A Delhi resident has caught social media’s attention after admitting she felt a ‘tinge of jealousy’ after coming across a group of foreign backpackers in the city. In a now-viral post, the 23-year-old woman confessed that she was taken aback by how relaxed and stress-free the backpackers seemed at the same age, when the majority of Indian youngsters are grinding and toiling through school, college, competitive exams, and jobs.
“They were in their early to mid 20s and decided to take the year off, just to travel and explore the globe. They had good education and were not quite sure what to do with their careers but were still so carefree and stress-free,” the woman wrote. “They spoke about doing mountaineering in South America, train journey across China and diving in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Australia. “In Indian society, there is such a big fear of losing out a year too. Nobody is really concerned about making the best out of life and having adventures, lasting experiences and memories. I must say I felt a tinge of jealousy with how chill, adventurous and open ended their lives were. As the post gained traction, social media users highlighted that Indians were constantly embroiled in the academic race, which deprived them of adventures that their contemporaries in other countries experienced. “We are just coping and unaware of so many experiences. It should have been so much different. Here, every person in their early 20s travels the world without even worrying about what they want to do in their life. A third commented: “Even if they do not get into a college, they can earn and live a comfortable life as a firefighter or something like that. Something which is not possible here. Later, I left my job to Backpack across Southeast Asia. It’s a different world when you have a strong currency and social security.”
I met an 18-year-old from Switzerland who just worked in a supermarket for a couple of months to save enough to backpack for a year.
The woman said the backpacker group from Europe was in the capital for a couple of weeks, just to travel and explore without a rigid itinerary. “A lot of Indians their age have spent their lives grinding and toiling through school, college, competitive exams, UPSC, MBA (including me), tackling poor infrastructure, pollution and corruption,” she said. JEE, MBA, UPSC — all these races to end up where?” said one user, while another added: “I live in Sweden. A fourth said: “I was lucky to meet them early in life; then I, too, took a semester off in 4th year just to backpack across India.
The woman highlighted that the backpackers were not from a wealthy background and were travelling to countries across Asia and South America where the cost of living is relatively low. Their journey also made the woman realise how different their lives were from the rest of Indians who rely step out to explore the world.
