“I was on the way to a restaurant with a friend last year when I saw an old lady collecting food that had fallen from a nearby trash can. The sight of the differently-abled woman trying to gather food for herself moved me and it was after this incident that I started reading about food wastage in the country,” said Nigin Binish, a 25-year-old resident of Kanyakumari, who decided to walk across India to raise awareness about food wastage.
Destination Kashmir
He started from Coimbatore in August 2017, and has so far covered 2,800 km and visited nearly 20 cities. He arrived in New Delhi on Friday after beginning his journey 136 days ago.
“It is not just about food but also about someone’s life,” says Mr. Binish, who plans to walk all the way up to Kashmir.
“I come from a village of fisherfolk. Seeing people struggle for food is not something I am accustomed to. I had either read about it or watched it on the TV. But the sight of the old woman struggling for food made me realise how privileged we are,” said Mr. Binish, who always carries the National Flag with him.
He claims that throughout his journey he has depended on the kindness of strangers for food and lodging.
“I am travelling without any money. This acts as a force which makes me approach strangers for help. When they come to know about my cause, they come forward and provide me with food,” he added.
Learning experience
The BTech graduate said the journey has proved to be a learning experience.
“There have been days when people refused to give me even a glass of water and I have had to sleep on an empty stomach. Then on other days, there have been people who have verbally abused me for my inability to speak Hindi and have raised questions about my caste. Through this journey and through the variety of people I am meeting, I am learning more about my country,” said Mr. Binish.
Support on social media
When asked about what keeps him going, 25-year-old , who has close to 1,500 followers on social media, said: “I have been getting enormous support on social media. The day I completed 100 days, I almost felt like giving up but the number of messages that I got kept me motivated.”
