During her trip, Naaji sleeps inside her vehicle and cooks in a built-in kitchen to save on time and money
Dubai, UAE: Keralite Indian, long-time resident Of Oman and mother of five, Naaji Noushi, 33, has just completed the Indian leg of a three-nation solo trip – India-UAE Qatar – in her Mahindra Thar 4-Wheel Drive, in a solo attempt to reach Qatar in time for the Fifa World Cup.
Speaking from Mumbai over the phone she told Khaleej Times’ Nasreen Abdulla, she now plans to ship her jeep to Oman and start the journey to Qatar, driving through the UAE. “Tomorrow, (Thursday, October 27), when all the offices open after Diwali, I will start the procedure to ship my jeep from Mumbai to Oman.”.
Naaji’s Mahindra Thar 4WD has a built-in kitchen and a tent attached to its roof.
However, travelling across India and the Middle East is not the only thing this Oman resident intends to do during her trip. “Last month, my husband moved to Abu Dhabi to start his new job,” she said.
“So I will go to Oman, pack my belongings and then drive my children and my mother to Abu Dhabi. I will continue with my journey when everything settles down in UAE
Naaji is married to Abu Dhabi-based Noushad and is mother to five children aged 14, 12, 6, 4 and 2. She Naaji has been on several solo trips before this new adventure, including one to Lakshadweep and another to the base camp of Mount Everest in Nepal. She is a YouTube vlogger and posts about her trips on her Instagram page, which has almost 48K followers.
Memorable incidents
During her trip, Naaji has been sleeping and cooking inside her jeep to save time and money. Her favourite food to cook is ghee rice and chicken curry.
The most memorable moment of her trip was when she served sulaimani (black tea) to a group of Hindu Ram devotees who were on a foot pilgrimage. “They approached me while I cooked on the roadside and asked for water,” she said.
“They didn’t bother that I was a Hijabi (Muslim woman who wears a headscarf), and it wasn’t important for me that they practised different faith. All that mattered was that they were thirsty, and I had water. I had also offered them food, but they already had their meal. So, I made black tea and gave them some snacks. This is what makes life in India so beautiful.”
A hard Journey
Naaji spent most of July, August and September trying to find sponsors for her epic journey. “I reached out to hundreds of people via Instagram and YouTube. It was only by September that I got one sponsor. Spurred by that small success, I decided to go ahead with the trip.”
Naaji admits she still doesn’t have enough money to complete her trip. “I am going forward with the hope that things will fall into place along the journey,” she said.
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