Here’s Why Mrinal shifted from being a Fashion Designer to a Trek Leader

"I graduated from NIFT Delhi as a Knitwear Designer. After that, I started working in Gurgaon. While working, I realised how polluting the fashion industry is.

The trigger point came when I had to work on a design collection and it wasn’t approved. The issue was not the design, but the weight of the fabric.

The entire collection, which was designed and produced, was just discarded. I was truly taken aback by how much waste that was.

I didn’t want to work with this guilt of harming the environment. So I shifted to Graphic Designing.

At the time I made this switch, Covid had arrived in our country and we were in lockdown.

That time period gave me an opportunity to think about the kind of work I want to do. It took me back to the times I used to trek in my college days.

I remember when I did my first trek to Triund top. The views that I saw from the top after such a gruelling climb left me completely speechless. There was nothing else going on in my mind at that moment.

Since then, every time we had to plan a trek, we used to go to the Indiahikes website, take screenshots of the trek itinerary and go on the trek on our own.

For me, the Indiahikes website is a Trekipedia. Everything I have learnt about trekking is through their large database of information.

So once when I was on the Hampta Pass trek with my friends, we were trekking towards the Balu Ka Ghera campsite and that’s when a thought hit me very strongly.

I had such a magnificent view in front of me & I wished more people could see such views and learn from such an experience. It would naturally help them become a better person.

That’s when I thought I want to become a Trek Leader.

When I applied for the role, I didn’t have much experience of High Altitude Trekking.

While my application was in process, I went on to do the Kedarkantha, Bramatal and Ali Bedni Bugyal trek, one after another.

When I came back, I immediately sent these details as a follow up to my application.

That’s when I got to hear back from the team and started my journey here.

Being here at Indiahikes has brought a huge shift in how I look at sustainability.

From being in the fashion industry to now where I do not buy anything unless it’s a necessity for me, I am glad I made that switch. There’s nothing more meaningful than doing work where you take conscious responsibility for the environment.

The why of being here at Indiahikes is so strong for me, that even if in future I have to do any other work, I wouldn’t hesitate to get into it. Because the vision that we are working towards is much more important and I know I’ll still be contributing towards it.”

- Mrinal, Trek Leader at Indiahikes