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Long walk to freedom
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‘Freedom Walkers’ Anoop John and Co. on their walkathaon
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Walk the talk ‘Freedom walkers’ touched base after a hectic 44-day walk.
They have walked through 14 districts; they have walked for 44 days. The freedom walkers are back in the city after their all-Kerala walk that began on October 2. The story unfolds as Anoop John, CEO of Zyxware Technologies, and his compatriots talk
about their experiences.
“Our objective to take the message to the people of Kerala that it was possible to make a change, has been successful,” he says, as he mentions the three aspects of the project: freedom in society, awareness about environmental issues and freedom in software.
Anoop feels that there was active participation and enthusiasm among from the younger generation, which proved quite inspiring. Another positive and unexpected outcome from the walk was that free software communities, all over Kerala, came together to help organise the event and make it a success.
“People were friendlier, more inquisitive and more curious in North Kerala, compared to folks in South who seemed more reserved. But everywhere, people responded quite nicely; even those who were sceptical at first changed their attitude once they knew it was for a good cause,” remarks Anoop.
Most people were hospitable. When ‘freedom walkers’ went into houses along on the way to quench their thirst, inhabitants took them inside and treated them affably, sometimes offering them meals as well.
It was this level of trust that surprised Anoop and his friends. There were, however, instances when the freedom walkers were not given a red carpet welcome. Such as one at a college in Kollam, where they were shown the door as the authorities were not happy with the attire of the walkers.
Hurdles
Despite facing many hurdles, the group was determined to reach their destination. Some days they had to sleep on cold floors or in waiting sheds.
The long walks proved quite hectic, leaving them exhausted and full of aches. “There was never a question of stopping, you just had to move on regardless of the pain,” points out Anoop.
Convincing people of their credibility was yet another difficulty. Besides that most media had sidelined the social and environmental aspect of their walk and concentrated only on the free software aspect.
But Anoop remains positive. “Now that people know how genuine we are, next time around they will have more faith in us,” and adds on a a lighter vein: “It seems Porotta is the choice of food for most people in Kerala.”
“We also observed that one of the biggest problems in our State was waste management. Even the most picturesque places suffered from this,” remarks another freedom walker Sooraj.
His team mate Cherry adds: “For an amateur anthropologist, such as myself, the most striking thing was the incredible cultural and linguistic diversity we witnessed in Kerala. The legendary Malayali hospitality did not disappoint. Neither did the equally legendary beautiful natural landscape of Kerala.”
More details and photos of the freedom walk can be found at http://freedomwalk.in
Sita S.
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
Pondicherry
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
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