The Jagriti Journal
What we learnt, where we went, how we analysed and why we grew wiser!
December 26, 2011 (SELCO, Hubli) : SELCO has lit peoples' lives by making electricity more stable. It is a profit-oriented model with a social objective. SELCO set up small stand-alone solar panels across rural Karnataka, while providing training and financing options. They aim at being a Business Model that can be replicated. A lot of street vendors and students have benefitted from this. It opened doors for ecological, social and profitable sustainability; all possible, after all.
December 27, 2011 (Infosys, Bengaluru): Enamoured by the sheer dimension, hues, size and shape of the Infosys campus, the discipline and the energy that existed, the yatris breathed the necessities to make a large organisation run. The humble and modest attitude of Mr. Narayana Murthy was another lesson for most Yatris.
December 28, 2011 (Aravind Eye Care System, Madurai): Set up by Dr. Venkataswamy post-retirement, this effort exposed us to the fact that, at all ages, passion can remain the same. “It is ourselves we help, ourselves we heal”, he said and he is one who has stepped across boundaries and disabilities to have created this. Organisational ethics plays a vital role in keeping this hospital as divine as the Meenakshi Temple.
December 29, 2011 (Gouthami, Travel Another India): She stressed the fact that the first person in the team we create has to invariably be our family. She also gave many new insights into the tourism sector — a place with high demand and high supply, but coordinating both is the issue. As final advice, she stated, “Having tie ups does not mean that you give in to competition, rather it advertises that your organisation can collaborate in this selfish big bad world!”
December 30, 2011 (Naandi, Visakhapatnam): They have made hunger in the villages vanish. As a public-private partnership, this organisation has provided the midday meals for a million school-goers. Bureaucratic ways were debated and the final conclusion was, “When we serve with a good heart, a lot more such people come to hold our hands”. We took time off that evening to understand the psyche of the navy force; our visit to the Navy Dockyard added the patriotic flavour that we needed.
December 31, 2011 (Gram Vikas, Bhubaneshwar): Being a revolutionary visionary, Joe Madiath began relief work in Odisha while a student. And since then, he has preserved and promoted the Odissi culture by spending his life with the tribals. He introduced biogas, sanitation and education to this interior region; now the districts are almost self-sustainable. He spoke to us about the journey from scratch; it only helped the social activists in the audience become aware of the fact that sometimes communities are hard to access.
January 2, 2012 (Nidan, Patna): Looking at the city's interiors, urban change makers realised that there was a lot to be done. We did understand that our generation has to give up on luxuries to ensure that future generations did not have to have the have and have-not divide. Nidan has done a lot to ensure that the slum-dwellers lived with more human rights. The biggest nuance of social work emphasised was the fact that work had to be done at the grassroots.
January 3, 2012 (Barpar Village in Uttar Pradesh): This was the day when the Yatris could prove their worth at creating business plans with a social edge. Also, by staying for more than 24 hours at this site, they had a feel of the other India. Broken into groups, the yatris after interacting with the villagers, used their knowledge to prepare business plans to solve the crisis that Indian villages face today. These creative models were presented under the Banyan tree.
January 5, 2012 (Goonj, Delhi): Dressing for dignity. Most below poverty-line people find it difficult to make ends meet; and one of the biggest worries is the lack of clothing. Also, by providing this, one can see a change in their confidence and self-esteem. Goonj has done the same with a lot more initiatives; they provide clothing in return for labour at cleaning sites and development projects. The visible change in the villages they have touched moved the Yatris.
January 6, 012 (Tiloniya, Rajasthan): Started by Bunker Roy, this village has been a role model. It dwells on the fact that a rural problem needs only a rural solution. Thus, the solution lies within the village — listening and learning from them would make us help them better. Mothers and grandmothers from around the world are trained at the Barefoot College and they head back to their own villages as their country's only solar or water engineers.
