Bharat Jodo Yatra — one year

How quickly the year has passed since the beginning of the most significant movements I have witnessed. The Bharat Jodo Yatra will always be special. The INC established a direct connect with the people bypassing the need for an increasingly partisan media. Its followers galvanised, its leaders motivated; one got a sense of the grand old party showing us how they warded off the yokes of imperialism and that it remains very much entrenched in the hearts of many, many Indians. And they did it using the most simple of methods of protest, walking. I was fortunate to walk just a shade below 100 kms with the Yatra in Maharashtra. You will find my dispatches under the hashtag #YatraDiaryForZizou.

Made many friends, met so many people and was reacquainted with the diversity that India symbolises. People came out of nowhere; offered water, tea, some fruit and so many, just a smile and a shoulder to lean on when the going got a bit tough. The dominant theme had to be an outpouring of love towards an individual who was willing to give it his all and much more. In that process people also discovered each other and got acquainted with their own true self. And the thought that darkness can only be dispelled by light.

It was the Yatra where that individual, @RahulGandhi rediscovered India and also one where India found him. It was like this great meeting where India revealed herself to him, her problems, her joys and most importantly her resilience. She gave him strength to walk and millions drew inspiration from him in turn. I feel stronger after the Yatra for sure — knowing fully well that the side opposite can do the unimaginable to stay where it is.

The need to band together is now even more important. The need to remain focused on the issues that matter is now even more necessary. An epochal change was started off, something that history will always remember. And we, who walked in it will tell stories of the excitement, the memories, the sights, the sounds until we cannot anymore, secure in the knowledge that someone else will always carry on the story.

The Yatra continues. Eternal. #BharatJodoYatra