A Corporate Lawyer, a seasoned traveller and a writer Niyati Saxena founded “Migrant Musings” to introduce new dimensions to travel space. Her offbeat destinations and innovative travel therapies are designed to make your trip an experience to cherish forever. Do you wish to explore in the deep sea or feel the healing touch of the mountain breeze? what about discovering the hidden gems of nature or go for a secret trip! Let’s find out more from Niyati about her offerings in curated holidays.
Introduction
“Ever since my childhood I enjoyed participating in competitions such as debates and other public speaking events, this thus led me to be curious about the legal fraternity. By qualification I am a lawyer. All through law school I worked round the clock to get my dream job. And, guess what? I did. A swanky law firm in a fancy corporate tower of Mumbai’s Lower Parel. As a part of the media law team I represented some big names from Bollywood. But a few months into the practice I realised that the industry wasn’t for me. Name calling and putting people down was commonplace and that’s when it hit me. Dreams change.” Narrates Niyati.
So, I quit my job on a random Thursday afternoon. My senior had been awfully rude and I just knew that this wasn’t the life for me. I packed my bags and left much to the surprise of my partner who didn’t seem to understand what was wrong in the first place. And, the truth is that I do have a number of friends who thrive in this same legal industry even with such environments. So, it isn’t so much about right or wrong as it is about what’s right for you as an individual.
Thereafter, for 6 months I travelled, read and wrote. I resumed working for a company. The working culture was better but my ambition wasn’t satisfied. Born to a family in the Indian Air Force, I started travelling right from my birth! So, what was a leisure activity for many was actually normal life for me. Back when I was in college I had taken a few trips with a travel group. They reached out to me and asked if I would like to start leading trips. Suddenly, it made so much sense! I’d moved around my whole life and I’d thoroughly enjoyed the process of exploring a new place, learning more about it and meeting new people. With trip leading I would get to make a career out of that. After leading a few trips on a freelance basis I completely fell in love with it. I started working with A Travel company full time for a period of 3 years.
A writer was Reborn
When the lockdown hit and the travel industry took a setback, I decided to take the plunge and monetize my writing. Ever since my childhood I had been writing but somehow it took a sideline and for me the pandemic was a silver lining that led me to reconnect with a long lost love. I have worked with multiple clients on a freelance basis, writing scripts and stories for Spotify audio stories, gaming apps, social media platforms and more. As a Feature Writer for Tripoto I’ve even worked with Spain Tourism Board, Saudi Arabia Tourism Board, Dubai Tourism Board, Singapore Tourism, ClearTrip, Niyo Global, Klook, Resorts World Sentosa, GoStops and presently working with Brisbane Tourism. My poetry is something that I share on my Instagram page. There is no greater satisfaction than to be able to put down complicated thoughts into poetry and to have people and their emotions find a home in my words. Some poetry pieces:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CpDNl6yJziD/?hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/p/CociQEvJQan/?hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/p/CkcaAmgpSbS/?hl=en
Making of the “Migrant Musings”
During my time at a travel company, I had the opportunity of taking a number of travellers across various destinations. It was then that the idea of Migrant Musings & Co. came into being. To enhance the experience that travel can provide. So, while we still conduct trips pan India and internationally, our methods are slightly tweaked. We now take smaller groups of between 10 – 15 people to ensure that the bonding is much tighter. Moreover, each itinerary has something called an “MM&Co. Special” this could be an offbeat spot that we have carefully picked out for our itinerary or even a unique stay such as a houseboat. So, while people will explore the best that a destination has to offer, they will also get a special token from our side to enhance their trip. MM&Co. of course came from the desire to further fuel my ambition but at the core of it, it is my passion project and ensuring that people have wholesome experiences when they travel with us is very very important to us. And, thus, I became the sole female founder of a pan India group travel company.
We are registered as a sole proprietorship. Our bookings mainly come through our social media and word of mouth. Fixing of itineraries is done by us after thorough research. Moreover, we do recce trips to places and converse with local vendors as well as seasoned travellers prior to fixing any itinerary.
Innovative Travel Ideas
The motivation to start MM&Co. also had the thought of furthering my creativity and introducing new things to the travel space such as:
1. Ladies Trips – a vertical in which we conduct trips for women between the ages of 45 – 65 years. Women of that age group probably didn’t have the extent of freedom as we are blessed to have today. Besides, with families and other tasks, their lives have always revolved around others. So, we want that they are reminded to cherish themselves by taking trips with other women of their age group, so that they can wear whatever they want, they can be silly, crack jokes, let their hair down and be not a mom, a wife or a working lady in that moment; but to be a part of a girl gang for those few days full of joy. With my mom, Neha Saxena, leading these trips at the age of 55 years, there is a greater comfort in terms of peer understanding of different requirements. For this vertical we revise our itineraries to factor in that they are not too hectic as well as provide a higher grade of hotels for greater comfort.
2. Healing Retreats – Often people talk about how travel is therapeutic. Well, we decided to elevate that. Healing Retreats are short mountain getaways where we are joined by a healer to help people on their wellness journey. Activities such as sunset hikes with mandala art, trek with tarot reading, journaling by a secret stream, group crystal healing, emotional decluttering around a bonfire and more are a part of these retreats. People get to explore a place and also get to slow down and better reflect on their emotions to embark on journeys of self love.
3.Secret Trip – In an era where we Google check and Instagram stalk every thing in life, there came the thought that where is the mystery in travel? If you already know what to eat, where to pose and what to do. So, we conducted a secret trip wherein people signed up for a weekend getaway without knowing the destination that they are headed to. We gave them a packing list and rough idea of what to be prepared for but the destination and activities that unfolded were a total surprise! Read more.
