Top takeaways from travel experiences

PW invited parents of Indus Valley World School, Kolkata to share their biggest learning from recent travel experiences

“Our road trip to Puri during the Durga Puja holidays last year was very exciting for us as for the first time, we covered a distance of more than 500 km one way in our own car. Our plan was to visit Puri beach, Jagannath temple, Konark temple with additional sight-seeing and fun activities in between. My daughter Shreyasi (class VIII) suddenly fell ill and that day’s plan went for a toss. In another travel experience, we visited a monument steeped in rich history yet poorly maintained and far from clean for which, tourists like us are responsible to a major extent. We learnt two important lessons. One that good health is a prerequisite for any travel. And secondly, we must take responsibility for the cleanliness of our surroundings else our time and money will go to waste” — Maitreyee Chakraborty, officer, Yes Bank, Kolkata

“Recently we visited Hyderabad to attend a marathon organised to create awareness about spinal muscular atrophy, a rare genetic disease. It has confined my 12-year-old daughter Debosmita (class VIII) to a wheelchair. Needless to say my daughter enjoyed the marathon where she was able to move on a wide road alongside thousand other participants. We also took her to Golconda fort which is partially wheelchair accessible. We wrapped up our trip with Hyderabadi biriyani. I must say our trip was an enriching experience where we explored our rich history, diverse geography, language, food and culture” — Moumita Ghosh, senior faculty, department of optometry, George College of Management & Science, Kolkata

“As a family we have always been gripped by wanderlust not just to create lifetime memories and to strengthen family bonds, but also for cultural education and most importantly for shaping our daughter Prisha’s perspective of the world around her. Our family vacations have reconnected us to parenting through shared experiences and profoundly helped us find ourselves as well. Above all, the joy of seeing our daughter explore a new cuisine, pick up a new language, or becoming socially aware is beyond words. Through travel, we have learnt to celebrate our differences, not only as a family but also with the world around us” — Anindita Moitra, entrepreneur

“A trip of a lifetime was what our daughter Ajita (class X) describes our family vacation to Kenya in 2019. Unfortunately, halfway through the dream trip I fell seriously ill, and our holiday had to be cut short. Amidst all the chaos of rerouting the return home, not once did she complain about the vacation having to end so abruptly. Instead she rallied around me both in-flight and during layovers. The takeaway from this trip as a family was not to take anything for granted because at times things do go wrong which the family should take in its stride” — Nivedita Moitra, entrepreneur.