Smitten By The Travel Bug

An adventure tourism enthusiast, wildlife and nature lover and a 'Bindass' corporate traveller, Ritu Kumar is arguably one of India's established brand names on the fashion circuit. She tells Reema Sisodia, that the Kumar family have been smitten by the travel bug for as long as she can remember…

Ritu Kumar, a name synonymous with everything that spells fashion, a style icon and a self-contained brand has dressed up the who's who of the fashion and glamour world pleasantly surprised me with her take on travel. At first, it was rather hard to believe that this fashion diva has an undying passion for adventure travel and wildlife tourism and is an absolute nature enthusiast. I expected her to enjoy her holidays in the lap of luxury where her environment was a reflection of the glamour and style that surrounds her, but quite to my astonishment, she started out by saying, "We Kumars (a family of four, husband and two sons) are a bunch of adventure lovers and like to rough it out on our holidays. Sitting in front of the idiot box, being typical couch potatoes is simply not our style or idea of a fruitful holiday.”

Her job has taken the couple across the length and breath of India and around the world excluding South America and Australia. A passion for adventure travel is one more thing the Kumars have in common, something they explore with equal gusto, with business trips to New York and Paris at least six to eight times a year. "We had no choice but to travel, as we had to understand the global world of fashion and garments, and travelling opens up your mind like nothing else can," confesses Ritu. She further adds, "Travelling would not be restricted to only business and catching the next flight home. We would make the effort to take a detour, visit destinations in Europe namely Spain, Poland, Yugoslavia, Italy, England, Scandinavia and many others." She also feels that San Francisco and New York has something unique to offer as well.

But destinations that stand out on the international circuit as places that inspired her are, Egypt and Istanbul. "These destinations are simply mind blowing. They were immensely inspirational, amazing in their cultural history and a perfect melting pot of the East and West," says Ritu.

Though the couple have travelled far and wide, especially during the years from the time Ritu started her career in the 60s till now, it is holidays with their two sons especially within India that have been the most memorable. Adds Ritu, "Though there were times when we had to leave them back home with grandparents, we have travelled as a family extensively within India and overseas. I remember taking the kids to Goa and Kashmir and other northern hill stations to catch a glimpse of the grandeur of the mountains. But some of my fondest memories are of our many adventure holidays to game parks, wildlife sanctuaries and reserves. We would go all prepared with our stock of food to cook ourselves, and rough it out for those seven to ten days. I think my kids have gained much from this exposure, and have in turn become nature lovers and wildlife enthusiasts themselves. From Corbett, Kanha, Bandhavgarh and wildlife sanctuaries in the south of India, near Bangalore, we have been to them all."

Travelling by air across India, has never been their preference, she says. She has always cherished her family trips by road or rail, which allows stopovers at small towns, enjoying the local cuisine, studying and understanding local arts, crafts and handlooms all of which have become a part and parcel of most of their Indian journeys. Describing a few interesting excerpts from her journeys within India, she begins with the trip they took to Kanha, which involved passing through the renowned temple town of Khajuraho where they made a pit stop . Travel trips to and within Rajasthan, from Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Jaisalmer to the little known regions of Shekhawati in southern Rajasthan, living in smaller hotels and highway inns to get a genuine feel of the place, is how the foursome make their trips more interesting. The work and art of Rajasthan finds its place in her work and whether it was Ladakh or Mahabalipuram, most of their trips have been about discovering the areas and regions for herself, she remarks.

"I remember this one trip where four of us ventured out on a motoring trip through Gujarat, covering Bhuj, Rann of Kutch area and others and then driving down from southern Rajasthan to New Delhi. It was a month long journey, where we joined our son who was on this trip for three months. It was an extremely interesting trip," asserted Ritu. One region in India which she remembers fondly is Bengal as her work started there, and Bengali 'Karigari' has played a lead role in defining her style and business. "Bengal has been highly inspirational although I cannot single out any one part of India which does not have its unique handloom or 'Karigari' like workmanship to offer," she emphasises.

Elaborating on yet another one of her countless expeditions she says, "We took a trip to Indore, Maheshwar, Mandu during the monsoons and saw the Maheswar sarees being woven on the bank of the river Narmada. All our trips have had a detour to a fabric region or a craft area. Another time, we took a trip to Varanasi and Allahabad during the Kumbh mela. My word of advice to any traveller would be that if you can stand the bad roads, and have time on hand (at least six days in one area) then India is a tourist heaven.”

The explorer in her infuses a translation of this travel essence into her profession. From a small unit of craftsmen in the 60s, she has more than 100 women working for her today and has agents to promote her product across the world, apart from her home ground. Her immediate plans are to expand her grasp in the retail business, as India is on an upswing with the emerging state of the art mall and multi-level fashion stores opening in both metro and satellite cities. When asked why she caters to women, her prompt reply is, "I think women are more sensitive with regards to fashion, clothing and stitching. "

But if there is one thing on Ritus wish list it is the much needed improvement of our national carrier. She is disturbed that Air-India is probably not her first choice when travelling overseas. Looking contemplative, she throws a question my way, "When you think of Air-India is there a clear uniform colour code, style or design that comes to mind with regard to the air-hostess attire? They are still not tendering out uniform designs. It feels like we are still stuck in the Middle Ages. It is a fashion disaster in the palaces of our sky. We need to get our act together and fast. As an avid traveller, I would like to travel a lot more on our national carrier and it is sad that I prefer British Airways over Air-India, though I am a frequent flyer on both airlines."

When asked for her advice to women corporate travellers in terms of travel attire, she answers without hesitation, "Forget about glamour and be yourself. Don't lug around too many clothes. My personal style is rather 'Bindaas'. I don't have set outfits, but there is always an element of Indian craft in the things I wear. But yes, I do carry a crimple skirt, pants, one jacket and lots of 'Chunnis' to mix-n-match. I carry neutral colours like black and brown, and may be a sari that mostly stays at the bottom of the bag. But on a holiday, it's supposed to be fun, basically nature and me, devoid of any excess of fashion or glamour."