I grew up in India until I was 19 years old. For the first ten years of school, we had to learn three languages – English, Hindi, and Marathi. Then finally in grade 11 and 12, I could pick a foreign language, which was German. I was fascinated with the culture, history, language, music, and technology. Additionally, being part of both cultures (my family and community was highly westernized with British and Portugues influences) forced me to grapple with certain dissonances.
For example, here is an outlandish concept for a westerner to think about: many Indians were grateful for the rise of Nazism. Not because they agreed with Nazism, but because they shared a common enemy – the British empire. The Nazis weakened the British, which reduced their stranglehold on their colonies and effectively supported India’s fight for independence. After all, Victorian whitewashing might have fallen on the good side of history but the British were no doubt the greater of two evils. For scale, the number of Indians killed by British colonialism was approximately ten times the number of Jews killed in the Holocaust – and this doesn’t even count the other colonies. Yet, in terms of showing remorse through actions and words, the Germans are generations ahead of the British. Modern Germany is commendable.
This is why, as soon as I had the chance, I visited Germany. My family and I immigrated to Canada in 2009 and I started a B.Eng. Physics in 2010. My third internship was a placement that I had secured in Germany and I was ecstatic. It was a dream come true! During the 5 months that I lived and worked in Karlsruhe, I went exploring almost every weekend. Everything in Europe felt so accessible that I was compelled to go explore. These trips gave me a sense for backpacking through Europe – trains, buses, rideshares, hostels, Couchsurfing, sleeping in parks, and staying with friends – I tried it all and more, with my backpack and some amazing friends.
After finishing my Bachelor’s degree in 2015, I secured a MEng position in Montreal which included two workshops in Vancouver in April and September. So, for the months in between, I decided to go backpacking. I flew to Lisbon and decided to find my way to Tel Aviv. This trip was the adventure of a lifetime! Not in the least because I developed severe health issues along the way which gave me a chance to test the hospitals in Thessaloniki, Istanbul, Tel Aviv, and Pune, as well as get my second spine surgery from the same surgeon who performed my first one.
I wanted to do a similar trip after finishing my Ph.D. in 2023. However, due to the isolation, depression, and deaths during the pandemic, I decided that my trip needed to prioritize spending in-person, quality time catching up with my loved ones who were spread out around the world. So, I contacted each of them and asked where they were and when they were free. Based on their responses, I plotted a route that would keep me in warm weather. From January to June, my route took me from south to north across the globe with nothing more than a backpack and a longing for belonging.
Backpacking is my favourite way to travel. It doesn’t require much planning, which allows me to go with the flow and be present in the moment. It doesn’t rely on too many possessions, which teaches me how to be happy with very little. It exposes me to new cultures, mindsets, ways of life, and beliefs which invite me to question my own mental constructs. It helps me make sense of this beautifully diverse world that we share. It gives me a global view of local situations – at home and while traveling. It opens my mind. Most importantly, it constantly reminds me that the only place in which I can truly feel at home, is in my own skin.