Wonder women of travel

Women and travel, these two were words not very often used in one sentence until just a decade or so ago. Most women traveled with families, the very adventurous ones stepped out in groups but rarely were there women traveling alone and making a living out of it. Things have thankfully changed. More and more women are venturing out alone and inspiring an entire new generation of travelers. We speak to three such women and ask them what does travel mean to them.

Divyakshi Gupta

I am Divyakshi. As a kid, I looked forward to my summer vacations. Ticking off dates in the calendar waiting to fly to Delhi from where a 6-hour journey would take me to a small town in the foothills of the Himalayas where my grandparents stayed. My summer vacations were spent walking on white, rounded pebbles on the banks of the pristine Yamuna, watching the river gurgle was one of my favourite pastimes. But not as much as plucking raw mangoes and litchis hanging low in the local orchards. Somewhere in these long nature walks and chasing paper boats in brooks, I fell in love with nature. Trees became friends and mountains became protectors.

As I grew up, frequent road trips with parents made me fall in love with road travel, and with rural India, its diversity and its people. I started to respected differences, valued simplicity and found beauty in the ordinary. In 2006, I started blogging. While it was very amateur, it gave me friends for life. Amidst highs and lows of life, travel has remained a constant companion. I love long road trips, love starry skies, love the mountain chill, love walking on dry leaves, love the gurgle of streams, love the feel of forests, love the winter sun, love leaving a part of me in places I visit.

Chandreyi Bandyopadhyay

I am Chandreyi and I started travelling since childhood with family on vacations. I grew up to be a PR professional with aspirations of working in the corporate sector but no sooner than I joined one in Mumbai, I felt out of place. I was already working on my travel blog with my partner who was very supportive of my decision to quit and pursue travel for filling my soul with new places, experiences and cultures. In my quest to find meaningful travel stories I built a community of people who not only love travelling but also encourage me to document our travel tales through our blog and films.

It has been a very fulfilling 5 years where I have explored India like never before and also made it to a few countries across Asia, North America & Europe. I now live in Goa now with my partner and as our wedding plans got postponed due to Covid, we are taking this time to explore the wild riches of our nation, one jungle at a time. Today, our daily chores involve everything from planning the next trip to running a homestay in Goa. When not travelling, I like to explore the unknown trails of Goa, be it the ghats or beautiful villages with migratory birds and pretty Goan homes full of treasures from the Portuguese era!

Anindita Chatterjee

I am Anindita Chatterjee and I am known as Travel Chatter. I am a super passionate traveller & my adventures across the globe have taken me to 67 countries. I am now sitting on a treasure trove of experiences and a million stories to tell the world. Right from landing up in Cyprus with a handwritten visa to jumping off high cliffs into roaring waterfalls in Costa Rica to fishing and eating piranhas in the Amazon Forest to lava cave trekking in Iceland to riding a scooty solo along the Portugal coastline to climbing up the rainbow mountain in Peru to meeting mountain Gorillas in Uganda to trekking a glacier solo in Patagonia, Argentina to sitting at the bottom of the sea in Malta - I have done it all and it's been an adventure of a lifetime!

Thanks to all my life lessons from my travels, the word "cannot" doesn't exist in my dictionary anymore! To make a living, I have also worked in companies like Unilever, PCI as their Chief Marketing Officer & I also run an NGO for underprivileged children. Always remember, "You are your most precious asset and only you can work towards making all your dreams come true".

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