Memoir

MEMOIR Volume no. 1

Issue no. 1

January 2017

Heartwarming Tales Travel blogger and photographer Pooja Kochar shares some beautiful portraits from the Himalayas with stories of hope, dreams and happiness from the region.

What did my MBA teach me? Race do not look around, just run. Run for placements, run for promotions, run against time keep running.

What did travelling teach me? Breathe, look around, feel, listen to your surroundings, smile, observe, trust. Travel is liberating, no doubt. But there are times when you pick a new destination to rebel.

Trust strangers, scream in the mountains, jump in the ocean, pay attention to th unknown and live like a nomad. There is a charm in being rebellious about your existence and living deeply. When people ask me how I fund my travel, I always say that the logic is simple I invest in experiences and not on things. It is much more comforting for me. Once I hit the 30ish mark, the social pressure of conforming seemed to kill my vibe. I was expected to be perfect at home, job, vacations, and even on Instagram but once tI started flirting with the idea of imperfections, everything started falling into place.

I started sharing my travel stories on my blog and the response was tremendous. I also wanted to explore human connections with the people I meet on the way, and wanted and narrate their life stories through a photo journal. This was the reason why I travelled to North Himachal and foothills of the Himalayan range and came up with a series called Portraits From Himalayas.It celebrates life in the Himalayan range of ordinary people whose stories are beautifully layered with simplicity and hope. It deals with everything ‘non-touristy’ like exploring home-stays’, trekking for hours to capture the perfect sunset, camping, meeting locals and knowing their stories and dreams. The uncertainty of a new world is thrilling and the most exciting for me and the foothills of Himalayas turned out to be the perfect canvas for me to wander and find home in the mountains.

Rekha : “I am going to be a grandma at 36” Rekha works in one of the lodges in Khajiar. She was married at the age of 13 and had a daughter when she was 15. Her daughter is expecting her first child this monsoon and Rekha cannot hold her excitement. I asked her if she was unhappy about being married so early and she said, “In our community, your parents make sure that you are sent to your ‘real house’ once you are 12. I lost my husband when I was 20 and since then it has been me and my two daughters.We are like pahadi sisters, always laughing and loving each other. Life is not always perfect though. There were times when I could feed only one of my children, but the fact that I work and support my family makes me feel very strong.”.

Devi : “For me all children are precious” Devi is a village midwife. Surprisingly, there are almost negligible medical facilities around North Himachal and foothills of Himalayas.

Devi has helped in the deliveries of a countless number of kids in the last 30 years. “In our village, all the women of the family are present in the room during child birth. My hands are very stable and they trust me with the delivery. Most of the villagers seem happier when it’s a boy, but for me all children are equal. I take care of them with the same love.”

Ayyab : “I have never seen the world.”

Ayyab has seen life very differently. We spoke for long about Mumbai and how he always wanted to leave everything behind and run to the city like in the movies, but the mountains never let him. He has never been anywhere except the village he grew up in. I asked him if he regrets this and he replied, “I watch the world through the eyes of the tourists who visit Himalayas. The only thing I do not like about them is that they are so restless. They are always looking for network for their phones. I am happy in the mountains. There is so much peace.”

Kaku : ‘‘Winters are lonely and scary” Kaku’s Cottage is the name of her home-stay and she must be around 65 years old. Kaku provides tourists with food, basic accommodation and a bucket of steaming hot water for a bath every day. She lost her son who was in the Gorkha Regiment in the Indian Army. She had no means of earning after his death, so she started this home-stay for her survival. Kaku borrows happiness from the tourists who stay with her, but winters are lonely and scary, she says.

#LoveIndiaTravel Gender inequality issues and several high-profile rape cases have distorted the perception of India in the media. The result is that some potential travelers are choosing to bypass India in favour of other less infamous destinations. As a long-time traveler to India, I think this is unfortunate. I know many, many travelers, including lots of female solo travelers, who love to travel in India. Without taking away from the brutality of these incidents and need for societal change, India is much, much more. It is a fascinating, life-changing travel destination. And, like me, many, many travelers to India will tell you it was their most memorable, most transformative, and most remarkable trip. Here, some of them share their #LoveIndiaTravel photos and stories.

Carefree spirit -Andrew Adams, Photojournalist Andrew Adams is a travel, wedding, and lifestyle photojournalist with a passion for South Asian Culture. Visit his website and follow him on Instagram I love travel in India because‌I have learned to appreciate the simple things in life. This little boy with his rucksack slung over his shoulder, is a great reminder. It was my first trip to India, it got off to a rough start, I was sick, run down, and new to India. This brief encounter, his carefree spirit, completely changed my outlook that day and set the tone for many more wonderful adventures to follow!

Celebrations and adventure -Dave Bouskill, Traveller Dave and Deb won the 2014 Gold Medal for Best Travel Blog by the Society of American Travel Writers. They founded ThePlanetD in 2008 after cycling the continent of Africa and have since travelled to more than 100 countries on all 7 continents. We love travel in India because each day was a new adventure. Every destination opened our eyes to new experiences and there always seemed to be a celebration wherever we went.

God in a cow -Nisha Jha, Traveller Nisha Jha is a passionate traveler, keen observer and a student of life.

Loves Street food and dancing in the rain. She blogs at Lemonicks where she writes about her sweet & sour stories of her journeys. I love travel in India because‌Only in India I get to see physical evidence that God is omnipresent and in every form; be it a stone, a tree, a cow, a person possessed by spirits, the small shrine in the middle of crossroads or even autorickshaw meter!

Feeling of eternity -Didem Tali, Journalist Didem is an award-winning journalist who originally hails from Turkey, but currently divides her time between England and Malawi. In her last visit to India, she spent over 200 hours in sleeper trains discovering the country from north to south, and she recalls this as one of the best things that happened to her. She blogs at ReadWrite Travel. I love India because of the glimpse of eternity that I get to sneak when I am in India.

Being surrounded by a magnificent history, I feel that I am just an insignificant human being whose worries and worldly troubles don’t matter.

I find this incredibly liberating and empowering. The river Ganges will keep flowing whatever happens. Oh, I also love India because I met my husband there!

Reaching new heights -Rutavi MehtaRutavi, Traveller Mehta is a travel aficionado where she has travelled to more than 1,500 destinations. She loves exploring new places, meeting new people, learning their stories and most importantly, venturing into the unknown. Follow her on Photo Katha. I love travel in India because each place, each moment, each culture and each person has a story. The uniqueness from north to south, gives a traveller variation of landscape, food, culture. Travelling in India as a solo woman is a great experience because people love to see women reaching new heights and they are very supportive. My tag line for India travel is: “Breathe the mud and connect over mud.