Looking without seeing

Travel. Mine. Nowadays.

Not that I am complaining.

Varanasi, Khajuraho, Orchha, Pushkar. Watch this space for more. Soon!

Me, myself and I

There is a brand new ‘about me’ page up now. Head there now to read all about my life as a traveler. Pompous? Who, me?

Travel writing traps

Linear narratives, flat adjectives, too many superlatives – this piece on Matador talks about the common mistakes rookie travel writers make. But here is the thing – it is easy for seasoned writers to fall into these too. These, and the story (of the how-I-spent-my-summer-vacation essay type) supported entirely by cliche and adjectives, with adverbs sprinkled all through without restraint – of course, this is not specialty of travel writers alone, but there it is just easier.

My favourites – and yes, I have been guilty of some (all in the past, I hope) – Hidden gem (so how did *you* discover it?), I promised to be back (really, every single place you visit?), amazing (it is bad enough you use it in spoken language and really, you must be naive if you are that easily amazed), quick pitstop (that lasted four hours?), carried back a mind full of memories (one, good to know you have a mind and two, why are you not working with a sleazy travel agency yet?) and finally, lap of nature (even I do not have anything to say about this).

There, I feel better already. Nothing like a little snarkiness to spice up the day, what?

Images of 2010

It’s that time of the year already – past that time really, but never mind. Yeah, so time to look back on the year that was, tell you again about my travels, announce plans for this year and sigh deeply… Or maybe this year, no announcing travel plans dreams in advance. Watch this space…

So here, the best of 2010 on Itchy Feet -

The market visits – April – June

City market – going nuts!

Gandhi Bazaar – a pretty smile

Chilling in Ladakh – May

Chang La – on top of the world. almost.

Pangong Tso – A light load

Alleppy snake boat race – August

Alleppy – Pushing on

Malaysia with friends – September

Kuala Lumpur – Not on thin ice

Weekend at Ooty – October

Ooty – picture postcard window

Aihole, Pattadakkal, Badami and Bijapur – December

Badami – midday gossip

Badami – the golden corridor

Kalamadhyam fair at Chitra Kala Parishat – December

Why Itchy Feet should be the TFN blog

Those great folks at Ride A Cycle Foundation are back with their Tour of Nilgiris 2010. I had friends who were part of the adventure last year and having heard so many stories about the fun they had, and having seen the pics from the very talented peevee, I now want to be part of this experience. The TFN is a wonderful initiative – it combines the best of everything that travel has to offer – adventure, community, giving back to society, satisfaction, a bit of hard work and a lot of fun.

TFN is now looking for a blogger to officially cover the ride. So, read on to see why Itchy Feet should be the chosen one.

(images courtesy: the TFN website)

1. Itchy Feet, aka Charukesi has heard so much, so much about the TFN from friends who went on the ride last year – Anita Bora and gang – and has been dying to be a part of it – without distressing herself unduly on the hard seat of a bicycle. and she has finally been offered the perfect way to do it – “You work real hard on the Tour of Nilgiris but don’t have to sweat it out like the ones on saddles.” She knows that such opportunities come but once in a lifetime and is hoping that the jury agrees with her on this one.

2. Itchy Feet is always on the look-out for all expenses paid holidays. However, canny as she is, she knows that there is no such thing as a free lunch. Or a truly all-expenses paid holiday (without ‘conditions apply’ in fine print). This time, therefore, she is actually willing to work for it.

3. Itchy Feet is a fun person to be with. And she promises to keep the team motivated with a steady supply of bad jokes and puns. If nothing else, the team will want to forget their tiredness (and forgo those numerous rest stops) and hit their saddles quickly again just to get away form her sense of humour! If that won’t keep the tour going, then what will?

4. Itchy Feet and her partner (who pays to soothe most of the itchiness most of the time and accompanies her on some of her mad capers) were part of the Great Driving Challenge conducted by the Mitsubhisi Cedia Sports company last year and they made it to the top 12 teams of the contest from over a thousand applicants. This, of course, has no relevance to what we will do in December but it never hurts to say – or perhaps, the relevance is that this goes to prove her love for travel and being on the road. And I promise you, it won’t hurt to check out those votes and testimonials at the bottom of that page. As part of that journey, partner and she kept a blog of their adventures.

