From Ajmer to Meghalaya, cycling his way for a cause

Kottayam: Around four months ago, 28-year-old Ankit Arora set off on a journey on his bicycle. In 130 days, he pedaled across the country, watching diverse facets of life and soaking in the scenic beauty of Indian villages, before reaching Kottayam on Tuesday.

Ankith, hailing from Ajmer in Rajasthan, has so far covered a distance of 9,200km, with just a rucksack carrying two sets of clothes and some essential items.

He is attempting a Guinness World Record by traversing 21,000 kilometers, but that is not his only objective. Apart from creating a world record, he also wants to create social awareness wherever he goes, about the importance of children’s rights to education.

During the course of his journey, he makes short stop-overs to hold meetings with children in each area who are denied basic education and provide them necessary assistance to study.

He also makes it a point to interact with the authorities of the Round Table India, an organization which aims to create conditions for underprivileged children to have an education, and study their operations in each state.

Another 130 days of journey will take Ankit to Meghalaya, where he will end his expedition with a new record.

According to him, traveling across the country on a bicycle does not require a huge sum of money. “Wherever I went there were people who pitched in with some help. They were ready to offer me free food and accommodation,” he says.

The volunteers of Round Table India in each region have been helping Ankit for his trip.

After visiting the CMS High School in Kanam and the Sparsh Round Table Special School in Veloor and interacting with the students, he headed for Alappuzha on Wednesday.