THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Cross country tours from Leh to Kanykumari has been made on bikes, cars and other vehicles, but what makes Sarojini Monteiro journey special is that she pedaled the distance. For over two months the young woman had only her bicycle for company along the arduous, lonely stretches that comprise the trip. The Goan lass bubbles with energy and positivity as her mission nears target on Tuesday. She made her penultimate halt in the city, where she spent two days before pedaling off to Kanyakumari.
The 'Incredible India' ride, as she puts it, is not a single-target outing or a publicity stunt, instead this is her first step towards showcasing India as a safe place for women along with promoting healthy lifestyle among people.
Pessimist opinions
Before she began her trip, just like what happens every time a person decides to try out something out of the regular, she too was inundated by caution notes. "You will be robbed, raped, abused, and will be dead, you'll probably fall unconscious in the middle of somewhere. How will you get any accommodation? Food? You may die of diarrhoea...," the list goes on. But all that she has to ask these people in reply is one pertinent question, "can't you point out the positive sides, of what I may receive or how I will be able carry forward my mission?" At this juncture she points to the societal stigma that still threatens girls and women and prevents them from moving out of their homes to set examples.
During a stopover in North, Sarojini came across a couple of Haryanvi speaking girls returning from a farm. Their education got over by eighth standard due to lack of a safe mode of transport to the next village where the school was located.
For the entire journey she didn't plan any accommodation. She stayed in dharamshalas, at the homes of her siblings, friends, relatives and their friends. Very rarely did she check into hotels and in the absence of such places she rode in the dark for hours through uninhabited places.
An epidemiologist and a Phd holder in public health, she returned to India from Australia to take the message of healthy living among the masses. She attributes the laziness to do exercise as root-cause for lifestyle diseases.