Namaste. Welcome to my bulletin! I am glad you made it here. It is a pleasure finding you.

Minted initially as a software engineer, I traded myself to ‘All Things Travel’ in 2021 after working for three years in the IT sector. Since then, I have trekked and travelled extensively in India, and have written hundreds of stories, newsletters, web copies, poems etc. With an active craving for local food, I love meandering through alleys and backpacking through countryside to connect with roots of a place. Bylines include Tripoto, Plan the Unplanned, Women’s Web and Rough Guides.

On this journey, I became a Software Engineer and worked on my passion alongside.  Time went by, and I kept on embracing everything that interested me: Spoken Word Poetry, Poetry Writing workshops, Freelancing, Internships, Travelling, and my own startup – Open Brain Society, all while keeping myself stable at my job. Open Brain Society, to me, was not just a passion project, it was a means to give back to the society what I had gained over the year, to tell students that it is not difficult, there is a pattern, a logic in everything.

Frankly saying, it was a grind but overall, was an expedition of inner discovery. I kept on experimenting with different writing forms – Marketing, Technical, Creativity, Short Story, to finally realize that Travel Writing is my love. These days, I am continuously on a lookout to find such roles, pursue those full time, and follow my heart for the rest of my life.  

What Can I Offer to Your Business?

I understand Travel Industry well. I have worked on multiple high-value projects and made their journey creatively satisfying. Editing, Writing, Managing, Strategising – I have worked on roles in varying capabilities.

I can assure you that the ideas I bring to the table are unparalleled. Previous endeavours have demonstrated this, yielding remarkable results. Below are some of my notable achievements:

1. Working at Tripoto, I got time to reminisce and write personal travel stories. I worked with the editors to curate the best content on property reviews, memoirs, travel guides, and creative stories.
2. With Logout Studio, I am forever grateful to have received the opportunity to interview travel companies’ founders, including Rohan Verma from Just Wravel, Paresh Deshmukh from Footloose Journeys, Elton Dmello from Vagabond Experiences, Jayesh Paranjape from The Western Routes and Jatin Munwar from Plan the Unplanned.
3. I was assigned the responsibility to edit seven chapters for Rough Guides India (covering Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Sikkim)
4. I joined Plan the Unplanned as a Travel Writer and slowly discovered to become the Chief Content Strategist. 
5. We organised several workshops in Decathlon to improve Trekking knowledge in India. I looked at them from ideation, execution to hosting part.
6. I specifically want to mention my brainchild Humans Who Trek campaign which shot overwhelming motivational human stories towards us. I curated-edited-published one story/week.
7. Marketing says, to sell packages; Psychology and branding signals to connect. At every junction, we tried to connect with our audience at Plan the Unplanned. I used to write-edit-publish two weekly newsletters that had a consistent open rate of 25-30%. The readerbase increased organically from 0 to 10k+ in a span of 1 year. Unlike others, we used the power of storytelling to connect with our audience.

Senior Content Manager, Alike

Building Alike’s content verticals, including Newsletter, Website and Reports.

Content Strategist and Travel Writer, Adani One

I acted as a hook between the Product Design, Consumer Experience, Technology, Analytics and Marketing teams to develop the website for ‘Adani One’. As a part of this, I contributed to writing blogs and designing websites to improve consumer retention by approximately 10%, which further increased sales.

Chief Content Strategist & Writer, Plan the Unplanned

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‘Plan the Unplanned’ happened to me like an unplanned, impromptu trip. And as it did, I am so glad it happened. I joined them as a Travel Writer and slowly discovered to become the Chief Content Strategist. From involving in writing website copy, designing itineraries, writing travel guides, organising content, designing monthly calendars, managing 2 interns, running full-fledged campaigns (summer of 2022, Food at PTU, Humans Who Trek), hosting online podcasts, conducting LIVE presentation in Decathlon, to building a well-settled organic base for Newsletters, it was a journey of sweat and bliss – all at once.

I specifically want to mention my brainchild Humans Who Trek campaign (#humanswhotrek on Instagram) which shot overwhelming motivational human stories towards us. I curated-edited-published one story/week.

Marketing says, to sell packages; Psychology and branding signals to connect. At every junction, we tried to connect with our audience. I used to write-edit-publish two weekly newsletters that had a consistent open rate of 25-30% for over two years. Unlike others, we used the power of storytelling (curated by me) to connect with our audience.

