Mountains, Memories, and Making Space: A Journey with Treks for All

I was a young(er) university student when I first encountered Surabhi Yadav's beautiful and one of a kind project Women at Leisure. Her work documented everyday moments of women resting, laughing, sharing space and for the first time, I began to understand leisure not as indulgence, but as resistance. The idea that taking time for oneself could be revolutionary stayed with me. Rest as a right. And the collective power of women holding space for each other. Since then, I've found myself noticing leisure in quieter, often overlooked ways: the chatty women in the Ladies Coach of the Delhi Metro, their laughter echoing through the compartment; my grandmother sitting in the living room on a warm afternoon, sipping an even warmer cup of tea, flipping through a Tamil magazine. Fast forward to June 2025. I found myself on a bus to Rishikesh on a Monday morning; a working day, no less. But this was no ordinary trip. It was the start of Treks for All, a long-awaited program we had spent months putting together. Planning documents, team calls, accessibility audits, last-minute checklists... and yes, packing my own backpack too. We were headed to Dayara Bugyal, and I thought I knew what was coming: a physically challenging trek, a packed itinerary, long and tiring days. I had braced myself for the logistics, for the stress, for being "on" all the time.

But what I hadn't accounted for was the return of leisure. In between all the planning and uphill climbs, I rediscovered it—in the shared silences as we focused on our steps, the laughter around hot chai, the quiet joy of walking among forests and alpine meadows, the camaraderie of people showing up for each other. It gave me a whole new perspective on leisure- particularly with respect to disability. We saw unlikely friendships form- a Deaf person hosting games for a group of Vision impaired folks, people of all ages finding common ground in how competitive they get over word association games, and most importantly- collectively finding different ways in which the hills can be enjoyed.

In all of this- we found community, we learnt to slow down to match each other's pace, we learnt to applaud each other's little wins and helped each other get up after our little falls (and go on to crack jokes about it later!).

Leisure isn't always about doing nothing. Sometimes it's about doing things that make us feel more alive, more connected, more human. It's in the little moments, the ones we don't schedule.

As we build spaces that are inclusive and accessible, we must remember that joy, rest, and respite are just as essential as effort and structure. Because when we hold space for leisure- especially for those often denied it- we open up the possibility for something transformative. At Treks for All- we are trying to do just that!