Senior Women Travellers On A Discovery Spree

They?re parasailing in Goa, dancing in Nagaland and going bike riding on a beach in Gujarat. Senior women travellers are ready to try new worlds. Sangita Bhattacharyya shares stories of five such women. 

 

?She follows her dreams, she stares at maps, she hangs out in the travel sections of bookstores, she surfs the web for travel deals, she hits the road more and more often to discover the world.?

No we aren?t talking of a youthful backpacker here. We are celebrating the wanderlust of the senior women travellers, many of whom we come across through our travel service for senior citizens. Most of these women, aged between 60-70, believe that ?age is no bar to enjoy the fun of travelling.? Here are some stories we felt would inspire others.

Padmini Balaram

Padmini rides a bike on Mandvi Beach, Gujarat

As a senior woman traveller, Padmini believes that women should just grab their backpack, put on their heels and head out to live the adventure of a lifetime. She celebrated her year of retirement, with adventure tours to some of the remotest parts of India ? Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and the Rann of Kutch being some of those. Even a laser surgery in the knee and hip implants could not stop her from an eight day backpacking tour of Germany. Padmini, an ex-banker, never travels without her immersion water heater, Puliyogare powder and her favorite Bru coffee, whichever part of the world she travels to.

Sagari Devaaya

At first glance, Sagari, in her mid 60s, appears to lead a fairly regular retired life with drawing, gardening and watching

Sagari Devaaya follows her heart in Goa

television serials. But as soon as the talk turns to travel, you come face to face with an energetic youngster, living on the edge and loving it. Defying the constraints of age, Sagari touched the sky while  parasailing at a beach in Goa. Another activity on the list was covered while horse riding in the valleys of Pahalgam. She did all these for the first time in her ?There is no right or wrong age to do anything; these limits are man-made. One should always have the spirit of adventure, ? she tells us.

Jaya Dasgupta

Jaya Dasgupta in her Nano.

Often, a clear sense of purpose and a desire to explore one?s full potential can come to people later in life. Here is the story of Jaya Dasgupta. It was Jaya?s long cherished dream to be behind the wheels, but the daily chores of raising two children and her husband?s job transfers never gave her that opportunity. Ay 66, she is not free from family responsibilities yet but the zeal to explore and travel is on. After asking people, how old is too old to learn driving, she started looking out for a driving instructor. After two months of training and passing the driving test, Jaya didn?t waste a single moment to buy a Nano with her own savings. Today she is completely independent to go shopping, visit the parlour or a friend?s house at her own will and her own time. She loves driving holidays and can?t wait to take her family on a long drive soon.

Krishna Dastidar

Krishna @ Nagaland Hornbill Festival

Every once in a while, Krishna?s two passions come together as she travels to attend conferences on Physics to different parts of the world. At 69, she does not wish to take complete retirement from her academic career nor does she resist an inescapable desire to travel. Whenever she gets a break from guiding aspirant physicists, she embarks to live out of a suitcase. ?I love visiting one country or region at a time and have completed UK, Ireland, Scandinavian, Southern and Eastern Europe, Australia and USA. There are still many places left in India which I have not been to. My math says, I need 2 foreign trips and 2 domestic trips every year to cover all my dream destinations, before I turn 75.?

Kasturi Nandagopal

Kasturi at the Hampi ruins

How often do we visit the tourist sites in our own  city or state? Hardly ever, right? Kasturi plans to go the distance. She loves to visit little and small temples, hillocks and heritage places in and around her city, Bangalore. The travel bug bit her quite early when she was working in UK before marriage, but after returning to Bangalore, her busy schedule with growing children enveloped her. She had never seen the local attractions that lure millions of visitors per year to Southern India. Although her back pain does not let her sit and travel for long hours, she is extremely passionate about her bucket-list to explore the corners of her own state Karnataka and then the rest of India.