#181: The learning yatra begins: Nepal

Hello,

Welcome to my 181st newsletter!

A journey where living and learning walk together

In Sanskrit, the word “Yatra” means a journey or pilgrimage — not just in the physical sense, but also an inner one. A yatra is when you travel with intention — to seek, to understand, and to grow.

For us, this was exactly that — a Learning Yatra.

Education is not about just sitting in classrooms — it’s about finding that fine balance where living and learning merge.

You can attend classes every single day, yet refuse to understand what’s going on inside your own mind, your home, or your heart.

That’s how work and school often alienate us — they teach us everything except how to connect with ourselves.

But more and more people are starting to notice this.

That’s why homeschooling, remote work, and slow travel are on the rise — people are curious again, not just about the world, but about who they are within it.

My son and I decided to explore this idea through our own journey — 79 days of travel to understand what real learning feels like.

We wanted to meet people who are reimagining education, communities, and life itself.

Our first stop was the Ecoversities Alliance Asian Regional Gathering 2024, Nepal.
We started from Jharkhand, made our way through Bihar, crossed the India–Nepal border on foot, and caught a Yeti Airlines flight to Kathmandu.

From the window, we saw Mount Everest, silent and magnificent — a moment that made the whole journey feel symbolic of what we were trying to find.

We didn’t have a local SIM, but thankfully, we had exchanged currency at the border — that one little decision saved us.

Nepal, we soon realized, was pricier than India, but we were never alone.

We were traveling with a large group of people heading to the same gathering — educators, travelers, spiritual leaders, and change-makers, each with their own story of learning beyond systems.

The event was hosted by the Royal Beach Camp Team in Bagmati, a stunning space by the river Trishuli surrounded by hills and trees.

It wasn’t a conference in the usual sense — it felt alive. There, we discovered something deeply inspiring:

💧 Riverversities, where people learn with rivers.
🌾 Farmversities, where learning happens through soil, nature, and seasons.
👵 Grandma-versities, where elders share their stories and life lessons.

We realized how small and limited traditional universities are in comparison to the world’s endless classrooms.

Adi had an incredible time too.

He even joined a startup pitch during the gathering — and to everyone’s surprise, he received partial funding for a camera that he’ll now use to capture our journey.

This was just the beginning. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing stories from our 79 days of learning through life — the people we met, the ideas that stayed with us, and how this trip reshaped what we thought education really was.

Stay tuned — the next story will take you deeper into our travels, where learning flowed not from books or classrooms, but from rivers, farms, and conversations under open skies. 🌿

Watch it here

— Priyanka

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