The X factor

Mona

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How about a free stay in exchange for teaching a skill? Well, that’s what Stay On Skill promises and in less than a year of its inception it boasts of over 150 skilled experts having saved more than Rs 9.5 lakh what would have been spent on stay!

Bitten by the start-up bug, Chandigarh boy Arjun Tuli was in a hurry to drop out of college and start early in life. However, his all-supportive parents insisted on finishing the college degree. While pursuing Electronics & Communication Engineering from National Institute of Technology, Delhi, Atul tried his hands at various social innovations and landed in the US and Chile that got him name and fame.   It was only last year, back from Chile, but bitten by the wanderlust, Arjun touched base for a Stay on Skill along with its co-founder Rajshree Bothra. 

A week of a simple webpage on social media had 3,000 enthused travellers and by July his venture took off after working out the logistics. “We have had experts from different walks of life, right from violinists to digital marketing experts, who have shared their skill in barter for stay and breakfast,” shares this proud 26-year-old. 

If Puja Anand and her daughter Aloka from Dharamshala learnt baking from Rekha Shetty in Bangalore for hosting her in the hills, Chandigarh-based Prerna and her friends learnt Madhubani painting from the very skilled Rupam Bhardwaj from Bihar.

With this project gaining momentum, the next stop will be meet-ups and exchange of ideas under the banner Travel X Talk. “Travel X Talk will have participants share the challenges of travelling, how to keep communication going with their families in case of network-drop and how to make the most of social media.” 

Scheduled on April 15 at 5pm at Café Chokolade, Amritsar, this event will see some 10 experts covering topics from building strong networks in different cities while travelling to how to create engaging videos, travel safety in India for girls and sharing one’s travel experiences on social media.

 Well, if becoming a digital nomad is on your agenda, join the event to listen to Hina Raheja - TEDX speaker; Jony Jindal - India’s youngest solo traveller and Yashi Malviya - filmmaker.