For Shaila Chandavarkar Panday, life is all about giving back and living through her travels. She runs Enchanting Escapades, a travel club for women by women. She organises enjoyable trips for all and accessible trips for women with special needs. That’s not all; she also makes chocolate and crochet with great gusto. A graduate from St. Joseph’s College, she did intensive practical training in optometry and contact lens fitting, and is the proprietor of Opto Opticians. She says, “Celebrities like Saurav Ganguly, Deepika Padukone, model Vaishali Desai, Vasundhara Das and many others have been my clients. But travelling has always been my passion and I realised that a lot of single people would like to travel with like-minded members and would be happy to leave travel arrangements to someone capable, who understands their needs. This was how Enchanting Escapades came into being. I have conducted tours to Sri Lanka, Odisha, Khajuraho, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Rann of Kutch. Now, we are planning a trip to Rajasthan in October and Bhutan next summer.”
The 70-year-old silver haired go-getter states, “To make it easier, I undertake the responsibility of booking air tickets, obtaining visas and transport from and to the airport. I ensure that the hotels are decent and the food is healthy and tasty. I also go to all the sight-seeing spots that my co-travellers want to see sometimes even if it is not on the itinerary, leaving enough time for shopping. Singing, dancing, tarot card reading and meditation are just some of the fun things we do. Everyone liked trying the six-feet masala dosa in Munnar. We also take care of any special needs to be met by the senior citizens in the group.”
Shaila also likes to bake and knit. A member of the Silver Surfers Bazaar, she got to showcase and sell her handcrafted products that she has been knitting since she was six. “I knit baby layettes and it’s only recently that I’ve started selling them. We have a knit wit circle (a hobby group formed at Bangalore Club), where we undertake charity projects like knitting caps for children battling cancer and bed socks/neck warmers for the needy in old age homes. While travelling, I realised that knitting needles were not permitted to be carried, so I decided to take on a crochet project. I had made a crochet dress 40 years ago when I was expecting my son, but now I’m an addict of the hook. My grandchildren are willing models and it is my grandson’s fondness for Angry Birds that initiated me into crocheting the entire set. I’m also into chocolate making. I’m inundated with orders during the festive seasons.”
