QUEEN'S ROAD: Where there is a will, there is a way. Akash Mishra from Indore is proof to this adage.
As a child he always dreamt of riding a bicycle, but he never owned one for lack of money. Today, at the age of 20, Akash not only pedals for his dreams, he does it for good causes.
He is the founder of The Golden Bird Foundation, a non-profit organisation that works towards educating and nourishing marginalised and vulnerable sections of society.
Akash has pedalled more than 20,000 km, to cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad. For him, the numbers matter little though. It is all about living his life to the fullest.
Cycling is not all Akash loves. He has also hitch-hiked to Gwalior, Bhopal, Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Jaipur and Agra, covering more than 10,000 km.
He believes hitch-hiking allows him to discover, learn, explore and talk to people from various backgrounds. It is a way to truly experience ‘Incredible India’.
His most recent mission, to spread awareness on the value of education, began on July 8. He pedalled from Indore to Chennai to attend the International Youth NGO Summit, where he was one of the speakers. He padalled 5,500 km, touching 15 districts.
“Throughout this journey, I was spreading awareness on the importance of education. As I travel on highways and across lots of villages, I get to meet different people to whom education still doesn’t hold much importance. I took it as an opportunity to make a positive change to the lives of at least a few people,” he says.
Akash is now hitch-hiking to the Himalayas. He plans to return to Indore by the end of September. “While hitch-hiking, you meet a lot of locals and get a chance to talk to them and listen to their stories. You go through good and bad experiences that prepare you for the future. I like to push the limits and change the rules. People say money is everything but I personally feel behaviour, nature, humility and love are more important,” Akash says.