NEW DELHIi: Two years ago, aged just 15, Harsha Mishra arrived in Delhi from her home in Patna after a quarrel with her parents. The stay in the capital for the teenager lasted just a couple of hours. Seeing her weeping on the platform at the station in Anand Vihar, a kindly man bought her tickets for her return.
Mishra is back in the city. But this trip hasn’t been triggered by any emotional outburst. And she arrived not on a train, but a bicycle. Along with a friend, 21-year-old Savitri Murmu of Jharkhand, the 17-year-old girl is cycling 24,000 km across India to spread the message of ‘Unity in Diversity and Women’s Empowerment’.
Having traversed 4,000 km through Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh since November, the two girls reached Delhi on Sundayand will resume the expedition on Thursday.
Explaining the impetus for the odyssey, Mishra said, “In June, I met a cyclist who had travelled 12,000km though not across the entire country. I thought maybe I could achieve what she hadn’t.” But parental consent was a hurdle. To convince the NCC cadet’s father, a village priest, the obliging additional director general of NCC, Bihar-Jharkhand region, paid him a visit. The ADG also advised Mishra not to attempt the ride alone but to find a partner. So Mishra contacted Murmu, an adivasi girl whom she had met several times at NCC camps.
Venturing from home alone for the first time, Murmu reached Patna in a bus and found Mishra waiting for her. The two girls then set about arranging funds for the expedition. They finally got Rodic, a consultant firm, to fully finance their trip after on condition the company would not be held liable in case of accidents.
Once rivals, the journey has turned the two girls into best pals. “I was often egged on by friends to shove Savitri while playing because she was good at almost every sport,” confessed Mishra. “But now we are fast friends, though I get angry if she ignores me and talks to other girls.”
Murmu, a hostel resident most of her life and therefore never sharing a strong bond with family members, savours her new friendship. “There is no electricity or even a road in my tiny village of just 13 houses. And yet here I am, travelling across India,” she said. “My life has changed because of Harsha, we surely share something special.”
When the expedition comes to an end, Murmu said she would find other adventures. And despite professing a great hatred for exams, Harsha desires to become an IPS officer. The fact that they are doing what few girls dare to do should spur them on to realise these dreams too.
Article Source: Times of India