Cycling 100 km a day is soon reaching his dream destination Kashmir.
Travelling is a dream for most people. While many consider this to be a rich man's luxury, a young lad from Kerala proved that with zeal and fervour to perceive a dream, anything is possible. While money is neceassary, lack of money or poor financial background shouldn't block one's way. Nidhin Maliyekkal, a 23-year-old young man from Thrissur presents all the travel-enthusiasts out there with his inspiring story.
Tea Seller's Travel Dreams:
Nidhin is a resident of Amballur in Thrissur of Kerala. He is employed in a restaurant in Thrissur where he prepared hot tea and fresh juice. Interested in travelling, Nidhin's thoughts also revolved around film-making and thus, he saved money and bought a camera for Rs. 20,000 to turn his hobby into a productive skill. With a job in hand and a hobby filling his leisure time, days were going good. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, his restaurant was shut and he became jobless. Staying at home, this traveling freak felt breathless and thus decided to travel to one of the beauties of India, Kashmir. But how? It's a nationwide lockdown imposing travel restrictions. He waited. He thought. With the onset of New Year and with the clearance of travel restrictions, he decided to venture into his idea. But he doesn't even own a vehicle. So what? His eyes fell on an old bicycle that his brother stopped using years ago. He thought of getting it back on wheels and decided to set on his journey by arranging everything he needed to ride to Kashmir. The money he required for all these was arranged by his most loved camera!! Yes! He sold his Sony DSC-H300 camera for Rs.13,000. While some of the money was spent on bicycle refurbishing, with the left out money, he bought a diesel stove, a few vessels and a flask finally leaving his pockets with Rs.170 for the travel.
Stove and Flask? For A Traveller?
Nidhin bought a diesel stove, some utensils and a flask for his journey. You might be wondering why! With just Rs.170 left for his travel, Nidhin thought of an idea. As he is good at making tea, he decided to make tea and sell it during his breaks in the journey. Even if he sells some 30 cups of tea per day, he would earn Rs.300 which is very well sufficient for his day's expenses - What an idea sirji! With this action plan, he set on his dream journey with a few clothes, a tea-making set and a tent in the wake of New Year.
Kerala to Kashmir:
On a white sheet of paper, printed were the words "Kerala to Kashmir" and the laminated paper was stuck to his bicycle. His cycling begins at 5:30 am and continues till 4 pm where he covers an average of 100km a day. After 4 pm, he rests his cycle at a comfortable place where he can get some milk and water, then sets his tea stall on. He sells tea until night, earns money and sets to the nearest fuel station, sets up his tent and calls it a day. This man who didn't even buy a helmet or a pair of gloves for his personal safety was helped by generous souls who came to know about his attempt during his way. His swollen legs wouldn't stop him from cycling at 5:30 am the next day.
"Travelling is my favourite as it teaches me about the way societies function in different regions and what they offer in terms of culture.”
With grit, this young man is all ready to finish his journey of over 3,300km effortlessly. Once he finishes this relentless journey of 100 days (as per his target), he is sure to enjoy the beauty of India's Valley like no one else has ever before.
This man just enjoys travelling!
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