friends.
I am writing about this to show the shift in society where more and more girls are making every day and also how travel has enhanced my life perspective. Travel has encouraged me to keep emerging like a phoenix from countless ups and downs that I have confronted so far.
Also, I have developed an interest in exploring the presence of other characters of this earth, rather than only keeping my brain confined to the factor which is getting money into my bank account to meet my expenses. I enjoy exploring uncharted/unexplored roads, observing diversity in religion and culture of India, seeing the hypnotising beauty of mountains, and falling asleep in the arms of nature.
I grew up in a Delhi-based NGO called Udayan Care. The organisation took care of me and continues to take care of hundreds of children’s needs and every integral aspect that is needed to strengthen and shape-up a child’s mental, emotional, and physical growth. Every Summer vacation my Udayan family heads to the mountains to observe nature, hike, and go camping.
These yearly travels to the mountains evoked tranquillity and serenity within me. The presence of calmness in the mountains always offered me an opportunity to get involved in raw and honest conversations with myself and I have learnt the art of enjoying the feeling of contentment.
After being knocked down by life a hundred times I stopped smiling and enjoying my surroundings. I lost a prospect. When nothing could pull me out from the depression and sadness, it was my dearest mountains who pulled me out from the darkness and narrated their story of how they stand, still despite the natural calamities and human onslaught they go through every day.
I learned a lot from them and became my own best friend and started making trekking and camping plans to embrace nature closely. My monthly salary was not substantial enough to sustain myself and travel simultaneously. I rigorously cut down on my other expenditures and saved money for my travel.
The people who have known me for many years started looking into my life and persuaded me not to spend on travel, rather save money for the future.
People found my belief and passion for travelling absurd. None of my friends had ever envisioned going on a trek and camping alone. I had no companions to join me, thus it inspired me to go solo.
My passion for exploring, listening to locals’ stories, and love for mountains and nature introduced me to solo backpacking. Since our Indian society is conservative and has not seen many girls going for long solo travels, many of my relatives, Udayan sisters, office colleagues, and elders advised me not to go for it.
They were nervous about my safety, health, and had this orthodox thinking that a girl should not travel alone. But my heart went with what sounded true to it, not worrying about the opinions of others. I continued with my passion for travelling solo.
I hold this strong conviction that my passion has empowered me, taught me to deal with tough unprecedented circumstances and enabled me to embark on the journey of self-discovery.
I have become fearless, bold, and self-reliant. Life has always laid several challenges in my way but travelling convinced me to discover the true meaning of my existence.
In a world where women are often told what they can and can’t do, travelling solo becomes an ever-changing avenue for breaking stereotypes. With the inclusion of women in travel in recent decades, their role in society is changing. The stories and experiences I obtained have become an integral part of my life.
Solo travelling has not only helped me see the world from a different perspective but has also turned me into an effective decision-maker and tackle the real-time problems efficiently. All the learning I have imbibed so far has helped me overcome society’s irrational logical contradictions and meaningless perspectives, and to continue with my solo travelling adventure. It has taught me more things than I can even list.