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 or
social enterprises.
2. Yatri Interactions: On board sessions, Presentations and group discussions
3. 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 a
new 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.
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 India’s Entrepreneurs
Panellists :
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 room

Story 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
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]
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 doesn’t rock, conducive learning atmosphere, soothing
climate 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 don’t get down now then train will move to
the yard and you will have to walk 20 km to reach this point again!
 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 Poseidon—do not fear them:
you’ll 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 Poseidon—you won’t 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...