Railway Rhapsody: Jagriti Yatra (Part II)

"Enterprise led development." The Jagriti Yatra team was a synergy catalyst for an 'inspired youth' of a nation. Showcasing and presenting different examples of successful business and social models, the Yatra intended to light a spark in the 450 innovative minds on board.

Eating together the food cooked in the pantry car; listening together the lectures of successful entrepreneurs and social activists; waking together to the blaring PA system's peppy playlist; sleeping (together??) in the same moving dormitories; a camaraderie bore upon the travelers that would have otherwise taken two strangers at least a couple of months to build.

Just five days into the Yatra and a fire was steadily growing in the bellies of the brave. The brave who plunged in cold morning showers, the brave who dared to question the assumed corporate hierarchies and the brave who showed the guts to pursue their dreams.

Dec 30th- Naandi Foundation & East Coast Guard, Vishakhpattnam, Andhra Pradesh: The Chandrababu Naidu government outsourced the mid-day meal program to the Naandi Foundation in 1998. The foundation gets its raw materials directly from the Food Corporation of India. The food is cooked in huge, sanitised, centralised kitchens from where it is packed in containers and transported off to schools in trucks. These schools lie within an urban radius of 30km and rural radius of 15km. The two centres in Andhra now are at Hyderabad and Vizag. It is a private-public partnership model, where the funds for running the kitchens comes from private individuals/trusts.

A lot of questions popped in our minds regarding the replicability of the model and how cost-effective is the model if it were to be implemented for all schools across the state. It seems impossible, on the other the model is now being launched in Africa!
 

This was followed by an interesting panel discussion on Agri-business in India, right in the porch of Naandi Foundation's kitchen. David (Naandi Foundation) started the discussion on a hyperbole whenhe effectively scandalised the traditional sections of the audience by remarking that "we have to make agriculture sexy!". To lap it up Vamsi (Bharat-India Jodo, Reliance Foundation) asked how many girls in the audience were ready to marry a marginal farmer. A handful out of nearly 180 girls. And finally Shashank (IIT grad, founder of Farms & Farmers) finally drove home the message that the "only problem with agriculture was acceptability." Through giggles and gasps and gaping the crowd tried to grasp the whole import of agriculture, its challenges and business' opportunities in the field.

From field to fleet, we reached the Indian Navy's base to visit the INS Shakti, INS Ranveer and INS Vikrant. Like school children on a trip to the zoo, we filed dutifully into the ships and watched in amazement the mechanical and engineering wonder of the huge ships. Right from the fuelling pipes to the firing cannons, set against the night and the sea, the sheer magnitude of the nuts and bolts and the humungous size of the vessel, the Yatris simply gaped in awe! And of course when it was time for questions, clever souls did chip in with, "kitna deti hai?" Nonetheless, it was an absolute awe-inspiring moment to be visitors of the Indian Coast Guard at Vizag.

Dec 31st- Gram Vikas, Behrampur, Orissa: As the train ran its course, the bogeys inside were buzzing with activities. Be it graphing out individual Lifelines or decorating each one's Dream Trees, the Yatris in their groups, squashed within the blue berths shared their experiences from the fields of Africa to the mountains of Nepal to the schools of Jharkhand. When it was told that the peninsula was covered and we were exactly beyond the same latitude of our starting point in Mumbai, it was unbelievable that so much had transpired in just a week.

With Orissa though, a new chapter began. The train cruised to halt on a station facing water shortage. Even as we trooped to the single lavatory-bathroom on the other platform, waiting in queue for our turn to shower and shit, we were asking questions of how more than half our rural populations went without proper toilets! The clean tracks of south Indian railway stations gave way to the defecation disaster that was a north Indian station. Patna which was to follow, would stamp the fact on our cringing memories forever.

Digressing, at Behrampur, we saw and heard patiently Joe Madiath's transformative account of starting Gram Vikas and working on everything wholistic ranging from children's education to organic farming. We spent the New Year's eve at the grounds of Gram Vikas School. The children, neatly dressed and specially assembled to interact with us on a holiday, enthusiastically played games with us, sang for us and spoke vividly about everything! The anthem we sang as a thank you to all our role-models, saw a beaming brigade of innocent smiles in return.

Custard and fried rice and manchurian and pasta were delicacies lined for the last dinner of 2012 on Behrampur's platform. Just as few of us picked the ladles to serve our co-Yatris to get the caterers a break, few other Yatris with a penchant for handling the crayons, crepe and scissors decorated the AC chair cars for the midnight party.

