When I was 12 years old, my dad gave me a desk calendar for the new year, as he usually does. That calendar had a big beautiful picture of a destination for each month and more information about the place at the back of the page. I never saved that calendar, even though I should have. But I remember some of the pictures on it. There was a shot of the romantic city of Venice, a sunset shot of an exquisite European stone bridge, a hilly meadow in Switzerland and a sunny winery in Tuscany. I recall an overpowering feeling of being an insignificant creature in a big, beautiful world. An excessive desire to travel the world had planted it's seed in me, through that calendar.

Over the years, I traveled across India with my family - mom, dad and brother. My parents love to explore new places and I've inherited this trait from them. We stayed in a houseboat in Kashmir, survived a massive earthquake and tsunami in Andaman, watched India's only active volcano erupt in front of our eyes and talked our way out of a bunch of goons who had blocked a highway in the wake of a protest in Kerala.

Every experience, each boat ride, all the long drives and the occasional hardships have only left me yearning for more. I shamelessly admit that I want to see the world. The entire freaking world. Its not a "goal" or a "bucketlist" of mine. It's the purpose of my life. Nope, I won't get philosophical or preachy about it but I can't think of anything else I'd rather do with my life.

The Spicy Journey is my gateway to get my life's purpose on track and to share it with others, in the hope that some 12 year old will look at my pictures and will be fueled with the desire to see the world.