my experiences of tata jagriti yatra

8/6/2019 My Experiences of Tata Jagriti Yatra

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My experiences of Tata Jagriti Yatra

Tata Jagriti Yatra is an annual train journey that that takes hundreds of India's motivated youth

(with some participation of international students) between the ages of 20-25 and experienced

professionals with age above 25, on a eighteen day national odyssey, introducing them to unsung

heroes of India. The aim is to awaken the spirit of entrepreneurship - both social and economic -

within India's youth by exposing them to individuals and institutions that are developing unique

solutions to India's challenges.

This year the Tata Jagriti Yatra commenced on 24th

Dec, 2010 at Ravindra Natya Mandir, Dadar,Mumbai and I was the fortunate one to attend it. After the induction program, we started for

Lokmanya Tilak terminal to board our train that was going to be our home for next 18 days.

The journey was divided in 3 parts:

1. Role Model Visits: Visit to role model institutions and individuals to know about economic orsocial enterprises.

2. Yatri Interactions: On board sessions, Presentations and group discussions3. CNBC TV 18 Panel Discussions: Four Media events were organised at Kanyakumari,

Hyderabad, Jamshedpur and Mithapur that would be telecasted from 29th

Jan, 2011 on

CNBC.

The 18 day program is described in brief below:

Day Event

24th

Dec,2010 Day 1 Induction Program (on how to adjust to linear life of train) at Mumbai

Day 2 ,Day 3 On board sessions were conducted on Enterprise led Development and anew theory of Middle India

Day 4 Reached Trivandrum (Kerala)

Interactive session with

1. G.Vijayraghvan[Founder and CEO, Technopark, Trivandrum]2. Usha and JayKumar [Founders of Thanal Conservation Action and

Network]

Visit to the Technopark in the evening.


2/5

Day 5 Reached Kanyakumari (Tamilnadu)

Visit to Vivekananda Rock Memorial and speech by Swamiji(spiritual non-

religious Speech)

CNBC Panel Discussion Topic : Starting an Enterprise

Panellist :1.Shaffi Mather [Founder of Dial 1298 ambulance service, Co-promoter

Moksha Yug access]

2.Vijay Pratap Singh Aditya [Co-founder & CEO EkGaon Technologies]

3.Vishal Talreja [Co-founder & Director Dream-a-Dream]

Day 6 Reached Madurai(Tamilnadu)

Visit to Aravind Eye Hospital

Interaction with Dr.S.Aravind [Chief Medical Officer, Aravind Eye Care

system]

Visit to Social projects of Aravind Eye Hospital

Day 7 Reached Chennai(Tamilnadu)

Visit to Kuthambakkam Village

Interaction with R.Elango on Local Governance / Panchayat System

GroupWise visit to study the activities in the village

Day 8 Reached Hyderabad(Andhra Pradesh)

a) Visit to ISB (Indian School of Business, Gacchibowli)

CNBC Panel Discussion at ISB Topic : Funding Indias EntrepreneursPanellists :

1.Nandini Vaidyanathan [Professor ,Founder - Startups]

2.Alok Kejriwal [Co-founder & CEO Games2Win]

3.Deval Sanghvi[Co-founder and President, Dasra]

b) Visit to Nandi foundation [Founders Leena Joseph] A Midday Meal

Program that serves 2.31 lac children per day. It also works for Sustaining

livelihoods.

Day 9 Sessions in common roomStory behind Jagriti Yatra TJY team

Concept of Jagriti Network and Jagriti Enterprise Network

Day 10 Reached Bhubaneswar(Orissa)

Move to Gram Vikas(Berhampur)

Interaction with Joe Madiath [Founder of Gram Vikas]

Gram Vikas serves 250,000 people in 701 habitations of 21 districts in

Orissa


3/5

Day 11,12 Reached Jamshedpur(Jharkhand)

a) Visit to Russi Modi Centre for Excellence

CNBC Panel Discussion at ISB Topic : Enabling Successful Agro Enterprises

Our Agricultural Challenge

Panellists :1.Kaushalendra Kumar [Founder - Samriddhi]

2.Gijs Spoor [Founder Zameen Organics]

3.S Karunppanchetty[Deputy COO Agri Business Incubator, ICRISAT]

b) Visit to Tata Steel

Day 13 Reached Deoria, Gorakhpur(Uttar Pradesh)

Visit to Jagriti Sewa Sansthan

Biz-gyan-tree exercise was carried out. It is an exercise given in groups to

come up with developmental plans for the village in various sectors like

Agriculture, Manufacturing etc.

Day 14 Reached Delhi

Visit to Goonj, Sarita Vihar

Interaction with Anshu Gupta[Founder - Goonj]

Session at Community Centre / Production Exhibition

Visit to Waste cloth centre

Day 15 Reached Tilonia, Ajmer (Rajasthan)Visit to Tilonia Village

Visit to Barefoot college

The founder of this college, Mr. Bunker Roy has won several awards like

Arab Gulf funds for the United Nations, The World Technology Award, The

Stockholm Challenge Award, The NASDAQ Stock Market Education Award

and Tyler Prize.

Day 16 Compartment sessions and Presentations on the above role models and

Institutions

Day 17 Reached Mithapur (Gujarat)

Visit to Mithapur Township / Okha Villages

CNBC Panel Discussion at ISB Topic : Yes, We Can

Panellists :

1.Anand Kumar [Founder Super 30, Ramanujam School Of

Mathematics]

2.R.Elango [Kuthambakkam Village]

3.Anshu Gupta [Founder - Goonj]


4/5

Day 18 Valedictory function in Train, Transformation session, Formation of

synthesis group for Documentation of Yatra

Creativity Session by onboard artist ( Edward, UK)

The route:

This journey that covered more than 9000 km in 18 days was indeed a learning experience but

it also tested endurance in best possible way. I feel after visiting different corners of India, to have

24 hours running water, a bed to sleep that doesnt rock, conducive learning atmosphere, soothingclimate etc. are all luxuries. While travelling through train a number of factors were out of control.

Every day there was a new challenge waiting at the station. One such Incident was when bogie

number 5, 6 of our train had break fell at Ajmer station. New bogies were bought in with the need to

shift the entire luggage in new boogies at 11 in the night. The temperature outside was 2.5 degrees

and we waited at the station shivering (read almost dying).

I did many things for the first time in life like bathing in freezing cold water, sleeping in the train

yard, attending a session on the platform, barely sleeping for 5 hours every day etc. Imagine a

situation where all of us had just woken up and there was this announcement that you have just 3

minutes to get ready and get out of the train and If you dont get down now then train will move tothe yard and you will have to walk 20 km to reach this point again!


5/5

Meeting role models was extraordinary experience but meeting co-yatris was no less. I met

several people who at their very young age achieved a lot for themselves and their motherland like a

young girl of 19 who represented India at Copenhagen and talked to world leaders on global

warming or a boy of our age who united people of his village and fought with Naxalites making his

village terror free.

When many factors went out of control in the journey, it obviously created changes in the

program outlined. The real challenge was to flourish with this ambiguity. I thereby learnt the first

step in enterprise process the future is most often unknown, but it is always exciting and worth

every pain.

I would like to end this with a poem by C.P.Cavafy Ithaca

When you set out on your journey to Ithaca

pray that the road is a long,

full of adventure, full of knowledge.The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,

the angry Poseidondo not fear them:

youll never find such as these on your way

as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,

as long as a rare excitement

stirs your spirit and your body.

The Lestrygonians and Cyclops,

wild Poseidonyou wont encounter them

unless you bring them along inside your soul,

unless your soul sets them up in front of you.

Always Keep Ithaca in your mind.

Arriving there is your ultimate goal.

But do not hurry the voyage at all.

It is better to let it last for many years

and to anchor at the Island when you are old,

wealthy with all you have gained on the way,

not expecting the Ithaca will offer you riches.

Ithaca gave you the beautiful voyage.

Without her you would have never set out on the road.

She has nothing more to give you.

And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not deceived you.

Wise as you have become, with so much experience,

You will have understood by then what the Ithaca means...

my experiences of tata jagriti yatra

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