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Pedalling all the way to Delhi with mike and ideals

— Photo: T. Singaravelou

D. Balaguru

PUDUCHERRY: From Injikudi in Thiruvarur district of Tamil Nadu comes this person with lofty ideals. “I will do my bit for the nation, and God and the country will provide me with food, clothing and shelter,” says 36-year-old D. Balaguru, who, on his second cycle expedition, is campaigning for national integration, secular harmony, humanism, AIDS awareness, and trust in the system of Siddha medicine.

Speaking fluent Tamil and Hindi and smatterings of Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam, he is pedalling all the way to Delhi, which he hopes to reach by December. The distance he would be covering would be approximately 4,000 km. His cycle is fitted with a microphone, which he uses to speak to the public, and a wooden box to carry his personal things.

Balaguru says that, of late, there has been a spurt in religious tension and terrorism in the country. “Somebody needs to convey the message that each living being has to be respected.” Having left Thiruvarur on September 22, with the Collector flagging off the journey, Balaguru reached Puducherry on September 27 and met two MLAs, and various government officials, including IAS and IPS officers. “Wherever I go I make it a point to go to the police stations in that area, and government offices and get signatures in my notebook… and those who wish to give me food do so of their own accord.”During his earlier trip, in 1999, he travelled through the southern States and to Maharashtra on a three-wheeler.

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