Travel, Through Every Season of Life
- Published By: Dr. Anindita Talukdar
- Published On: May 22, 2026
- 4 Minutes to read
Travel, I now realize, has quietly shaped every phase of my life.
As children, we travelled across India with our parents. My father worked in a government bank, and despite demanding schedules, he always made sure we travelled during every yearly vacation we could manage. We were not “travellers” in the modern sense, there were no detailed itineraries, aesthetic photographs, or travel checklists. We simply followed our parents’ instructions, enjoyed the world unfolding before us, and were sometimes irritated because we had to stay in not-so-comfortable hotels due to tight budgets.
Back then, we never understood the effort behind those journeys. Hotels were booked, trains were managed, routes were planned, all without our involvement. But now as a new parent, I think a little involvement from the child might have been good too.
Then came adulthood.
We started earning money through my research scholarships, while my sister joined the corporate world. We began travelling together whenever possible. Since we lived in different cities, we did not travel together very often, but whenever we met, we explored nearby places. We travelled to Hyderabad, Bangalore, and other cities, enjoying simple “girl things” together like jewellery shopping, visiting lakes, and trying local cafes. That phase was fun in its own way. I still miss those days!
That stage did not last very long, because the next phase of life arrived; ambitions, goals, and responsibilities. My sister moved abroad for her MS, and I pursued my PhD. Slowly, the roles shifted again.
During my PhD, I lived alone in different cities, and sometimes travelling to those cities itself became a small travel experience. I quietly enjoyed that phase too, as a solo traveller discovering new places and learning to enjoy my own company.
And whenever my sister visited India, we individually became the planners, she would handle the hotel bookings, flight bookings; while I researched local travel and sightseeing. Our parents finally took the back seat. For the first time, they travelled without responsibility, and we loved giving them that comfort. It felt like a quiet return gift for all the journeys they had once created for us.
Then came another major milestone “marriage”. My husband and I began travelling together across India and beyond. We became that energetic couple determined to see everything a place had to offer. We would leave the hotel early in the morning and return only at night, exhausted but fulfilled. I still remember a driver once telling my husband, “Sir, aap log bahut active ho during trips. Bahut log toh hotel mein hi rukte hain, rest karte hain!” We took it as the highest compliment.
Then came our son.
Travel changed again.
With a baby, our journeys became slower, softer, and closer to home. We travelled not to “cover” places, but to breathe differently for a few days. Sometimes the hotel itself became the destination. A short drive, a quiet meal, a peaceful evening; that was enough. And honestly, we enjoyed that version too. Every stage of travel seemed to reveal a different version of happiness.
But this recent trip felt special in an entirely new way.
Our son is now four and half years old, curious, excited, fearless, and wonderfully alive to the world around him. This time, we planned a trip to Himachal Pradesh for a little adventure. We travelled to the mountains of Himachal Pradesh, and I went with an open mind, almost wondering what the next decade of our travels would look like as a family of three.
To my surprise, he embraced almost everything, except the curvy mountain roads of Himachal Pradesh, where he would quietly say, “Mumma, I’m not comfortable. I’ll just lie down in your lap.” But apart from that, he handled the trip wonderfully.
He loved talking to new people. He walked happily beside rivers, enjoyed jungle walks, and insisted on trekking through mountain trails with endless enthusiasm. Watching him explore reminded me so much of our own childhood journeys; I started seeing travel through the eyes of a parent.
And perhaps that is what travel truly does.
It keeps evolving with us.
There is beauty in travelling with parents, joy in travelling with siblings, freedom in travelling alone, happiness in travelling with a partner, and tenderness in travelling with children. Every stage carries its own rhythm, its own lessons, its own kind of happiness.
The destination matters, of course. But over the years, I have learned that the real magic lies in the continuation, in continuing to move, to discover, to adapt, to heal, and to share life with different versions of ourselves and the people we love.
Because travel, much like life, is never really about reaching somewhere.
It is about growing through every journey.
And somewhere along the way, I realized the same is true for our careers too.
Success is rarely about reaching one final destination or achieving a single “highest” goal. It is about continuing; continuing to try, to explore, to fail, to learn, and still choosing not to stop. It is about carrying forward our past experiences, interests, and lessons into every new phase of life.
Perhaps that is what growth truly means.
To keep evolving at 25, at 35, and even at 50; without losing the curiosity to discover something new about the world and about ourselves.
To everyone who reads until the very end, thank you.
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Dr. Anindita Talukdar
The creative behind ESC sharing smart actionable tips and insights to level up writing and research skill.
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Dr. Anindita Talukdar
The creative behind ESC sharing smart actionable tips and insights to level up writing and research skill.