“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, & the passion to reach for the stars to change the world” – Harriet Tubman

In today’s world, when we think to create an impact to build awareness in our society, social media channels serve as a powerful platform. Whether it’s about connecting with people or educating the right audience or promoting social welfare activities or building communities to discuss & share related thinking, social media plays an important role in shaping our lives. With the ease of internet access, the number of social media users in India stand at 376.1 million in 2020. The volunteering act as a social media ambassador at NASSCOM Foundation had been an inspiring opportunity to me & gave me a new dimension to my life.  While I was working full time, I became member of MyKartavya in developing content and engaging the audience for several social media campaigns.

NASSCOM Foundation focuses on major societal causes such as health & nutrition, digital literacy, support Indian Youth for Skill Development, gender equality, climate action & so on & so forth. While dealing with these social causes, I gained insights regarding various socio-economic challenges India is facing currently & the initiatives taken to mitigate those challenges. Moreover, during the project, I could network with other like-minded people who are supporting similar causes & we could learn from each other by sharing our viewpoint on similar aspects.  This ever evolving network augmented the reach of my social media posts to a bigger audience with increased number of viewers. As a part of the project, I came across the innovative minds who were thinking of different environment friendly solutions to combat environment pollution. Recently, I have been working with another NGO Sayfty who partnered with NASSCOM Foundation and is engaged in specific societal causes related to women empowerment. I had been responsible for developing connect via social media with the NGOs related to women empowerment, mental health & legal support for women in different parts of India

The varied kind of involvement in different social causes broadened my scope of learning & has been a great way to gain experience in my area of interest. Volunteering gave me the opportunity to practice important skills required in workplace, such as team work, communication, problem solving, project planning, task management & organization.  The social contact aspect of helping and working with others had a profound effect on personal satisfaction with renewed creativity, motivation & vision that I can carry over into my personal & professional life.  

Life is all about coping up with adversities & these adversities propel us to bring in change for better adaptability. And this is the way how all living entities evolve constantly. In earlier generation, we have seen how deadly viral diseases like Ebola, Tuberculosis, Plague, Cholera, Zica had been major causes of human & animal morbidity leading to significant healthcare expenditure & today, we are facing COVID-19. But one factor that has not been considered here is that this time the spread of Corona has affected worldwide as the frequency of travel to other parts of globe has increased to manifold.

Now the question lies how to tackle the situation this time?

It’s been quite messy right now & there are uncertainties that we are absolutely unsure of in which way it will lead us to. Current situation has upended global travel. Airlines, travel industry & tourism have been facing major challenges. Our head starts ringing asking so many questions like How shall we ensure to stay safe while travel? How long this situation will continue? There are certain turning points amidst this chaos that will shape tourism in a distinct way & new health safety protocols and systems will come into picture.

Contactless Travel Through Digitization

Automation is needed across the industry to implement contactless travel. Moreover, technology for touchless document scanning & recognizing voice commands need to be in place. To minimize transmission, adherence of new mandates such as temperature checks, wearing of mask, hand sanitizing, prevention to avoid crowding have to be taken into consideration. Efforts to develop health protocols using digital technology by using personal data such as age, underlying health conditions & travel history are still in nascent stage but I am sure gradually these processes will be implemented.

Local Travel- The New Flavor Of Season

Fear psychology will factor in till the Corona cases subsides or any vaccine for corona virus is in place. But at the same time people will opt for short break for rejuvenation. Majorly, people will look out for options that are closer to their home so that they can rush back from the destination in case of any emergency. Short gateways will be the new trend of travel. Family & youngsters are likely to opt for more of drive-outs in the near-city level, especially on long weekends & for short vacations.

Transition in Tourism

Consumers will choose holiday based on the hygiene standards & maintaining social distancing norm will be the new normal. Travel agencies, restaurants, hotels need to maintain cleanliness, sanitisation & disinfection to attract customers. There is a possibility that the expense of travel might take an upward trend as considerable amount of investment is necessary considering hygiene has been the prerequisite while travel.

