Finding Peace in the Fast Lane

When Parth Vasavada was seven,he told his father that he wanted to be a cricketer,just like Sachin Tendulkar.

When Parth Vasavada was seven,he told his father that he wanted to be a cricketer,just like Sachin Tendulkar. At 16,after watching Hindi film Lakshya,he decided to join the Indian army. But it was not until he started going to college,in his hometown Ahmedabad,that he realised what he actually wanted to do. Vasavada wanted to bring about a change. And after working with several NGOs in the city,he joined hands with Mumbai-based freelance photographer Nitesh Square and together,they came up with the idea of De Paix Yatra (the peace yatra),a motorcycle journey from India to England.

In 90 days,Square and Vasavada have decided to cover 15,000 kilometres across 10 countries,and document their experiences. They are shooting and filming their experiences extensively,which will be made into a documentary film and a coffee-table book. Everyone keeps mouthing lines like India is the youngest nation and how Indias youth is useless. I feel that we are not useless,its just that we are not put to better use, says Vasavada,24. The duo,who started their journey on August 12 in Mumbai,have just arrived in the Capital from Jaipur,via Surat,Udaipur and Ajmer.

By taking different routes and meeting new people,they want to find out the stories of change in various parts of the world. We have already met so many inspiring people in the last few days that we dont know what more to expect, exclaims Square. Vasavada chimes in with a laugh,We met Savio in Mumbai who runs an orphanage with around 40 slum children,all by himself,sustained only by his salary of Rs 11,000 per month. When we asked him about the organisers or the managers of the orphanage,he said,you are looking at them!

One of the interesting things is that De Paix Yatra is going to be completely vegetarian. Nitish,a vegetarian,doesnt mind much,but Vasavada,on the other hand,is a self-confessed carnivore and is struggling a bit. But hes happy as long as PETA is on board.

Through the Yatra,the duo plans to travel on their Classic 500 Royal Enfield motorbikes and stay over with friends and acquaintances. We knew some people in some cities already,but we have received tremendous support from strangers all over the world through Facebook,Twitter and our website, says Square. They will be travelling through India,Nepal,Bhutan,Pakistan,Iran,Turkey,Greece,Italy and France to finally reach the UK. We would have had such trouble getting the visas and other papers in place,but for the support extended by the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Youth Affairs, says Square. They have other organisations such as ASSOCHAM,United Nations Volunteers,Indo British Trade Council,US Consulate General and the Chishty Foundation extending their support.

The two plan to showcase their documentary in over 100 Indian villages in January 2013. We have shortlisted the villages that dont have any access to TV or the Internet. We are planning to show them these inspiring stories and hope it makes a difference, concludes Vasavada.

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