My journey from the Remotest to the most Hustling place in India



If you are not from Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai or Kolkata, there are 99% chances that you would resonate with my story. The story of an aspirational and “bindass” girl. (I love to call myself that way ;))

You see me in person, and the first thought that undoubtedly would click in your mind would be, “I am sure, she must be pursuing fashion designing!” And I would give you an unwavering smiley yes-nod. Now that was not difficult to guess, but my next question is. Which is, and you need not be Indian to answer this- I am from Khonoma village in Nagaland, popularly known for its “First green village” title as well as its secluded characteristics. The village boasts of 624 households till date. You heard it right, just 624! Now, a place known for its leafy specialty, with nearly no access to decent education, leave alone imparting knowledge on fashion, yet, I dared to surpass the limited beliefs of my villagers, beliefs that want their daughters to be caged for life for fear of their safety and supposedly “bad” influence of the world outside.

Would you have guessed this fact on glancing at me?

Well, probably NOT!

And I would not blame you either. It’s hard now to predict my cagey background since I am all a catchy fashionista today. An independent, matured and a self-believer who has come out of the cozy cocoon only to discover and experience the “bigger and enchanting” world outside my village. I am still a student.

You must be wondering, how did this happen? How could I transform my little world? That’s exactly even I used to think, but thanks to the educational field trip of a social organization in my village, who then spotted my desire and talent to pursue something in the field of fashion. Through their empowerment programme, they managed to fill my application form for a fashion course in Hyderabad. Unfortunately, the form got rejected in the first place. Reason? The student is not equipped with preliminary knowledge for this course. Ah, I needed skill-polishing. I ought to study urban fashion with more intricate details. This forced me to travel, travel and travel.

As expected, my parents were dead against it. You know the reason right? Safety…fashion! Really? …society stigma…my gender…inflexibility etc. You name it, they had it. Tough would literally undermine my journey towards making them understand my wishes, my interests and my dream of knowing more about the fashion and styling. It took me a full year to make things fall into place. 1 full year! Apart from convincing them, I also took a plunge into traveling to big cities. Of course, not alone (my parents would have disowned me! Haha) but it was an all women’s trip organized and fully managed by “Women Special Tours”. The company has a unique philosophy of bringing all ladies together to the same destination with affordable and reasonable prices. This helped me in many ways but safety dominated all. You should visit their website www.womenspecialtours.com

Traveling to different places for a whole 1 year, at last, reaped me astonishing results. Yes! I was selected to pursue my dream course from the same college that rejected me a year back. This boosted my self-confidence to another level. In fact, I am the only girl from my village to be in this field of fashion. My parents say this very proudly.

I always wished to share my story. It’s been around 2 months here and I am madly enjoying my life with a perfect course at a perfect place. Indeed, God has been very kind.

About 'Women Special Tours':  Would you like to go for a ‘Ladies Only Trip’ which is full of fun, excitement, games and unforgettable experiences? Then you are looking for us. If you have any query or you want us to share your travel stories at our blog, contact us at ToursWST@gmail.com or +91 9810555106.

 About our Fashionista: Poumai, the “Bindass” girl, hails from Khonoma Village in Nagaland, some 20 miles from its capital city, Kohima. She is pursuing Diploma in Fashion Design from Hamstech Institute of Fashion and Interior Design. We thank her for sharing her travel experience with us.

About the Article Editor: Aishwarya Khandelwal is a passionate writer. She has an amazing ability to create a whole new world with her words. This world seems to be a better place when she is around. She is full emotions, adventure, excitement and positivity. What a wonderful person she is! You might meet her someday during one of our tours.

Please note:  Above story is a fiction work of the author.  However; we are committed to creating similar kind of emotions, experiences, and stories for our women travelers. We hope one day you will also be traveling with 'Women Special Tours.' 


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