4.Game Nights – We have hosted these in Delhi and Mumbai and will be hosting more in different cities. While weekends have become synonymous to drinking or binge watching shows, the idea was to have fun, meet new people and let loose. How? With our different games and activities wherein people participated, cracked jokes, laughed and in the process broke the ice, giving their weekend or the idea of fun a different look from the usual.
With trip leaders going on the trips we ensure that the experience is really a personal one. From hearing people’s stories to giving them a hand when they struggle on a trek, helping them out in case they fall sick to being their cheerleader as they try on new things, as a trip leader I am their friend and confidante who sees to it that they have the best time with us!
Our regular trips are open to all genders between the ages of 18 – 44 years. Usually a majority of our travellers tend to fall between the categories of 25 – 35 years. From working professionals, to higher education students and business owners, all sorts of people travel with us. 60% of the group comprises females while 70% of the travellers come solo. So, if you’re tired of plans failing with your friends who keep ditching or if you are simply in the mood to try something exciting and new, then join us on a trip where we’ll show you the best of a place and you’ll also return with a whole gang of new friends!
The second category we have started is for women between the ages of 45 – 65 years which we explained above.
The feedback has been really great so far as is reflected by the fact that we have a lot of repeat customers and that a number of our new travellers come from word of mouth. These trips have led a lot of people to find safe spaces and new found friendships. From attending each other’s weddings, planning birthday surprises, elaborate reunions to weekly catch up calls, the trips have resulted in some very warm bonds. Our objective has always been that we aren’t just showing people a place but giving them an experience with all the games we play, dancing and singing we do in the middle of nowhere, how we stay up till 3am swapping life stories, etc. which is all made possible by personal involvement.
We aren’t there as a client and customer, we travel as a group of friends all together! Smooth itineraries, comfortable arrangements, local aspects and engagement are what we are appreciated for. More feedback can be seen on:
Instagram highlight titled Reviews
Our website page for Reviews/Testimonials
TripAdvisor page
Travel destinations
Domestic:
Bir, Tirthan, Chitkul, Lakshadweep, Andamans, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tawang, Nagaland, Spiti, Ladakh, Shangarh, Goa, Kashmir, Kerala, etc.
International:
Southeast Asia: Bali, Thailand, Vietnam
Europe: Spain & Portugal
We have a conversation with people prior to booking a trip. Every traveller is also required to share their Aadhar card and sign a waiver form as a safeguard measure for all individuals on the trip.
We even connect people to flights and visa agents as and when required. In case someone is reaching or leaving a day earlier, we even help out with their additional travel and stay arrangements.
Upcoming Trips: 2023
Healing Retreat: A Self Love Journey in Bir, Himachal Pradesh: March 24th – 26th
Chasing Adrenaline in Meghalaya: April 7th – 15th
Ultimate Euro Trip: Spain & Portugal: Sep 2nd – 13th
Other trips to be launched soon: Writer’s Retreat, Shangarh (May), Bhutan (June), Bali (July), Gurez Valley, Kashmir (August)
The Way Ahead
Managing a business alone is a hectic affair! But thankfully I have a solid support system in my friends and family who keep me motivated, especially my elder sister who has been my sound board throughout. Presently, we have 1 intern whom we are training for marketing work which so far I have been handling myself. All operations and logistics are done by me alone. In terms of trip leaders, my mom Neha Saxena is leading trips for women between the ages of 45 – 65 years. We have picked out another trip leader who will also be leading trips as our audience increases.
Our expansion plan is to increase our audience, increase trips and more trip leaders. Exciting things such as writing retreats, longer healing retreats, more offbeat destinations are in the pipeline! Even as we grow what will stay at the core of our brand is to ensure that all our trips are conducted with kindness towards all travellers, the locals and the environment, to ensure that all trips are a safe space for people to come out of their shells and open up with each other, push their boundaries in terms of trying new things and that trips lead to creating memories that people cherish forever. If you are keen to surfeit your wanderlust in 2023 get in touch with her.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/migrantmusings/?hl=en
Phone number/WhatsApp: 8800703428
Email: migrantmusingsandco@gmail.com
Website: https://migrantmusings.com/
Article and Photographs credit: Ms Niyati Saxena, Founder – Migrant Musings & Co.
Wonderful Read , Secret trips sound fun….
Such an inspiring lady and life journey! I have travelled once with MM&Co, and it has been one of the best experiences of my lifetime! She will leave you awestruck with her aura and the way she connects with everyone so effortlessly!
I will highly recommend everyone to try MM&Co atleast once in their life! ❤️
These trips sound fun. I would want to go on the writing retreat. Other than that, I really liked the idea of Ladies trip and Secret trip. Now, the traveller in me wants to plan a trip soon with Migrant Musings.
A wonderful woman running a wonderful company! I highly recommend MM&Co. trips for an amazing travel experience filled with fun, laughter, new adventures and great memories!
Awesome article about an awesome girl and her wonderful entrepreneurial venture!! Just goes to show that the next generation is not afraid to follow their heart and make a successful career out of it!! Kudos to Niyati for her spirit and regards to her parents for encouraging her to become her own person!! Wishing Migrant Musings all the very best and hope to be a part of their journey… ❤️🤗
I always loved Niyati’s writing, have been following her work (both as a writer and a Trip Leader) from a few years now and can totally vouch for her. She is someone you can completely trust and rely on if you go on a trip with her. You will be well taken care of and most definitely coming back with great memories. So just go for it!
Thanks Priyanka for your valuable inputs.