Other than this, I went on FAM Trips for familiarity with places (Kumara Parvatha Trek, KGL Trek, Kudremukha Trek, Meghalaya, Bandaje Trek, Wayanad, Murudeshwar, SCUBA Diving in Netrani, Kodachadri Trek, etc.), to document the routes and to bring home Humans Who Trek stories. In this part, I pinpointed Pati Rabha tribals in Assam and curated four meaningful and experiential trips along with the locals. Watch this video that received 100k+ views:

That’s the cake; SEO and Analytics are whipped cream. I also laid importance on the keywords, building backlinks and periodically identifying the gaps by analysing self and the competitors. This pushed the overall growth of the company by 30-35%.

Content Writer, Rough Guides

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I was assigned the responsibility to edit seven chapters for Rough Guides India (covering Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Sikkim). Rough Guides are written for a global readership. As a part of that work, I rewrote introductions, gave and framed suggestions about NGOs and trekking places in India, volunteering opportunities, etc. I also updated maps and scrutinized the guide for factual errors.

Not just at my desk, whenever I travel, I indulge in maps, globes and atlases interpretation as well as aerial photography, satellite imagery and digital mapping. This brings me closer to the roots of the place.

Having travelled, trekked and backpacked in many states in India for 10+ years, I believe this role of writing and editing as a Local Travel Specialist came to me at the right time.

Welcome to India folks, it is a stable world with many ever-changing worlds within!

Content Specialist, Logout Studio

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Logout Studio provides SAAS products and technical assistance to Travel companies.

I am forever grateful to have received this opportunity to interview founders of some prominent Indian travel companies, including Rohan Verma from Just Wravel, Paresh Deshmukh from Footloose Journeys, Elton Dmello from Vagabond Experiences, Jayesh Paranjape from The Western Routes and Jatin Munwar from Plan the Unplanned.

Alongside, I worked on their website copy, wrote posts and managed the social media calendar.

Features Writer, Tripoto

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I was stunned when I received an email from Tripoto for the role of ‘Storytelling Expert and Features Writer’. It was my birthday. I danced and jumped joyfully, reading the email multiple times to see if it was real. Indeed, it was! It was also when I was looking to transition from IT to the Travel Industry. The role allowed me to experiment with various travel writing forms and find my niche.

I worked with the editors to curate the best content on property reviews, memoirs, travel guides, and creative stories. We also worked with multiple high-value clients to write their SEO content and YouTube scripts. I also interviewed personalities with astonishing travel stories.

Working at Tripoto, I got time to reminisce and write personal travel stories buried in the jiggly memory lanes. One of my stories on Z Trek in Chikamagalur exploded on the internet. It has received 300k+ views.

Software Engineer, FICO

Having worked as a Software Engineer for three years, I developed essential technical, problem-solving, cognitive and troubleshooting capabilities. Today, this helps me stay ahead in the AI revolution.

My job also spurred me to learn the basics of Digital Marketing, SEO, Content Strategy, Product Planning, CMS, Google Analytics and building a website.

I have good knowledge and understanding of the Software Development process, including writing blueprints, and scripts on JAVA and Python. With minimal effort, I can learn any new software and bring that knowledge to practical use.

I left my full-time job with a dream to pursue travelling full-time.

Co-Founder, Open Brain Society

Open Brain Society is an educational initiative for tier 2 and 3 cities for school-going students. The offline courses aim at improving student’s Lateral and Logical Thinking capabilities. I co-authored the book for logical reasoning. To draw illustrations and extra work, I hired and nurtured three people.

I was involved in marketing, branding works and management of resources like making timetables, holding discussions, and framing school curriculum to branding works like increasing the reachability, understanding the market and cracking deals.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we had to shift the initiative online. As a part of this, we made videos and took online classes and workshops. I also designed and created the website using WordPress.

Open Brain Society, for me, was not just a passion project, it was a means to give back to society what I have gained over the year, to tell students that it is not difficult, there is a pattern, a logic in everything; that they can be mindful in selecting a career path without compromising with the nearest possible known option.

1. I am Orange Belt in Karate (Gōjū-ryū). I won 1st Prize in National Open Level Karate Championship in the Women’s White Belt category.
2. I am a proud cook. I dream of sourcing ingredients and cooking dishes from all over the world.
3. Unlike others who love staying on the road all the time, I love travelling slowly, even if this means travelling less. I like connecting with a place, experiencing it thoroughly, and collecting stories. Slowly and sustainably, people will come to know—all that matters are the stories.
4. I left my well-settled IT job in 2021, not because I wanted to go with the flow of the world. I left it because I was a misfit in that job. While technical jobs are necessary to weave threads around new discoveries, someone must hold onto the already woven narratives and fabrics of past and present.
5. I write poetry when life throws magic, brings saturation or feels overwhelming.