Responsible Tourism Restoration

At this juncture, the building blocks of responsible tourism will be based on environmental integrity and economic development. It is very much required to minimize the usage of non-renewable energy & seek out businesses that are environment friendly to protect our Mother Nature. In order to achieve goals for responsible tourism; government, product owners & operators, transport operators, community services, NGOs, tourists, local communities, industry associations need to come together fostering adoption of responsible tourism.

Road-trip Adventure

For rejuvenation, people will look more for long drive travelling where rented vehicles are not required. Also, there will be a major paradigm shift while choosing accommodations as travelers will prefer to stay in secluded places. Bird watching & wondering in national parks definitely seems to be the best option to venture in post pandemic. Exploring rural areas to inhale fresh air with an open sky can also be an option to break the monotony.

Flexible Travel Package

Travel packages will mostly likely involve booking by travel advisor along with travel insurance going forward. Travel preferences in domestic destinations with a stay in private rental properties will see an upsurge & accordingly holiday plans have to come up with flexible options.

I know it’s a very unique situation that we all are facing today. We are bound to exercise social distancing as a precautionary measure & stay safe at home. Definitely, I do have to hold back my itchy feet for time being & I do feel sad about it. But in this quarantine period, you can spend some quality time with yourself. According to me, this is the ideal time when you can dedicate yourself in nurturing other passions that you are interested in.

Here are a list of few things that I would really enjoy doing

Explore Musical World

Music & dance will definitely be my first choice to experiment with when I have free me-time. I am born in a musical family where both my parents have strong influence on me as far as music is concerned. Dance was very natural to me at a very tender age & that’s why my mom thought to put me for Kathak.

In whatever mood I may be in, music & dance have always been my best old buddies. I tend to listen to good music of varied genres & dig on new songs of new artists to sharpen my ears. Music accompanied by electric guitar, percussion instrument, piano, drum always drives me crazy. Apart from that, I do prefer listening to songs of other languages or live dance performances as well.

Good Reads

You can devote time reading books that you have yearned to finish long back. Due to dearth of time may be, we all have kept those unfinished books aside. As right now, we all are locked up in isolation at home, to get a feel of travelling, you can read adventure travel stories, books on astronomy & recent articles in travel magazines.

My dreamland has always been Africa. Because Africa has lot of similarities with India in terms of diversity of culture as well as landscape. Whether you think of good music or dance or safari; Africa comes first. So, I am planning to read some travel stories of Africa to boost my wanderlust.

Nurture Hidden-Chef Within You

I know people like me who love exploring outside food will face major disappointment at this time. But not to worry because here’s an opportunity for you to nurture the hidden chef within yourself.

I like cooking new cuisines in my kitchen. Sometimes it comes out well; sometimes it’s utter disaster but still I love trying out something different. Currently, this is the only way to satiate your taste buds & feel complacent. By the way, I have kept stock of dark chocolate & snacks as a break.

Roaming In The Rooftop

From the childhood, it’s been one of my favorite activity. In the morning, you can roam around in the rooftop in sunlight & get soaked with Vitamin-D. Whereas at night, you can listen to nice music & gaze at the starry night. It will be a kind of brisk walk in the morning & evening to keep you energetic throughout the day breaking the monotony.

Binge Watching

Indulge in watching movies, live performances, travel documentaries, or series in netflix & amazon prime. Don’t forget to keep popcorn aside to get a feel in movie theater.

Unfinished Assignment

You can dedicate towards the assignments that interests you. I like painting & it’s another way of expressing myself. I am also interested in learning to play musical instrument like piano or pick up a form of dance or learning a foreign language. I wish I have more time to invest in all those while I was young or someone would have guided me.

