Destined to travel together
We were destined to travel together. Perhaps that’s the reason we met in Ahmedabad in 2009. Since then, we have been travelling with our full time jobs. We have travelled to all parts of the country, and abroad, and have enjoyed every bit of it. We were born and brought up in different cultural settings- I, an Odiya and she, a Gujarati; I, a Hindu and she, a Christian (though both are borderline agnostics). However, the spirit of our travel has bound us together.
How we travel
Being full time employees at our respective organizations, we utilize all our holidays and weekends (+ a few days) to travel near and far (I will write a separate post on that sometime). Having no bad habits and no penchant for luxury or materialistic pleasures, have enabled us to save enough for our travels. We are not back-packers, nor are we luxury-seekers. Simple comfortable travel is our way; we stay in modest hotels, or homestays/ Airbnb accommodations and enjoy simple food.
We don’t intend to travel full time as of now because we love our work in the social/ development sector too. But going ahead, we want to turn the tables a bit, i.e. travel a bit more and work in the development sector a bit less. Thus, we are exploring options to earn a bit more from travel related stuff.
Suvendu
A development consultant by profession, I have been working with leading non-profit companies, consulting firms and government agencies in various roles. In the last 15 years, I have been primarily working for enhancing livelihood options for economically disadvantaged sections of the society. Initially, I was working in the domain of natural resource management, and then shifted to the non-farm (especially, handloom-handicraft, and women entrepreneurship) domain. In my current role, I work for/ with community based organizations, especially led by women and artisans. We help them move up in the value chain and earn a bit more through skill development, product development and market linkages.
Seeds of travel
My passion for travel goes back to my childhood. Born in a middle class family in Odisha, I was obviously expected to study well and get into a ‘good’ ‘government’ job. Though I was never bad at studies, I had two other passions- cricket and travel. The first passion was abandoned in my University days only; but the second one stuck around. In the school and college days, I used to be a mobiliser of groups of friends to go on day-excursions. Family travel happened only once or twice a year to nearby locations. The concept of ‘travel’ was not known to us; the day trips were either picnics or day-excursions. This was the limit of my travel! The first time I set foot outside of Odisha was when I was 22 years old and I had to wait till I was 30 to visit the capital city of India! But since then, I have not looked back. To read about my travel thoughts, please click here.
Catching the rhythm
Retrospectively speaking, I wore the traveler’s shoes in 2006 when I shifted to Ahmedabad, first for studies, and then continued with work. I have not looked back since then. Shifting to Delhi has made traveling easier as it’s well connected. Besides, in recent years, Instagram has enabled me connect with other travelers from all over the world, and get inspired by their stories. It feels so fulfilling that I have been able to travel to the nooks and corners of the country, and a bit of the world with a full time job.
And the journey continues...
I love all aspects of travel- places, history, heritage, architecture, nature, people, culture, traditions, food, etc. Travel has taught me huge lessons in life, and has given me immense joy and happiness. It has enabled me to become a better human being, have empathy for others, and be respectful to all cultures. As I continue to enjoy my life through travels, I seek to share my experiences with others hoping that I can be of some use to some people.
Parina
With expertise in Agriculture, I work for the development of rural communities in general and farmers in particular. In a career spanning more than 17 years, I have worked with some of the best NGOs, network organizations and government agencies. I have been working in the field of agriculture, natural resource management, capacity building (training) and holistic rural development. My current field of work is to improve farm-based economy through introduction of sustainable agricultural practices, soil conservation, water harvesting and ground water management, building resilience against climate change, etc. I really enjoy my vocation which gives me immense satisfaction that I contribute to some people’s lives.
My Travel Path
My profession, especially field visits, gave shape to my thoughts and changed my perspective towards people, culture, nature, and places. Suvendu, who took me with him as a co-traveler initially, further nourished my penchant for travel. As we both work in the same sector, we started this exploration by integrating travel with our work. Gradually I started enjoying various aspects of travel, especially experience of getting to know new places and cultures. I don’t know when and how it converted into a full time passion in my life. Day by day my hunger for exploration is increasing and I am setting up long term travel goals.
A family that travels together, stays together
Perhaps we got travel in our genes. Everyone in our family loves travelling. Just that in those days, when we were children, travel was not such a thing that it is today. But as commuting became easier, information flow became smoother, and we got more money, we got out of our homes more often, and loved it. Both my mom and Parina’s mom are super excited about traveling. They are always ready to pack their bags. Just see how happy my mom is to be standing over the snow-capped Himalayas (Gulmarg)! The other day, Parina’s mom trekked to the top of Parashar lake in Himachal Pradesh! We just love taking them along.
Prasannan Nair
Very nice keep travelling together. Seems you have covered almost all places in India.
stampedmoments
Thanks Prasannan ji. Not everywhere, but they are on our list! 🙂
Nancy
Wonderful content that goes in depth and quite unexpected vocations that intertwine with travel that make for a delightful series!
stampedmoments
Thanks a lot for reading through the blog, and noticing so many things!
Amazing! Let’s keep in touch.
SOUMEN CHATTERJEE
Well articulated and really interesting to read the description
stampedmoments
Thanks a lot, Soumen.
Nancy L.
It was nice learning a little more about you two. Love following your travels and always enjoying life to the fullest! Keep it up! 🙂
stampedmoments
We love following your instagram posts as well.
Thanks a lot for the feedback, and all the help.
Shrikant Bansod
Your blog and podcast have been life-changing. I loved your blog post about healthy eating and traveling on a budget. I will used your tips to save money on a trip. I look forward to reading your new posts each Saturday.
Thank you for providing detailed, actionable information!
stampedmoments
This is such a sweet feedback!
We are glad that the information are helpful.
Keep coming back to us with your travel thoughts.
Thank you, Shrikant!
Garima
Love you both…glad to see you following your dreams.
Keep going!
stampedmoments
Thank you so much!
We miss you all; you people are too far!!!
But see you in the USA sometime 🙂
Anurima
This is so very well-written and the personal touch is very heart warming. We also love to travel and mostly plan it ourselves. Look forward to your blogs for tips on travelling…best wishes
stampedmoments
So good to hear from you!
Yes, travelling by oneself makes travel more enjoyable.
Thanks for your feedback.