40-year-old mother and son on epic road trip

Hyderabad: A pan-India road trip in 100 days covering 18,267 km across the length and breadth of the country. This is an adventure on wheels that 40-year-old Mitra Satheesh, a professor at the Government Ayurveda College in Kochi,  began on March 17. On Saturday, she was in Hyderabad.

Giving her company on this epic tour by car is her 11-year-old son Narayan.

With a target of covering around 800 km a day, Mitra has already covered Thiruvananthapuram, Kanyakumari, Pattamadhai, Tirunelveli, Madurai, Thanjavur, Puducherry, Chennai, Ongole in Andhra Pradesh and Nalgonda in Telangana state.

“I want to promote the traditional Cheriyal painting of Telangana state. I went and met the artists. We also visited the Chaya Someshwara temple in Nalgonda, a wonder by itself,” she said.

Explaining how the trip came about, Mitra said after the Covid-19 pandemic, she was attending to Coronavirus patients at her Ayurveda college, which had been converted into a Covid care centre. “It was a spontaneous decision, and my family, especially my husband, supported me for the tour,” she said, adding that she was always fascinated about travel.

“I have been driving for the past 11 years; and in May 2019, I made my first solo adventure trip to Bhutan. I learn about new cultures, new traditions, food habits, relationships and mind sets,” she said.

“India is such a beautiful place to explore. Through my ‘Deko Apna Desh’, I am calling on every woman to travel places. Men should support women in this. Travel is an investment that provides wonderful memories. Don’t plan your trips so that they turn expensive. It is about experiences, not about comfort or luxury,” she told Deccan Chronicle.

On Sunday, she visited the Old City, and had a feel of Hyderabadi flavours.

Mitra travels only during the day, covering about 800 km, sometimes less, depending on the travel conditions and schedule. “Before reaching a place, I research about that area and place,” she said. “I take a lot of care with food, and carry cereals and milk in the car,” she said.

On her next leg, after starting early Monday morning form Hyderabad, she will head to Kondapalli, then drive on to Rajahmahendravaram, Visakhapatnam, see the Borra Caves and Araku Valley, after which her plan is to enter Odisha, then drive up to Kolkata, the northeastern states, and then take a turn to the northern states.