Nandita Saini: Story of an Intrepid Traveler

Nandita: An intrepid traveler

An engineer by training and Program Manager with an Indian MNC, Nandita Saini is from a tribe of intrepid travelers who have wanderlust in their DNA. Her travelling roots go back to cantonment life that her parents (Father-an engineer with the Indian army and mother a doctor with the armed forces) gave to Nandita and her brother. Frequent postings combined with a passion for travelling ensured that Nandita got a glimpse of India that she may not have otherwise seen.

“Their love for travel and adventure seeped into my system,” says Nandita who seem to be passing the inveterate traveler gene to her children Saoirse and Naoise. Here is Nandita sharing her compulsion to travel and why she thinks having a happy everyday is more important than having a Happy Women’s Day.

I travel therefore I am

Peragro ergo sum: I Travel, therefore I am

‘Cogito ergo sum’, a Latin philosophical proposition by René Descartes is usually translated into English as “I think, therefore I am”. Put it into context of traveling and it resounds the same profound and philosophical note. ‘I Travel, therefore I am!’

Travelling is a humbling experience. It makes me realize how narrow my own life and experiences are and how little I know of people and the world. One can never stop observing, finding, discovering and learning. Travelling gives that opportunity to continually learn and become richer in experiences.

Riding around Loktak Lake Manipur

Travel Bug is a part of my Internal Wiring

The travel bug is an inherent part of my wiring. As a student studying engineering, I explored various parts of Karnataka, Goa, West Bengal and even forayed into Nepal! The wanderlust got even more pronounced in the years that followed and I backpacked through Australia with my ex-husband and daughter when she was 3; we drove through Spain, Ireland and UK.

Open water scuba diving in Andamans called out as did snorkeling and canoeing in Thailand; Trekking in Himachal, Spiti, North East and Uttaranchal enamored me as much as driving or riding through the other states of India. While I visited many places, saw glorious sights, there are places to see and things to do on my list that is long enough to fill a book!

World is waiting to be discovered. One journey at a time.

Travelling with Children

I try to take multiple short weekend breaks during the year and one long vacation of about two weeks. They take me away from the humdrum of predictable into the excitement of the unexpected. Each journey teaches something new to me and my children. It allows us to discover a different world, people and ourselves. They equip my children with new capabilities, makes them more sensitive to the world and people around them.

My children have been travelling with me since they were about six months old. They are capable, independent and used to roughing it out outdoors. Swimming in rivers and lakes, climbing mountains, walking through forests, they have enjoyed it all. These travels have made them love natural surroundings, inculcated appreciation for beauty and enabled them observe and experience the concerns related to environment.

Open the door and explore

Travel aberration makes for some memorable, exciting moments

When I travel, I go prepared that some things may not go as planned. We have had vehicle breakdowns, illnesses, been lost, had to sort out accommodation and a million other things, but usually these have led to us meeting the most amazing people. All breakdowns on journeys are usually some of the most exciting moments of the journeys.

Travelling in India makes things easy. People are helpful and there is always a solution to be found or someone who will help you get where a solution can be found.

 Open the Door and Explore

We all live in the cage of our beliefs and convictions. Every moment of every day we have a choice – we can either stay in there, or step out and explore what’s out there. We live with the consequences of the choices we make – they are neither good nor bad, neither right nor wrong, they simply are. They exist and they are our life.  Time is ticking, and there is just this one life we’ve got. This life is all that you will know, everything else is just conjecture. So might as well live it in a way that when you leave, you take your last breath with nothing left unexplored, and no regrets.

GoMissing Spotlight: No mountain too high, no road too long; No country too far, no milestone that cannot be surpassed. Our women adventurers are made of sterner stuff! All through the month of March 2016, GoMissing Spotlight section will be dedicated to saluting women heroes whose achievements or passions were once thought to be the preserve of men. Here you will meet passionate inveterate enthusiasts recognized for their fearlessness, determination and wanderlust. Read exclusive interviews, know heartwarming stories, get ready to be SURPRISED and INSPIRED!