“Tamil Nadu (TN) is very safe and people have only gone out of the way to help,” said Aparna Karthikeyan, an independent journalist, who stays in Mumbai but frequently travels to TN for reporting work. “I have been the only woman among thousands of men in fairs, and felt nothing but safe. I don’t know about other states, but TN is gorgeous and they are only helpful. I’ve taken taxis at 1am in Chennai and not had a problem. From my experience, yes, it is definitely safe to travel alone in India.” Devika Parashar, Director, Startup Leadership Program, was a little more cautious in her assessment. “I would say southern states may not absolutely safe to travel but compared to North India, they are definitely much safer,” she said. “It’s tough to generalise but Kerala is much safer than Karnataka, I believe.”