Story of the Girl Who Moved from Mumbai to Mountains to Chase Her Dreams

The Beginning of the Journey: Internship to Spiti

Japleen Kaur, virtually known as @millennialladki is a travel blogger who moved from Bombay to Bir, changing all our dreams of moving to the mountains, into her reality. Born and brought up in Mumbai, Japleen travelled to Spiti for an internship and that’s when she got a taste of real freedom. There was no looking back since then.

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It took a while to realise that this was me. I still can't believe it, TBH. How do I look so content!? Never thought it was possible. Spiti has given me a lifetime of memories, and this day was surely one of them #Repost @abhiandnow ・・・ Sometimes the dreams we see with our eyes wide open, and the dreams we once watched have a tendency to come together and form a reality for us that we wouldn't have been able to comprehend. And this reality shakes us, breaks us, and then makes us realise all the things we were asked to never learn. And then we look back to these moments, to the confluence of reality and dreams, and realise that we are born twice in life. First we come in this world, and the second time when we let the world arrive to us, and shake us into believing that there's much more beyond the scene, beyond what we believed in, and it all begins from us. . . . #spiti
A post shared by Japleen Kaur (@millennialladki) on Oct 25, 2018 at 12:53am PDT

Stepping Stone 1: Move to Mashobra from Bombay

After she saw the mountains in their most raw and real form, she started making arrangements to relocate to Himachal. A few freelancing projects and the little savings from her last jobs helped her make the big move to Mashobra.

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Back in Tirthan for 3-4 days with my brother this time. Though I don't have my usual mountain peeps around me, I'm reliving this valley through Sehaj's eyes. It's his first time up here, first time in snow, first trip with me, and the first time we've gone by without fighting with each other! Trust me, this level of maturity is unbelievable Gone Fishing has never been this quiet, and I've never gotten so much work done here so I guess, it's for the best Looking forward to more snowy, sunny winter days ahead PS: this was clicked near the old guest house of Shojha. We explored this area today as the roads ahead till Jalori were closed due to heavy snowfall.
A post shared by Japleen Kaur (@millennialladki) on Jan 17, 2019 at 3:40am PST

Stepping Stone 2: Move to Tirthan

She stayed out for around 4 months before she realized that she wanted to move to the Tirthan Valley. Japleen believes that this leg of her story was one of the most important one as she met her ‘tribe’ - people that she can call her family, a house that she can call home and the push to believe in her dreams.

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Find people who genuinely pay attention to your nonsense blabber, and even laugh along! I've always enjoyed imitating friends, and this little video is from one of the sessions at Gone Fishing, where after a yummy lunch we gathered to share a moment or two. The last few days have been just like this -- full of joy, and happiness! So blessed : @the.hungry.lawyer
A post shared by Japleen Kaur (@millennialladki) on Jan 3, 2019 at 9:34pm PST

Last Move (for now) to Bir

Some time later, she ventured on a solo trip to Bir and immediately realised that this is where she wanted to live. It’s been more than a year now but it’s only the start. The best part is how seamlessly Japleen can weave travel into her career, just one step at a time.

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My friend was running late that day which was nothing new. I had an hour to kill so I asked the auto driver to take a u-turn. With the sound of the indicator, we entered a tiny lane of Bandra, and stopped in front of my favourite cafe. Just as I opened the glass doors, the clouds shuddered -- it was going to rain again. Ordered a big mug of cappuccino with a chocolate chip cookie, and drifted towards a familiar table, as though my feet knew where they had to go. The off white table with yellow chairs by the corner, next to the window that's where it all began. Another thunder later, it started pouring. Ah! Mumbai rains -- it's a love/hate relationship, you see. I was looking at this couple at the other side, trying to figure out their love story. I do that often, making these beautiful novel plots in my head, giving my imaginary characters a face. That's when he came rushing in. His hair slightly wet and his shoes all mucky. "Oh shit" he mumbled. Two idiotic, non sensical words, that's all it took for my heart to skip a beat. That voice is going to last. I glanced back at my phone, almost afraid he'd know I was checking him out. He went to the counter, and came back with his beverage. His eyes were hunting for a table when they stopped on mine. I shifted a little in my seat. He started walking towards me, and I did my best to try and not look nervous. Trust me, I failed. "Do you mind if I sit here?" I must have stared at him for a minute too long, before something that sounded like "sure" slipped from my mouth. He sat down with a friendly smile. His hand reached out to pick the sugar sachet, right when mine did too. Our fingers brushed for half a second but that was enough to send a shiver down my spine. What was happening to me? Before my mind could find the answers, he spoke again. "I think you have about 10 minutes before you finish that coffee, want to indulge in small talk till then?" I bit my lip, and nodded, allowing him to talk to me. But not before I pulled out my phone and turned it off. I didn't know why I did that but I knew I needed to give him my entire attention, unadulterated. And that right there was my mistake.
A post shared by Japleen Kaur (@millennialladki) on May 12, 2019 at 5:50am PDT

Currently, Japleen is a freelance writer and content creator for various travel magazines. And she also takes story writing workshops from time to time. When she is not working or travelling or doing both, she likes journaling and making DIY projects .

So in her case, the saying actually became true-

The Mountains Really Were Calling and She Really Did Go!