”Travelling without money?’ Sounds impossible, right? But that’s the motto I started my journey with when I was all of twenty-two. 3 sets of clothes, a tent, a sleeping bag and a few electronics were what I had. You see, I had previously given many lectures about following one’s dream, but wasn’t fully convinced myself on its possibility and so were the listeners. Therefore, in an daring attempt to try and live my dream of travelling, I set off on a national highway one day, after dropping out of college, to explore the lands and there’s been no looking back since!

It’s needless to say that the journey has been transformational, but what intrigues me the most till date is witnessing the kindness in people, in what everyone refers to as a ‘big bad world’. In fact, every step of mine was possible only because of the helpfulness, and warmth of complete strangers. I took an oath to not reach out for anything during my adventures and therefore was at the face of turbulence many times. What miraculously came to my rescue though, in all these scenarios, was the goodness in people. It started right from my second hitchhike, when my muslim lorry driver, stopped to feed me whilst intensly fasting for Ramzan himself. In another trip, where I didn’t have a functional phone, a German couple lent me their Iphone, stating I needed it more. Even in dire situations, when I barely had the energy to take a step, I’ve seen bikers come along, enquire and give me a rusk packet they had, all in the middle of their voyage!

Again, these are just a few of the million times, I’ve witnessed the power of humanity, and it only makes me fall in love with travelling more. It has taught me more about life, than any book ever can. I don’t pre-plan on a destination. I go to a place and start working there to gather enough funds to move further. And with what I saved, I live today in a customized caravan called ‘Maaya’. It took me a while to finish every aspect to make it functional, but it was worth the effort. What I aspire for is to host travellers in it and allow them to hitchhike free of charge in my mobile home. This is my way of giving back!

At the end of the day, life is all about choices and where you put your energies to, isn’t it. So I’m glad I chose this life, over the comfort of a 9-5. I took the road less travelled and that has made all the difference!