Monday, August 20, 2012

Bid to rediscover soul of India on foot

Bid to rediscover soul of India on foot

Source: VSK-ENG Date: 8/20/2012 3:25:27 PM

$img_titleN V Ravindranathan Nair
It is a long journey to rediscover the ‘soul of India.’ Sitaram Kedilaya, former Akhil Bharatheeya Seva Pramukh and one of the members of the Karaykari Mandal of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), who embarked on the ‘Bharatha Parikrama’ on foot from Kanyakumari on August 9 would cross the huge land mass of the country covering 15,000 km touching all the districts before returning to the starting point in four to five years.
The 64-year-old senior RSS functionary, who arrived here on Friday morning, says that the aim of the yathra was to rediscover the native virtues of the villages, which he calls ‘’the soul of India.’’
He told ‘Express’ that he chose August 9 to start the yathra for two reasons; the day marks the Sreekrishna Jayanthi and the beginning of the Quit India movement. The yathra is being taken out to exhort the leaders of country to put an end to marketisation, commercialisation, over politicisation and criminalisation of the country and help revive the spiritual awakening of the villages.
Sustaining himself on a single meal a day, he covers 10 km a day in the morning before halting at a village and seeks alms from among the poor and ordinary people in the afternoon. He will interact with youths, handicapped and others on conservation of land, water, forests, organic farming and importance of protecting the biodiversity.

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