5. The blog ‘Itchy Feet’ is over six years old now and has hundreds of travel posts. She has a great eye for stories – the unusual, the unnoticed and the everyday stuff too and she promises to bring the TFN alive to readers. This blog has been Charukesi’s stepping stone to professional travel writing. She has written over 75 travel stories for newspapers, websites and magazines. She is a veteran travel blogger and writer – read some of her published articles here.

6. Charukesi thinks that bicycles are wonderful. Heh! Read this, if you don’t believe it… (notice? it was written more than 5 years ago – not with an eye on the TFN!)

So then. Are you still thinking? Undecided? Alright then, here is the clincher. Itchy Feet will provide photographs (as a bonus!) along with the blog posts of the TFN. Head here to her flickr stream to see some of her best photographs.

Have trumpet, will blow

Turns out I am a travel junkie. Not just that but a ‘top travel junkie on facebook’. So there. idiva has featured me on World Tourism Day (what are people expected to do on this day?) on their website.

These Times of India guys really like my blog. Here is when I got listed as one of the “Ladies Who Blog” (whatever!), again on idiva (you have to believe me when I say I have no friends working there) and here is when they featured the blog in their main newspaper.

Looking back at the ToI piece, I am glad to note that two of the three destinations on the domestic wish-list have been visited – none, sadly on the phoren countries. To remedy that now…

Shades of grey

New look on the blog – how do you like it? I’ve been bored of the old one and kept looking off and on for an interesting template. I liked this one a lot – and it suits my needs perfectly. So, here goes.

I’ve also made some minor changes to the side-bar – have organized the post categories a bit – so far, I’ve kept adding categories as and when I start writing about a new place but I thought it needed more structure. And in the process, felt pained all over again when I think of all the places I want to visit. So much to see, so little time. And money. *deep sigh*

If you are reading this as a feed through your reader, hop over now to see the emperor’s blog’s new clothes. Look forward to your response! (Broad hint: remember, I asked ‘how do you like it’, not ‘how do you find it’).

Also, any suggestions on interesting things to add to the blog / side-bar?

Itchy Feet gets noticed

I forgot to mention this here – Itchy Feet got a press mention recently when it was featured as a cool blog in the idiva supplement of the Times of India Bombay edition. Titled (rather awkwardly) The Ladies Blog-sphere, the piece is about three different blogs written by women.

Please note: I did not say ‘I simply got engaged with other bloggers’ – this is some editor’s idea of editing what I had originally sent. Although I meant every word of it when I said that my blog has led me to meet some very interesting people – online and some later, offline too. Thank you, all you people!

Anyway, read on and salute me – I am one of the Ladies Who Blog.

So you want to be a travel writer

I keep getting asked for advice all the time on how to become a travel writer. Now, that is a question I cannot answer easily because I hesitate to call myself a travel writer. The likes of Bill Bryson and Pico Iyer?, they are travel writers; the rest of us write on travel, sometimes sponsored by a publication, mostly not and write on our travel experiences. And if you do not understand the difference, stop right here. Go back to read Bill Bryson, Pico Iyer, Jan Morris and the other greats and come back.

So, why do I want to write about this now? For one, I get roughly an email a week on this question and I figured it would be simpler for me to write this out on my blog and start pointing future queriers in this direction. And then, I realize that I now have over seventy published pieces in my portfolio, and it is therefore time I stopped feeling like a poseur and admit that I am a writer (along with freelance, travel, whatever other words I want to add or dispense with). So here goes.

And for purposes of convenience, I think I will stick to the phrase ‘travel writer’ here but remember what I said about the Brysoneshwar and Iyernath kind of writers being the real deal.

There are two things you can do – write steadily for a magazine or freelance. What follows is mostly about the second thing. The first role is tougher to get but it means paid trips and cushy holidays, not to mention a steady income. Far greater people have written about this already; the venerable blogger-journalist zigzackly’s pearls of wisdom come readily to mind at this stage. So head there right now.

Start writing. Even if only on your blog.

Alright. So now you know what the v.b.j has to say. I didn’t want to be rude and ask you directly, so I sent you there since he has already asked this; you can write, can’t you? Really. Believe me, there is a large gap between writing on one’s blog (or free content for websites) and writing a piece that is fit for publication. So the ‘I travel a lot and I can write, therefore I can be a travel writer’ logic does not quite work that way.