MIDNIGHT. 2013! 450 youngsters fitting within two bogies would just not be impossible, but also a man-made disaster. Hence the more private of us sat with our friends in the separate compartments adjoining the two chair cars, and the boisterous lot of us joined the other party animals in the aisles of the red and blue cars. Crepes hanging across the compartments were dismantled to become the headgears of the imaginative. The PA system rattled off melodies, only to be thwarted to play party-hits. Even as separate dance sessions took off in the different bogies, threatening to rattle the already shaky train off the tracks, the festive spirit left a bunch of youngsters untouched.

This lot, in retrospect I admire them, sat in silence and simply greeted the on-lookers in peace. They had taken such a stance in memory of the young girl who lost her life after the gang-rape.

Never the less, when the clock struck 12 (as a multitude of slightly off-from-the-previous countdown reached a climax) hugs became contagious and cakes magically appeared out of thin air! Thumping a friend on the back and gorging on a mouthful, the party and greetings lasted another couple of hours.

Resolutions and revolutions were kept aside for a moment. It just seemed like the biggest party in the nation was on the tracks between Behrampur and Patna. The homesick was a bonhomie, the pessimist was a party-hopper. The mob was celebrating mayhem and the celebration was on till 2 am!

1st Jan- Nidan, Patna, Bihar: Arbind Singh, the man, the face and pillar of Nidan spoke all about the need to develop "people's institutions" especially for the poor, urban poor. He worked with rag-pickers, petty-shop owners, pavement dwellers and pushcart-vendors. He spoke of their right to a dignified living and pension and other entitlements. We were then introduced to a stellar team of workers, each one heading a separate wing ranging from schools for slum children to handicrafts shop for Madhubhani works. Construction labourers, domestic helpers, marginalized women in the suburbs, Arbind Singh helped them all. We split into smaller groups and visited the schools, shops, brick kiln labourers' organisation, etc.

The visits were not all inspiring or helpful. Some groups even complained of lack of proper infrastructure as picturised by the NGO. However, some ventures were true to their description and certainly helped the weaker sections eke a meagre living out of it. New Year's was turning out slightly depressing than it was intended, the evening chaos at Patna station was to only make it worse.

We had to wait at the Patna station for over a couple of hours. The urchins there, the dirt on the tracks and the stairs beautifully decorated with spit stains were a face of an India that nobody was ready to accept at the threshold of a New Year. The Yatris were just that day split into verticals of their interests. Seven- agri-business, Information Communication technology, water, health, education, tourism and energy- interests for the yatris to work on to create hypothetical business models. From "forming" to "norming". The thoughts on Patna's railway station was anything but these! Yesterday water scarcity, today hygiene scarcity. The wheels had to turn soon to get us back in the groove.

To be continued...

Railway Rhapsody: Jagriti Yatra (Part I)

There was a rhythm as the wheels clashed against the tracks. The mechanical percussion of the train gradually became the score of the Yatri’s 2 week journey. Just as the ears enjoyed the beat, the eyes soaked in every moment of the passing landscape. Traversing through the peninsula and stopping at landmark destinations, the day merged into the night and the night seamlessly became a new day. To the buzz of the rustic fans and the chorus of a hundred simultaneous conversations, my voice found a place too.

The distant hills and the sun at twilight; the tall coconut trees and the short paddy fields; the silence of a sleeping train in the dead of a night and the din of jamming youngsters in the middle of a day; the shy, petite girl and the hefty boisterous boy; every vivid and contrasting image was complementary in the picture. From the remote villages of Maharashtra, a spark of a woman creating a change finds resonance in the grit of an erstwhile corporate employee now pursuing organic farming. The skip in the Punjabi’s dance finds a partner in the Tamilian’s kuthu. The experience of the Resource Persons complemented the enthusiasm of a young entrepreneur.

Welcome aboard India’s biggest and only enterprise adventure on wheels- Jagriti Yatra.

Dec 24^th- Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Chembur, Mumbai: the registration begins at 8 am. The long, winding queues of eager youngsters greets one at every desk- getting a medical “OK!”, an ID card and the Green Jagriti bag (from Goonj, Delhi). Initial introductions between Yatris, hearty welcomes from the team and an early insight into what to expect the next 15 days was followed by the crowd jumping to its feet and grooving to PSY’s Gangnam style. Indian steps, Korean rap. The hall was absolutely roused. The same Indian steps were smoothly fit to the Jagriti anthem, “Yaron Chalo!”.

Completely pumped, the 500 odd gathering put its hands together to welcome the first entrepreneur role model, Raghunath from the dabbawalahs of Mumbai. His dramatic one-liners to explain simple business ethics like “work is worship” won the Yatri’s approval. The logistics of the tiffin supplier’s association, how they manage to conduct four million transactions everyday, left the audience dumbfounded. Thouroughly inspired, the conversations at dinner was a note higher than at lunch. From dinner to Lokmanya Tilak Station at Kurla, the talk was about everything from dabbawalahs to development to Dabangg 2.

