A 16-day train journey Jagriti Yatra aims to awaken the spirit of entrepreneurship among the country’s youth by helping them interact with the brightest minds of our country.
Jagriti Yatra aims to help youth interact with the country’s intellectuals
MUMBAI: Ever dreamt of meeting Ramon Magsaysay award winner Kiran Bedi, discuss global warming with Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr Rajendra Pachauri or debate the role of the media with Padma Bhushan Sir Mark Tully? Jagriti Yatra gives you this opportunity.
A 16-day train journey, covering 13 destinations in India, Jagriti Yatra aims to awaken the spirit of entrepreneurship among the country’s youth by helping them interact with the brightest minds of our country.
“Jagriti Yatra is about empowering individuals. We want to inculcate a spirit of learning among the young and talented minds of our country. Our endeavour is to develop individuals who are not just seekers of employment, but also generators of employment,” says Gitanjali Banerjee, executive director of Jagriti Yatra.
Inspired by Jagriti, a Bollywood flick, Shashank Mani, an IT professional, launched the Azad Bharat Rail Yatra (ABRY) in 1997 to commemorate India’s 50th anniversary of independence. Over 200 youngsters participated in a train journey to discover the future of India with halts at places like Sabarmati and ISRO.
Mani has chronicled the experiences of ABRY in a book titled A Journey Through A Healing Civilisation published by Harper Collins. The team has hired an 18-bogey train from the Indian Railways for the journey. Three coaches will turn into conference rooms where eminent personalities will address the participants.
Swapnil Dixit from Uttar Pradesh, an IIT graduate, was not part of the ABRY. But, he had heard enough about it to compel him to participate this year. “There was a strong desire in me to give something back to our country. I believe very strongly in entrepreneurship’s potential to emerge as a tool to solve problems,” he answers enthusiastically when asked why he chose to take part.
“The Yatra will empower the youth to aspire towards being more like the entrepreneurial trail blazers and show them a path to scaling up their own concepts that will make them successful entrepreneurs in the future,” says Kaustav Bhattacharya, a software professional, and another first-timer at the Yatra.
There are others who have had such an impact with ABRY that they could not resist being a part of the journey this year. “ABRY changed me completely. I got an opportunity to meet and interact with a variety of minds. The cross-cultural exchange has made a huge difference to my confidence,” says Mohammad Ghasletwala.
p_kunal@dnaindia.net
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