COUNTRY ROADS TAKE ME HOME

There is increasing interest in living a nomad's life in campervans, a culture common in the West. Read on to know how to set a new life story in motion

- GARIMA SADHWANI

AS THE VICE president of a multinational company, Dhruv North was successful in his career, had a fulfilling personal life, and was supposedly living the conventional dream.But he was not happy. No amount of luxury vacations or imported cars were bringing him any joy. That was in 2015.

Almost 900 km and seven years later, in Ahmedabad in 2022,Aditya Banker had a similar situation. He owned two multi-specialty hospitals, but decided it was time to call it quits. So, he left it all at the age of 43.

North and Banker are now living, touring, and travelling across the country in campervans.And their lives did a 180º.

While the campervan culture has been pretty common in Western countries, this wasn't the case in India for the longest time. In a culture that believes in stability over everything else, the concept of motorhomes sounded like something that was only apt for the 'hippies' However, that is now changing. And fast. For the past few years, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic, the campervan trend has picked up in India-giving way to people to travel full or part time, wherever they want, whenever they want.

North, for instance, loved the outdoor lifestyle, and had seriously started camping about a decade ago. For him, the meaning of freedom and happiness was one and the same-travelling.

What started out for North as trekking soon turned into converting his seven-seater vehicle into a camping car.

Years down the line, he alternates between living with his family in a caravan part time, and living in the city for work part time.

Banker has a similar story. "I have been camping in my car and on my bike forvery long. Some years ago, I even set up a small kitchen in my Ford Endeavour and travelled throughout India with my wife. I got a campervan two years ago, and now I spend half of the year travelling, and half in my hometown," he says.