This ascetic wants to travel the whole of India on foot

Braving inclement weathers, dense forests and at times rogue elements, De’s has also been a mission of spreading the message of goodwill and creating awareness against social evils. With Vinoba Bhave as his ideal, De has been giving lectures at schools and colleges in cities and villages he visits in pursuance of his mission. So far, he has travelled in 13 states, including Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, besides many Union territories.

A graduate in commerce, a mild-mannered De converses in English and Hindi, Bengali and has developed a working knowledge of Punjabi, Gujarati, Telugu, Marathi and Oriya. But that is not his real achievement. “I have seen the ethos of various regions. I have got to know my country better during my mission,” says De.

But unfortunately, De has not been able to meet his mentor Vinoba Bhave though has been to his Pavnar ashram twice.

De sustains himself on the charity provided by the kind-hearted. His body has given him a good support too. Besides a few sicknesses, De’s health has never let him down.

The only time he has problems is when he encounters the ruffians. Taking him for a vagabond, they misbehave with him. “Once at a small tahsil place, I was beaten up by a group of people as I was not able to give side to a bullock-cart on a narrow road since I was saddled with my luggage,” De recalls. “I was sick then. But such things don’t deter me from my mission.”

And how long does will it take him to achieve the target. “I propose to walk till I can. Maybe by the time I turn 71,” he says. And what after that? “I don’t think too much about it. I leave it to destiny.”