All posts tagged: home

travel blogger, traveller home, homesick travel

Thinking of Home.

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Somewhere deep within, I feel a quiet longing. When I brace my ailing heart to say goodbye to a place I’ve come to love. When I’m filled with adrenalin by the uncertainty of where the road will take me next. When the soles of my feet hurt from days of traveling. When I feel my feet itch from being in the same place too long. On days good and bad, warm and cold, happy and sad. I feel a quiet longing for home. Shivya NathWelcome to my blog, The Shooting Star. I’ve been called a storyteller, writer, photographer, digital nomad, “sustainability influencer,” social entrepreneur, solo traveller, vegan, sustainable tourism consultant and environmentalist. But in my heart, I’m just a girl who believes that travel – if done right – has the power to change us and the world we live in.

Take me home, to the place, I belong

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When you’ve lived away from home for an extended period of time, you start to feel like a leaf, blown far away from its tree by the wind. Its roots though, which nourished and nurtured it, continue to deepen, as though replicating gravity that tends to draw you back to the earth you belong to. The plane ride back to India from another country is a journey of nostalgia. There’s something sweet, touching and homely about it. Perhaps it is that warm feeling inside, a sense of belonging, a knot that seems to have been tied again. Perhaps just the change in air. The last few minutes before the plane hits the ground, with the seat tilting forward, ears blocked, thoughts turbulent, eyes trying to absorb the city lights outside the window… And then it happens. The thud. The sound of tires screeching. Ears pop open to sounds you’ve known and lived among for years. The accents, the language. The smell of the air freshener, that you know will soon be replaced by salivating aromas. …

The Aasha Build: Gift hope, build a home

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Slumdog Millionaire has put the slums of India on the world map, albiet in an artistic way. Despite the obvious, it’s still hard to believe that some people don’t have a concrete roof over their heads, that they live in make-shift shacks even in this age and time. Apparently, India homes 17% of all slum-dwellers in the world, a figure which translates to about 170 million people! The odds are just slightly tilted in our favor.  If you have ever witnessed the poverty on India’s streets (in person or through CNN or BBC), I am sure you have wondered, even for a moment, if there was a way you could help. This is your chance. A few of us have started an initiative with Habitat for Humanity to build houses in a slum area in Devanahalli, on the outskirts of Bangalore, India. The 2 weeks we spend on site will involve an intensive 10 day build, with an aim of constructing 8 double-storeyed houses, sheltering 16 families or approximately 96 individuals. A house might sound trivial, …

December is here

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After a semester of randomness, fluctuating beliefs and occasional spontaneity, I am finally heading home to India for a (hopefully) predictable December. A winter of cold weather, chilly rose fragrance, warm blankets and hot samosas. The perfect time to lie couched at the foot of the Himalayan expanse and gaze at the infinite greens and blues, sprawl under the warm winter sun, read delectable stories of another land, breathe in the aroma of home-cooked food, befriend temptation. It’s finally snowing on my blog; a happy start to my late December. Violet hill, Coldplay, is the song of the hour. Winter tidings to all 😀 Shivya NathWelcome to my blog, The Shooting Star. I’ve been called a storyteller, writer, photographer, digital nomad, “sustainability influencer,” social entrepreneur, solo traveller, vegan, sustainable tourism consultant and environmentalist. But in my heart, I’m just a girl who believes that travel – if done right – has the power to change us and the world we live in.

All you who sleep tonight

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All you who sleep tonight Far from the ones you love, No hand to left or right And emptiness above – Know that you aren’t alone The whole world shares your tears, Some for two nights or one, And some for all their years. — Vikram Seth I recently heard this poem and fell in love with it. It reminds me of home. Shivya NathWelcome to my blog, The Shooting Star. I’ve been called a storyteller, writer, photographer, digital nomad, “sustainability influencer,” social entrepreneur, solo traveller, vegan, sustainable tourism consultant and environmentalist. But in my heart, I’m just a girl who believes that travel – if done right – has the power to change us and the world we live in.

The end of summer

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A time comes in our ‘adult’ life when the smallest of things start to make the biggest difference. A moment as simple as sitting at your doorstep, watching the dancing rain-drops, the melody of their pitter-patter, the homely aroma of hot samosas, the pink of the bougainvilleas, the green grass, the peach roses, the leafy Asoka trees. Taken for granted infinite times, yet suddenly so precious. It’s that time of the year again. While most people are saying goodbye to the warm summer days and the rainy afternoons, I’m bidding farewell to much more. Until next time, shal(h)om(e). Good things this summer: – Resumed reading – Blog stalking – 3 Olympics medals for India Shivya NathWelcome to my blog, The Shooting Star. I’ve been called a storyteller, writer, photographer, digital nomad, “sustainability influencer,” social entrepreneur, solo traveller, vegan, sustainable tourism consultant and environmentalist. But in my heart, I’m just a girl who believes that travel – if done right – has the power to change us and the world we live in.

Trading it off.

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It’s a tradeoff, isn’t it? Home and ambition. You can choose to stay at home, with the food and the family and a simple life. Or you can choose to try it big, stay away from home and miss it loads. It’s a tradeoff really, at least when you come from a small town like mine. I wish sometimes that I had done my undergrad in India, like most of my friends. But I know now that there’d be so many opportunities I’d never even know about. Plus the independence. It seems like ambition is closely correlated to our environment. It’s a ‘what everyone else is aiming for’ kind of thing. Crowd mentality, herd following, even peer pressure. When everyone around you is aiming so big, it kind of seems natural for you to think along those lines too. And then when you meet those who claim to be okay with whatever happens, it sort of feels funny. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not judging. But I didn’t think that ambition levels would be so low in this …

Nostalgia

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Music, smells, colors. Some things can just sweep us far far away, to the past, to the life that once was, to the dreams we dreamed.  We didn’t realize it then, we don’t realize it even now, but we’re constantly forming so many associations with the world around us, with the people we know, with the places we go to, with the things we do. These things are more subtle than memories, something deeper maybe, and they show up at the most unexpected of times and places. They make us stop and think and wonder and watch our own life passing by. “Slow down, Don’t dance so fast. Life is short, The music won’t last.” Shivya NathWelcome to my blog, The Shooting Star. I’ve been called a storyteller, writer, photographer, digital nomad, “sustainability influencer,” social entrepreneur, solo traveller, vegan, sustainable tourism consultant and environmentalist. But in my heart, I’m just a girl who believes that travel – if done right – has the power to change us and the world we live in.