My Life This Year

"This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they are a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture, still, treat each guest honorably. He may be clearing you out for some new delight. The dark thought, the shame, the malice. meet them at the door laughing and invite them in. Be grateful for whatever comes. because each has been sent as a guide from beyond." ~ Rumi

My year 2020 stared with this beautiful thought and as the year progressed, it became more and more relevant not just for me but for the whole world. For me personally 2020 was like a roller coaster ride. There were days when everything seemed lost and there were days when I felt on top of the world. There were all kinds of emotions and feelings at different times of this year. Peace, fulfilment, happiness, frustration, anger, sadness I experienced it all, and as Rumi said I took it as a guide and learnt something from each. I surely am a better and a matured person today. Thanks to 2020!

THE COVID STORY

March started with the sad news of COVID spreading world over. And in mid March lockdown was announced in India. The life came to a stand still. 

This gave us an opportunity to slow down and be with our families. Our homes and gardens saw more of us. We enjoyed bluer skies, empty roads, silent atmosphere and purer air. 

And we gradually started spending more time doing what really matters. Cooking, painting and gardening took major part of our time. Online family get togethers became a regular. For me personally, paintings became a major stress buster.

But this all seemed good for some time then frustration started to take over. People lost their jobs, some lost their loved ones. Most of us were pressed for resources. May was the Month of Confusion and chaos. 

By June & July, got a little settled in the new lifestyle. We started brainstorming and changed strategies in work. At HOI, we introduced new concepts like workation and added more homestays to our network.  The concept got recognized and was covered by many publications like Times of India, Financial Times, The Better India and Dainik Bhaskar.

RESTARTED TRAVELLING

Post June, I restarted travelling and took many short road trips around Delhi to clear the confusions and inspire people to start traveling safely with confidence. Rather than avoiding to travel I did cautious and careful travel. Took a trip to Lotwara in July,  Dwarahat, Mirai and Mangoli in August, Pushkar in Sept, Kotabagh in Oct and Bikaner and Corbett in Nov. Stayed at Homestays all through.

2020 - THE YEAR OF ACHIEVEMENTS 

The year has taken a lot from us, but to me it has also given a lot. If I say 2020 has been an year of achievements for me, that would not be an exaggeration. Some of my personal and professional gains during 2020 include: 

• Receiving 'NATIONAL WOMEN EXCELLENCE AWARD - 2020' organized by Indo European Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises (IECSME) for empowering rural women through developing homestays. I shared the stage with personalities like Padma Shree Phoolbasan Yadav.

• Getting investment for our venture HomeStays of India. 
  
  
• My entrepreneurial  journey got featured in Makers India, Your Story, Heya_Girl, KaroStartup

WISH YOU ALL A HAPPY 2021 

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2019 - Laying Foundation for Future

Some of my Experimental Looks of 2019

Every year has a different feel, a different pattern to it. Some years are full of opportunities and growth while some are slow; some are full of travel while some are dull; some bring lots of joy while some bring sadness. But one good thing is with every passing year we grow a little.

I always say take journey not just outside but inside as well... this year was more of taking the journey inside. Tried to understand myself better so as to improve my behavior, my relationships and my life in general. At professional front got things systematic and met some people who might influence my professional growth in big way.

I see this year as laying foundation for a better tomorrow - both personally and professionally.

SOME THINGS THAT MADE ME HAPPY THIS YEAR...

Developing Terrace Garden

  

Revisiting my forgotten hobby - Painting

Trying Switchboard Art

Learning to Play Guitar

Contributing to the society - Sehat Ki Shala at Sinkiya Village

Travelling with Family and Friends

Getting Appreciated For My Work

Creating My New Workspace

Receiving National Business Leadership Award

Catching up With Old Friends

Getting Published in Bengali Magazine for the first

Always around Dec I get a feeling nothing much happened this year but when I start recalling, I end up saying hell of a year it was!

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2016... The Year That It Was.