Anyway, it depends entirely on what you are passionate about & how you wish to spend your time. But, most importantly ensure that you avoid going out, postpone the travel plans, augment your immune system, maintain sanitation & stay safe.

This time, I was on the lookout for an option to slow travel where I can recharge myself inhaling some fresh air away from the city chores. Yes, indeed Coorg seems to be the ideal one. It was in the mid of monsoon season when I arrived South-west of Katnataka, cradled in the Western Ghats, popularly known as Coorg. The weather seems perfect here, as this is the only time of the year when you can soothe your eyes in the greenery of coffee plantations and get lost in the woods of unknown hinterland. Coorg is actually a small town comprising of three districts, namely – Madikeri, Somwarpet and Virajpet.

On the way to Coorg, you reach a quaint small town named Kushalnagar, where one of the famous temples Namdroling Temple is located. Dalai Lama consecrated the monastery, founded by Prema Norbu Rinpoche. Surrounded by grooves of sandalwood; this monastery has been one of the largest Tibetan settlement outside Tibet and is home to nearly 5000 monks. In the midst of coffee plantations & tranquil environment, the hilly town echoes with the chants & hymns from the monastery. The dazzling golden statues & the carvings of the sculptures on the walls of the temple reflect the craftsmanship of Tibetan culture.

As you walk past the coffee plantations & the misty green mountains eclipsed by the foggy atmosphere, you can sense your existence is spread across in the Nature where you can feel oneness. With slow pace, enchanted by the view, finally I reached the Abbey Falls. As I step through the stairs to reach the waterfall, I can hear the gushing sound of water. Once I reached the spot, amidst the noisy ambiance of the waterfall I find calmness within & just stood to get drenched in the vapors of the fall.

Here are some exciting alternatives that you can think of while in coorg! Apart from roaming around in the lush green mountains of Coorg, one can look at the Adventure activities as well. Zippling, rappelling, rock climbing and quad biking are the options for the Adventure freak people. You can also look out for lot of fun activities here. River rafting out here will be quite a thrill and monsoon is the perfect time for rafting when the river is in quick flow. If you are looking for some offbeat enjoyment, then it’s worthwhile to be part of Adventure Sports here.

The pollution free, soothing, cool atmosphere & the refreshing breeze will give you some break from the shackles of your daily routine. After visiting this place, one thing I can tell that if someone is looking to chill out & relax for someday, then this is the perfect place. You get to view green woody landscapes, cascading waterfall, misty mountains, dense tropical plantations and moreover,get involved in Adventure sports as well. No wonder this place is rightfully called as “Scotland Of India” & ” Kashmir of South”. And if you’re chocoholic & mochaholic, you shouldn’t forget to buy the homemade chocolates & freshly processed coffee.

Pondicherry, popularly called as Pondy or Puducherry, has a long and interesting history of French settlement until 1954. If you are interested to capture the view on the way towards Pondy, it’s better to travel in the daylight. The stretch of coconut trees, the serene beach, the historical significance of the place, the influence of French settlement in the nooks & corner,continental cuisine – the conglomeration attracts tourists from all over parts of the world.

The weather is quite hot and humid here during summer , so pack for more of cotton clothes and comfortable wear. The weather is comparatively pleasant during the time of October and February.

It’s the place where you get an amazing variety of continental and Italian cuisine. On the way to the beach, all the restaurants, cafes and hotels are lined up. A lot of restaurants provide authentic French food as well. Some of the popular French items are croissants, baguettes, Italian baked beans,stuffed cabbage and many more.

The erosion of Pondicherry beach is not an exception in India. This rocky coastline has been created especially to control erosion of the sandy bank. The pilot project for beach storage and shoreline stabilization is jointly funded by National Institute of Ocean Technology and Pondicherry Government (NIOT). NIOT immersed India’s first wedge shaped near shore artificial reef at the coast for beach conservation.

