Shivya Nath: More Than Just A Travel Blogger

 Shivya Nath is a female adventurer on a mission to inspire other young Travel enthusiasts to travel solo and to be independent and this is what exactly what she does through her award-winning blog, The Shooting Star. In 2013 Shivya received the tittle of ‘Best Travel Blogger’ at the Indian Blogger Awards for sharing her expertise and tips on how to travel like a local and find those off- the beaten track destinations.

The Shooting Star! 

“It didn’t occur to me that solitude is like a mysterious drug; at first, you fear it and reject it. But when you finally try it, you begin to crave the way it makes you feel” – Shivya Nath

  

A travel blogger, storyteller, writer, photographer and social entrepreneur from the beautiful city ‘Dehradun’. Shivya Nath after completing her graduation, began working as a social media strategist at Singapore Tourism Board, there she was introduced to social networking and started following Travel bloggers across the globe.

 

After that she participated in a Facebook contest by ‘AirAsia’ and won two returns tickets to Paris. She took a two-month sabbatical and spent the first month travelling in Europe, and spent the remaining, volunteering to develop responsible tourism alternatives in the cold mountain desert of spiti, located in India’s Northern Himalayas.

 

To Think Out Of The Box!

 

“As that Monday progressed and I tried to sink back into my cubicle routine, I realized, much to my astonishment, that I was dispensable at work. Handling social media at the Singapore Tourism Board, I had developed the self-flattering notion that without me, the work I do and the work that stems from it would crumble. That is the feeling many of us live with, in office and at home, the feeling that obliges us to continue doing what we’ve always done, giving ourselves a false sense of importance. But on that Monday, I realized that not much had crumbled in the two months I’d been away. Maybe except for something within me” – Shivya Nath

 

After her sabbatical ended, she decided to quit her job in 2011, as she believed that she had lived life to its fullest in the last two months than she ever did before. After quitting her job, she spent the first six months, off her savings and then began working as a freelancing writer, she has worked a freelance writer for BBC Travel, Lonely Planet India, National Geographic Traveller India, Conde Nast Traveller India, The Huffington Post, The Times of India, The Hindu, Hindustan Times. She is also a social media consultant. In 2012, she found her tourism and travel company called ‘Indian Untravelled’.

 

 Putting things in perspective: Shivya realized that the cubicle-bound nine -to-five job was not for her instead in the middle of crowded Parisian streets and the solitude of the quite mountainside, she founded her true calling. Since Shivya freelances as travel writer too, she often gets press invites from tourism boards as well.

Shivya And Her Backpack!

 

“Paradise is just the place where your heart belongs” – Shivya Nath

 

In an interview when asked about her traveling and blogging experience she said-

 

Getting paid to travel sounds like a dream, but there’s a lot of hard work and discipline behind the scenes. I’d like to think that the one thing I did right was to never give up. When the going got tough – when freelance work fell through, when I missed out on travel opportunities, when my bank account was in free fall – I hung on, kept at blogging and freelancing, and drew inspiration from the road until things turned around. I think what sustained by travel blog in the long run was authenticity. Brands came and went, paid opportunities came and went, but the one thing that remained – the most important one – are my readers. I could never endorse or recommend anything to them that I don’t personally believe in.

I also feel that this kind of life can’t be driven by the motivation to earn money, to get your story noticed or to score some free travel. It definitely can’t be driven by likes on social media! It’s a life of many battles, and they’re worth fighting only if you’re really, truly passionate about travelling, getting to know people and places different from the ones you’re familiar with, and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone.

She has travelled to lot of beautiful places starting with Frankfurt, Germany, Europe, South Africa, Singapore, Guatemala (Country in central America) NYC, Hampi city in Karnataka, Rajasthan, Philippines, Toronto, Sri Lanka, Ladakh.  

According to Shivya, her most fulfilling adventures have included living with young nuns in Ladakh, and a Mayan family in Guatemala. For her, interacting with peoples who on the outset seem far different form her but have same soul – That experience with the travel journey leaves her stunned and fulfils her in every possible way. With many years of travel behind her, Shivya is enthusiastic about her dream destination.

 In an interview she said- “I have been dreaming of going to Japan for the longest time, slowing down, experiencing the whims of the local culture, witnessing cherry blossoms in all their glory, rubbing shoulders with Buddhism, and delving into the world of Japanese literature and poetry” 

Milestone Created!

“Unbeknownst to me, it had become my mission to prove that the world isn't the horrible place we often make it out to be. That just because there are some dirty fish, it doesn't mean the entire ocean is dirty and we need to confine ourselves to the shores we know. The fear bred by the news compels people to stay at home - trapped in a shrinking comfort zone - like it had once compelled me. I had much to unlearn for the sake of the freedom I chased, the victimhood I despised and my mission to build unlikely friendships”- Shivya Nath

 

§  She has been featured in various publications including Conde Nast Traveller, The Washington Post, Vouge, Times Of India, Huffington Post, WordPress Discover, and BBC Travel.

§  Best Indian Travel Blogger at Indian Blogger Awards in 2013.

§  India’s Best Young Social Media Professional at CMO Asia Awards in 2014.

§  In 2014, her story ‘How I quit my job to travel’ was featured on BBC Travel.

§  Voted Best Indian Travel Blogger by Vogue India in 2015.

§  In 2017 she got featured on the cover of ‘National Geographic Traveller India Magazine.

§  Awarded silver for best writing in a travel blog at TBC Asia Awards in 2018.

§  In 2018, she published her 1st book titled “The Shooting Star” and it became the National Bestsellers Book in India. 

§  In 2019, she launched her travel clothing line “The Shooting Star Collection.”

§  Shivya’s work was featured on The Washington Post, among travellers changing the way we think of the world.

§  Recently, she won gold for  Best Communicator at WTM Responsible Tourism Awards India.