It nears one year to the exact date of when I might have started writing digitally or to put it frankly; stumble upon the world of travel blogging. I had been an active reader of blogs on the internet and had inadvertently come to believe that there were only women in this field. A blogger I met on the road convinced me to write and share my solo experiences from seven years of intermittent travel.
After my specialisation in Economics and then Finance – Mergers & Acquisitions, I went back to manage the family business; growing it four-fold in the space of a few years. There were countless escapes, possible because it was seasonal work. I used to work like a maniac for eight-nine months, dream and head to remote locations to make sure there was no network where I went. I filled the starting pages of countless diaries attempting to pen down my memories. Asthma struck after continued exposure to dust and I ran away from home.
I was thrust with more work, men were supposed to work I was told. Since ages, society has defined work according to the gender of birth. We have been categorised by default as the breadwinners, problem-solvers of the family. The responsibilities of the entire family rest upon our so called broad shoulders. We are super humans and trivial tasks like writing and photography aren’t meant for us.
Eg: There’s a recurring problem with the wheel alignment of the car which can’t be resolved by the chauffeur.
Chances are a male member of the family is gonna resolve the issue.
If it were not to sound sexist, the burden of expectations to earn a regular income seems to be slightly lesser for women. There is a fair bit of freedom with regards to pursuing home based professions (or is the grass greener!) A basic research reveals that it is not only travel blogging, but male bloggers in other streams are few and far between.
There are awards and websites galore propagating and establishing lists of top female travel bloggers and solo female travel bloggers. I am yet to see a list of male travel bloggers in the same respect. This skewed ratio improves slightly when I glanced at global bloggers. Are we putting too much (undue) pressure on our men?
I am being constantly hounded by the family to establish an industry and do meaningful work! Therefore this rant on an autumn day in Jaipur when I was making travel plans to the remote Pangi Valley in Lahaul but a freak foot injury has put paid to my dream winter.
Its time we gave gender equality its due, the other way round.
Loved the rant! You are by far,one of my favourite male travel bloggers:) LOVE LOVE LOVE the photos! Keep the tales coming:)
Hehe, thank you Divyakshi for being a constant source of encouragement. Yay
Your Travel Tales gives us the Virtual Tour around the Place 🙂 So do continue taking us on those Magical Expeditions !!
Hey! Thanks Pooja. I am glad you like my expeditions. 🙂
I am on your side on this rant and some of the genuine points, like less pressure on women to earn money. But it again varies person to person and families. And we all know that Travel blogging is still not a viable option to earn a lot of money. We as an individual can survive without a regular job, but a family cant be dependent upon the uncertainities of blogging world, at least in India. So we hope the scene changes here, where lot and lot more men get into blogging scene and choose this as full time career option. Talking about women solo traveling, it is indeed an achievement provided the difficulities we face to ensure we remain safe. Our thinking process while planning and traveling is totally different from men due to extra pressure on society norms and safety. Loved this piece. 🙂
Thank you for taking time out to comment, Deepti. I couldn’t have said it better. Cheers and happy travels
Good one Shoebum 🙂 You have touched a topic that many don’t speak of. Usually people are mobbed of being sexist and biased when they talk about this. Not the other way around though. I would suggest that make multiple sources of income all around writing and travelling itself. There are many people out there willing to pay if travel bloggers constantly keep on upgrading their skill and provide value (be it through blogging or other skills around writing).
I was thinking to do a ’15 Indian men who travel for a living’ post on my blog, sometime in April. Would you like to be a part?
Thanks Swati. That would be cool. 🙂
Awesome. On it 🙂
The compulsion to earn a living for oneself and teh family is of course one reason.
Apart from that I think they exist but receive less attention. In a conservative and conformist country lke this, even people travellng solo is news and a woman travellling solo is even bigger news. There are many “top female bloggers” list in various websites and even mainstream media which helps the cause.
PS: I am by no means belittling their achievements. Just pointing out the obvious. But I guess it is inevitable.
Thanks for this great insight Jit. All the points you make are so true for our country.
Go for it, do what makes you happy i say!! 😀
Totally doing it, and in style! Thanks for the comment, Aarti 🙂
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