The Musafir Stories - India Travel Podcast

CONTEST ALERT!!! 

Listen to the episode and answer these 3 simple questions and stand a chance to win a copy of Shivya's best seller - The Shooting Star 

1. Which Indian town did Shivya spend her childhood in? 

2. In which country did Shivya go to university? 

3. What is the title of Shivya's best selling book?  

Email your responses to [email protected] before March 7th 2019! The winners will be announced on the next episode of the podcast! 

This week, The Musafir Stories speaks to none other than the Shooting Star - Shivya Nath, top travel blogger and now author with her national best seller, The Shooting Star! 

Interview Highlights:  

• Shivya talks about her time growing up in India, where she spent her childhood in and what were her erstwhile ambitions 

• We talk to Shivya about her journey away from home for university, how that shaped her choices as a person and how eventually she succumbed to her 'calling'  

• Shivya also talks about tryst with a 9-5 job, how she constantly craved for freedom and how eventually she quit her job to move back to India 

• We talk about Shivya's tryst with entrepreneurship, the highs and the lows and some difficult decisions 

• We also discuss about Shivya's travel philosophy, her roots and the place she calls home, being a digital nomad and giving up her home 

• We finish the interview by talking about her choices, how she chose veganism, the percpetions and the reality of being a vegan traveler and some final thoughts to finish off the interview.   

Links: 

Instagram: @shivya 

Twitter: @shivya 

Facebook: @theshootingstarblog 

Blog: https://the-shooting-star.com/ 

Buy your copy of the Shooting Star on  

Amazon India

Kindle

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This week, The Musafir Stories speaks to Srikanth from the blog traveldiaries.vacations and the capter lead of RTC Hyderabad!

Today's destination: Gandikota gorge and Belum caves, Andhra Pradesh!

Nearest Airport: Tirupati Airport at Renigunta

Nearest Railway Station: Kondapuram

Prerequisites - Camping equipment if you're planning to camp

Packing - Gandikota can get hot during the day, plan to carry sufficient water and also extra layers for the night.

Time of the year - September

Length of the itinerary: 2 days

Itinerary Highlights:

• Srikanth and team set out from Hyderabad towards Gandikota - a natural gorge formed by the Pennar river in Andhra Pradesh. A couple of stops enroute the destination and a navigation error on google maps led Srikanth to the foot of some magnificent wind mills in the vicinity of Gandikota!

• After spending some time refreshing themselves at the APSTDC branded Haritha resorts, the group heads towards the Gandikota fort by about 3pm.

• Please note that camping areas are present in the vicinity of the fort, so do not fall prey to scamsters asking for money to pitch tents.

• Once the group had settled in on the camping area, they set out to explore the fort and its monuments. First up is the Mini Charminar that welcomes you as you drive through the fort city after passing through the gigantic darwaaza or fort gates. The mini charminar is modeled after the original monument in Hyderabad

• The other important monuments within the fort include the Jama Masjid, the Ranghanatha Swamy temple and the Madhavaraya Swamy temple (from the Hoysala era).

• Along with the religious monuments, there are several other structures like the Granery, Mausoleum, Jail, Ponds and water bodies are abundant. Unfortunately we did not have enough time to discuss some of the smaller monuments due to time constraints.

• Once you have enjoyed the history and architecture of the monuments, move over to the view points for some great sunset views of the gorge and the river.

• Indulge in star gazing as night falls, enjoy a bonfire, a sumptous meal and spend the night chatting away with friends.

• Wake up early for wonderful views of the sunrise and the sun painting the gorge into different colors.

• The group head out towards Belum caves - the second longest underground cave network in India formed by a river several centuries ago, over 3 kms long! A beautiful Buddha statue welcomes you to the monument complex, it is believed that both Buddhist and Jain monks have lived here centuries ago.

• The cave network is about 150m below ground level and tends to get pretty hot during the day, even in September!

• The caves are well lit with a number of formations like Pilidwaram, saint bed, Dhyan mandir or meditation hall, Kotilingalu chamber (thousand hoods), Banyan tree, Patalaganga and many more interesting formations!

Links:

Link to Srikanth's blog

Link to blog post

Checkout Srikanth on Instagram!

Follow him on Twitter.

Link to Elita's 'Be you for you' expressive writing workshops

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This week, The Musafir Stories speaks to Pradnya Kulkarni, a smart traveler who believes in traveling without quitting your job! Let's find out more!

Prerequisites - A job! Just kidding!

