23rd Dec,2008- Day we landed in Mumbai

It was 3 AM as per watch when we reached Mumbai. This was my first visit to Mumbai-City that never sleeps.Thanks to Prabhu( TJY yatri from Chennai) who booked the cab from Mumbai station to IIT Bombay campus in advance. We all yatri's from Chennai stayed in IIT-Bombay hostel for 1 night as the registration for TJY was on 24th Morning. Again not to miss thanking our friend Vivek Khandelwal and Ashish, both fellow TJY yatri's from IIT Bombay,who arranged for our stay in IIT Bombay hostels. Even 4 AM in morning at IIT Bombay was very lively as everyone was preparing for their cultural fest Indigo 2009 - 23rd dec being the last day of festival. I got to know that Sonu Nigam was going to perform today which was exciting as I didnt had any commitments for the day so I can attend the concert. After a small sleep I was ready to go out with my chennai yatri's for Mumbai Tour.Since it was my first visit to Mumbai so I wanted to see Gateway of India. The Gateway (As Mumbaites call Gateway of India) reminds me of time when britishers would have entered India through this door. Taj was standing tall in its full glory infront of Gateway. I had followed the news of terrorist attacks in Mumbai through news channel coverage so was emotionally attached to Taj and other spots in Mumbai which went under the trauma. We all wanted to go for a boat trip in Arabian Sea so we took a boat trip to Elephanta Caves which is an UNESCO World Heritage Site.The ferry ride to Elephanta Caves from Gateway took 1 hour. It was a wonderful experience to see different stone carved idols of Lord Shiva which dates back to 9th-13th Century. I was amazed at the thought of effort it would have taken to carve this idols using primitive tools way back in 9th-13th centuries. After visiting caves I was unhappy to realise how unorganised was Indian Tourism Industry. I could see litter all over the place on way to cave with little awareness among the locals and visitors to keep the place tidy. I couldn't stop myself from making some strong comments who were spoiling the place. There was a foreign couple whom I saw throwing corn on side of street. This was really shocking as I never expected it from foreigners who are very disciplined in these terms.I had to go and talk to the couple requesting for their help to keep the area clean. I apologised from other's side who have been littering around but since I didnt see anyone else throwing litter in front of me so couldn't do much. The couple was kind enough to apologise for their behaviour . After returning back to Mumbai mainground we headed back to IIT Bombay Hostel as we all were feeling very tired and sleepy. Not to mention that we were tired so much that we went straight to our bed's rather than going for Sonu Nigam Concert. I dont mind missing it as next day was much awaited day when we will be boarding TJY train along with other 350 yatri's.

22nd Dec,2008- Train journey from Chennai to Mumbai

The day began quite early today because of loud voice of vendors selling tea. The day was full of masti with other TJY yatri's. We exchanged our details and reasons for applying for TJY. We even spoke to non TJY yatris on train about the concept of our yatra and how each one of us including them have to play an important role in society. The big learning we had through the day journey was not to crib about government's inefficient work but to focus on Individual contribution for improvement. We realised that it was issue with individuals not playing their duty properly that is acting as roadblock to progress of India. Evening was spend in learning Mafia and playing it with other TJY yatri's.Thanks to santosh for teaching this fantastic game to me and other yatris.

21st December,2008 - Trip from Chennai to Mumbai

The day has finally arrived when i am supposed to board the train to mumbai for Tata Jagriti Yatra (TJY). Not sure why I was having a mixed feeling of nervousness and excitement. May be because I had lot to do before I board that train. I went out to shop for a woollen jacket as we will be visiting cities in North India where the weather will be very chilly. I was so busy and tensed that I booked the cab for wrong time. Thanks to Arvind (another TJY yatri friend) who called to check for timings that I realised my mistake. Alas, all packing was done and I was ready for TJY(atleast materialistically). Mentally there was lot going in my mind but I tried to lower my expectation from yatra. Cab was unusually on time at my place. I was accompanied by my roomie Abdul (another fellow yatri ) so after saying goodbye to our other friends we were on our way to Chennai Central (Railway Station).We arrived at station on time and met other fellow TJY yatris from Chennai. They all were in different coaches except Arvind who was travelling with me and Abdul.While me and Abdul were busy in our chit chat with other yatri friends we saw a group of eunuchs boarding the same train as ours. It was a mere coincidence that they were boarding the same compartment as ours (Me,Abdul andArvind). Although for many of us eunuchs are a subject of fear etc but personally I have a great respect for them.
----------------------------Trip from Delhi to Sultanpur -----------------
It is just because I have travelled along with one eunuch in a train from Delhi to Sultanpur(my home town). She (as per eunuch preference) was going to Varanasi to meet her family. I along with other people in that compartment were feeling very uncomfortable but later realised how well educated she was. She did her master's in english from India's well known college in Delhi University and has worked as receptionist in Le Meridian ( I was shocked to hear that) but was forced by her community to follow the path of asking money in trains and on weddings. It was very sorrowful moment for me when I heard about her pain.
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Let's leave my previous train journey here and come back to Chennai- Mumbai journey. After keeping the luggage at our respective berths we came out to click some photos. I wanted to capture each and every moment of the yatra with my camera. It was during this photo shoot that I heard one eunuch (her name was Laila) commenting - 'Mera bhi photo le lo' i.e take my photo also. Although I knew that our society expected me to be quiet at this situation but I replied back to Laila - 'Aa jao aap bhi,aapka photo bhi le leta hoon' i.e 'Please come, we will take your picture as well'. This reply was a shock for Abdul and Arvind ( They told me later). They never expected to do such a thing in life. It was a shock for Laila also as she never expected that I will call her for photo shoot. We had a great photo shoot with Laila and her friends ( Remember I told you it was big group). I know many of the readers will feel uncomfortable to hear that we had photo's with eunuch but for me it was an achievement to overcome the social dogma of society rather than feeling ashamed. It was just a small step to give eunuchs the right respect in society which all of us want to enjoy. We empathise with physically challenged but why not with eunuchs. Do they don't have right to live a respectable life? Don't they have feelings? I have got the answers but time has come when each one of us should give a thought about his/her action towards this special group of humans whom we call eunuchs. After the train started the photo session became a point of discussion for me,Abdul and Arvind. Before going to bed we all realised that this special group needs respect in life. I hope after reading this post we will change our actions and perceptions about eunuchs.
Remember: Eunuchs don't need sympathy, they want our acceptance.

