Photographer walks from Mumbai to Pune for a cause

In the past people often set out on padayatras pilgrimages on foot to sacred shrines or marched as a sign of protest The external journey was accompanied by an equally significant inner journey It was a similar quest that drove Mumbaibased freelance photographer Aanchal Dhara Madan 29 Over seven days October 2 to 8 Madan who specialises in candid wedding photography walked 169 km from Mumbai to Pune along the Old MumbaiPune HighwayAt the start of her lsquoPersonal Challengersquo she uploaded a few images on her Facebook account Spurred by the positive response she uploaded photos of the entire journey ldquoIt was almost like having people walking alongside me At no point did I feel alonerdquo she saysThis walk taught me to be patient The choice of a sport that was slow and steady made me introspect Itrsquos been like a meditative experience in many waysTest runMadan elaborates that the journey was planned as a test walk for the longheld goal of walking from Mumbai to Goa She explains ldquoI needed to test if I could average 2530 km a day I wanted to figure how I would cope with the conditionsrdquoAlong the way she chatted with people soaked in views of the Lonavala Ghat and Kamshetrsquos flower fields She also spotted a jumbo jet in a field next to the road at Khalapur ldquoIt was a fullfledged plane under the foothills of the Lonavala Ghat It was a secluded spot and I couldnrsquot find anyone to give detailsrdquoLitter alertOn day three she started collecting discarded bottles She recollects rdquoA car passed me by and I saw a bottle being thrown out I realised how much we take nature for granted and are guilty of the same act at some point I collected the bottle and decided to do this for the rest of the walkrdquo She found 128 bottles in all and is more proud of this than the distance covered ldquoI didnrsquot start out for a cause but along the way the walk became bigger than myself Those bottles were the real gems of this walkrdquoHurdles along the wayMadan battled scorching heat and blisters during the journey To avoid walking when it was hottest she would at times walk two sessions a day mdash early morning and in the evening Before her journey she sought advice from physiotherapist Nikhil Latey who apart from walking techniques emphasised on the adage Take care of your feet and your feet will take care of you ldquoEvery 67 km I would stop to massage my feet and apply petroleum jelly to reduce abrasionsrdquo she sharesAt times when the journey didnrsquot turn out as expected she went with the flow be it taking a longer route to enjoy the road or stopping to talk to peopleI met a 72yearold man named Panduranga who works as a labourer in the fields He took me around the flower fields near Kamshet and told me the history of the land and how the new owner never did any cultivation there As a result the field just grew these beautiful flowers which he called ldquoCongress ka PhoolrdquoI enjoyed the feeling of a sheep herd brushing against my skin and the liberating feeling of singing loudly on the Highway because no one could hear meSupport systemWhile her husband Prashant was driving a support car behind her and providing her with food and water Madan was initially worried about her safety Reassuringly during the journey she never felt in danger ldquoIn fact people stopped to chat out of curiosity or to congratulate merdquo she adds Madan is also all praise for her husband ldquoHe took care of everything along the way Our parents are very proud of us and want to walk with us for our next trip from Mumbai to Goardquo The selffunded journey cost Madan 75000 the main costs were incurred on shoes and apparel There were hotel costs too since after each dayrsquos walk they would stay at the nearest hotel for the night The next day Prashant would drop her to the point she had stopped at and she would continueI covered a distance of 169 km with my husband driving behind me The 128 plastic bottles collected along the way Next stopMadan has her eyes set on the 600 km walk from Mumbai to Goa early next year ldquoIt will be an openwalk where I will publish my itinerary and invite people to walk along It will have a social cause integral to itrdquo she elaborates Madan and her husband also plan to start a venture to create events that will inspire people to do more than they think theyrsquore capable ofThe real uphill test climbing the Lonavala hillsI never felt unsafe at any point even at night Log on to wwwfacebookcomaanchaldmadanmedia_setseta101527690467356101073741829555950609amptype3somadasmiddaycom