Koyilandy, KERALA :

The team had 15-members, all women, of whom Shahana had acquaintance with only a single member, Suhaila T, the trip coordinator

Kozhikode :

The story of 32-year-old Shahana Nizar has a slight similarity to Mudrita, the noted Malayalam novel of 2021 penned by Jisa Jose. Mudrita unfolds through the train trip of nine women who were strangers to each other but got together through an online group. Shahana’s maiden 10-day trip, without the company of her family, to Rajasthan by train concluded on December 30. 

The team had 15-members, all women, of whom Shahana had acquaintance with only a single member, Suhaila T, the trip coordinator. 

Hailing from a conservative Muslim family of Koyilandy and mother of 10-year old and four-year-old boys, she had many odds against taking such a trip. But finally, she pulled it off. “Till the moment I boarded the train from Kozhikode railway station, I was not sure I would make it. There were so many obstacles. But my passion for travelling self-liberating me besides, the solid support from my spouse made it happen,” beams Shahana. 

The group had 16-year old Haniya Haris to 39-year old Kadeeja, who were from Kozhikode and Kannur districts. Resorting to a budget tour, the women used public transport service and stayed mostly in youth hostels and residences of acquaintances in Rajasthan.

“It was difficult for me to travel in train for so many days. I was a person who loathed using public toilets. But during the trip, I had to even spend my period days on the train. Surprisingly, I myself adjusted to all of these due to the sheer pleasure travelling gave me. After reaching home and looking back, I found I had discovered myself, the liberal soul in me who wants to fly farther, recharge and come back,” says Shahana, an English Literature graduate. 

“Don’t want to be like mother’

Shahana reminisces that throughout her life, she saw her mother tied up in domestic chores and taking care of kids and her husband at home. “Watching her life, I had taken a strong decision then that I will not be like her. That spark was within me which poured out in the form of musings and scattered lines on Facebook. But there was not an attempt till now. But for my marriage, I think I cannot make a free trip without the ‘care’ of family or relatives. Now, I am brimming with confidence and ready to backpack any moment,” she says. 

While Shahana was on tour, her four-year old son was hospitalized for a day but she came to know it after reaching home only as her husband Nizar Mullasserry managed it. 

The women team’s travel was not all smooth. They had to run with heavy bags through railway platforms in Ajmer in odd hours and many such hardships. The team roamed around Mount Abu, Jodhpur, Ajmer, Udaipur, Barmer and had spent wonderful days at remote Rajasthani villages like Pandhi Ka Par and Viradka Par. 

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Kerala / by Amiya Meethal / Express News Service / January 24th, 2022