Solo woman backpacker starts open-mic for travel enthusiasts

So she started Thara Ticket, a platform that conducts open-mics for travellers, photographers, bikers etc. to share their adventures with participating non-travellers and other like-minded people. Tired of her corporate 9 am to 5 pm job, Saranya called it quits. 

“I decided to go on a solo backpacking trip through North India but somehow landed up in Nepal after that without even informing my family or friends. I came back home three months later and realised that I wish I had someone to share real-time information like about how bad the roads would be or how better I could have planned my trip,” she recalls. 

The idea of starting a blog or being one among many travel agencies didn’t appeal to her, so she thought of launching openmic sessions, inspired by one based on poetry she attended. The first event was a success, “We had one person explaining about astro-photography, someone else talked about his life and adventures as a sailor. 

On the whole, many in the audience were inspired and I later heard from one girl that she went on a solo backpacking trip to Hampi because our event gave her courage to!” Saranya gushes. The second one saw a significant fall in the number of speakers; the existing narratives were quite repetitive so she wishes to diversify and screen the speakers.

“Getting to listen to a wide range of experiences and talks can help those not exposed to the do’s and don’ts of solo travelling, information about the number of hostels prevalent in the city, the fact that language is never a barrier to travel and a lot more,” Saranya ascertains. 

“The best thing is to stop worrying, step out of home and be on the road with an open mind.” 

For those who wish to be part of Thara Ticket’s open-mic events, a registration form is available online and on their social media platforms. If one wishes to go as a speaker, they need to inform Saranya in advance so visual aids required can be set up.