Solo travels were always a fascination for me, though it was only once that I have managed to do it. And soon after that a new phase of motherhood began and then going on a solo trip felt like a far off dream. But to add to it, I started thinking of travelling with V, which is anyways my extension. So far, it has been only 2 trips I have done, the recent journey being the longest and much experiential. My first long journey was when V was a little over 2 and half years and now she is 3. The best part of these trips are that, there is a lot of time to bond with the little one. We get a lot of undistracted time, we observe and learn together from the different experiences we have, be it the environment, the people we meet, the mode of travel, or the new food we eat and most importantly the conversations we have. It is a lot of learning for me to observe V in different scenarios and learn from her as well as for V to experience life outside the four walls.
It might sound all so rosy and colourful, but the truth is that, we do have our own set of challenges, there are meltdowns and tantrums, there are times when she would want to be carried when I have the heavy luggage also on the shoulders, and there are times she has fallen sick, and on top of that, times when I lose my calm. But all these are very negligible, and each instance is a learning, when you see the whole picture and the experience we get from the journey. And I felt, it was much more easier to manage all of these when I am outside the house. And trust me, the child will also adjust according to the situation and they do understand if it is very difficult for us. Communicating openly to them really helps.
This time, the trip was to an exciting place called Puvidham run by Meenakshi Amma, who is the heart and soul of the space, which is at Dharmapuri district in Tamil Nadu, where they focus on education for sustainable living and rural development. They have a camp run every month for 2 days, called Return to the soil program. It was just a glimpse of how a sustainable lifestyle could be. With around 30 other beautiful souls who were as eager as me to know about how an alternative way of education could be, how sustainability is being practiced and how to live life consciously and know ourselves deeper, the 2 days of camp was magical. Being born and brought up in a city and experiencing this level of sustainable lifestyle was something really eye opening and worthwhile to think of how much damage we are doing to mother nature and how consciously
Being an adult, it was a bit difficult for me to adapt completely, with all the conditioning and habits we have formed so far, but for V, it was a piece of cake. It was me who had a lot more to learn from how the kids were always being in the moment and completely enjoying it. They adapt so well. Being outdoors completely, as close to nature, with pure pollution free air, good soil to walk barefoot, and healthy organic food choices to survive, it just made our bodies and mind feel the health and rejuvenation. It was literally how the name of the camp was, Return to the Soil. It made me feel how taken for granted and how unconscious I am to Mother nature and how withdrawn and far away is my life from nature. The transitions I make, might be slow and may not be able to achieve a complete sustainable lifestyle. But being aware of the little decisions I make in my everyday choices and being more conscious might pave way for the better. It is a very long journey and a very slow one too which would make me think deeper through my life. I am very glad that me and V had this experience and looking forward for more such travel for unlearning and relearning with joy. And make a lot of memories together!!
The Epic Momster! 
That’s a good write up about the trip and puvidham, Janaki. Everything is 100%. I enjoyed reading this.
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Jaaaan…Superb👌Well written !! Even though it is new to me about Puvidham but it is very much exciting to hear about Puvidham & the camp -Return to Soil. Awaiting to hear more about the same in detail. Keep going dear👍
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Love the way in which you describe and take the reader through each new experience. I guess, it’s still not too late for us to unlearn and relearn.
Thank you, Janaki for a great read!
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