(In 2012, Discover on Wheels founder-member Anirban Acharya pedalled from Kolkata to Kashmir to raise awareness against tobacco consumption. He narrates his incredible experience in this three-part blog starting September 15, 2014)
Since my childhood I have been wanderlust by nature.
I visited different places of India not only for mere
travelling but to know about the people of my beloved country. Travelling to
historical places, pilgrimage, seaside, forests, different towns, mountains
helps know me about the varied culture and rituals of this vast country.
India is really a place of
pomp and grandeur but what I noticed common among all the inhabitants of India
— irrespective of any culture and religion — is “addiction to tobacco”: from
east to west, north to south. I was in a state of confusion that why this
particular from of “addiction” is so common and popular from rural to urban
India.
After a study, I found that
“tobacco”, a tall perennial herbaceous flowering plant and belonging to the
solanaceae or nightshade family, is used in different forms of addiction from
the early 1600 AD. The main culprit was “nicotiana” (Nicotiana Tabacum), a
toxic colourless or yellowish oily nitrogen containing chemical (C10H14N2) is
chief active constituent of tobacco .Then I decided to criss-cross my country
on a bicycle for an anti-tobacco campaign.
I chose the northern part
of India because there live the highest number of tobacco-consuming population.
Why bicycle
Bicycling is considered to
be one of the most effective low-impact exercises that also allows a person to
be close to nature. It has been observed that with increasing level of
pollution, cycling could be the most viable alternative for commuting within a
city and also saves on gas consumption. For many, bicycling may be a race
against each other or to win distances in a rally or simply the pleasure of
adventure. It has been proven beyond doubt that bicycling is the mode of
transport of the future.
I started pedalling when I
was in school. With my bicycle, I travelled in West Bengal and learn how to
make simpler life, don’t worry how much money you have if the path is
beautiful, confirm where it leads but if the destination is beautiful, don’t
bother how the path is — just move on. This has been my motivation to travel
more and more. I planned a trip from Kolkata to Kashmir and I chalked out the
total expedition distance of 2,500 km across 10 states and 35 districts that
would keep me nearly one and a half months out of home.
On the saddle, at last
It was a sunny morning of November
18, 2012, when I started my ride from Kolkata my hometown enthusiast by a
cluster of friends with warm hugs. After leaving the city, my first stop was Burdwan.
The origin of the name, Burdwan (Barddhaman), dates back to the 6th century BC
and is ascribed to Mahavira (599-627 BCE) the 24th Thirthankar of Jainism. In
Burdwan, I met the additional district magistrate and superintendent of police,
talked about cancer, regarding my awareness campaign. They reciprocated my enthusiasm,
when they came to know that I am bicycle traveller. That night they arranged
the irrigation bungalow as my resting place at Burdwan.
My next destination was the
city of Durgapur, which is about 68 km from Burdwan. The steel city was developed
around 40 years ago as an industrial hub of West Bengal. On my way to the city,
I stopped at various dhabas, shops, roadside dwellers to raise awareness
against use of tobacco.
(Revisit this blog on September 18, 2014, for the next part of Anirban's journey)
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