My experiences in Chinna Sodha yatra 7 were unforgettable. I remember being very nervous the day before going for the yatra because none of my friends were coming and nobody I knew was coming so I felt very alone, however, in the one hour that I got into the train, I made friends and I met people who created a truly unforgettable yatra.
The first day started off with the breakfast and everything in srikakulam road and the drive to palakondam. That drive was unforgettable, especially due to the route. I was sitting at the back of the van and I was just staring out to the road, it was so beautiful because all the trees had bended over the road making it look like an archway and it literally looked like the road to heaven. We started the journey from palakondam and reached the school at lunchtime. I was so surprised at the ideas and the innovations of the children. I realised that we as people are very selfish, especially living in the city, we tend to feel like we know everything, however, when sir read the ideas of those children, I was dumbfounded by their thoughts. How could they have come up with such ideas?
After that, we played khoko and other such games with those children. I had so much fun, especially because when all the yatris were playing with the kids, we bonded with each other as well as the children and I was really sad to leave that place. After we left the school, we came to another small village where we talked to some women who were, at least they looked over 70 to 80 years old and they were so fit that it gave me a reality check. We went and saw the houses inside and talked to many more of the villagers. I was so humbled at how simple they lived and yet they did not want anything more, because they had gotten so used to that lifestyle that they could not even imagine living in another place. Many of the older people had said that this was the only place they knew their whole life as they had been born and brought up there.
We continued walking until we reached a cashew factory. We took a tour of the factory and a couple of people even tried breaking the cashews out of their shells. Around this time, I got pretty tired so I decided I would walk without shoes. I ended up walking 8 km without shoes. We also stopped at another remote village where we met a couple who we both 90+ and the husband was approximately 100 years old. He told us that he had the confidence to live another 25 years and we were completely dumbstruck at his confidence. After that, we continued walking till out night stay where we had a meeting with the villagers, had our dinners, then went to sleep.
The next morning we had to get up early, but by the time everyone got ready, it was 9:15 so we started the journey. Day 2 was mainly walking and we didn’t stop until the next school, which was lunchtime. By the 2nd day I had interacted with everybody and I was happy. The walk to the school took a while and we were all very tired. I remember listening to the water in a stream nearby and then many of us went down to drink that water. I can never forget that. Before we started the trek, there was another stream nearby and most of us kept our feet in that stream, it was totally amazing. By the time we reached the school, I wanted to interact with the student but I was so tired that I fell asleep. It was a long day, mainly because we did more walking and less interaction on the second day. Nevertheless, we still talked to the villagers after we reached our stop that night.
The second night was wonderful. This was due to where we slept mainly. After the interaction, it was very hot, so I and a couple of others went into the village where we slept under the huge tree at the centre of the village. It was a full moon night and I remember staying up till around one waiting for ghosts but unfortunately none came.
The next day was a fast day. We barely stopped anywhere in the middle and we reached veeraghattam at around 2:30 in the afternoon. Though we went at a very slow pace, listening to everyone’s reflections about the chinna sodha yatra made me feel super-happy. The drive back from veeraghattam to srikakulam road was quite short, however, the time I spent with all the yatris was unforgettable. I cannot wait to come for CSY 8 and rest assured, this was one of the best things I’d done this summer. |
