MapRoute Travel Blog
a Solo Woman Pilgrim Exploring India & the World
Intrepid solo travelling
These are the notes and stories of a solo woman pilgrim as she meanders through the world on adventures in known and unknown regions of the map. Fueled by a deep quest towards ultimate well-being, this blog includes her solo cycling trips around the world, ancient temple explorations, spiritual experiences, reflections on life, social challenges, balancing her work life and on-the-road stories.
Traditional Spirituality with Contemporary Independence
Over the years I have bridged the traditional spirituality that is ingrained deep in all of us Indians and the contemporary aspirations of an independent, modern woman who loves her solitude. I have found deep satisfaction by balancing these aspects. If you follow my blogs, I suspect you will find these different aspects merging and co-existing, each with its own elan. Thus, from calling myself a ‘solo woman traveller’, I feel more satisfied in saying ‘solo woman pilgrim’. Cause that is what all my travels and explorations are – a pilgrimage. A pilgrimage is more about how we are within ourselves rather than necessarily having an external goal of a specific temple. Though, of course, I am often meandering around temples and ashrams and ‘traditional spiritual’ spots on my journeys. 🙂
Solo Nomad Life
Know more about woman solo travel, living nomadic life, working remotely and other challenges.
Pilgrim Tales
Thoughts on ancient temples, yoga centers, religious festivals and spiritual truths.
Wild Roads
Stories of my intrepid solo adventures cycling, camping, hiking ….
All My Recent Blogs
Solo Driving Sathyamangalam Forest Reserve & Dimbhum Ghat, Mysore to Coimbatore Route
Lovely wild forest reserve with a solitary road meandering through it. At one end are 27 hairpin bends…
Visiting Sadhguru SriBrahma ashram at Kaikatti, Annur
Thanks to my curiousity and interest to visit obscure places, I often land up in fairly offbeat corners of rural India looking up a shrine or temple marked on the map. Such was also my visit to Sadhguru ShriBrahma's small ashram in Kaikatti near Annur, Tamil Nadu. (My...
Beyond the Tourist Trail: Lesser-Known Travel Books for a Different Perspective
Looking for lesser-known travel book recommendations that are offbeat, adventurous, and sure to satisfy your wanderlust? From spiritual journeys to endangered species, these books offer unique perspectives and inspiring tales of exploration. Read on.
Jalari Lakshmi Narasimha Temple: Quaint Temple Seen from the Adiyogi, Chikkaballapur
Nestled amidst the hills, this temple gopuram rises above lush green foliage. Creating almost a mystery of the days of old for the spiritual seeker.
Ahmedabad to Coimbatore, Solo, Self Driving Road Trip
Cross-country solo, self-driving road trip from Ahmedabad to Coimbatore. With many halts and explorations as time permitted. 🙂
Mahashivratri Pilgrimage, Sadhguru Shiva Yatra: How You Can Join & Other Details
Sadhguru announced the Shiva Yatra a few years back. He basically asked devotees to walk, cycle or come by bullock cart for the Isha Mahashivratri. The Chennai shiva padyatra has been happening every year since past 10 years! And these yatris sure create a...
Which Cycle To Buy as Beginner For Cycle Touring, Casual Cycling or Commuting? Bicycle Buying Guide India
Which cycle to buy? Lots of aspects to consider, explained here in a simple and easy to understand manner through my many years of cycling short and long distances in India and abroad. Your bicycle buying guide for India.
Mahatma Mandir, GandhiNagar #GujaratModel
A futuristic ‘museum’, where people can live through Gandhiji’s life story in a short hour or two.
A Song on the Saraswati River, Inspired from Michel Danino’s book
When Sutlej and Yamuna bid Goodbye to Her,
the Mighty Sarasvati bid Goodbye to Us!
It’s a Lot More Vulnerable to Be Walking Small Roads Than Cycling! Introvert Diaries!
I have a penchant of exploring routes and roads. Inevitably, I find myself on completely new roads on the map. Smaller trails are most exciting for me - though, I am also very wary of those. Because of dogs, but also potential lack of safety from other dangers. I...
