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A long trip to save the planet
Mission oriented: Shrenik Rao in New Delhi on Sunday.
On a holiday from his teaching assignment at Napier University in Scotland, educationist-cum-filmmaker Shrenik Rao is cycling from Kanyakumari to Kashmir to spread awareness about environmental issues. Madhur Tankha shares his ideas and experiences along the trip.
The sound emitted by the dry grinding of his cycle’s mudguards is a constant reminder to educationist-cum-filmmaker Shrenik Rao about a noble cause. In his present avatar as an intrepid cross-country cyclist, this teacher of information and politics at Napier University in Scotland says his journey involving adventure and tenacity was all about saving planet Earth.
“I am cycling along the circuitous route from down South to the upper reaches of the Himalayas to deliberate on environmental issues like tree plantation and global warming with individuals from all walks of life. I started cycling on my mountain bike from Kanyakumari on June 5 to coincide with World Environment Day. So far I have cycled 3,100 km and will hopefully reach the picturesque Kashmir on August 15. I am not disclosing my location in the trouble-torn State due to security reasons,” says Shrenik, taking a break from from his punishing schedule.
Asserting that through his ongoing expedition he intends to marry endurance sports with creating awareness on environmental degradation, Shrenik says: “I am burning about 5,000 to 6,000 calories every day to inspire people to pledge to plant trees. Trees are the currency of the future and economic development can be sustained if environmental concerns are taken care of. So far three million people have pledged to plant trees. The Hyderabad Urban Development Authority has pledged to plant 2.5 million trees and impart free training to people to take care of trees.”
During his sabbatical from his teaching assignment, this man on a mission is filming a documentary with his digital video camera and also scribbling notes for his upcoming book. “I am having varied experience of interacting with truck drivers, management students and agriculturists. My meeting with an eight-year-old Haryanvi child earning his livelihood in a dilapidated dhaba was a heart rendering experience. Naturally I filmed Santosh. Despite the fact that our country is home to more billionaires than Japan and China, we still have lakhs of people below the poverty line. I want that there should be equitable distribution of wealth by implementing pro-poor policies,” says Shrenik, adding that he is also highlighting the fact that people from diverse regions live and work in an harmonious environment in his film.
During his journey, Shrenik delivered lectures on environment at Indian School of Business in Hyderabad and Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi.
A multi-lingual person, this 29-year-old was able to communicate with local people in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. “Before undertaking this mammoth expedition, I met Deputy Surveyor General of India Swarna Subbha Rao who chalked out the places where I could stay. I wanted to stay in interesting places where I could showcase our country’s tourism potential.”
Actually it was an inspiring lecture delivered by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at Oxford University that spurred Shrenik to showcase the rich diversity and unity of his country to the rest of the world. “I had romantic notions about our country that were divorced from reality. But the cycling expedition has taught me what all this country is about.”
While studying at London School of Economics, Shrenik made a documentary on the political and economic situation in Zimbabwe. “I did my basic ground research and luckily interviewed the vice-president and Reserve Bank Governor. I wanted to know why the inflation had jumped to a whopping 10,000 per cent and looked at complexities and weaved my story around the common man. I wanted to interview Robert Mugabe but couldn’t get permission. Later my film was launched at Harvard University in 2007 and also shown on BBC.”
Shedding light on his background, Shrenik says he comes from a family of bureaucrats. “I attended the Little Flower High School and then went on to do my Bachelors in history, political science and public administration from Nizam College. Later I did Masters in anthropology from the Hyderabad University. I worked briefly for a television company in India before studying at Napier University. I did research on how politicians use and abuse information. As a teacher there, I have students from 80 different nationalities including second generation Indians.”
With his birthday falling on July 31, Shrenik says he would be cycling in Chandigarh before going to Shimla, Dharamshala and finally the Kashmir Valley.
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