Highlights:

• Pradnya talks about the importance of travel in life and how one should approach travel.

• Her own trials and errors with travel

• Hacks to make use of to plan your travel

• How to save for sustainable travel

• How her job has helped her travel the world!

• Parting advice!

Pradnya's social media:

Twitter

Instagram

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This week, The Musafir Stories speaks with Priyanka Dalal from the blog MapRoute Travel Blog. Priyanka is a digital entrepreneur and traveler and on this episode she shares her experience of falling in love with the Kumbh Mela!

Today's destination: The Kumbh Mela!

Nearest Airport: Allahabad Airport, IXD

Nearest Railway Station: Allahabad Junction

Prerequisites - Be prepared to be a part of large crowds and lose your personal space! It is better to book accommodation beforehand, specially if you are going to be here on the days of the Shahi Snan!

Packing - Pack light, and be ready to rough it out!

Time of the year - Jan 15 - Mar 4, 2019

Length of the itinerary: NA

Itinerary Highlights:

• Priyanka talks at length about her experiences from the previous Kumbh Mela at Trimabakeshwar, Nashik and Ujjain.

• History and legends of the Kumbh Mela

• what to expect at your maiden Kumbh Mela

• Important days of the Kumbh mela - the Shahi Snan days

• Activities during the Kumbh Mela - discourses, holy dips, temple visits, processions

• Interacting with people at the Kumbh Mela - From Naga babas to foreigners and devotees from around India

• Useful advise for solo travelers

Links:

Links to blog posts:

Priyanka's Travelogue : My Kumbh Mela Story @ Trimbakeshwar, Nashik

Priyanka's Travelogue : Ujjain Simhasth

Solo at the Kumbh Mela

Priyanka's podcast

Photo by Jose Aragones on Unsplash

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This week, The Musafir Stories speaks to Meenakshi Arvind, an avid traveler, business woman and mom! Buckle up as Meenakshi takes us on this mother of all road trips, from Coimbatore, India to London, England!

Today's destination: London!

Nearest Airport: NA

Nearest Railway Station: NA

Prerequisites - permits, visas, carnet and loads of patience!

Time of the year - March 2017

Length of the itinerary: 70 days, 24K kms!!

Itinerary Highlights:

• Meenakshi starts off the preparation by mapping out the route and preparing the permits and visas well in advance.

• The plan is to drive through 24 countries, across continents, over 70 days and 24K kms to end in London as a mark of celebrating 70 years of Indian independence.

• Meenakshi shares her approach, preparation, planning and the run up to the big day.

• Stories of some mishaps, some surprises and loads of memorable moments.

• Driving into London with a range of emotions and memories for a lifetime

Links:

Find Meenakshi on Facebook

Follow her on Instagram

Coimbatore to London Road Trip Pictures 

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This week, The Musafir Stories speaks to a very dear guest - Ajitha Yasmin, a long time listener and winner of the "Get Featured on the Musafir Stories" contest we ran on International Podcast Day earlier this year.

Today's destination: Chadar Trek on the frozen Zanskar river, Jammu & Kashmir

Nearest Airport: Leh Airport, IXL

Nearest Railway Station: NA

Prerequisites - Some experience in trekking is preferred, although not mandatory

Packing - Make sure to either pack winter clothes or buy them in Leh. Decathalon is a good option in your city as well. Equipment is usually taken care of by the trek company.

Time of the year - January

Length of the itinerary: 6 day trek, 2 day acclimatization

Itinerary Highlights:

• The 12 people strong team, set off after a day of acclimatization in Leh with a stopover at Magnetic hill.

• The trek kicks off at Chiling from where the group heads off on a 70km trek over 6 days.

• The trek goes through some interesting terrain with different formations of ice over the Zanskar river.

• The early hours are tricky with the team having to negotiate some thin layers of ice.

• The first stop for the night is Shingra where the team camps. Periodic oxygen level checks are performed by the trek company to ensure that everyone is good health.

• The trek continues through some magnificent terrain, covering icy sheets to frozen streams. The stop of the day is at Tibb caves, a point of meeting of two mountain ranges.

• The team also enjoy some good vegetarian food along with Thukpa, the tibetan soupy noodles.

• The final day of the onward journey ends at Nerak waterfalls - a frozen waterfall that is one of the iconic points of the trek at over 11,000 ft.

• The return journey is along the same path but on th other side of the frozen river bank. The team enjoys interacting with the local porters and share some hummable songs and the evergreen calls of Julley!