Will Coimbatore Become a Walkable City with it’s Lake Tracks, Part of #SmartCity Project?
"The purpose of the Smart Cities Mission is to drive economic growth and improve the quality of life of people by enabling local area development and harnessing technology, especially technology that leads to Smart outcomes.", says the Smart City website (which btw is...
My First Experience of Sadhguru ShriBrahma Guru Pooja Event at Yelanahalli
Already for a year or so, I was feeling really connected to Sadhguru ShriBrahma. I saw the documentary, pushed Prem anna to discuss the exact places in detail which helped me write the blog on all His pilgrimage spots and, in general, felt really connected. So, it was...
Less Known Gujarat ni Vav, Sihor Stepwell (Brahma Kund), Bhavnagar – Palitana Highway
Not a lot of people know about this quaint, lovely vav in the town of Sihor, Saurashtra - very short detour off the Bhavnagar - Palitana highway. If you are in the area, do consider visiting and acknowledging the place. You can also visit the shrines, keep some money...
I talk about my first days of cycle touring on Warmshowers bike life podcast 🙂
The warm folks at WarmShowers - community for cycle tourers, invited me to talk about my cycle touring adventures on their popular bike life podcast. Had a great time reminiscing my early days of cycle touring - the days when I didn't know how to use gears on a cycle,...
Famous Temples of Tamil Nadu, My BucketList After Moving To Coimbatore
I write these bucketlist posts simply to list out the places I want to visit in future. So, I don't forget them and can plan a trip or detour whenever the opportunity presents itself. When I shifted to Coimbatore, it brought a lot of places very close to me. Ooty is...
Cycle Rides & Temple Visits, Powerful Combination <3
The other day I cycled down to a friends place. It was a stop on my way back from a cycle trip to a powerful temple. I was telling him that it always helps me if one of the main stops on my cycle trips is a powerful temple or ashram or meditation spot. And he...
Dada Bhagwan Samadhi at Kelanpur Near Vadodara, Gujarat
Since, I set up my home base in Ahmedabad (outskirts), road trips to Surat have become routine. While my parents prefer the train, I am more particular about the COVID situation. And so during the past year or so, I always preferred to hire a car. And thus, on the car...
My Many Conversations on Perur Temple – Kashi of Tamil Nadu, Western Chidambaram and more
Roughly 7 km from my rental apartment in Coimbatore's fun neighbourhood of RS Puram, lies the lovely temple of Perur. I would have passed it by as any other south Indian temple except that people around me keep mentioning this powerful temple. Way back in 2006, when...
An Agroforester’s Story & Zeal To Change Government Policy
On my travels, social media interactions and volunteering with various organizations like Isha's Rally for Rivers project, I came in touch with Ganesan anna. A farmer from Tamil Nadu who was (surprisingly) already active on Twitter. Intrigued, I decided to find out...
Picking Up the Threads of My Travel Life, as COVID Mellows Down (for good, hopefully)
In September 2019, I moved to a rental apartment in Coimbatore. As I was still exploring the city and living-on-my-own lifestyle, COVID hit us and we were all rooted in one place whether we liked it or not. I spent two lockdowns in this Coimbatore house. And I setup a...
Himachal & Garhwal Religon, Spirituality & Culture, Common Layers
My first trip to the mighty Himalayas was to Garhwal - Gangotri dham. It was way back in the 2003-ish years. We hadn't seen a single image of the Himalayas except some calendar brochure shots, which I quickly disbelieved. So, when my mother insisted, and we went...
Iohan Gueorguiev, A Tribute : His videos made my lockdown easier
His lovely videos made my lockdown easier, but at the same time he was fighting a hard battle. And couldn’t survive it. So saddened to know that he has passed on. Om shanti.
Modhera Sun Temple Visit, on a warm Sunday morning | Gujarat’s UNESCO World Heritage Site
Modhera Sun Temple – a complete tirtha kshetra of old. Current state now. And thoughts about Surya Worship.
Learning to Use the Sleeping Bag at 0°C 🙂 [Podcast]
From my very cold Australian trip, here’s a Camping podcast 🙂