The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : At 72, he's pedalling his way round the world

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jan 26, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

At 72, he's pedalling his way round the world

L. Srikrishna

Janus River sleeps in the open, gets by with the local food

NEVER SAY DIE SPIRIT: Janus River is 72 but he has energy to take a world tour on a bicycle. He passed through Chennai on Thursday. — Photo: R. Ragu

CHENNAI: Seventy-two-year-old Janus River, born a Russian and now a resident of Italy, is fascinated by Indian culture.

Mr River arrived in the city from Colombo on Wednesday on a cycle expedition around the world. He left home in January 2000. So far, he has pedalled about 75,000 km across 74 countries across all the continents. After visiting Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar and Hong Kong, he will reach Beijing in June 2008 - in time for the Olympics to be held there.

Mr River says he is fascinated by the culture and tradition of India, and that from memory, he can recite the names of 100 gods worshipped by the people in Bharat. Talking to The Hindu , he said, "let me thank the State government for its immediate response to provide support during my travel in Tamil Nadu."

He knows and can speak as many as 25 languages. He pedals about 50-100 km every day, depending on weather conditions. Though he does not carry any specific message on his expedition, he stressed that the idea was that even at this age, one can go around the world with little money. "What you need is determination, patience and willpower to learn and adjust with new things."

Mr River's daily diet includes fruits, mineral water, rice and curry. "In Colombo, I had rice with fish curry. I cycled into places like Jaffna after obtaining permission from the authorities."

The man does not prefer to sleep within the four walls of a hotel room or a bed. In fact, sleeping in an open-air auditorium "like the Nehru stadium is good. In many countries, I slept near the cemetery," he said.

More than pedalling in big cities like Chennai, Mr River loves to move around villages and small towns. He will be proceeding to Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Mumbai.

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