Interview with the winner of the India Today Travel Plus- Chillibreeze Weekend Getaway Contest
Ipsita Barua is based in Dubai and currently working as a copywriter in an advertising agency. An avid traveller, she also has an interest in photography and thinks it’s a great asset for travel writers. She is the winner of the India Today Travel Plus Contest on Chillibreeze.
Congratulations! It must feel wonderful to have your article published in India Today Travel Plus. Tell us about how you put the article together?
Yes I am honoured. As a travel enthusiast, I have collected over hundreds of ITTP copies without ever imagining I’ll be featured in any. Putting the article together was a refreshing experience…it took me back to 2007 and though I don’t maintain a travel diary or notes, it wasn’t difficult recalling a trip so memorable.
What drew you to travel writing? How do you think it differs from other genres of writing?
I am a copywriter by profession. And a traveller by nature. So whenever I needed a break from selling mundane things to people that they didn’t even need, I used to pen down my travels. And found great fulfilment re-living every place while writing.
Travel writing is a faster evolving genre of writing. Readers are looking for newer reasons to visit old places and the writer has to keep up with the demand. This is one form of writing that allows the writer to conjure up unlimited experiences based on what a place has on offer.
Tell us about your first big break as a travel writer?
Guess this question is slightly early for me. I am not yet a travel writer…just an aspirant. But hope this recognition will go a long way in giving me my first BIG break…amen!
As we all know, travel and travel writing broaden horizons. Can you identify the most important thing you’ve learned from traveling and travel writing?
Travelling is a personal experience but travel writing is not. It is upon the writer to bring alive the place for the reader without bombarding him with personal details of his likes and dislikes about the place. One man’s love for museums might be another’s disregard for junkyards.
As a travel writer, what is the biggest challenge you have faced? How did you cope?
My biggest challenge as a travel writer was to find a way of differentiating my writing from the scores of others on the same topic. The answer was to try and find a unique story hidden in each place that’s been unheard of. For example an obscure tomb somewhere in Agra might have a far more interesting history than the Taj mahal.
How do you think the internet as impacted traveling and travel writing?
It’s a virtual world out there. The internet has aided travelling with the online convenience but as far as travel writing goes…the internet is a means of fact-reading not leisure reading. Travel writing found on the internet makes for quick-read while researching facts, the real joy of reading a travelogue is still to wait in anticipation what the next page in your hand holds, rather than squinting at your computer screen to scroll down.
There are so many travel guides and travel magazines nowadays. Has any particular style influenced you and why?
No not in particular, though I am a big fan of Bill Bryson and learnt from his writings that humour goes a long way in keeping your readers glued. It’s good to be abreast with the different styles of writing but I feel too much exposure kills a writer’s unique style and flair.
What is the best feedback you received about your work?
It’s been in two contrary forms – a friend telling me that I’ve inspired him enough to see the place for himself and another one saying he doesn’t need to travel because my writing’s shown him everything.
Who is your biggest critic? What has their most valuable piece of advice to you been?
I think I am my biggest critic. Everytime I re-read a piece, it sounds stale and I edit, edit and edit till it’s bearable for at least two reads. Advice has been abundant, will soon find which one’s most valuable as I go along the way…I still have a long way to go.
There is a new trend today- travel writing without traveling. Any tips for writers who haven’t been to the place they are writing about?
Imagination is the key. Read up as much as you can about that place…when the pieces fall into place to create a picture, describe it in your own words, detailing the colours, vistas and the feelings they invoke.
What magazines/books would you recommend to budding travel writers?
Bill Bryson is a must read. Target a magazine/ publication for which you want to write and devour as many issues you can lay your hands on. But it’s also very important to retain the unique flair that every writer is blessed with because that’s what will set you apart.
Is there a difference between the style of writing when you write travel content for an Indian reader vs a global reader?
Yes. The average Indian is a conservative traveller, always seeking a common thread between his place of domicile and travel. Whereas the global reader is more experimental in nature. It is important to alter a writer’s style while catering to each respectively.
Would you opt for travel writing as a full time career?
Yes, definitely given the right scope and opportunity.
Is there anything else you’d like to tell us about being a travel writer? Perhaps something interesting about you, that people are always surprised to hear?
Travelling has its own little surprises, a great bonus for writers digging for a story. I once had this experience of being face to face with a jaguar who escaped his enclosure in the Singapore zoo. It was a life flashing moment and I am grateful to have survived to narrate the incident in great details to bemused audiences!
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