If someone told me, when I was 12, that 10 years later I would voluntarily spend 15 days living on an Indian train, travelling across the length and breadth of the country, I would tell them to go sleep off their inebriation. Its funny how times change though. I have just returned from an amazing Jagriti Yatra around India travelling over 11000 kilometres covering 12 destinations, a part of a group of 450 people from around the world.
The stories are endless, the hangover seemingly eternal. The least I could do is write about it. This is the first of a couple of posts about Jagriti Yatra 2013.
Six months ago, the phone rang on an evening that I was feeling particularly under the weather. Shell Bangalore Laboratories had finally come to a decision about offering me a job, following up on a summer internship. Good news, I bagged a placement offer. I knew where my first paycheck would come from. The future was not uncertain anymore. Food, clothing and shelter were taken care of. Unless everything went totally wrong.
It is almost incredible how quickly all that cheer and jubilation turned into quiet introspection. Somewhere, in the years that led up to an engineering degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, the girl who had spent evenings after school teaching kids from the poor neighbourhood nearby and every weekend volunteering in a food distribution programme for destitute children at the local metro station had slowly been consumed by the cosmetic demands of middle India - largely urban, made up of aspiring engineers with a big pay packet and a large square flat in a big city. Dreams were relegated to a backburner while I jumped on the bandwagon. Until now.
It didn't seem natural to rest easy with just a job. College seemed odious as my mind wandered. I had to get away from the rigours of everyday life. I couldn't remember the last time I had felt completely happy and at peace with the world. Meanwhile, a realisation was slowly creeping in. I had lived for 22 years in India, inhaling in the general pessimism about the state of the nation, without actually seeing much of it. A trip around India with a bunch of absolute strangers seemed like a perfect opportunity to rediscover myself. Thank you Jagriti Yatra.
Among a lot of first times:
I have met remarkable people, seen the most beautiful sunrise and watched the water sparkle in pristine village ponds. I have joined my drunken friends in song on a autorickshaw in the national capital and been smothered by gunny sacks in the luggage compartment on a Mumbai local train. I have met my heroes Joe Madiath and Popatrao Powar who are solving issues of livelihood, sanitation and health for villages across India. I have lived for a fortnight without a laptop, the internet and elusive phone service for most of the trip. Shed of pretense and material demands of the world, I felt a childish happiness that I did not think was possible anymore.
The stories are endless, the hangover seemingly eternal. The least I could do is write about it. This is the first of a couple of posts about Jagriti Yatra 2013.
Six months ago, the phone rang on an evening that I was feeling particularly under the weather. Shell Bangalore Laboratories had finally come to a decision about offering me a job, following up on a summer internship. Good news, I bagged a placement offer. I knew where my first paycheck would come from. The future was not uncertain anymore. Food, clothing and shelter were taken care of. Unless everything went totally wrong.
It is almost incredible how quickly all that cheer and jubilation turned into quiet introspection. Somewhere, in the years that led up to an engineering degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, the girl who had spent evenings after school teaching kids from the poor neighbourhood nearby and every weekend volunteering in a food distribution programme for destitute children at the local metro station had slowly been consumed by the cosmetic demands of middle India - largely urban, made up of aspiring engineers with a big pay packet and a large square flat in a big city. Dreams were relegated to a backburner while I jumped on the bandwagon. Until now.
It didn't seem natural to rest easy with just a job. College seemed odious as my mind wandered. I had to get away from the rigours of everyday life. I couldn't remember the last time I had felt completely happy and at peace with the world. Meanwhile, a realisation was slowly creeping in. I had lived for 22 years in India, inhaling in the general pessimism about the state of the nation, without actually seeing much of it. A trip around India with a bunch of absolute strangers seemed like a perfect opportunity to rediscover myself. Thank you Jagriti Yatra.
Among a lot of first times:
- Sleeping in a sleeping bag
- Bathing in a steel trunk
- Squats on a moving train
- Chasing chicken and goats on a village farm
- Babysitting a 9 month old as her mother soldered solar panel circuits at Barefoot College, Tilonia.
- Being vegetarian for a fortnight
- Staying up on a starlit winter night out in the fields, just for kicks
- Partying on New Years with new friends from across the globe in a chair car bogie of an Indian train (and breaking a few chairs!)
- Buffet meals on railway stations
- Doing a kid's dance routine at least thrice every day, for 15 days (Watch it here)
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| Surya Namaskar, Chengalpattu, 30th December 2013 |
I have met remarkable people, seen the most beautiful sunrise and watched the water sparkle in pristine village ponds. I have joined my drunken friends in song on a autorickshaw in the national capital and been smothered by gunny sacks in the luggage compartment on a Mumbai local train. I have met my heroes Joe Madiath and Popatrao Powar who are solving issues of livelihood, sanitation and health for villages across India. I have lived for a fortnight without a laptop, the internet and elusive phone service for most of the trip. Shed of pretense and material demands of the world, I felt a childish happiness that I did not think was possible anymore.
I know now, that I have places to go back to - little pockets of joy where a joyous celebration of humanity is constantly on. Silently and unbeknownst to the madding crowds around, there exist oases of peace in Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya, Gram Vikas, Tilonia, Tarumitra Ashram and the Gandhi Ashram. After a journey of such duration and expanse, it is difficult often to find an answer to "So, how was the trip?"
I will try.
The trip was in Deoria and was nice. (If you know what I mean)
As for the journey, it hasn't changed me. It has served as a reminder of who I truly am. Memories from that fortnight make every living moment a lot brighter.
:)
ReplyDeleteNext _trip_ Sunderbans?
Oh yes. The trip is in the offing for a lot of people :D
DeleteThis was nice. I didn't know that you took evening classes for neighbourhood kids or about the food distribution volunteering :)
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great experience - the yatra. Is getting onboard difficult?
I was a pretty different person in middle school :) The Yatra just took me back to the days. Its not very difficult to get onboard.. Especially for people already working. Also if you know people who are already yatris ;-)
Delete