| The adventures of a patriotic pedal-pusher |
28th Feb 2015
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Hira Lal Yadav.
58-year-old Hira Lal Yadav has been cycling for more than 16 years now and has travelled across the length and breadth of the country on his bicycle. What's more, funny as it may sound, his bicycle has no seat fixed to it. On his 15th expedition, which he calls "Samvedna Jagriti Abhiyan", from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, Yadav spoke at length with The Sunday Guardian during his brief stopover at Chandigarh.
Hiralal started cycling in the late '90s and has so far covered over 90,000 km, spreading awareness about the deep-rooted social evils plaguing the society. He said, "The burgeoning menace of drug-abuse, smoking, consuming alcohol and, of course, rampant female foeticide, are matter of grave concerns and are ruining the lives of the youth, especially those living in the rural areas. I try to reach out to the youth through seminars being organised in schools, colleges, universities, institutes and even model jails from time to time, to motivate them to eradicate these evils from our society."
Hiralal, now a great motivator, had once been an addict himself. On being asked as to how he quit smoking, he told me: "I got the biggest shock of life when a neighbour told me that he saw my three-year old son puffing off the stub thrown by my. I felt guilty for his action because he was just a kid trying to imitate what he saw. It was then when I decided not to smoke any more. Not only did I quit smoking but also took a solemn vow to motivate others to quit smoking."
Hiralal embarked on his maiden journey from Mumbai to Kolkata in 1997. It took him 82 days to accomplish the mission. He dedicated it to the golden jubilee of the country's independence and to Mother Teresa. Why did he take off his bicycle's seat? "To set an example!" he promptly said. "I met a number of people who wanted to quit smoking and binge-drinking, but fell short of motivation. So I removed the bicycle's seat to tell them that to quit smoking was certainly easier than riding a bicycle without seat for 90-100 km, a day."
He goes places for a cause but never ever asks for monetary help from any one. His wife runs a vegetable shop near the Dahisar station (Mumbai) for a living. "After shifting to Mumbai from my hometown, Gorakhpur, I tried my hand at selling vegetables and fruits and working at a tea stall. Abject poverty forced me to mortgage my wife's jewellery to start a food stall for employees in a diamond factory. During the period of my unending strife, I never gave in to adversities," he said proudly.
He has not only pedalled on his home turf but also in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, among other countries. He has been working heart and soul to spread awareness about the supreme sacrifice made by our jawans. He authored a book called Salaam Sainik in 2005. It's an anthology of poems based on the chivalrous lives of soldiers. A collection of martyrs' last letters written to their own families is Yadav's prized possession.
The bicycle that he rides has been his constant source of strength over the years. Yadav said that he had been bed-ridden for several months in 1990 due to a kidney ailment and that he still cannot stand on his legs for a long time. Riding a bicycle gives him enough strength to forget the pain.
"My pain is nothing compared to the pain and grief of our martyrs' families. They breathe and live with the pain of their loss. Can't I do a little that could bring peace to someone's life?" said Yadav.
http://www.sunday-guardian.com/young-restless/the-adventures-of-a-patriotic-pedal-pusher
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