January 7, 2012 (SEWA, Ahmedabad): Looking at the many women from the unorganised handicraft and self-employment industries who took that extra step forward to show the world their potential, the yatris were very motivated. Listening to their encouraging stories and understanding the model behind SEWA as share-holder organisation made the yatris contemplate the best possible business plan that they could use in their start up. And with some very passionate finale speeches, emotions filled the room – the Valedictory event had the right mixture of excitement, enjoyment and reflections. They left the stage, envisaging the future. *******************************************************************
Reliving the journey
As the train criss-crossed the country, and the yatris met real life heroes and developed the spirit of entrepreneurship, there were many camera moments that have to be relived:
There were times when the whole group would fall silent due to lack of energy; this was a very strenuous programme. To pep themselves up, they would suddenly sing the “Jagriti Geet”; the whole train would follow, shouting at the top of their voices and dancing the choreographed steps. This would ensure that the Jagriti Spirit stayed forever. They also used the same song to thank the various role models who spent time with them.
Movement inside the train was very funny. We had only one option when choosing the path; the linear line was always jammed. Yet, in all the chaos, the yatris always managed to find a way across compartments. After a point, there was a method in the madness; people moved in order, perfectly.
Food was a big hit! Right from the soups and salads to the desserts, the three course meal was always met with big cheers; every day something new was on the plate. When families came to visit the yatris, the food they brought was gobbled up in a matter of seconds. When the Gujarati cooks onboard can produce perfect idlis , uthapams and sambar, cultural differences vanish. Food for thought!
At every destination there were around 10 buses waiting to transport the yatris to the location. And because we were a large group, they did need some real dedicated thought to ensure that every one was safe. As days passed, the yatris would get themselves organised within minutes; a lot of discipline removed unnecessary chaos.
At the various destinations, the yatris either met ex-yatris working at the role model centre or coming back to visit the train. This proved the worth of the Jagriti Network and how this journey had changed lives.
The briefing and de-briefing session in the chair cars was enormously innovative and had creative touches. It made learning fascinating and fun!
At the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, the usually chirpy set suddenly sobered down as they took in the atmosphere. The second freedom struggle is all about the social injustice that we face today.
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Yatris on a mission
The yatris — included both rural and urban, Indian and foreign, rich and not-so-rich, the culturally refined and the street styled, chapati eating and rasam guzzling, men and women — bound by concern of the socio-economic condition of the country today and a dream to change it. Here is a look into the psyche of a few yatris:
Bhavya Sharma: Passion urged him to become a scientist, but the community forced him towards medicine. After some dentistry education, he took up an MBA. This career change seemed to reward him for he had scored a 98 percentile in his XAT. But, to him college is like a factory; when you graduate, you do so with an “OK Tested” tag!
“I knew I had the extra knowledge. I strived to put it to use elsewhere,” he chimes. Now in TISS, he has realised the need for social entrepreneurship. But what gives him that extra edge is the fact that he is an author of a published novel — one that he wrote in 15 days. Titled “Life Unplugged”, it has catered to the market very well.
His first start up — a publishing house — is being constructed. His motto reads, “Make lions realise that they are not sheep”. He does some career counselling in schools. Having been a master at all trades, he wishes to use all these skills in making the world a better place.
Zim Ugochukwu: She is a biologist by education, but a social activist by passion. As a sophomore she has cloned a gene. After working on an anti-tobacco campaign (VP of helloCHANGE, the nation's largest youth-run anti-tobacco organisation), she realised that most people in the urban parts of the U.S. had no clue about the community around them. She had some interaction experiences while on the Obama campaign in 2008 and decided to take community-related projects to a higher level. So she started a foundation called Ignite Greensboro.
She is on the Jagriti Yatra to discover how rural communities in India perform and transform. She believes in “inspiring people to instil a change”. “Engaging in life and being connected to things that are around you is the best way forward,” she feels.
Richard Russell: As an AIESECer from the U.K., he had the opportunity to spend a full year in Gram Vikas, Orissa. This sprinter and marathon runner loves travelling. He is in India to be a change-maker. Being an artistic person who excels at learning languages, he bonded with the children Gram Vikas was working with. He then began working with surveys and researches that happened in that area.
“I educated people about their human rights, and I learnt the art of living within limits, from them”. He enjoyed this reciprocative process.
“This place and the people have changed my thought process. I am immensely indebted to them. I have decided to stay on in Odisha for some more time”, he says energetically. “They have extreme happiness though surrounded by sorrow; they are simple and united”. He wishes to take back all these and make life in his country appreciable as well.
Registrations for the 2012 Yatra has already begun. Check their website for more information: www.jagritiyatra.com
Kasturi Ramanathan is a student at Christ University, Bengaluru.
