Zivame Women are those who do the #UnRoutine. They refuse to live life by the rule book, and find their own way to be extraordinary. Whether it’s diving into the depths of the ocean or leaving behind a flourishing career to follow their dreams, Zivame Women love to do the unexpected to discover their unique moments of delight!

Aishwarya is our second Zivame Woman. She’s a traveller at heart and proudly juggles the responsibilities of being an entrepreneur and a mom. She started her own innovative ice cream business, Nutty Squirrel, in Bangalore. And a year after the birth of her baby, Aishwarya took a solo train trip along the Konkan coast! We asked her to talk about her exciting life, and here’s what she had to say!

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I am an entrepreneur, a mom and an over thinker. While juggling the demands of all these chaotic worlds, I find peace in travel and everyday things. It’s important to me to enjoy what I’m doing and that’s what prompted me to leave my cushy job and start my own ice cream business, Nutty Squirrel! This keeps me busy during the day; and in the evening my toddler gets me back to reality and reminds me what’s important. In between, I find time to travel, paint, read and ponder.

How do you do the #UnRoutine?

I disengage. In the middle of a stressful week, I take half a day off, park myself in a café and just read a book or take a long walk. That’s an immediate fix.

A longer fix is travel. A short road trip or a long discovery trip – travel works magic on my perspective about life.

How do you find a work-life balance?

I believe the only way to find a proper balance is to love both your work and your life away from work. Else, one takes over the other and you find yourself longing for a break. Just remember to take it one day at a time!

How did you find your passion?

Passion for me, has been a moving target. Things I have loved and felt strongly about in the past, don’t resonate so much anymore. I have now stopped chasing after that one thing that will redefine my existence. I find my most passionate moments when I excel at whatever I am doing. But one thing I will always love is travel; particularly solo travel!

Would you like to share your solo travel stories?

The fatigue from everyone else’s travel stories on my Facebook feed made me seek out the road less travelled. One year of being a new mom had been challenging and I needed a quiet retreat. So, I thought a train journey was ideal – I could sit and watch the world go by, get off and wander around until I found something I liked. It could be as packed or as relaxed as I wanted it. So, I decided to take a train from Bangalore to Ernakulam and explore the city. After that, I hopped onto another train that went along the Konkan coast and headed to Madgoan. From there came a 26-hour journey to Vizianagaram and the trip ended with my last stop at Visakhapatnam! Besides the beautiful local culture and interesting people I met, the non-AC berths and non-Rajdhani trains, made for a very exciting and rejuvenating journey.

What makes you feel confident?

Being happy makes me feel confident. Also – a well fitting dress, a new business card holder, ticking things off my to-do list, a message from a friend – oh this list is long!

Where do you find your delight in the unexpected?

When I connect with people and discover how alike we all really are in what we want; when I realise that the café down the road throws in an extra madeleine when you order for tea; when I love a book, and figure out the author has written 10 more… I find delight in the small discoveries in day-to-day life.

Describe yourself in one colour.

Blue. I would imagine that’s the colour of infinity. That’s the colour of believing you can be what you want to be. Like the sky, the ocean and the vast sea.

If you were lingerie, what would you be?

A halter bra. Sexy, comfortable and versatile. It’s everything you need, rolled into one!