Magic will happen when you surrender to god: Gangadhar Krishnan (Gangu)

My Family Intro

We are weaving a life around travel and yoga. Ramya is my spouse. Gangadhar (Gangu) is my name. We live in Hyderabad and have twin daughters, Ananya and Amulya, who are 12 years old. In Northeast India, we use both radical unschooling(No books no exams and no certification) and road education(Jeevan Sikshana means education for life). In 2019, we embarked on a 90-day family road journey that changed our lives. It covered 13,000 km, 15 States, and three international boundaries. Following that, children quit regular schooling.

From Engineering to Traveling

I purchased a car just five days after arriving in the USA in 2007. Since I learned to drive in the US, I got my license very quickly. Our first journey as a couple was from Dallas to Sanjose in a Honda City for 3 nights and 4days. We wanted to travel more and more. During this road trips Ramya and i have very meaningful conversation. In 2008 we moved back to India and In 2011 I purchased a Tata Nano.

Starting a Family Travel Journey in a Tata Nano

There is common belief that one needs a lot of money and a powerful car to travel for long travel and driving in the mountains. I wanted to demonstrate that the world's cheapest car, made in India, could also be used for long pan-India for travel. Our first trip was when our twin daughters were only six months old, which led to some questioning from people in the South who believed that such young children would not remember anything. However, our experience was different and our infants observed a lot from travel.

Exploring the Incredible Diversity of India

I spend seven months of the year traveling in northeast India in my Tata Nano. I don't have a YouTube channel or website because we don't believe in peripheral impact to a million families. We want deep impact on a few families through one on one interaction. I don't Google or YouTube any specific places before starting travel. We just get up talks Local and decide what to do today. I don't have any expectations for what I'll see or shouldn't see. To me, everything created by God is special. I've explored all the states of northeast in India except Mizoram and I visited every state in India and I have traveled more than 100,000 km in the northeast. I'm originally from South India and have traveled extensively there as well. I've encountered different climates and terrains, including snow, waterfalls, deserts, seas, and mountains. India is like a continent to me, with each state resembling its own country. In the northeast, there are over 200 tribes in a single state, and the language changes at every 30 km. I've learned a lot from the people there, who are advanced in many ways despite being called "backward." While traveling, I've even learned some languages through songs, like Khasi from Meghalaya and Zeme from Naga tribe. I enjoy talking with people and observing their cultures. I've learned a great deal about their lifestyles, food, dances, war cries, harvesting, weaving, and planting, among other things. No body can predict rain in Meghalaya but few days my prediction has come out right.

Traveling without Worries

I don't think too much what will happen while traveling, All trust go on God and everything is fine. I never plan for Traveling these things can happen I travel without worries. I don't have any list which I thought and started travelling this never happened to me. It is my personal thoughts. I don't make any bookings, I don't have predecided destinations as when we do road schooling we can't be in hurry. For example we are going to Vishakhapatnam by road and then we saw a brick making factory than we decided to have some healthy conversation with brick making workers and we visited their homes if we had a booking in Vishakhapatnam hotel for 4000 or 5000, letting this thing we have a booking. we can't stop at the brick factory and kids not able to learn the process of brick making . If we have the booking and we also had to stop by brick making factory we have to waste our money that we used for booking.

A Journey Filled with Surprises

It doesn't mean we never went to a problem. We went in a problem and God helps to get rid of the problem. For example one incident happened when we are traveling in Arunachal Pradesh in our Tata Nano, we get off-track, lots of waterfall on the scary road and the we entered a village we came to know we taken the wrong road than village head provide us seat and opened the government bungalow for us and serve the food in hot-case. In morning we met electrical engineer he was speaking Malayalam and I used to speak Tamil. We become good friends. It went 5years we are friends till now. When we surrender to god everything happens is good.

Our personal thing is magic will happen when you surrender to god. As a universal truth our own plan is nothing to god's plan. So we surrender to god and we go .

From Corporate Life to Outdoor Adventures

When I left the job, I had around eight months of backup bank balance that requires me to fulfill my family's needs. I have started rock climbing and overnight camping in Hyderabad. Rock climbing is for 3 hours and camping is for one night. People think if they gets an chance, if they went with gangu everything will be fine and good for them. I got trainings from climbon. I got confidence of doing this after getting training.

Is traveling is safe in India

Infect I am traveling with my wife and daughters no body tease us. moreover they respect us. People travel with fear and things will happen.

When people talks about do you have any list or checklist for traveling

We have to strongly say their is no perfect checklist work on everyone.

There are often inquiries regarding quitting a job, and it's widely acknowledged that what may be effective for one family may not be applicable to another. There is no universal blueprint for resigning from a job. However, Here is how we did it.

• My and Ramya's parents came from a background where a monthly salary was the sole source of income, sufficient to provide for food, shelter, and education. Travel was limited to visiting grandparents during summer vacation, but it was a happy life, built on spending time together as a family.