Christmas came upon us at Kurla’s platform 1. And merry carols welcomed the customized train- complete with pantry cars, conference AC Chair cars and separate girls and boys bogeys. Yatris filed into their assigned bogeys and compartments dutifully, the train gave a hoot at around 1 am and off, we were to Dharwad, Karnataka.

Dec 25^th- Jagriti Rail: one whole day on the train. Understanding the train composition, getting to know co-yatris and gushing over the novelties on the train (like the cubicle bathrooms and the conference cars) Christmas was a differently festive affair this year around.

Dec 26^th- SELCO, Toe Hold Artisans & Kalkeri Sangeeta Vidyalaya, Dharwad, Karnataka: Kalkeri, a small village that housed a gurukul primarily devoted to teaching Hindustani classical music and then, other elementary academic subjects was our first stop. The atmosphere at the Vidyalaya was electric, solar electric. SELCO- Solar Electrification Company Pvt Ltd, founded by Harish Hande was our first role model visit. Their solar-powered computer lab in a bus was an innovation that caught many Yatris’ eye. This session was followed by a tour of the Vidyalaya’s modest campus that was completely solar-electrified. Also, we got a peek into the classroom and lifestyles of the under-privileged students and their foreign volunteer-teachers. Very inspiring, indeed. Then we had a session with Toe Hold Artisans from Athani, who were the designers of the famed kolhapuri chappals. The women collective model that now participates in fashion events in Germany and France taught us the power of collaborations. The day was interspersed by cultural performances by the students of the Vidyalaya.

Dec 27^th- Infosys, Bengaluru: how much do core values, business ethics and wealth sharing matter for any enterprise? The Yatris found their answer in the success story of Infosys. The campus bowled us over. The infrastructure outclassed any other corporation in vicinity. The awe was not to end soon. The second session of the day, in the same auditorium was a power lecture delivered by India’s best known woman entrepreneur, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw. The Biocon story, her personal struggles and rise and finally, a sharp Q&A session left the Yatris craving for more. To satiate our appetites a scrumptious spread was laid out in the grand banquet hall. Lunch was followed by a panel discussion on Information Communication Technology and start-ups.

The panelists- Phanindar (from Red Bus), Richa (from Zivame), Mekan (from Flipkart) and RV (from Dell)- all shared their lifelines and their organizations growth stories too. Each one of them egged us to find simple solutions and beat the fear of failure. To test the fundamental soundness of an idea and to stick by it was all their mantra. The discussion was an absolute winner. Yatris left the campus in great spirits and awaited for the train at the Whitefield station. The wait was nearly six hours long! The evening became night, with every star popping out, the enterprising minds came up with wacky ways to beat every minute. From Yoga sessions to jiving and random ice-breakers- thoughts about dinner and sleep were kept at bay. It was the culmination of a good three days in Karnataka.

Dec 28^th- Aravind Eye Care Hospital, Madurai, Tamil Nadu: Familiar cut-outs of MK Azhagiri greeted us at Madurai. The native script and outdated “Happy Birthday, Thalaiva!” posters for Rajnikanth made me feel at home. The health care vertical took an upward climb from Biocon to Aravind in the temple town of Madurai. The marvel of Dr V’s legendary eye-care model, with philanthropy and welfare at its core, moved the audience. A crisp presentation on the challenges and opportunities for the health sector followed by visits to the rural eye clinics, research laboratories and the eye hospital made the day truly memorable. The look of inspiration and breath of enterprise filled the compartments of the train that evening. Every eye on those wheels had read and understood Dr G Venkataswamy’s words,

“Intelligence and capability are not enough. There must also be the joy of doing something beautiful.”

Dec 29^th- Kuthambakkam, Thirumazhisai, Tamil Nadu: Chennai/Chengalpet was supposed to be the tropical highlight of a winter tour. What greeted us however was a drizzle, cloudy horizon over the hills and a scenic lake at the Chengalpet station. A quick dash to the waiting buses and we were off to Kuthambakkam to visit a model village. R Rlango, ex-Sarpanch, engineer by profession, had returned to his village 30 years ago to try and make it self-reliant, caste-divide-free and democratic at its core. He managed to do not just that, but also create a network of over 700 Panchayats across the nation, including ones in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. His ideas on women empowerment, communal harmony and economic independence brought such applause that I thought was reserved only for politicians, film stars or cricketers in our country. The under-construction hall resonated with a positivity that believed in good governance for sustainable development. The resonance centred from the chord in Elango’s quote, “India is not a poor country, but a country of poor.”

The rain could not dampen the spirits, a shine came upon the Yatris who now conspired to achieve something with renewed vigour.

To be continued…