Links:

Ajitha's Travel

Listen to Saif & Faiza on Castbox's Original: Podcast Unfiltered with Bijay Gautam

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This week, The Musafir Stories speaks to Vishwas Raj, founder of the adventure travel company - Adventure Sindbad (www.adventuresindbad.com). Adventure Sindbad specializes in a variety of adventure activities across the Himalayas, right from hiking, cycling, whitewater rafting to family adventure tours. Sit back and enjoy as Vishwas takes us to Changthang, the land of the Pashmina!

Today's destination: Changthang, Jammu & Kashmir

Nearest Airport: Leh Airport

Nearest Railway Station: Udhampur Railway station

Prerequisites - Inner line permits may be required for a few areas. This is taken care of by Adventure Sindbad if you travel with them.

Packing - Warm clothes, sunscreen, sunglasses, good walking boots

Time of the year - August

Length of the itinerary: 10 days

Itinerary Highlights:

• This experience is a part of a photography trip led by Adventure Sindbad. The trip begins with acclimitization in Leh for 2-3 days in order to get used to the high altitude. The guests get to go around and explore the old Leh city during the acclimatization process!

• The group then heads off towards the Changthang area, a highland plateau in Kashmir that extends to Tibet and covers about 1600 kms into Tibet.

• The first stop is close to the picturesque Tso Moriri lake, albeit at some distance from the touristy points around the lake. One gets to experience the beautiful colors of nature while camping close to Tso Moriri.

• The group then heads off towards the camping site close to the nomads of Changthang - the Changpas. The Changpas are a nomadic community that wanders across the Changthang area with their herd of sheep and goats.

• The famous pashmina wool is made from the wool of the sheep and goat of this region, which is then crafted by Kashmiri artisans and is very valuable.

• The adventure sindbad team does a recce of the area well in advance and establishes contact with the nomads in order to ensure the group isn't being intrusive. As a part of the photography trip, the patrons get to document the life of the Changpas and their nomadic lifestyle.

• The rebo or yak wool tents of the Changpas are the epitome of minimalism and simplicity. The tents contain a kitchen, a dining area, sleeping area and a prayer room.

• Once the group has made contact with the nomads and set up tent in the vicinity, the patrons get a chance to observe and document the lifestyle of the Changpas, considered a dying lifestyle with the younger generations prefering to move away.

• The Changpas usually own anywhere between 100-800 sheep and start the day early by milking the goats and sheep. Some of the family then heads off to graze the sheep, while one or two family members stay back and take care of the household chores.

• The group gets to experience the various aspects of nomads life and also get some exotic shots of the arid plateau.

Links:

Adventure Sindbad's Website

Follow Adventure Sindbad on 

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

TripAdvisor

A big congratulation to the winner of our book give away - Somdeep Kundu!

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This week on The Musafir Stories we talk to novelist and media professional Tony V. Francis about his epic coming-of-age romantic novel 'The Autograph Seeker' which brings to life the whispering landmarks of Calcutta in the 1980 and 1990s.

During the course of the interview Tony talks to us about the bestselling novel and different landmarks of Calcutta (now Kolkata) which play a significant role in this story. From the famous Park Street to Eden gardens, to the theatre play to all the autographs! this book has it all!

The Autograph Seeker :

During the colonial rule in India, fate throws together a diverse cast onto the San Souci Theatre stage – Esther Leech, the Kohinoor of Bengal theatre; James Barry, the theatre manager facing bankruptcy; Alice Anderson, the enchanting English woman estranged from her husband Thomas Anderson; and Baboo Bustomchurn Addy, the dark Bengali actor infatuated with Alice and ready to kill for her.

Yet, history has forgotten this cast who perished with the San Souci Theatre until it’s discovered by a school boy in Calcutta desperate to tell their story. To help him is an effervescent Anglo Indian beauty. She’s mute. It was the end of innocence and the dawn of a glorious institution.

Unearth the story of the greatest theatre in colonial India hidden for the last 150 years inside the pages of this epic school-age novel.

You can get your hands on 'The Autograph Seeker' on

Amazon

( https://www.amazon.in/Autograph-Seeker-Tony-V-Francis/dp/938150699X )

Flipkart( https://www.flipkart.com/autograph-seeker-original-complete/p/itmezgzzurmyj9uf )

or you can find it in any leading bookstore.

