How Returning to India Opened My Eyes to Solo Travel as a Disabled Woman

As a British Sikh, India has always felt like a second home to me. My dad and both sets of grandparents were born there, so there’s a deep familial connection to the country. Growing up, I had the best holidays with my family who live in a rural village in Punjab, and I was always eager to see more of what India had to offer. I’d always wished I’d taken a gap year to travel, so I decided to do the next best thing: I took a sabbatical from work to solo travel through India, a journey that would change my life.

After navigating the hassle of getting a visa, the day I left for the airport, I hugged my mom tightly, and we both cried. It only hit me then what a big deal this was—I had had quite a sheltered life so far. I was in my late twenties and had always lived with my family. This was the biggest and scariest step I had ever taken, which is not the norm for a South Asian Disabled woman.

As someone who has always lived with the uncertainty of Brittle Bone Disease, a condition where my bones break without any injury or trauma, this journey was a profound affirmation of my independence and resilience. My adventure spanned three months, during which I traveled across 11 different states, each one feeling like a different country altogether. I didn’t have a set itinerary—I decided what to do each day as I went, which was the most freeing feeling. Over the course of 76 days, I traveled 20,000 miles across 26 cities, visiting Rajasthan, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Mumbai, Goa, Delhi, Kerala, Bangalore, Chennai, Pondicherry, and Madhya Pradesh.