Blog: My Quintessential India Trip Dream

Whenever my father brings up my marriage matter, I tell him I will get married after I publish my second book and complete my India trip. I’m not sure if it’s the marriage clause that jinxed my dreams, or vice versa; all three of my plans have been caught in the infinite loop of “wishing” but “never actually happening” for ages. 😁

I have no idea when or if I will get married. My potential partner is still a hypothetical concept. Being the homebody and introvert that I am, understanding nonverbal social cues is itself a challenge for me. Then, how will I fare well in the strategic games of modern dating and endure the whole arranged marriage conversations with not-so-subtle dowry demands? I have to admit. It’s against my moral values, beyond my current skill sets, and far outside my tolerance levels.

So the statistical chances of me meeting a mythological figure, interviewing an alien, falling in love with a fictional hero(nothing new about it), or catching a legendary Pokemon (who wants a legendary Pokemon if I can get a Charmander, train it, and evolve it into a Charizard? Oh that’s the dream!) in real life are higher than me meeting my potential partner in life.

Now that I think about it… I might as well take advantage of the freedom and autonomy that come with my single life, and turn 2025 into the year I complete my first India trip. Inshallah. If God wills it.

Every time someone asks me, “What is your dream country to visit?” – I say India. Despite being an Indian for the last thirty-two years, I cannot say that I have explored it as much as I want to, because India is so vast and nuanced: whether we talk about its geography, culture, biodiversity, spirituality, philosophy, celebrations, people, languages, or food. That’s why I’m so stoked to explore it in detail.

But here’s the catch. There is no way I will be able to go to every nook and corner of India. All I can aspire to do is to go as deep and wide as I possibly can. I keep reminding myself that the whole point is not to get fixated on the perfect trip, but to just do it, even in an imperfect way.

Most of my college friends had already completed an India trip during the third year of our college life. So I’m sure my plan may not sound like a big deal to many. But as someone who couldn’t go on that college trip due to some financial constraints at home and had to cancel my first self-planned India trip back in 2019, that too within just 2 days, this is a huge deal for me.

Many people and self-help books advise us not to talk openly about our dreams until we execute them, as we could jinx them, get the bhuri nazar(evil eye), or people might think we are arrogant.

Personally, I like people who say they want something, get out there, work hard, and make it happen. Talking about my dreams and working hard on them is how I manifest them into reality. Seven years before I published my first book, I stood before my college class during our farewell and confessed that I wanted to be a writer. I had barely written half a dozen poems at that point. The accountability we feel toward the people who listened to us also drives us to be accountable for our dreams.

But here’s the important thing. Just because we have good intentions or declare publically that we want to do something, doesn’t mean that we will actually do that. We have to plan it well, work hard, and get it executed.

While we set on to do anything in life, we will meet a bunch of naysayers, and critics, who will say it’s impractical or call you cringe. I agree with Taylor Swift in that respect; the same thing you might find cringe could be an amazing and life-altering experience for someone else. So let me experience my version of the India trip, for better or for worse.

Now, let me take a moment to overthink all the potential problems that could derail my India trip plans this time:

1. I could fall sick. (I almost always do, every time I go on a long trip. I came back from my last Gujarat trip with COVID and pneumonia. During the last 2 weeks of my three-month UK trip, I was down with the flu, with a rattling cough and high fever. Every time my doctor sees me, he is like – “Woman, what is it this time?”.

Then there’s also the typical travel sickness inside AC cars and buses. Washing/sanitizing my hands regularly, eating from hygienic places, keeping myself hydrated, wearing a mask in crowded places, and keeping my medicines handy is usually how I try to tackle it. But one mistake could still bring you down.)

2. I could run out of money. (I don’t want to break my long-term savings and investments for this trip. I must try my best to budget this trip using the money I earned from my recent freelance editing projects and some FD interests.)

3. I need to keep working – I’ll have to continue taking on freelance projects to avoid long gaps with my regular clients and to stay financially stable.

4. Regular trips back home – No matter how far I go, I’ll have to return home at regular intervals, as my parents are aging and sometimes suffer from health issues. I need to make sure everything is okay at home.

5. Personal safety concerns involved in traveling alone, night travel, reaching remote places, places I stay, etc. For me, bad experiences while traveling on public transport are a reality. I have had disturbing incidents like people trying to grope me and show me porn on buses and trains. As gross and appalling as it is, it is naive to be unprepared for it. I do have my can of pepper spray.

4. Recent terrorist attacks – Then there’s the biggest concern of all, the recent Pahalgam attacks where 26 civilians were killed by armed militants at a popular tourist spot near Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. They mainly targeted Hindu tourists, though a Christian tourist and a local Muslim were also killed in the attack. The wounds are still fresh in the country’s memory after this heartbreaking incident, and our hearts go out to the victims and their families.

The sensible option for a traveler like me would be to stay clear of places that are prone to such attacks and riots like Kashmir, Manipur, or Chattisgarh. But even a popular and buzzing city like Mumbai is also prone to attacks. Then there’s also the nagging, reckless, and rebellious thought: India is our country, right? Terror shouldn’t stop us from navigating and learning from it.

The whole point of this trip isn’t just sightseeing. Sightseeing bores me after a while, no matter how exciting the view is. I need to keep learning something new from a place or experience to stay interested. I want to interact with common people like you and me, learn from their stories and challenges, and highlight them through my writing in a respectful way.

Anyway, I guess this is one moral conundrum I’ll figure out only with time.

7. The monsoons are coming. That could mean canceling trips for a while. My home state, Kerala is known for its flooding, which can cause major disruptions.

It’s easy to write a blog post like this. It’s easy to tell everyone that I want to go on an All India trip. I know because I’ve done it countless times now. But this time, I really hope I’ll do it. And I hope at least some of you will hold me accountable and encourage me while I do it. Just a girl and her dreams here. 🙂

On a closing note, here’s a poem by  Strangest Loop to keep you and me grounded and focused on our dreams:

https://strangestloop.io/essays/things-that-arent-doing-the-thing