Youngsters travel across the country with a noble cause

Exploring is a way of life, once you start there is no looking back — three travel buffs Sidhharth Ganaee, Amit Paswan and Jyotishko Biswas share their journey. While Amit travels on foot to sensitise people about the harmful effects of global warming, Jyotishko Biswas goes cycling and trekking to the mountains to spread awareness about the use of plastic. Sidhharth, on the other hand, plants trees and teaches the locals their importance as he travels.

Igniting the passion

Amit Paswan, a 24-year-old resident of Dhanbad who’s on a mission to travel all the 29 states of India on foot, has been interested in exploring cultures of various tribes, places and communities since childhood. Sneaking out of the house at night, Amit discovered his passion to explore. “It was summertime and after everyone had gone off to sleep, I visited the Dhangi Hills situated in the western middle part of our district. People generally avoided this place because of thorny bushes. It was almost 2am when I successfully climbed the hill. It was a full moon night and the surroundings looked magical. That’s how my craving to explore and travel increased,” said Amit, a 2020 graduate in Theatre from Indira Kala Sangeet Vishwavidyalaya Khairagarh, Chhattisgarh.

Jyotishko Biswas grew up in the mountains of Arunachal Pradesh and North Bengal because of his father’s transferable job. He shifted to Barrackpore to study Journalism and Mass Communication. He completed his graduation from Barrackpore Rastraguru Surendranath College in 2018. “Mountains and nature have always been an integral part of my life. Coming back to the plains I realised I was suddenly missing it. In 2017 I cycled to Meghalaya and that was my first solo trip to the mountains,” said the 25-year-old.

Sidhharth Ragini Mahesh Ganaee, a 23-year-old resident of Bhiwandi in Maharashtra, completed his mission by foot from Raigad to the Himalayas in 75 days and came back on New Year’s Eve, walking through Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Lumbini and Gandaki of Nepal. The final-year Botany student of Bhavan’s College, Andheri, had earlier explored various parts of Maharashtra on foot.

The Spark of Inspiration

After graduation, Amit started preparing for the UPSC examination. While studying various topics, his interest in the nation grew. He started watching YouTube vlogs on various states, studying people and culture during the lockdown and before starting his journey on October 7, 2021.

For Siddharth, life threw challenges and that turned him into an adventurous person. Coming from a disturbed family, Siddharth had spent nights under a flyover at Andheri. “Ups and downs were part of my life and I feel blessed to have come under Kishore da (Kishore Pavitra Bhagvan Jagatap) who runs the NGO Maitrakul Jivan Vikas Kendra at Bhiwandi, Maharashtra. He motivated me to stand up on my own feet and has been the biggest support of my life,” said Siddharth.

Jyotishko Biswas’s first trekking experience happened all of a sudden. “While cycling in the Trans Himalayas back in 2018, I met a Brazil girl, Melanie Vianna who encouraged me to start trekking,” recalled Jyotishko who walked from Manali to Leh, a journey of 276km, crossing Bhrigu Lake, Baralacla Pass and Gata Loops in 2021.

Funding

Jyotishka received financial assistance from his father when he began and now he owns his own trekking company, The Trekking Buddha, which he started in 2020. Siddharth and Amit started with help from people who understood the cause behind their journey. “My savings were used up in arranging the equipment for trekking like sleeping bags, mats, power bank, and charger. I am continuing my trek with help from the locals. Some provide me with food and shelter, some get inspired by my story and give me donations with which I continue travelling,” said Amit.

Motive behind traveling

These youngsters not only travel to explore but have a strong message to spread. Amit spreads the message ‘Burn calories, not fuel’. “Global warming has already affected various avenues of life. I aim to make people understand that small distances that can be covered by foot ,why use a vehicle and burn fossil fuel? I want to complete travelling all 29 states of India on foot and make people aware of the consequences of global warming,” Amit said.

Siddharth’s message which is on a similar note reads ‘One tree for humanity, one step towards change’. “I was very clear about what I wanted before I started traveling. I avoided plastic throughout my journey and planted 28 trees and 10 seeds at different places keeping in mind the climate, soil and vegetation of that particular place,” said Siddharth.

Future plans

Amit wants to travel across the states and union territories of India and has already covered Odisha, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh in 100 days. He aims to travel the whole of India on foot, explore the cultures, lifestyles of tribal people in different parts of the country in the upcoming three years. “I’m an artist and have a lot of questions in my mind regarding people, places and culture. I want to explore everything and someday I want to open an art university where I want to introduce folk arts that are getting extinct with time as a subject,” Amit said.

Jyotishka wants to explore Ladakh and the Himachal region intricately. He will be completing a mountaineering course from the National Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports, Arunachal Pradesh, in March.

Sidhharth’s dream is to reach Mt Everest one day. “My responsibility has increased now as I have to keep the promise I have made to the people who helped me. Wherever I go and whatever I do in future I would always like to give it a social or societal touch,” said Sidhharth.