About Me
I’m Niviya, the resident blogger at Commoner’s Causeway, coffee attendant, slow travel enthusiast and mamma to many cats.
On weekdays, I work at a glamourless desk job while also freelancing as a brand, content and digital marketer (girl’s got bills to pay!). On weekends, I lose track of time lounging in my pyjamas reading, rescuing and rehoming felines in need, scouring the web for cringe pop, and crafting countless itineraries and a myriad of travel plans.
My love affair with travel
Growing up, I wasn’t a huge fan of travel. It wasn’t so much that I didn’t like to travel as much as I felt I just didn’t need to. I was born and raised in one of the most picturesque valleys in India – Chikmagalur. So everything I needed to quench my undiscovered thirst for travel, was already around me.
Soon, I moved from city to city with my family. From the cool estates of Chikmagalur to the kachori-scented alleys of Calcutta; from the humid coastal haven of Mangalore to the shiny cosmopolitan of Bangalore – all these places became my home.
My teens and early 20s had me traipsing across Goa, Ooty, Mysore, Delhi, Kodaikanal, Mumbai, Yercaud and the like, armed with plans that were neither truly me or mine. So, when I travelled alone for the first time to Stamford and New York at the ripe old age of 26, I thought I’d finally experience the joy of travelling that so many rave about.
Well, I didn’t. In fact, the trip rewired my brain of sorts, and made me realise that travel isn’t at all what it’s made out to be. It isn’t perfectly filtered photos on Instagram or tempting ’30 places to see before you turn 30′ lists. And often, travelling authentically means saying goodbye to smoothly planned itineraries and rosy vacation days. Travel is a tough-on-you soul-searing experience – kinda uncomfortable, somewhat challenging, can-be-scary, and life-altering, if we let it. So, even though my trip to the U.S. was less than pleasant, that very feeling pushed me to travel more. A hunger was born, to explore the world not through the lens of others, but through my experiences.
Why do I blog about travel, of all things?
I first started blogging over a decade ago, and I would write about a myriad of topics – travel, feminism, food, mental health, relationships and career. As time progressed, I realised
- I wanted to keep some aspects of my life private, or reserved for ones closest to me
- Writing about travel made me unexplainably happy; the kind of happiness I feel when my cats cuddle by my legs in winter (a rare phenomenon)
As I began documenting my handful of travels, I found there to be a dearth of resources that I could truly relate to as a desi woman working a full-time job, who wants to grow her roots in her home and also spread her wings and explore the world slowly, responsibly and sustainably, all without breaking the bank! I figured that there are more people like me, looking for something that offers practical travel guides, honest stories and useful tips, without the filters, the fluff and the fuss.
And behold, Commoner’s Causeway was born! This blog serves as a medium to preserve and share my wanderlust-driven experiences, budget travel hacks, the larger role that travel plays in our lives, and impressions free from romanticized notions. All with the hope that these posts may encourage and inspire you to travel more consciously, and with a heart and soul open to change, without feeling the need to uproot yourself from where you are, or compromise on the life you already love.
Psst, here's a bit more about me
I’m an Indian, living in the cosmopolitan city of Bangalore. I’m willing to argue in favour of the butter masala-dosa at Airlines with anyone who believes they can find a better one elsewhere.
I’m not a huge fan of being photographed, so most of my images feature either no people or people other than me. Yeah, it’s weird having a travel blog with hardly any pictures of oneself but I promise I’m working on this. 🙂
My go-to destination for a quick getaway is my hometown in Chikmagalur, Karnataka (call me biased). My dream destination is a three-way tie between Turkey, the Maldives, and South Africa.
While I enjoy travelling alone, I prefer to travel with a friend or a small group of people, for many reasons other than being budget-prudent. There’s peace in solitude, and joy in companionship.
I’m a cat lady, and proud of it. I’m also a dog lady, a bird lady, a reptile lady, a tree lady…. you get the picture!
I rescue injured stray animals, sterilize community cats, and find homes for them. I also try my best to make sustainable choices – whether for general life or for travel – and while it has been challenging, I’m happy to say I’ve made decent progress on this front.
If you’d like to support my animal rescue and environmental welfare work, drop me a message here!
