1 train, 15 days, 8000 kms, 12 destinations, 15 role models & 450 Yatris
“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.”
– Miriam Beard
I’ve always found immense joy while travelling. But this 15 days travel (In my case it was 21 days of travel) was totally a memorable experience. When I left Chennai Central Railway station on 22 Dec 2014 waving goodbye to Stalin (my hero 🙂 ) , little did I expect that I ll also travel deep into my very own self & feel a difference. The journey began happily with a whole new bunch of friends who immediately struck a chord with me. We felt like a family and this “Chennai Gang” will remain etched as one of my best parts of the Jagriti Yatra 2014. On reaching Mumbai, we roamed around the streets hunting for food and hangout spots. The first proper picture of all of us together is this….
Dec 24, 2014:
The Jagriti Yatra was officially kick-started at TISS (Tata Institute of Social Sciences) campus. I was gripped by excitement as I received the Yatra kit and wore the I-Card alias Mangalsutra. Singing and dancing to the tune of “Jagriti Geet” gave goosebumps. The mood had slowly set in and all 450 participants eagerly waited for almost 4 hours to on board the “Jagriti Express”.
Throughout the journey “YAARON CHALO ” song united the Yatris & brought smiles.
My JY-I Card
Dec 25, 2014:
On the day of Christmas, we spent the whole day in the train getting to know each other. The lifeline exercise and team meetings helped me connect with fellow yatris who later became good friends for life. I had chosen to be part of “Water & Sanitation” group and interestingly I found 13 other yatris sharing my interest. The 5 lovely yatris who shared space with me in my cohort were fun to be with and so down to earth. Hope I made them feel the same way 😉
My Lifeline graph 😛
Cohort Friends (From left to Right) – Berengere, Pushpa, myself, Revathi, Suhani & Megha
Dec 26, 2014:
We went to Dharwad village near Hubli and visited the Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya. The kids entertained us with music, dance and instrumental performances. This campus is solar electrified by SELCO, a social enterprise and it was amazing to see how the company has sustained over the last 20 years. My key takeaway from Mr.Senthil’s talk was
“If you want to build a social enterprise, you should market an asset, not an idea. The solution should be affordable and should last longer. SELCO is about stories of people & not stories of technology”.
Dec 27,2014:
All 450 Yatris visited Infosys office at Bangalore. The video that quickly recapped the growth story & CSR efforts of INFOSYS was mindblowing . Mr.Narayamurthy and his team’s effort in building this enterprise surely inspired us all. The best part of the day was the motivational talk by Mr.Parthasarathy of MindTree. I was very much impressed with MindTree’s work culture, Individual Social Responsibility (ISR) and innovative processes. Am sure the yatris will always remember the 10 lessons he shared from his entrepreneurial journey. What I liked the most from Mr.Parthasarathy’s talk was
“You should not judge “Success” from the eyes of somebody else.”
On the same day there was a panel discussion on “Alternate business opportunities”.
Dec 28, 2014:
I was back again in Madurai soil. 450 Individuals from across the world visited Madurai to learn more about how “Aravind Eye Hospital” impacted millions by taking care of their sight. The impact created by Aravind Eye Hospital was astonishing. Many Yatris wanted to replicate the model in their own towns. We were privileged to interact with the dynamic founding team. Dr.Aravind’s thoughtful words revived the power of today’s youth and inspired yatris to work towards change. The Yatris were delighted to visit the stupendous Meenakshi Amman Temple. I was happy that Mr.Sivarajah, founder of Nativelead Foundation( a Not for Profit promoting entrepreneurship in Tier II & III regions of south Tamilnadu) was also a part of the Jagriti Yatra 2014.
“We love what we do. We do what we love.” – Aravind Eye Care
Dec 29, 2014:
From Madurai, we then visited Chennai. The Chennai weather surprised us as it was raining & chill all through the day. We yatris were given a warm welcome at the “Royal Enfield” plant near Oragadam. It felt great to witness how the gun like vehicle was assembled. They had infact arranged for a photo session with some of the stylish Royal Enfield bikes. This turned on people like me who are bike-crazy and as expected we never wanted to get back to our buses. We were all too busy taking photos with the lovely beasts (Royal Enfield bikes !! ). This was followed by a panel discussion regarding agriculture.
The first leg of the Jagriti Yatra journey (Mumbai to Chennai) let me explore new places, new people and showed me a new dimension of “how simple things if done differently can bring about such great impact“. The first 5 days of the yatra also brought me closer with several yatris and I was all set to keep the spirit alive for the next ten days. By now I had learnt a few words in “Hindi”.. !!!
As I continued to travel, I slowly realized the meaning behind this quote:
“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine
P.S : The journey is not complete.. Wait for the next post where I’ll share my experience between Chennai and Delhi. Watch this space till then. Don’t forget to post your comments below or share what you think as you read this post.
A walk through my mind 