A known: How lucky you are, you get to travel so much
Me: Like really?! Isn't luck just the outcome of genuine effort and intent.

It's been more than 5 years since I started to travel extensively as a writer... blogger... trip leader and an organizer. The journey was not easy.  I had a different challenge everyday and I overcame it just to find another one standing right ahead. I will share the story of my struggle some other time. Today when I look back at these 5 years, I get overwhelmed with joy and pride. I have apparently traveled more than what an average person travels his whole life!

This post is dedicated to the numerous memorable moments 2016 gave me... let me recall and relive some of them.

JANUARY

Jet skiing at Tehri, Uttarakhand.  It was on a trip to Kanatal with +Chalo lets go India. I reluctantly said yes to something I didn't know I would enjoy so much.

FEBRUARY

A refreshing morning when I woke up to the chirping birds in an old Rajasthani haweli at Lotwara,  also called the peacock village followed by a perfect breakfast prepared from farm fresh vegetables. 

MARCH

My birthday month... and I celebrated it with lovely locals and the ChaloLetsGo Barot team. Dancing, singing, laughter along with the local wine made from jaggery served by locals with lots of love. 

And I started the 40th year of my existence, paragliding at Billing (very near to my birth place Baijnath). I did dangerously amazing take off at Billing. Check it out in the video.

(Video credits: Vinod Verma)

APRIL

Experiencing snow when my friends were crying over hot summers in Delhi was surely the moment that wicked-me thoroughly enjoyed. 

MAY

Driving on snaking roads through the hills from Kasol to Malana where after a point it felt like I am entering a dream world. The high hills, the bluest sky adorned with milky white clouds and the cool breeze..!

JUNE

The giggles throughout our trip to Mukteshwar with awesome travel buddies. The one-liners and the jokes we shared and loads and loads of fresh plums, pear and peaches that we had.

 And not to forget the daring photo session we had on the cliff.

JULY

A beautiful morning in the lap of Kumaon hills at a beautiful home-stay in Nathuakhan... feeling the Crisp cold breeze on my face and watching little birds play, I myself felt like a bird ready to fly.

AUGUST

That feeling of being a tiny speck in this huge gamut of universe took me over while I was trekking my way down to Chandrataal. I could hear the silence of nature and could feel its power. Amazing moment it was!

SEPTEMBER

Staying with locals in Mudh, a remote village in Pin valley Spiti is something I will cherish throughout my life. I just wished I had some more days to spend with lovely people out there who have done their best in terms of proving comfort to the travelers visiting them. The most I appreciate is the fusion of cuisines they have done to make the meals interesting. Local Pizza is what they called it. It was the local bread stuffed with cheese and veggies. 

Imagine having it sitting at an altitude of more than 13,000ft...!

Have countless memories of the trip to Spiti organised by +Indian Terrains, will dedicate a full post to it. Here I just mentioned the most prominent one.

OCTOBER

Got the privilege to be at the height of 13,000 ft above sea level and at the sea level both in the same month.

Jumping around on the waves and playing with star fish at Mondarmoni beach in the day and listening to the waves crashing on the rocks on the shore at night. 

Witnessed mesmerising sunrise at Chandrashila. Standing on the zenith, I could see myself surrounded by layers and layers of Himalayan ranges and  in front was scarlet sky ready to welcome the beautiful ball of fire, the source of all energy - Sun.

NOVEMBER

My year seems incomplete without visiting Pushkar. So November was dedicated to my visit to Pushkar. I enjoyed my food the most on this small trip. It's heaven for foodies especially for the vegetarian lot.

DECEMBER

The year ended with an encounter with the Beast at Dhikala, Corbett National Park.

     (Picture credits: Anirban Dasgupta)

Wish you all a life filled with lots and lots of exploration and travel..!

P.S. - Don't forget to leave a message for me in comment section :)

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2015 - Year of Celebrating Life Chaloletsgo way!

