Bharat Parikrama Yatra in Odisha
Araku Village, Vishakhapattanam, Andhra Pradesh July 13, 2016: Aimed for awareness about Graam Vikas, RSS Pracharak and former Akhil Bharatiya Seva Pramukh Sitarama Kedilaya lead Bharat Parikrama Yatra has entered Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday morning of July 13, 2016. Andhra Pradesh became the 22nd state to which Bharat Parikrama Yatra had entered. Yatra entered from Chatua village of Koraput district of Odisha to Araku village of Vishakhapattanam District of Andhra Pradesh.
68 year old Sitrama Kedilaya completed nearly 20,000 KM by his mega walkathon on Day-1436 visiting nearly 1850 villages of 22 different states.
This 5-year mega walkathon Bharat Parikrama Yatra expected to conclude at Kanyakumari on GuruPoorinma Day of July 9, 2017.
Began on August 09, 2012 from Kanyakumari, Bharat Parikrama Yatra completed Day-1436, covering a distance of approximately 20,000km by walk. Bharat Parikrama Yatra had entered Chhattisgarh on Wednesday morning of May 25, 2016, Chhattisgarh became the 21st state to which Bharat Parikrama Yatra had entered. Yatra entered from Baragada district of Odisha to Raigarh District of Chattisgarh. In Chhattisgarh, Sitarama Kedilaya had met spiritual leader Baba SatyaNarayana Swamy. Later Yatra entered border district of Odisha, then entered to Andhra Pradesh. BharaThe Yatra to proceed to Southern India, to visit prominent places including VishakhaPattanam, Shreeshailam, Puttaparti, Tirupati, Muddenahalli of Chikkaballapura in Karnataka (Border Zone), then to Tamilandu’s Tiruvannamalai, Pondichery, and to proceed till Kanyakumari. Bharat Parikrama Yatra expected to conclude at Kanyakumari on Ashadha Poornima or GuruPoorinma Day of July 9, 2017.
68 year old Sitarama Kedilaya has now completed approximately over 20,000 kilometers by his mega walkathon. Bharat Parikrama Yatra visited over 1850 villages of 22 states so far, creating awareness about conservation of water, ecology and rural Indian values in daily life.
Earlier, RSS Sarasanghachalak Mohan Bhagwat joined Bharat Parikrama Yatra on September 08, 2013 at Seekar district of Rajasthan. RSS chief echoed the aims and concept of the Bharat Parikrama Yatra which was aiming the upliftment of rural Indian life. Bhagwat stressed on the conservation of water, soil, Cow, all forms natural resources. Mohan Bhagwat wished Kedilaya for the successful completion of Bharat Parikrama Yatra. This is the second visit of RSS Sarasanghachalak in the same year, who earlier joined Yatra in January 2013 at Panvel of Maharashtra.
Elaborating on the yatra, Sitarama Kedilaya said that a span of about 10 kilo metres will be covered on a daily basis by foot, after which he will take rest in the village that falls in the vicinity. The primary task he has to undertake will be to get in touch with the youth and the prominent members of the village and discuss important issues like care of sick. This will include the handicapped, blind etc. Other activities like taking a round of the entire village and engaging in a collective session of prayer at the village temple. This will help create a bond of great depth with the people, which will help the villagers realize that villages were, once upon a time, a single encompassing family. However, this feeling has taken a back seat now, which has led to a whole lot of problems everywhere. This has now escalated to national and international levels. The feeling of unity, along with creation of family bonds, if brought back to villages will ensure restoration of harmony to a great extent. This could be instrumental in the rekindling of the concept of ‘Vasudha Eva Kudumbakam’. And then, the journey will resume to the next village.
Sitaram Kedilaya has dedicated a slogan for the purpose. “Know Bharat, be Bharat and Make Bharat Vishwaguru”. The reason for the yatra is clear. The current trends that prevail are businesslike and commercial , where life is being seen only in terms of trade and profit. This unfortunately has given rise to poverty, unemployment and corruption everywhere. Another trend that prevails is that the world is now a battlefield, with life being nothing but constant strife. This thought stream has led to violence, terrorism and an existence hand with deadly weapons everywhere. This has led to deep turbulence and instability, with people all over the world making a mad scramble for any straw that will provide them with peace. And then this makes them realize that the road to solitude, ultimately happens to be Bharat. It is here that the relevance of the third and most important trend comes into being: “The world is a family and life is a revelation”.
Images of Bharat Parikrama Yatra in Odisha last week July 2016:
