The road to peace
The young duo of freelance photographer Nitesh Square and social entrepreneur Parth Vasavada are on a journey of a lifetime, as they are aiming to ride through eight countries in a span of 64 days.
“Another 20 minutes and we will cross the Wagah Border,” says Parth, as he starts the Classic 500cc Royal Enfield leaving behind a thin trail of smoke. Their bike, which has already travelled down Indian roads, will also traverse the roads of Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Greece, Italy and France to finally wrap up the trip in UK.
For the duo, this is not just a footloose adventure. They will also be documenting their experiences.
“We will be shooting and filming the interesting people and experiences that we come across. We plan to make it into a documentary film and a coffee-table book later on,” says Square about their junket, which has got support from more than 22 organisations including United Nations Volunteers, PETA, ASSOCHAM etc.
Vasavada, 24, an avid cyclist who’s all set to promote world peace says, “Everyone keeps saying lines like ‘India is the youngest nation’ and how India’s youth is ‘useless’. I believe that we are not useless; it’s just that we do not explore the full potential of the youth. The inspiration in the youth is missing.”
Ask them how their journey has been up till now and they are all praise about the warm hospitality people have extended them. “We aren’t staying in hotels as we want to experience the pulse of the land and people. In each city we get people to host us,” says Square.
The duo has met many inspiring people on their journey. “In Mumbai there is a 32-year-old man who runs a small orphanage in the slum area. He once found a threeday-old girl wrapped in a plastic bag at a railway station. He brought her home. He has 40 kids living with him, and they all survive on the monthly salary of the young man, which is just `11,000,” shared the young bikers.
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