Me & My story : Shivani Shah
Answering questions about me
“Traveling is the great true love of my life... I am loyal and constant in my love of travel. I feel about travel the way a happy new mother feels about her impossible, colicky, restless newborn baby - I just don’t care what it puts me through. Because I adore it. Because it’s mine. Because it looks exactly like me”
Hi there. How are you? Grab a coffee and check out the FAQ section of my life.
❤️Where did i grow up?
I grew up in India. My family is based in Gandhinagar - the capital city of Gujarat. Our city is one of the two modern planned cities in India. As you rightly guessed, it is named after Mahatma Gandhi.
If you ever visit my city you should check out:
Akshardham| Mahatma Mandir | Dandi Kutir | Infocity | Adalaj Step well | Indroda park
❤️What is my favorite place in India?
Mcleod Ganj. This place has my heart. You might have read my blog post about this place. If you haven’t , you should. Maybe, it will make you fall in love with this place too.
If I get lost someday, you will find me here. Hahaha. I should not say this out loud right? Oh no. But, that’s exactly how much I love this place.
If you want a 1month travel plan to this place, I got you. I have an itinerary ready for you here.
You won’t regret it.
“Some taught me about refugee struggles, some taught me about gifted energies, some taught be about simplicity, some blinded me with luxury. Every-time I came home, I brought home magic dust of that place stuck in my shoes.”
❤️When did i fall in love with Travel?
Not kidding if I say it is in my genes. I have a family of crazy travel lovers. My grand-pappy Shah was a foodie. He loved to hunt for the best food places around the city. When I was 4 years old, he might buckle me up on a motorcycle and take me around to try some new restaurant or cafe. He spoilt me with it.
My dad, he welcomed road trips and hikes into my life. He made me fall in love with Northern India. Serene Himalayas, colorful Punjab, heavenly Kashmir. These are treasures of my childhood.
As I grew up, my mom and dad gifted me something that small-city girls rarely get—Freedom to travel alone. Mostly, in many small towns of India, it is not safe for women to go around alone. However, my parents always knew I had wings.
However, as I grew up, travel started to have a different meaning in my life. More than it being a luxury, it became necessary. Because the more I started traveling more closer I came to my reality. The reality about who I am, what do I want to do, what do I want to be. Traveling opened up doors to millions of destinations inside me.
❤️Where am i currently ?
I am currently in the United States. I moved here in 2017. I was in Atlanta for 1 year. Then I moved to New York for 1 more year.
Currently, I am in California for the last 7months. Not sure where I will be heading next.
You will be able to see that on my Instagram @shivanis_multiverse.
“As I grew up, my mom and dad gifted me something that small-city girls rarely get- Freedom to travel alone. Mostly, in many small towns of India, it is not safe for women to go around alone. However, my parents always knew I had wings. ”
❤️What is Shivani’s Multiverse all about?
Hahaha. I love this question. Disclaimer: It has nothing to do with science or galaxies. It is a metaphor.
As I traveled around from a very young age, the baby Shivani’s imagination knew no boundaries. For me, every place I travel to was a new world. Each little world shaped me differently. Some taught me about refugee struggles, some taught me about gifted energies, some taught be about simplicity, some blinded me with luxury.
Every-time I came home, I brought home magic dust of that place stuck in my shoes. Some places colored me pink, a few colored me with gold.
And, since that was how baby Shivani felt about her travel, Shivani’s Multiverse came into being. Because you should never let your childhood dreams fade away. So, that’s what I did.
❤️What is your mantra?
Just one mantra, “Attraversiamo”. It means Let’s cross over. It is not hard to believe that I am a total Elizabeth Gilbert fan. This word is from her book Eat.Pray.Love and has stayed with he for years.
It’s all about crossing over. Going to a new place, trying new things, confronting fears. So, it’s simple. One word for life.
❤️What is Therapeutic Travel?
Adulting comes with its own set of challenges. And, all of us have different types of coping mechanisms. For me, travel is a never-ending healing journey. I call it Therapeutic travel or Travelvana.
It is not an imaginary term. It is the reality of my life. in 2016, I lost someone very close to me. I lost a lot of things with that loss. I almost lost myself. But, in a few months, I realized I cannot live my life based on one incident. I packed my bags and boarded a train to the Himalayas, to seek healing. I stayed at a serene nunnery in the middle of McLeodganj fighting reality of life. But, from travel came healing. Sometimes, just leaving a place can give you space and time to sit down with yourself and reflect and rejuvenate.
There is something magical about the Himalayas, but I realized that that magic is not just restricted to it. This magic travels with me wherever I go. It is within me. So, I preach Travelvana to people who seek healing from any kind of loss. Maybe it is an escape mechanism, but it works. It brings you back home stronger.
“Traveling opened up doors to millions of destinations inside me. ”
“There is something magical about the Himalayas, but I realized that that magic is not just restricted to it. This magic travels with me wherever I go. It is within me. ”
❤️WHAT DO YOU DO professionally?
I am an advertising Art Director. I work on advertising campaigns for brands. I have worked with clients from New York, Los Angeles, Portland, Atlanta, Saudi Arabia, India. You can check out my work portfolio here.
But, travel is my passion and I work with other bloggers and brands for Shivani’s Multiverse too.
❤️HOW CAN WE WORK together?
If you are a travel brand: Reach out to me by clicking here.
If you are a travel blogger and want to be featured on Multiverse Travel Talks, click here.
If you are interested in Art Direction work, click here.
For anything else, click here.
❤️HOW MANY PLACES HAVE YOU BEEN TO?
Interesting question.
I have been to 3 continents, 4 countries, 29 states and 104 cities.
My number is not super high as I follow the slow travel kind of life. I stay at a place for a while and try to experience the culture and lifestyle. I am a city hopper. I go from city to city within a place.