January and February were spent with golden deer and peacocks
at Kanha and then at Dudhwa;
Experienced life by the banks of river Ganga in March at Varanasi
And played Holi the festival of colors with people from all over the world at Pushkar;
April was spent chasing birds at Pangot
And Chopta amazed me by its beauty in May;

Celebrated mother-daughter relationship at Mukteshwar in June;
And July was full of adventure on road at Ladakh;
Kangra valley was at its best when I visited in August
And Spiti valley welcomed me with smiles in September;
Thoroughly enjoyed walking on the clouds at Sikkim in November
And the year was ended well in the arms of the Desert Thar.

Thanks 2015, you treated me really well.
Welcome 2016, I am sure you will be no less.

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My most memorable moments of year 2014

1. Sitting on the edge of a cliff at TUNGNATH

"I want to stand as close to the edge as I can without going over because out on the edge I can see the things I can't see otherwise."
Rainy season, fog all around, slippery rocks but some adventurous souls decided to take the risk. Not just of trekking up to Tungnath but to try our limits by standing on the edge and experience the thrill.The RISK involved made the moment adventurous and memorable.

At the edge

2. The view of frozen SURAJTAL

On our way back from Leh we crossed Bara-lacha-la pass. Driving at the elevation of almost 4,890mt...we reached Surajtal - the third highest lake in India, and the 21st-highest in the world. The lake was partially frozen. The white looked stunning against the deep blue sky. Couldn't stop appreciating the vivid and beautiful nature. The BRIGHTNESS of the moment is what made it memorable.

The MOMENT

3. The drive through the snow storm at KHARDUNGLA

This is all we could 

manage to click

Going to Khardungla did not feel like a big accomplishment until we survived the snow storm while coming back. All of sudden weather changed from sunny on the way to Kardungla to light snow at Khardungla and the killer snow storm on our way back.
Snow hitting direct on the face, zero visibility - due to the snowfall and snow filled glasses, numb body and no chance to stop as the road will get worse with snow. Driving a bike through this storm was an achievement.
The CHALLENGE of the moment made it so accomplishing.

4. Witnessing a tiger pouncing on its prey at KANHA

Wildlife has always astound me. For one creature to survive the other has to die. Have seen many of such moments on Television but witnessing it in a jungle in real was an amazing. A mixed feeling it was... The gravity of the king made me forget everything.

Tiger getting ready to pounce

5. Posting from world's highest post office at HIKKIM

Sitting there in a small mud room of a remote village in high Himalayas and writing a post card was the feeling that can't be expressed in words.

A proud moment

6. The sudden rainbow at THIKSAY MONASTERY

I was mesmerized by the beauty of Thiksay monastery when all of sudden a rainbow appered to add to the beauty. The moment will be etched in my memory forever.

Rainbow in the barren lands of LADAKH was no less than a miracle

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It's December already!

We are already sitting on December. How fast this year passed. I guess this happens when life is full of happenings. At this time of the year reflection and contemplation is unavoidable -looking back on the journey of year 2014 and making plans for 2015.

Can't believe I was on road for one-third of this year. What a nomad I've become!

Explored some new places -
Lotwara- a remote village in rajasthan,
Orchha - a quaint little town in MP, 
Khajuraho - carvings from the past that I wanted to see since long,
Langza, Comic and Hikkim - remote villages in high Himalayas in Spiti region,
Kasol - a laid back place where I would love to go to relax anytime,
Chopta - a marvel of nature that amazed me with its strong positive energy,
Kantaboni - a remote tribal village in Odisha and
Kanha - jungle at its best and i was fortunate enough to meet the king of this amazing jungle 4 times.
 
And revisited my favorite places - Pushkar, Ladakh, Bharatpur and Kinnaur.

