“This is not a
road journey otherwise we would have finished it in eight days. The purpose is to spread the idea of
humanity and the fact that we are 1.3 billion Indians which is a large family.
If we believe we are a family, we would never hurt each other,” says Shailendra
Singh, a multifaceted personality and the face of Sunburn in Goa.
He produced an
anthem, ‘Ek Bharat Mera Bharat or One India. My India’ with the voices of
Mithoon, Sukhwinder Singh, Jubin Nautiyal and Godswill. He will capture this
inspiring journey on camera and showcase their stories to the world.
Shailendra explains
how this rally is different, “There has never been a rally from Kanyakumari to
Kashmir till today. There were two bike rides and nobody has gone live through
social media. We have multiple cameras and we are trying to show every Indian
on the planet to come and celebrate India. What’s the point of being Indian if
you don’t celebrate your culture and don’t see your fellow countrymen across
India?”
They started out on
October 2, 2019, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. He says “We were at Gandhi
Mandapam in Kanyakumari at 12 pm sharp when the sunrays hit his ashes only once
a year, we broke a coconut and drove from Kanyakumari.”
The uniqueness about
this rally is the beauty of Indians who want to make a difference. They are
meeting unsung heroes like ordinary citizens who are doing extraordinary work.
“We met Sai Vignesh from Chennai who saved 500 animals, Umesh Na who saved 70
lives on a canoe in the floods in Kerala, Padmashri Dr Bhogaraju Ramana Rao who
gives free treatment to two million patients in Bangalore, Dr Sunil Kumar Hebbi
in Bangalore who did ‘Right to Health Yatra’ across the country for medical
health for rural people. In Goa, he met MaendraAlvares of Big Foot, Loutolim.
Shiva is an orphaned child who is now famous all over the country. He drove 500
kilometres to meet me in Hampi. He has recovered 1200 unidentifiable dead
bodies from a toxic lake in Hyderbad and gives them cremation. He lives by the
lake and he rescues 109 people from committing suicide. These are outstanding stories
and I am enjoying them,” he says.
After completing ten
editions of the electronic dance music festival Sunburn, this year the festival
is back in Goa. He is excited to add, “Sunburn is back, hopefully things will
move smoothly. I have gifted it to my brother, Harinder Singh, he manages and
runs it. I love it and have done it for ten years. Now I’m doing different
things. I might come for a day this time to Vagator.”
Their
goal is to reach Srinagar, Kashmir on October 18, 2019 to successfully complete
the rally. They are driving close to 8-9 hours a day, working 5 hours while
meeting unsung heroes. “4.30am is the wake up call and 5am we are on the road.
When you do such things the universe gives you the energy. We are excited about
the next day’s journey and meeting new people,” concludes Shailendra.
