What makes an entrepreneur? What's the philosophy behind which he operates? Today, 'entrepreneurship' is a buzz word, although to be honest the first time many (in my circles, atleast) heard of it was in Sridevi's English Vinglish...
Everyone wants to start-up today. There's lots of money pushed into it by the Government. There's a lot of academic and scholarship around it. There are courses on Entrepreneurship being taught. MBAs now have specialization in here. There's thousands of incubation centres all around the country trying to give boost to enterprise, but 90% of start-ups fail within the first 3 months. That's another popular conversation piece going around...
My mind was revolving around these questions. My motive to attend the Yatra wasn't really to be an 'entrepreneur' so to speak... I wanted to network, explore India, hold meaningful conversation and push my limits and maybe create a few memories as I did. My motive and what I expect from the Yatra was just this. Untill today...
Remember how I said, when on a train journey, expect the unexpected? Me giving another serious thought at starting up after many previous close run-ins was just a first among many...
The day started with an unexpected twist. Despite having lost close to 2 hours last night, the train made crazy time reaching the Kurla Station a full 1 hour before time. The Kamath family inadvertently woke me up with their furious packing and I had a pleasant conversation with a Bihari family also travelling from Udupi before deboarding.
The first challenge of the day, one which I had been putting off for quite a while presented itself! How do I have a bath?
I had a few options before me... I had good time. I could ring up one of the Yatris I'd connected with on the WhatsApp Groups and use their rooms. A Yatri asked me to go to Bagpackers Bombay and use their facilities. I would have had to shell out 450, but still... If I had gotten the ticket for the previous day's train I'd probably have crashed at BB, but I didn't, so I wouldn't want to spend 450 on a bath. I took the one with the least uncertainty. I decided to use the Railway Station's Bathroom.
That, was an adventure in itself... The lesser said about it, the better. After paying the lady and hoping never to have to go through that experience again, I went to the station seating area to use some of the RailWire Wifi that Google has so gracefully offered for free! I called up Rahul to ask when to meetup at TISS, went to the station restaurant to have breakfast and sipped on a tetrapack of buttermilk as I munched on the incredibly oily bhatura. Buttermilk, as I would come to understand later is something I would miss a lot in the forthcoming days, but I digress...
After a bit of haggling with auto-drivers, I found one that was willing to take me to TISS. I was to be his 'boni' After circling the city, almost letting my luggage slip out at a sharp turn, and going to the wrong campus, we were finally at the right one. Rahul was already there with his beaming smile and we made our way to registration. There was steaming Upma and Coffee served, our bags were tagged and we were issued our ID Cards that were to be our tickets for the journey. We were left free after, and we spent the rest of the day taking pictures, meeting our fellow Yatris and finding our Cohort and Group Members.
It didn't take me long to find mine. Gaus Sayyed, a highly energetic Yatri from Pune went around asking everyone if they were Cohort 5X and before you knew it, our Group was set! Dr Saurabh Gupta, another Manipal alum and a Professor at NIT Raipur was our Facilitator, with Vipesh, a Masters Student at IIT Madras, Shantanu Jain, a CA from Calcutta, Yashwwanth, a Mechanical UG Student from Hyderabad being my Co Yatris.
The rest of the day was swell. Sessions began post Lunch at 2. Jagriti was introduced to us by means of many videos and core team members coming up and introducing the movement. We had a series of talks that followed. The Jagriti Yatra and the movement that it has created over the last 12 years and the various offshoots that have come out of it like the Jagriti Enterprise Mela, Jagriti Centre for Entrepreneurship Purcanchal (JECP) Jagriti Ambassadors for District Entrepreneurs (JADE) were introduced to the newly inducted members of the now 5700 member family of the Jagriti Yatra. Mr Shashank Mani, founding Chairman of the Yatra, Mr Sharat Bansal, the current Chairman, Mr Ashutosh Kumar, Ms Vanita Vishwanath, Board Members and many others involved the energetic crowd with their charming talks and the mission to build middle India, democratically with entrepreneurship at the heart of it.
The Yatra was to have around 400 Yatris with around 75 facilitators that are to moderate discussions and take care of the Yatris. The Engine Room Club (ERCs) are ex Yatris who return for the Yatra to take care of various operational and logistical responsibilities. The Core Team and various resource persons and guests would also travel in the train for some distances and have in train sessions and interactions with the Yatris. A private security agency, a full time on board staff to cook, clean and other housekeeping chores, an endless supply of mineral water and coke and an life changing experiences awaited us on the 15 day train journey!