I love traveling with familiar strangers. So all the above travels were with some amazing people. Met many new people on my journeys, made friends with lots of them while learnt lessons from others.
Putting down names of some 'strangers-when-met' added to my list of friends and with whom traveling was fun. +ayandrali dutta , +Nabamita Ray , +Namrata Gupta , Shilpa Ravishankar , +Rajneesh Mathur , +santosh arya , Paritosh , +sanket modi , +Saraswati Mohan , Shilpi Garg , +Kp Menon and Prasanna Menon.
While new is important old is gold. This year was really good as I found most of my school friends and am now in constant touch with them.

As much as I like being on the move and meeting new people, I love coming back home to my people and MY LITTLE SPACE. This year was exciting in this front as my home at Indirapuram got all new look. I got it repainted with all bright colors, so my life back home is as colorful as the world is!


I also got opportunity to do some remarkable assignments that added to my skill set and experience. Thanks Vaibhav Dayal and Aditya Arya for trusting me for work that I did for you.
And apologies to people I could not work with due to my tight work schedule.


And something that I love to mention - I got featured in Smart Indian Women and DNA this year. Its my dream to have my success story published in some leading newspaper or magazine one day. Who knows that's what new year will bring.

Will share my plans for 2015 soon. All of you known or unknown ones are most welcome to join me on my journeys. Let us hope this new year brings with it lots of happiness and positivity in our lives.

HAPPY 2015!

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2013 - An year of Achievments

2013 seemed to get over so quickly. May be because it was so eventful.

Memories from 2013

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• Started the year with some jungle adventure - driving at night through thick forest full of wild animals at zero visibility and sub zero temperature near Nepal boarder and feeling the fear while leopard was hunting very near to us at Sathiana in Dudhwa... followed by some crazy chasing of pug marks of the "Royal Bengal Tiger"at Bandhavgarh; 
• Road trip to Spiti with a heterogeneous set of people in June was a good learning experience.
• Monsoons were great as ever.... celebrated rains with Elite friends at Siliserh and trekked up to Triund and experienced the most stunning landscapes from up above. 

• Staying with tribals had always been my dream so a visit to Odisha villages was like dream come true. 

• Closed the year with an awesome bunch of young ladies at Kangra. Flying in the air is something I always enjoy. It was fun jumping from a cliff at Billing (2290 mt). 

Some disappointments in first half of the year led to lots of brain-storming which in-turn led to some great achievements.
-Founded a new division of Chaloletsgo!  In July CLG Elite - an initiative to bring together people who have crossed the middle age and now want to live life their way who believe that the best is yet to come. Getting together, watching movies, traveling, singing along, indulging in hobbies like photography, painting, etc... that’s what we do. "Celebrating Life" is our motto.  https://www.facebook.com/groups/522900567757371/
- Released our first publication "PUSHKAR – the desert town" in Oct. here's the e-version http://indianterrains.com/publication/
- The second edition of our annual photography event in Pushkar "Rendezvous with Life" in November reached a new level. More than 1500 people from over 30 countries visited in this 4 day event.  http://indianterrains.com/galleries/rendezvous-with-life-ii/ 

Met a whole lot of interesting people and added lots of memories!

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2012 - An year of craziness

2012... when I reflect on the year that's gone... I see 12 months of total craziness. Travelling from hot to cold desert, from peaks to plateaus, haunted places to eternal pilgrims; Enjoying every weather to the fullest.. be it getting wet in rains or sweating myself to scorching hot sun in the desert... or shivering to the deadly winter I did it all. Every day of the year was different... every experience made me learn something new and every journey helped me find myself little more.

Apart from my travel adventures that includes gliding above Dhauladhar ranges... conquering the highest motorable road... finding mysteries at spooky Bhangarh.... mingling with tribals at Pushkar... getting wild in jungles of Bengal, there are many other milestones that made 2012 a significant year in the journey of my life. I officially started organising travels for likeminded people; got my travel stories published in various national and international publications including national geographic, Discover India, Terrascape, Alive and Women's Era; did my first independent photography assignment; organised photography event and much more...

Hoping 2013 to be even crazier!

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