When the pandemic brought life to a grinding halt last March, members of the cycle club at Maharaja’s College were a dejected lot.
For, it put a spoke in their ambitious plan to pedal across the State, learning and documenting alternative movements in various walks of life and their propagators from close quarters. By then, the six-member team led by M.H. Ramesh Kumar, assistant professor in the history department and an avid biking enthusiast who was also instrumental in forming the club three years ago when he joined the college, had completed the tour of Ernakulam. They covered various nature-centric and environment-friendly initiatives like Moozhikkulam Sala in over a week.
“We had drawn up a list of various personalities and initiatives across the State and had planned to cover it in a couple of months when the pandemic broke out, disrupting our schedule. We are now eagerly waiting for the pandemic to subside to resume our tour,” said Mr. Kumar, who often bikes his way home to Kayamkulam, which is over 100 km from Kochi.
Documentation
Rather than simply biking, the team plans to document their experience both in print and video format. The team members have been assigned various tasks, from food and stay to documentation during the course of the tour.
“The idea is to introduce the new generation to an eco-friendly and frugal alternative lifestyle while making them active participants in the fight against global warming,” said Mr. Kumar.
The club was initially formed with six persons, but has gradually attracted more youngsters. “The club and the State-wide tour have been an eye-opener for me and helped draw me away from the virtual world where I was spending a disproportionate amount of time. It helped me know about an alternative value-based living,” said Amjad Ali, a third-year B.A. student and an active member of the club.
