Hey! I am Aarshi.
The first time I stayed somewhere longer than a guidebook recommended, I remember the exact moment it clicked — not a monument, not even a sunset view, just a woman wearing dhatu; two doors down calling out, “chai ban gai, Aarshiji” (tea is ready, Aarshi), and I striked out everything in my little notepad I’d planned just to stay in her company and all the places life took her. That's roughly when travel writing stopped being a job description for me and started being an argument.
I'm a travel writer & journalist based in Navi Mumbai, trained in mass media and journalism — these days, someone who measures the wholesomeness of a trip based on the solid sunsets it has to offer rather than destinations. Somewhere between that degree and one too many "must-see-it-before-it's-ruined" assignments, I stopped believing that rushing counts as seeing. Sunset in My Backpack is the unfiltered version of that belief: postcards and not just Insta posts
The more structured version of the same argument lives at 🔗 The LoreLine, a social travel enterprise I co-founded alongside my friends Tapasya and Anne — where slow, community-rooted tourism isn't just a blog philosophy, it's the actual business model. This is where that thinking gets to stay a little rougher around the edges, and a lot more mine.