Sure, a blog is a great way to start – if you feel you have it in you to be a writer, start writing regularly on your blog. Apart from bringing some discipline to your writing, it is a good way to showcase your talent. There are many editors who do not insist on previous published experience and your blog (or some selected posts) can serve as your portfolio. If you have not traveled anywhere recently, then write down stories from your earlier travels – it is a great way to bring back good memories and get writing practice.

Build contacts. Or search for them.

While writers are usually happy to share / exchange contacts of editors that they know or work with regularly, it irks being asked for a bunch of contacts –‘ I don’t know where to begin, please send me the contacts of all the editors you know’. Er, why? Most publications have a clear masthead, some of it even online and all it is takes is a few minutes of time and effort to find the right names and email ids. Spend some time also going through the ‘contributors guidelines’ to see what their expectations are from a new writer.

Get your query right.

Finding the email id of the editor is usually the easy part, I think. Getting the query right is the big thing, especially with an editor you do not know personally or are writing to for the first time. Make your query letter interesting (there are hundreds of articles on the internet on this, please spend some time reading a few of those). It works better if you send an idea or three (not more, please – and not complete manuscripts unless the guidelines specify it ) and not just a bland introduction. Remember there are a hundred other talented writers out there, so why should the editor choose you (unless she is your friend, in which case I say, good for you!) – give her good reason to.

Get spellings right (including the editor’s) and make your pitch short and attractive. Before you dash off that query, research the publication’s style – some like descriptive travel guides without a personal voice while others look for a first hand narrative. Yet others seek not a travel story but a people story – what is special about the place, the people, their food and culture?

Find a unique perspective.

There are travel stories and travel stories; think about what will set yours apart. There must thousands of Rajasthan, or even Jaipur stories out there, so what do you have to say that is new and interesting? (And remember, you are likely to be writing not for your bunch of friends but for travel-savvy readers, many of them who may be seasoned travelers themselves).

The “big story” is one part of it, a really good travel writer brings alive the smaller stories – if you focus on the details, it will make your story seem fresh and new – for instance, local handicrafts, markets, people you meet, some new cuisine or food you tried – all these can be themes for a story…

Editors are happy to spot good ideas, just as they are quick to trash uninteresting ones – remember, the place does not have to be new (how many of us can travel to the Congo? Or Iceland?) or even interesting (I have read enough articles about the hidden gems of Bangalore to say that this is true) – your perspective, your hook has to be.

Here are a few more tips on being a travel writer from experienced traveler-writers:

~ The Seven Myths of Being a Travel Writer

~ Make Travel Itself Your First Priority

~ How to be a Travel Writer

~ The problem with travel writing is not the travel, it’s the writing

Good luck with the travel writing!

Framed!

Photographyonthemove has an exhibition on at Toscano at the Forum Value Mall in Whitefield and one of my photographs from Hampi is on display there. I made the long trek down yesterday to see my photograph the exhibition and proceeded to annoy the lives out of my lunch companions.

You’d think atleast one of them – the husband – would be used to it by now (he is, to an extent – he handed out the lens and held the camera bag with a patient look – just that he had a sympathetic audience for once and overdid the ‘suffering indulgence’ theme).

(the man standing outside? that’s him…)

Anyway. Here then are some images from the exhibition – very glad to see a few old favourites there… and a few from my favourite photographers from those I know from the Hampi trip (Sanjit, Kay, that means you!).

(Hover on the pics to see photographer’s name or more details)

Toscano is a cheerful place, all sunlight and warmth – however, that meant that I had a terrible time taking photographs, white sunlight spilling in from everywhere and distracting reflections on the glass. I tried pretty much everything, just stopping at asking people to get up from their seats and lunch so I could see if I could get a better pic from that location.

A couple of frames from above and most of the ones below are from the Goa carnival and the Alleppy boat race. Goa, next Feb; Alleppy, this August!

And oh, the food is excellent, the service is friendly and the place is warm and inviting – so even if you live far far away, do head to Whitefield now.

I liked the overall display – quiet and informal – a great job, you goya guys! Sups and gang, take a bow.