Arvind, Me and Abdul



Arvind,Laila's friend,Laila,Me and Abdul

Let's get ready

Thinking about staying in train for 15 days will make people sick but I am ready to go for it. Lots of arrangement needs to be done for the yatra such as buying a jacket to face the chilly weather in North India, getting clothes cleaned etc. Work pressure is making things worse as I need to complete my tasks before I leave. Let's leave the worry about work for some time atleast till the time I am back from yatra. Today Abdul (my roomie,he is also joining me for Jagriti Yatra) shopped some toiletries and snacks for the yatra. Each day we are putting some effort to make things perfect for our yatra. I think expectation of things to be perfect spoils the real motive of the yatra. We are going to discover the unknown during this yatra atleast within ourself. Today afternoon I was sitting in office with lots of pending task but couldn't start my work as every minute I thought about yatra. To overcome from the illusion of the world where everything was perfect I started reading about the role models/organisations we will be visiting during yatra. Initially my intention was to read about one-two role models and then get back to work.But... I couldn't do that.With each information about these role models/organisation I realised that what really matter is not the dream but the courage to make your dream become reality. These role models are a few of those Indian Entrepreneurs who had put a lot of hard work to make their dream turn into reality. One very common thing that I noted after reading about these entrepreneurs is that most of them were associated with rural India. This gives a sense of satisfaction to me as I also plan to start my entrepreneurial carrier with rural India. What my entrepreneurial plan is ? :) Let's leave it for another post. This post is all about getting ready for yatra -not just physically but mentally also. I am getting ready for this-same is the case for all 400 participants (includes organisers etc) who are going to board the train from Mumbai.Like anyone else I have also got lots of expectation from myself specially after I started getting involved with this yatra. These expectations are based on my expectation from yatra. Sorry for this vicious circle :) but yes it is true that I do expect this yatra to be a great turning point in my outlook towards life.

The first step towards realisation of my dream

I am feeling excited and nervous (not sure why) as just a few more days are left before I board the train for Jagriti Yatra. These past few days have gone in anticipation about the yatra. Each day I am just stuck to my laptop with few sites opened every 10 minutes (orkut –Tata Jagriti Yatra group, Official discussion board for yatra-www.jagritiyatra.com/discuss and yatra Google groups). My friends have also started getting addicted to my new found passion as I bug them each day with some new newsJ. I do feel sorry for my friends as they are just becoming a outlet channel for my emotions. It is scary to know that I am becoming emotional but it is true that after a long time I am trying to work for my dream-to be an entrepreneur. After applying to Tata Jagriti yatra each day, every minute I used to wait for that one confirmation that tells that I was selected. Finally this small dream turned into a reality when I received the confirmation from organizers and was asked to send Rs.2000 cheque for confirmation so that they can go ahead to look for my sponsor. I feel how unsatisfied we all (that includes me) are with what we have. The dream started taking a bigger shape because now I was dreaming for my sponsorship to be confirmedJ. Thanks to Mr Sponsor that finally I will be boarding the train for my entrepreneurial journey. After all these dreams I want to wake up-wake up to do what I always want to do. I along with other fellow yatri’s met in Spencers Plaza,Chennai on 14th Dec,2008 to share our personal introduction along with entrepreneurial experience(if any). The meeting was mind awakening for me. Meeting was attended by 7 people in total- Prabhu(4th Year engg), Anand (3rd year engg), Arvind (4th year engg, already had Entrepreneural experience),Abdul ( My friend, colleague, flatmate),Vinod (Yoda therapist) , Krishika( MBA, Homemade chocolate business) which makes the count 6. No prize for guessing that I was the 7th lucky person who attended this meeting. I have posted pictures/videos of this meeting on Picasa and Youtube so check it in your free time.
My next post will be on preparation for yatra. Preparation for Yatra? - Yes you read it right.