The Group broke for Tea after and we were treated to a beautiful cultural performance after. Mr Pradeep Lokhande Pune 13 (Google him) was the Keynote Speaker for the Program and he filled the room with his personality that the room shrunk in comparison to and necessarily so because we needed all the energy and more for what was to come next. I started taking pictures officially, for the Yatra then after meeting with Munna Bhai, Chanesh Babu - the ERC Members in charge of Media, and we'd made a team already.
Yaaron Chalo, is the official Yatra anthem that is sung and performed with great energy by all Yatris every year. Penned by the legendary Prasoon Joshi, every line makes your hair stand on end. The entire auditorium was reverbing with the sound of every Yatri singing the song, their hearts filled with mirth. The full power flag off took place next and the Yatra had officially begun!
We moved out of the auditorium excited for the days to come, finished our meals and got into buses that were to take us to CST for the journey. What we assumed was a running joke that they used to scare all Yatris on Day 1 was apparently an actual issue that got fixed just in the nick of time thanks to the timely intervention of Col Athley, the Train Commander and the ERC Team. There was a scare that due to some technical testing issues, we were to get the train a day late! But thankfully, that was sorted out and we were on the way to CST.
I ended up not getting a seat on any bus. We boarded the bus and stood, and somehow I ended up lending my powerbank to Mr Shashank Mani. Then, a new bus came and everyone else standing went there, but I had suddenly become an 'important admi' so I ended up staying in the same bus. And what's more, my phone which I gave to an ERC for checking Google Maps, ended up in another bus when he switched for some clarification. My camera which I'd given to another chap to hold was the only thing left with me!
Thankfully, everything got sorted soon and we reached CST just as the clock struck 12 and it was Christmas day! The ERCs were already at the station wearing red caps and there was a small sing-along. A beautiful Rangoli had been made to welcome us to CST and we went in and waited for the Train to arrive. Our luggage was already there and so were multiple trays of mineral water and coke.
The wait for the train was not long, but the rush to get into the bogies and the slow moving crowd was. After we settled in, we waited for the chug chugging to start. It was around 1 then, and we decided our sleeping areas and waited for the train to start. Any time now. The familiar rocking to sleep. We waited. And waited. And waited...
And waited... Everyone slept off tired of waiting. I stepped out at 4 and ordered a Masala Chai to keep me awake. It was bad, but it had to do... I was ravenously hungry but there was nothing with me save a few chakli pieces and a pack of aachar (Pickle)
Just as I gave up all hope and climbed up to the top berth, plugged in my earphones and was all ready to let the wait either kill me or put me to sleep, the train started. It was 5 and I was probably the only one in the bogie who was awake... But that moment the train left the station and plunged itself into the concrete jungle that is the city that never sleeps, the view all around... is something I would gladly spend countless more sleepless nights for!
My mind was revolving around these questions. My motive to attend the Yatra wasn't really to be an 'entrepreneur' so to speak... I wanted to network, explore India, hold meaningful conversation and push my limits and maybe create a few memories as I did. My motive and what I expect from the Yatra was just this. Untill today...
Remember how I said, when on a train journey, expect the unexpected? Me giving another serious thought at starting up after many previous close run-ins was just a first among many...
The day started with an unexpected twist. Despite having lost close to 2 hours last night, the train made crazy time reaching the Kurla Station a full 1 hour before time. The Kamath family inadvertently woke me up with their furious packing and I had a pleasant conversation with a Bihari family also travelling from Udupi before deboarding.
The first challenge of the day, one which I had been putting off for quite a while presented itself! How do I have a bath?
I had a few options before me... I had good time. I could ring up one of the Yatris I'd connected with on the WhatsApp Groups and use their rooms. A Yatri asked me to go to Bagpackers Bombay and use their facilities. I would have had to shell out 450, but still... If I had gotten the ticket for the previous day's train I'd probably have crashed at BB, but I didn't, so I wouldn't want to spend 450 on a bath. I took the one with the least uncertainty. I decided to use the Railway Station's Bathroom.
That, was an adventure in itself... The lesser said about it, the better. After paying the lady and hoping never to have to go through that experience again, I went to the station seating area to use some of the RailWire Wifi that Google has so gracefully offered for free! I called up Rahul to ask when to meetup at TISS, went to the station restaurant to have breakfast and sipped on a tetrapack of buttermilk as I munched on the incredibly oily bhatura. Buttermilk, as I would come to understand later is something I would miss a lot in the forthcoming days, but I digress...
After a bit of haggling with auto-drivers, I found one that was willing to take me to TISS. I was to be his 'boni' After circling the city, almost letting my luggage slip out at a sharp turn, and going to the wrong campus, we were finally at the right one. Rahul was already there with his beaming smile and we made our way to registration. There was steaming Upma and Coffee served, our bags were tagged and we were issued our ID Cards that were to be our tickets for the journey. We were left free after, and we spent the rest of the day taking pictures, meeting our fellow Yatris and finding our Cohort and Group Members.
