It is the fifth time he is cycling across the country, and Bhousaheb Bhanwar’s enthusiasm has not ebbed even a wee bit. He is on a mission to spread awareness about the ill effects of dowry, the “one social evil that is the root cause for many others” in his own words.
Bhanwar, who has been cycling for the past 25 years to spread his message, arrived in Kochi from Thiruvanathapuram on March 1. He will be in the city for a few days, speaking to students and any willing listener for that matter.
It all began in 1993, when his sister faced dowry-related issues, says the 46-year-old, a native of Jalna district in Maharashtra.
“I wanted to tell everybody about the problems that this evil causes. It leads to female foeticide. It also makes you extremely selfish,” he says.
So began his expeditions. Since 1993, Bhanwar has been cycling across the country.
In his talks and speeches (all in chaste Hindi) at each stopover, he urges his audience not to accept dowry. India will be able to make progress only if society discourages the practice, he says. He also addresses schoolchildren, for, he believes, they are the future. “I tell them when you have a girl child, do not open a fixed deposit for her marriage. Instead, invest the money on her education. Women should be self-dependent first,” he says. A disciplined diet and exercise — he, of course, advocates cycling — is also crucial, his common refrain to students.
Being a change agent
“Our society can change. Sirf soch ki kami hai [there is only lack of thought]. Each person has to be a change agent,” he says.
Bhanwar travels at least 100 km a day on his cycle (which is the 10th now and sponsored by a multinational company). He has no income, so he accepts whatever institutions offer him voluntarily.
TN sojourn
“I am not in this for money, and I do not see an end to my journey,” says Bhanwar who hopes to proceed to Palakkad now, and then to Coimbatore and further to Mysore and Bengaluru over the next few months. “I only hope that my efforts bring a little change to society.”