Has anyone told you lately how smart you are? You are. Because you belong to the select club of people who know that the best way to kickstart the new year is by imbibing another installment of the heartwarming, life-affirming content this column has brought you unfailingly for the past six years. On this special occasion, I would like to share with you the extraordinary story of K. Thiruvengadasivasamy, or KTS.
I got to know KTS when I was invited last year by Austin University to deliver the Annual Commencement Day address. KTS was the Deputy Vice Chancellor-cum-Cook at Austin University’s sprawling California campus, which is four times the size of its Texas campus. As you would be aware, Austin is one of the top universities not just in America but in the Milky Way. It is in a league all its own, even above the so-called Ivy League.
So when KTS emailed me to ask if I would permit him to fly me business class to L.A., put me up in a seven-star hotel, and pay me a modest six-figure honorarium in exchange for me sharing some nuggets of wisdom with a bunch of graduating students, I was, I admit, tempted. It was a tremendous honour. It felt great to know that Austin University recognised me as a global thought leader, influencer, role model, and a youth icon their elite students could be mentored by.
Putting country before self
But the secret of my success is no secret: if I’ve made it to the top, it’s because I repeatedly put country above self. Being the inveterate patriot that I am, I told KTS I would be more than happy to address the students of Austin University — but in India. “Why don’t you guys open a campus in India, preferably in a model State like Uttar Pradesh?” I wrote back.
It was this response of mine that set in motion a chain of events that culminated in an MoU being signed between Austin and the U.P. government. Unfortunately, in a cruel twist of fate, it turned out that Austin University was fake, which came as a blow to KTS, for he was, on the contrary, real.
Not only was he very much there, he was expanding rapidly. When word spread that he had lost the lucrative job he never had with the American employer who never existed, his reputation and credit rating plunged while his BP and blood sugar shot up. His weight grew from a healthy 75kg to 125 kg in six months.
Participants of the Bharat Jodo Yatra near India Gate in New Delhi, December 24, 2022. | Photo Credit: PTI
As KTS developed a series of obesity-related ailments, in early September, a friend told him about something called the Bharat Jodo Yatra (BJY), an initiative by the Congress party to Make India Fit Again (MIFA). The core idea of BJY was to MIFA by getting Indians from every walk of life to walk. The BJY-walas, who called themselves yatris, would walk 3,500 km from Kashmir to Kanyakumari but in reverse order — from Kanyakumari to Kashmir.
Walking is such a simple fitness hack that even a one-year-old can do it. KTS signed up for it, like millions of other Indians. He started walking on September 7. In three-and-a-half months of pacy perambulation, he walked 3,000 km and lost 55 kg. He is now a svelte 70kg and plays soccer on the days he is not walking.
Walk-fie with Rahul
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in New Delhi, December 24, 2022. | Photo Credit: PTI
I caught up with him when BJY entered Delhi. He informed me that, since BJY began, India has collectively shed 8,91,457 kg or approximately 8.9 lakh kg, of which 4.9 lakh kg belonged to the BJP, 2.2 lakh kg to the Congress, and the remaining from smaller parties and independents. “Thanks to the BJY-MIFA,” KTS said, showing off a walk-fie with Rahul, “India is now leaner and fitter as a country.”
I was blown away. I had always thought of BJY as some sort of a political campaign. I kept reading reports saying how the Yatra will have no impact on voter mindset, Congress’ electoral fortunes, etc. Such narrow-minded takes had blinded me to the obvious: for KTS, and millions like him, a politician setting an example by not just walking daily but structuring his entire day and work around a fitness regimen is such an inspiring thing.
I’m convinced that, in 2023, if we all talk less and walk more, it will go down much better than its predecessor did.
May 2023 be a walk in the park for each one of you.
The author of this satire is Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu.
sampath.g@thehindu.co.in
