Hi, we're Forum &
Shiva

Architects, travel storytellers, writers, content creators - we wear many hats. For the past few years, our shared curiosity to travel meaningfully has blossomed into this beautiful space on the internet - Barriers and Borders. Here we share stories of our slow & sustainable travels. Our content highlights the importance of travelling mindfully in a way that respects nature and supports local communities.

Heyoo dear reader,

We’re Forum and Shiva, both born and raised in the warm comfort of our motherland, India. We’re architects by profession and are passionate about natural building materials, as well as learning about sustainable, low-carbon, and regional architectural practices.

We met each other in 2015 in an architecture office in Bangalore. Even though we have very different personalities, we quickly discovered that we share similar ideologies – sustainable living, a deep love for nature, foodies, and a desire to live a mindful and joyous life without worrying too much. So, our connection was instant, and we remained close friends for a while until we realised that what we had was something more – the beginning of our love story!! And the rest is history… haha.

Now, we are incredibly excited to have you all here in our cozy little space, where we share beautiful stories from our travels. Whether it’s inspiring responsible travel, connecting with local communities, highlighting off-the-beaten-path destinations, or choosing positive-impact journeys, we’re here to redefine the essence of exploring – aka travelling – that somehow seems to have lost its meaning in the last few years.

At Barriers and Borders, you can find all the conscious journeys we’ve made so far and everything that we’ve learned. We hope to inspire you to travel for what it really offers – a chance to explore and understand places that are different from our own!

Our Story

“At night, there was the feeling that we had come home… and it was not lonely anymore.”

Our Journey at a glance

intensive academics, 8-5 jobs, and then finally becoming travel storytellers.. what a rollercoaster it's been!

Forum's education

From 2012 - 2017, she studied Bachelor's in architecture from Mumbai university. Later, from 2019 - 2021, she pursued Master's of Science in sustainable architecture and resilient strategies from a university in Belgium.

Shiva's education

From 2010 - 2015, he studied Bachelor's in architecture from a university in Bangalore. Later, he worked as an architect for 7 years before pursuing his Master's in Landscape architecture from a university in Germany.

Forum's architecture career

She worked as an architect in India for 2 years, and then in Belgium for a year & a half before moving to Germany to start a life together with Shiva. She then continued to work in architecture as a full-time employee until 2026.

Shiva's architecture career

Shiva has several years of experience in both building and landscape architecture. Since 2023, he's been working full-time as a landscape architect.

Birth of Barriers & Borders

After dreaming of travel storytelling for far too long, they finally mustered the courage to start this blog (along with their full time jobs) & share beautiful stories from around the world.

2023

Forum quit her job!

She quit her full-time architecture job to pursue a career in travel storytelling and channelise her creativity into diverse creative mediums.

2026

This is Us, and Our Passion

travelling the world slowly & responsibly

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