ROURKELA: A man from Karnataka resolved to take his mother across all the pilgrim places of the country. Meet D Krishna Kumar (40), the modern day ‘Shravan Kumar’ who reached Rourkela on Monday as part of his pilgrimage.
Talking about his mission, Kumar said they set out on January 16 last year and have travelled 36,890 km on his Chetak. His 70-year-old mother Chuda Ratna said they have visited Vedvyas temple complex, Gurukul Vedic Ashram and Hanuman Vatika and will leave for Kolkata from Rourkela on their scooter on Wednesday.
Kumar said after 13 years of service as corporate team leader in a private company, he decided to take his mother to all the pilgrim spots of the country from his savings. He took out his father’s scooter and set out on the journey with his mother on pillion.
Being the only son, he brought his mother to Bengaluru after his father’s death four years ago. “From childhood, I saw my mother dedicating herself for our large joint family and she hardly ventured out of the house. It is time for me to pay back, serve her and take care of her so that she doesn’t feel lonely,” he said. Ratna said, “It is hard to find a son like him.”
They have covered Karnakata, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Goa, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. They will leave for Kolkata on Wednesday and after covering West Bengal and North-East, they would return to cover the leftover coastal areas of Odisha and other remaining states. It may take another 75 days, he said, adding that daily they cover 100 km to 150 km, meet people and enjoy the journey.