• We were both products of an education system that emphasized employability. As a result, I spent over 17 years in corporate, while Ramya taught for over a decade.

• Despite our busy schedules, we both loved to travel, and our best bonding experiences occurred during quiet night drives when our children were asleep and we could engage in meaningful conversations. It took us a while to realize the importance of prioritizing such moments.

• When we started to prioritize travel, our jobs often interfered, but our children's school was accommodating. Therefore, school was never an issue

• In 2015, we attempted to settle in Mysore, requesting 30% less salary than what we earned in Bangalore and a lower position. However, my domain of work was not in demand in Mysore.

• In 2016, I joined Honeywell Aerospace in Hyderabad, where my family lived near my in-laws. I opted for an individual contributor role and made sure I had personal time. I also joined an adventure club and trained myself in rock climbing, rappelling, and overnight camping, which proved useful in the long run.

• Within a year, our family moved to Hyderabad, and we began exploring Northeast India, a region we loved. Little did we know that others were taking notice of our family travel.

• By 2018, our family's adventure and travel experiences were becoming well-known, and we never anticipated that one day we would start a travel and adventure business.

• In 2018, Ramya encouraged me to quit my job and pursue full-time family travel and family adventure. Consequently, I set up a small, meaningful travel business focused on providing experiential family travel in Northeast India and family adventure in and around Hyderabad, including rock climbing, rappelling, and overnight camping.

• Our business is not solely focused on financial targets, as this new lifestyle must be more than just earning a livelihood. It should be 100 times more enjoyable than the corporate lifestyle we left behind. We have chosen not to market or advertise our travel business, and hence we have no website, YouTube channel, or travel blog. Instead, we concentrate on providing experiential travel for families that value responsible travel with kids and elders.

• In 2018, we took ten groups to Northeast India, Sikkim, and Bhutan, trained more than 100 families in rock climbing, rappelling, and overnight camping in and around Hyderabad, and provided international and domestic end-to-end travel packages similar to online portals MMT and Yatra.

• In 2019, we took nineteen groups to Northeast India and offered many more international and domestic packages. We trained numerous families in outdoor adventure. Our travel and adventure business has been successful, and we have no aspirations to scale it up. Instead, we want to keep it small, meaningful, and sufficient to provide for our financial needs.

• In 2020, due to the pandemic, I refunded all our guests. However, we are confident that opportunities will arise to provide the necessary finances. We have surrendered to a bigger plan, and our focus is on assisting other families in Homeschooling, Unschooling, and Road Schooling without any expectations.

• In 2019, Ramya left her teaching job and embarked on a deeply personal and meaningful journey as an online traditional yoga trainer. She limits her commitments and has no desire to turn it into a business.

• The lockdown period has been relatively easy for us, as we don't have fixed expectations for how life should treat us. We're learning to accept whatever comes our way with equanimity. We're open to discussing with other families who seek to break away from the corporate world and create a purposeful life.

"Below noted points are just my personal reflections, and while many parents may be aware of these points, ultimately it's up to them to decide how much they are willing to implement them"

• As kids grow older, they become less reliant on their parents. This is the time to cherish and enjoy moments with them. Pressuring them with teachings can lead to stress and take away from these precious moments.

• Observe and recognize the strengths of your children. Encourage them to follow their own path rather than what is expected of them. Build a strong bond of trust so they feel comfortable coming to you with any problems they may have.

• A good indicator that things are going well for your children is if they are sleeping for a sufficient amount of time. If they are not, find ways for them to channel their energy, such as letting them jump on the bed for an hour. Joining in on the fun can also strengthen the parent-child bond.

• The kitchen is an excellent laboratory for kids. Involving them in food preparation allows them to explore the colors, sounds, shapes, and smells of various ingredients. Give them responsibilities and trust them to complete tasks on their own.

Know more about me and my family

• About me: With a corporate experience of 17 years, I specialized in designing rugged electronics for ships, submarines, and aircraft. However, in 2018, I decided to quit my job and start a full-time family travel. Presently, I am the owner of a unique travel business on donation basis that focuses on responsible and sustainable family travel in Northeast India. I also provide opportunities for rock climbing, rappelling, and overnight family camping for families around Hyderabad. We do not advertise, and our family travels serve as our publicity. Through my WhatsApp status, I share updates on our journeys and concepts of radical unschooling or road schooling(Jeevan Sikshna).

• About Ramya: Ramya was a teacher for 11 years, but in 2019, she quit her job to teach therapeutic yoga and mudras. She also goes on road trips and camping.

• Kids' Background: Amulya and Ananya have followed path of Jeevan Sikshna in states like Sikkim, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Assam, and Arunachal Pradesh. We focused on life skills such as cooking, cleanliness, self-defense, handling fears, values, ethics, kindness, humanity, respect for animals, handling emotions, languages, communication and health. However, we believe that math and science without humanity are meaningless. After 10 years of age just like gurukul's system they are focusing on life skills that will enable a meaningful life that includes earning.