This temple has been in my wish-list while exploring the place. The Shore temple,located on the shores of Coromondel coast of Bay of Bengal in Mahabalipuram, is one of the oldest temples constructed more than 1000 years ago.

This temple is classified as UNESCO World Heritage sight since 1984. The best time to visit this temple is either sunrise or sunset when it glows with the sun rays. It is near to this temple where the submerged city of Mahabalipuram once surfaced off during 2004 Tsunami but again was lost under water leaving some clusters of buried sculptures.

There is a chill out place away from the city, a cozy little island called as Paradise Island. You can take some snack break in the shacks and enjoy boating. Boating was rejuvenating and quite refreshing experience. Houseboat stay is also available in this island.The golden sand and the sky- blue water are the perfect combination of this beach

I was almost done with exploring Pondicherry and had night flight on the departure day. Before leaving, I just thought to get a view of the night beach. Finishing my dinner a bit early, I headed for the beach. From distant, I could make out that it’s a full moon night. The shimmer of the gleaming moon light on the bed of the night sea gives a picturesque beauty to the night sky. Two hours just flew away by sitting at the beach but I couldn’t take my eyes off the spectacular view. I wish my flight got delayed or cancelled. The romantic New Moon Night will always call me to Pondicherry.

Do you need motivation to travel alone? Of course, you need.

How much ever you have traveled, before the start of the journey your heart pounds. It’s the very common nature of human being to be in the comfort zone & try to avoid unforeseen circumstances. Definitely, it’s not a crime to get worried. But we should always train ourselves to grab the fear in one hand & passion on the other and just move on with it.

Anyways, at the end of your lifetime, everyone is going to die. So why not die fulfilling our dreams & then rest in peace 😉

Sharing with you some inspirational quotes that might help you to overcome your fears while traveling solo.

“The more I traveled the more I realized that fear makes strangers of people who should be friends” – Shirley MacLaine

“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

“I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life’s a bitch. You’ve got to go out and kick ass.” – Maya Angelou

“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all, in which case you have failed by default.” – J. K. Rowling

 “Life shrinks or expands in proportion with one’s courage.” – Anais Nin

I happen to visit Sadguru Ashram on the eve of Mahashivaratri. Ashram is located in the outskirts of Coimbatore. Situated in the midst of the forest at the foothill of Velliangiri; the serene, quiet place automatically transforms your mind & make you feel calm from inside.

My cottage was in the midst of a flowery garden. The space is surrounded by a chain of mountains. There are pollution free transport available for everyone to take a tour of the entire campus. It is recommended to book in advance for the accommodation.

Mahashivaratri festival is celebrated on the new moon day to venerate Lord Shiva. Shiva is regarded as the consciousness of this whole universe. It is considered that if someone keeps the spine erect on the day of Shivaratri, soul gets uplifted. To purify ones mind, body & soul, people fast for the whole day. Based on Chaturdashi Tithi, devotees offer milk, honey, ghee,gangajal,akdae flower,jasmine leaves & daturas to Lord Shiva.

I could feel the essence of the prayer when Sadhguru himself explained the meaning of the Mantra “Namahshivaya”
Na-Earth | Ma-Water | Shi-Fire | Va-Air | Ya-Space

The five elements of the word “Namahshivaya” have composed the whole universe.

The magnificent idol of Adiyogi (Shiva himself), located on the other side of the campus, is approximately 25-30 feet in height & breadth. Standing facing the epitome of consciousness makes me feel that everyone in the world is a very small part of the cosmos. But we are so much engrossed on our own that we sometimes overlook the small little masterpieces in our everyday world.

The Breathtaking view of Lord Shiva at night gives an amalgamation effect with the pitch dark mystic sky!

There is temple of Lord Shiva just in front of the sculpture where the deity is being worshiped in traditional manner following the rituals.

While I was returning after the divine experience, my mind was tranquil & composed. It was a rejuvenating experience for me to stay away from the clutter of our daily monotonous life.