Many people dream of getting behind the wheel, leaving their daily routine behind and exploring the open road. But before the journey begins, practical questions often take over. Where will they stay? Which hotels should they book? Is night driving safe? What happens if the plan changes? And can they really travel alone?
For some, these questions become reasons to postpone the adventure.
Accompanied by his Shih Tzu puppy, Stella, Lucky embarked on a 45-day road journey without following a rigid itinerary. Rather than waiting for every detail to be arranged, he embraced the uncertainty of independent travel and the opportunity to discover new places along the way.
The journey was not built around luxury hotels or a conventional holiday schedule. There were nights when he slept inside his car, stops at roadside dhabas, visits to ashrams and stretches of unfamiliar roads where the next destination was simply wherever the journey led.
Travelling alone required independence, adaptability and responsibility. Taking a pet along added another dimension to the experience. Yet Lucky continued, turning a travel dream into a real-life adventure.
His journey reflects a simple idea: sometimes, the first step towards an extraordinary experience is finding the courage to begin.
From Pune to the Unknown
The journey began in Pune and continued through Nashik and Dhule before reaching Bijasani Mata Temple. From there, Lucky explored several destinations, including Ujjain, Shivpuri, Janapav Kuti, Omkareshwar, Sanawad, Sendhwa and Toranmal, before eventually returning.
Each stretch of the road brought a different atmosphere. Busy towns gave way to quieter roads, forest surroundings, mountain landscapes and spiritual destinations.
Some nights were spent sleeping inside the car, while roadside dhabas and ashrams provided places to pause and rest. Without a tightly fixed schedule, the journey allowed room for spontaneous decisions and unexpected experiences.
It was not simply about reaching one destination after another. It was about experiencing the road, accepting uncertainty and discovering what each new place had to offer.
Forests, Mountains and the Beauty of Nature
Among the memorable locations along the route were Bijasani Mata Temple, the forest surroundings of Bhallari Mata Temple near Shivpuri, Janapav Kuti, Toranmal and Machindranath Gufa.
Away from the familiar rhythm of city life, these places offered a different experience. Forest landscapes, mountain surroundings and spiritual destinations became part of a journey shaped by curiosity and exploration.
Rather than treating every stop as a tourist attraction to photograph and leave behind, Lucky experienced these locations as part of a larger adventure—one in which the journey itself mattered as much as the destination.
The changing landscapes and the freedom to explore unfamiliar surroundings gave the 45 days their own rhythm, making the road an essential part of the story.
Spiritual Encounters with Sadhus and Sanyasis
Spirituality became an important part of Lucky’s journey.
Along the way, he met sadhus and sanyasis, listened to their life experiences and spent time in spiritual surroundings far removed from the pace of modern urban life.
At Omkareshwar, he spent time beside the Narmada River in the company of sadhus. The river, the surrounding landscape and devotional music created a memorable atmosphere during his travels.
His journey also took him to an ashram in Sanawad and other spiritual destinations along the route. These experiences brought together travel, nature, human connection and spiritual exploration.
Meeting sadhus and sanyasis offered opportunities to hear different perspectives on life and learn from people whose experiences and lifestyles differed greatly from the everyday routines of city living.
For Lucky, these encounters were an integral part of the journey—not merely stops along the way, but experiences that added a deeper personal dimension to his travels.
Stella: A Four-Legged Companion on a 45-Day Adventure
Throughout the journey, Stella, Lucky’s Shih Tzu puppy, accompanied him on the road.
An extended road trip through different towns, mountains and remote surroundings comes with its own challenges. Travelling with a small dog adds another layer of responsibility, requiring care and flexibility as plans change.
For Lucky, Stella was more than a passenger in the car. She was his companion throughout an experience filled with long drives, unfamiliar places and nights away from home.
Together, they formed an unusual road-trip duo: a traveller willing to explore the unknown and a small four-legged companion sharing the adventure.
Their journey also offered a reminder that travelling solo does not necessarily mean travelling without companionship.
Beyond Hotel Bookings and Perfect Itineraries
What made Lucky Badgujar’s journey distinctive was not simply the number of places he visited, but his willingness to step beyond the familiar comforts of a conventional holiday.
Many people dream of long drives, unfamiliar landscapes, quiet nights and waking up somewhere surrounded by nature. Yet the questions surrounding accommodation, planning and uncertainty can sometimes prevent those dreams from becoming reality.
Lucky’s experience offers another perspective. Not every meaningful journey needs to begin with a perfect itinerary. A willingness to adapt, take responsibility and embrace the unknown can lead to experiences that might otherwise remain only dreams.
This does not mean ignoring safety or travelling without preparation. Rather, it is about accepting that some uncertainty is part of exploration and having the courage to move forward thoughtfully.
For 45 days, the open road became an opportunity to experience a different pace of life—one shaped by nature, spirituality and unexpected encounters.
A Journey That Gave Birth to a New Purpose
During his travels, Lucky often visited temples and sacred places. Friends and relatives would sometimes ask him to offer prayers or make offerings on their behalf whenever he visited a temple.
Lucky would carry their names and wishes with him and request the Baba to perform the offering on their behalf. On some occasions, the Baba would give him a Rudraksha bead from his own Rudraksha mala. Lucky would then take that Rudraksha back and give it to the person for whom the prayer had been offered.
For him, these small gestures became meaningful ways of sharing devotion, faith and blessings with people who could not physically be present at those sacred places.
Over time, an idea began to take shape in his mind. He wondered whether people living far away, or those unable to travel to temples and sacred locations, could still participate in pujas and have rituals performed with their names and sankalp.
That thought eventually inspired him to start Sanatan Seva.
Through Sanatan Seva, Lucky has begun offering an online puja-booking service, helping devotees request pujas and name-sankalp rituals at sacred locations associated with the Narmada and the spiritual traditions connected to the service.
The idea is simple: even if someone cannot personally visit a sacred place, they can still express their devotion and participate in a puja through this service.
What began as a personal gesture during his travels gradually became an initiative with a larger purpose. For Lucky, Sanatan Seva represents an effort to carry forward the same feeling of faith and devotion that he experienced during his journey.
In a way, the 45-day road trip gave him more than memories of mountains, rivers, temples and encounters with sadhus and sanyasis. It also gave him an idea that he could take forward beyond the journey itself.
Forty-Five Days Beyond the Map
From the roads leading out of Pune to the spiritual surroundings of Omkareshwar, from forest temples to mountain destinations, Lucky Badgujar’s 45-day journey brought together adventure, solitude, nature and spiritual discovery.
With Stella beside him, he explored unfamiliar places, spent nights in his car, visited ashrams and met sadhus and sanyasis whose life experiences became part of his journey.
It was an experience shaped not by luxury or a perfectly organised holiday, but by the freedom to travel independently and the willingness to discover what lay beyond the familiar.
In a world where travel is often measured by popular destinations, luxury stays and carefully planned itineraries, Lucky’s story highlights another side of adventure: the courage to begin, the ability to adapt and the openness to experiences that cannot always be planned.
For Lucky Badgujar and Stella, the journey was about more than reaching a destination. It was about exploring the unknown, connecting with nature and spirituality, and allowing 45 days on the road to become a story of their own.
Sometimes, the most memorable journeys begin when the destination is uncertain, the road is open and the courage to take the first step is greater than the fear of the unknown.
