Travel and the Purpose it Serves – A Writing Workshop facilitated by Marlon de Souza

When we travel we are exposed to social, cultural, and economic diversity. We get an opportunity to experience and relish the richness of our own lives and that of people in places where we stop, sometimes for a day, sometimes for longer.

In recent years, travel writing has begun to focus on the apparently conflicting goals between meeting our own needs and the needs of communities we encounter along the way. Blog posts compare the benefits of being a traveler versus being a tourist. What if we’re able to have richer experiences without the need to choose?

This workshop is about exploring the impulses of being engaged with our destinations and documenting our journeys while we travel – why are we there, where did we come from, is it what we thought it would be, and what next. The challenges of being on the road and having to give up logical plans free us from being lost in our own thoughts. And the inner impulses that take us to the road are what guide us toward having meaningful interactions along the way. Both journeys need quiet reflection, to move, to stay, and to move again.

Day 2 of the workshop will incorporate the art of creating Mandalas. While focusing on the shapes, patterns, and colours, we orient our senses to the present. And the present moment is what drives the experience of travel. The Mandala session will be facilitated by Mehak Narula, a Mandala Artist, social initiative founder, and experiential traveller.

Marlon de Souza has been writing and telling stories and poems for most of his life. Along the way, he decided to examine his own stories in order to experience life from a more connected place. He has lived in New York City and Mumbai and finds peace in the stillness of mountainous settings.