Bharat Jodo Yatra 2022: The prep.

As you all know, I am off to show my support to Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, an event that I believe will prove to have held significant importance in the history of independent India when it is written in the future.

My objectives are four-fold:

1. show symbolic support and be present on the right side of history;
2. meet interesting people who think (like me) that the idea of India is worth saving and one of the very important ways to do it today in 2022 is to reassure every citizen, especially those that are being persecuted by this regime, that we are all in this together, that this is our country together, and that we will not go down without a fight;
3. see how I can contribute substantively to the process of healing and repairing Indian society, if possible, something I can only know when I am on the ground; and
4. probably change my own outlook on life, my approach to political thought, and my perspectives on my own idea of India. Indeed, I want to see not just if I can change India in whichever slight way I can move the needle, but if coming face to face with reality, it can change me. I do hope so for the better.

So, here goes my first update: I am ready for the Yatra (or at least, for the travel to Nanded, my staging area). Luggage packed, neatly listed (by my ever-sweet Maa), and loaded into the car boot by Vikas, my right-hand man, vehicles (both, the car and the motorcycle) checked, rechecked, tweaked, fuelled, cleaned, maps & watches synchronised, locations shared online, emergency SOPs decided on, and ready to ride the approximately 464km to Nanded tomorrow morning.

I am taking the scenic route (Pune-Nagar-Amalner-Beed-Majalgaon-Parbhani-Nanded) instead of the straight and narrow. I will be passing by some breathtaking views and landscapes and I fully intend to stop, admire them, soak them in, and perhaps record them for posterity, and to share with my friends here.

My posts will start coming in drips and dribbles. A photo here, a description there, an experience, a sighting, a video, an introspection. They may not always make sense. But I guarantee you that they will be from the heart. As all my posts have always been.

Wish me the best. A 464km ride followed by another 500-odd km of driving to and fro from the Bharat Jodo Yatra start point to my hotel in Nanded, and then another 508km ride back (via Latur), and probably 300-500km of walking between those (yes, I intend to stay longer if it catches my fancy and I can see I am doing something other than simply showing symbolic support to BJY, and meeting interesting people) is an adventure I have not been on in the past 20 years at the very least. My excitement knows no bounds! Hope I get a sound night’s sleep before the storm tomorrow.

Once again: Wish me the best. I am about to climb into my little aircraft and fly straight at the storm, with an intent to defeat it and come out victorious on the other side 15 days (?) later, hopefully, a changed human.