It didn't take me long to find mine. Gaus Sayyed, a highly energetic Yatri from Pune went around asking everyone if they were Cohort 5X and before you knew it, our Group was set! Dr Saurabh Gupta, another Manipal alum and a Professor at NIT Raipur was our Facilitator, with Vipesh, a Masters Student at IIT Madras, Shantanu Jain, a CA from Calcutta, Yashwwanth, a Mechanical UG Student from Hyderabad being my Co Yatris.
The rest of the day was swell. Sessions began post Lunch at 2. Jagriti was introduced to us by means of many videos and core team members coming up and introducing the movement. We had a series of talks that followed. The Jagriti Yatra and the movement that it has created over the last 12 years and the various offshoots that have come out of it like the Jagriti Enterprise Mela, Jagriti Centre for Entrepreneurship Purcanchal (JECP) Jagriti Ambassadors for District Entrepreneurs (JADE) were introduced to the newly inducted members of the now 5700 member family of the Jagriti Yatra. Mr Shashank Mani, founding Chairman of the Yatra, Mr Sharat Bansal, the current Chairman, Mr Ashutosh Kumar, Ms Vanita Vishwanath, Board Members and many others involved the energetic crowd with their charming talks and the mission to build middle India, democratically with entrepreneurship at the heart of it.
The Yatra was to have around 400 Yatris with around 75 facilitators that are to moderate discussions and take care of the Yatris. The Engine Room Club (ERCs) are ex Yatris who return for the Yatra to take care of various operational and logistical responsibilities. The Core Team and various resource persons and guests would also travel in the train for some distances and have in train sessions and interactions with the Yatris. A private security agency, a full time on board staff to cook, clean and other housekeeping chores, an endless supply of mineral water and coke and an life changing experiences awaited us on the 15 day train journey!
The Group broke for Tea after and we were treated to a beautiful cultural performance after. Mr Pradeep Lokhande Pune 13 (Google him) was the Keynote Speaker for the Program and he filled the room with his personality that the room shrunk in comparison to and necessarily so because we needed all the energy and more for what was to come next. I started taking pictures officially, for the Yatra then after meeting with Munna Bhai, Chanesh Babu - the ERC Members in charge of Media, and we'd made a team already.
Yaaron Chalo, is the official Yatra anthem that is sung and performed with great energy by all Yatris every year. Penned by the legendary Prasoon Joshi, every line makes your hair stand on end. The entire auditorium was reverbing with the sound of every Yatri singing the song, their hearts filled with mirth. The full power flag off took place next and the Yatra had officially begun!
We moved out of the auditorium excited for the days to come, finished our meals and got into buses that were to take us to CST for the journey. What we assumed was a running joke that they used to scare all Yatris on Day 1 was apparently an actual issue that got fixed just in the nick of time thanks to the timely intervention of Col Athley, the Train Commander and the ERC Team. There was a scare that due to some technical testing issues, we were to get the train a day late! But thankfully, that was sorted out and we were on the way to CST.
I ended up not getting a seat on any bus. We boarded the bus and stood, and somehow I ended up lending my powerbank to Mr Shashank Mani. Then, a new bus came and everyone else standing went there, but I had suddenly become an 'important admi' so I ended up staying in the same bus. And what's more, my phone which I gave to an ERC for checking Google Maps, ended up in another bus when he switched for some clarification. My camera which I'd given to another chap to hold was the only thing left with me!
Thankfully, everything got sorted soon and we reached CST just as the clock struck 12 and it was Christmas day! The ERCs were already at the station wearing red caps and there was a small sing-along. A beautiful Rangoli had been made to welcome us to CST and we went in and waited for the Train to arrive. Our luggage was already there and so were multiple trays of mineral water and coke.
The wait for the train was not long, but the rush to get into the bogies and the slow moving crowd was. After we settled in, we waited for the chug chugging to start. It was around 1 then, and we decided our sleeping areas and waited for the train to start. Any time now. The familiar rocking to sleep. We waited. And waited. And waited...
And waited... Everyone slept off tired of waiting. I stepped out at 4 and ordered a Masala Chai to keep me awake. It was bad, but it had to do... I was ravenously hungry but there was nothing with me save a few chakli pieces and a pack of aachar (Pickle)
Just as I gave up all hope and climbed up to the top berth, plugged in my earphones and was all ready to let the wait either kill me or put me to sleep, the train started. It was 5 and I was probably the only one in the bogie who was awake... But that moment the train left the station and plunged itself into the concrete jungle that is the city that never sleeps, the view all around... is something I would gladly spend countless more sleepless nights for!