Contest Alert!!! Stand a chance to win a copy of the book "The Autograph Seeker" by Tony V Francis by writing to us on our social media handles or email us at [email protected]

Photo by Martin Jernberg on Unsplash

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This week, The Musafir Stories speaks to Anuradha Goyal from www.Inditales.com. Anuradha is an accomplished travel blogger and a book reviewer with her blog "AnuReviews" as well as the author of the book "The Mouse Charmers - Pioneers of Digital India"

Today's destination: Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh!

PS - Happy Diwali wishes in advance!

Nearest Airport: Gorakhpur Airport (GOP), Gorakhpur OR Amausi Airport (LKO), Lucknow

Nearest Railway Station: Ayodhya Junction, AY

Prerequisites - Better to carry your ID proof if you are planning to visit the Ram Janmabhoomi temple. It is not mandatory though.

Packing - Pack light and according to the season you are travelling in. Make sure to carry a good pair of walking shoes!

Time of the year - October

Length of the itinerary: 6 days

Itinerary Highlights:

• Anuradha starts off the conversation by giving a background about Ayodhya and its significance not only to Hinduism but to every religion that was born in India - Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. She adds about the various Kings and dynasties that ruled Ayodhya before Shri Ram.

• Anuradha also touches upon the significance of Diwali and its connection to Ayodhya as well as the major festivals celebrated here - Ram Navami (Mar-Apr), Diwali (Oct-Nov), Karthik Poornima (15 days after Diwali).

• Anuradha discusses the various temples across Ayodhya and the best way to explore them by doing one of the yatras - Panchkosi (5kms), Chudhakosi (45kms), Chowraseekosi (300kms)

• Some of the points of interest that Anuradha covers in the podcast are

Temples: Ram Janmabhoomi, Kanak Bhavan, Badi Hanumangarhi, Valmiki Mandir

Ghats on the river Sarayu: Naya ghat, Guptar Ghat, Jhunki Ghat, Raj ghat and others

Others: Ayodhya Research Institute, International Ram Katha museum, Ram Leela performance at Ayodhya research Institute

Culinary delights: Litti Chokha, Dahi Jalebi, Kachori, Samosas, Ram Daana, and ofcourse some delightful prasads from the temples

Links:

Link to Anuradha's blog: https://www.inditales.com/

Link to Blog Post : https://www.inditales.com/ayodhya-travel-guide-ram-ramayan/

Link to Anuradha's book review blog: www.anureviews.com

Link to Anuradha's book: http://www.anuradhagoyal.com/the-mouse-charmers/

You can listen to the Writer and Geek Show at https://writerandgeek.com/

Social media:

Facebook: @inditales

Twitter: @anuradhagoyal

Instagram: @inditales

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This week at The Musafir Stories we have historian, teacher and artist Sujatha Balakrishnan walking us through Bengaluru Pete area.

The founder of Bengaluru, Kempe Gowda-I established the city in 1537, he started this city at the Pete Area.

We explore and talk about different historical points from Hazrath Tawakkal Mastan Dargah to Dharmaraya Swamy Temple in the Pete.

Sujatha tells us about how the Tawakkal Mastan Dargah was built and the festivals celebrated there.

We then walk ahead to find the bygone Vijayalakshmi Theater and Mohan Building where once a Maratha King had his palace.

Then we come across the Doddapete area where Kempe Gowda once established different temples, markets and towers and fortified Bengaluru considering the Doddapete as the center point of Bengaluru.

Sujatha also discusses the different localities in the Pete area and how they got their names based on the commodity that was sold there and also based on the residents that lived there all the way from Balepet to Nagarathpet.

We then come across Taramandalpet, a place where Tippu Sultan had his rocket R&D. Taramandalpet which means a Galaxy of Stars!

Then our final stop is the Dharmaraya Swamy Temple which is dedicated to the Pandavas & Draupathi.

We finally hear about a strong and secular bond between our first stop, i.e. the Dargah and the last stop, i.e. the Dharmaraya temple.

Follow Sujatha Balakrishnan's Theater for Change here.

Sujatha's IMDB page.

Know more about Sujatha in The Passion People Podcast.

Big thanks to Suhotra Roychoudhury for his pictures of Bengaluru Pete area and for our cover image. Checkout Suhotra's website Unseen Destinations and his Instagram page.

A special give-away for listeners of the Musafir Stories, courtesy the wonderful folks at Castbox.fm. Now listeners can enjoy a free trial of Premium version of Castbox which comes with features like No ads, Personalized homepage, ability to turn off "Similar episodes" and more by using the special code MUSAFIR. Just log in to your CastBox account and select "Go Premium". Enjoy!

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