The travels of Krishanu Kona

08/02/2017

Horse riding competition at Kathi Village

Every year on Dussehra, one of the most famous events of the tribal area of Dhadgaon, takes place at the village of Kathi. On the state highway from Dhadgaon to Molgi, a stretch of more than 2 kms is blocked for vehicles and is used for the horse riding competition.

The competition starts by noon and by evening the winner of the competition is decided.

19/10/2016

After going through a severe bout of fever which made me go back home for two weeks I returned to my project location. But, the biggest learning for us during this phase was that cooking is no longer avoidable, especially so at our location.

Here I am now, calling mom every day for the recipes of all the mouth watering dishes that she made at home. Though without Maa's love it would never taste the same.

02/09/2016

Shifting to rural life

After walking through makka and jowar fields for 1km we reached the house of Preeti Tai who is the community resource person (CRP) of Shelkui village for Rakhi.

Last year's fellow Abhijeet had worked closely with her and several SHG's in improving their livelihood.

In those few moments when she tied the rakhi and served us food, sitting a thousand miles away, I felt like I was amongst my loved ones at home.

29/08/2016

Shifting to Rural life

When I left Delhi for the Youth for India fellowship, I had no idea of the rural lifestyle. Whatever little I knew was from what I saw in movies and television.

It was only after reaching Dhadgaon, that I got a real feel and understanding of the real rural life. Where having a tap in your bathroom is unreal and carrying water from outside is the norm. But, on the other hand I throughly enjoyed scrubbing my teeth clean with a neem twig.

23/08/2016

Shifting to rural life

The beginning of rural living at Dhadgaon began when we met Abhijit (he's the Superman in the photos), a fellow of the previous batch.

You can see him taking us around Dhadgaon and and us having fun while pushing his bike across a stream.

01/07/2016

Traveling with Maa (The last two days)

Day 5
We had two days to reach Chandigarh from Manali and decided to visit a much more peaceful part of the state. The destination for the day was Palampur.

The route from Mandi to Jogindernagar was narrower and more winding as compared to the straighter road from Manali to Mandi. But, after Jogindernagar the views around you turn into a fascination shade of green. The slight drizzle and the greenery makes you feel like you're in the ghats of Kerala.

Our booking was in Himachal Heritage Village which was 7 kms from Palampur, in the middle of nowhere. We enjoyed a walk to the river flowing next to the resort and had fresh trout fish for dinner.

Day 6
The crow of a rooster woke us up in the morning. Being the last day of the journey we relaxed a bit and had tea sitting next to the stream flowing through the resort.

On our way to Chandigarh, the route we took went via Kangra, Ranital, Chintpurni, Mubarikpur which was again a beautiful drive and after which we hit the plains.

At around 5:45 we reached Chandigarh railway station, deposited our cute little blue Nano to ZoomCar and took the 6:30 Shatabdi to Delhi.

Now that the journey was about to end, it didn't feel like 6 days had gone by. But, as people have commented, traveling with Maa for 6 days has been very memorable for both of us.

29/06/2016

Travelling with Maa (Day 4)

Woke up to a beautiful cloud capped mountain view. It had rained in the night and everything was green.

We went to Manali town and hired my favourite vehicle a 'motorcycle'. I wanted Maa to get a feel of how traveling on a motorcycle brings you so much closer to the nature around you.

So we went to the castle of Naggar which is around 20kms from Manali. It's a beautifully designed structure made mostly of wood and stone. We also visited Nicholas Roerick's estate in Naggar which displays his love for the mountains thorough his paintings.

From there we went to a highly crowded Solang valley. On the way we stopped at the banks of river Beas and dipped our feet into the water and literally chilled out. By evening we reached Manali and took a round of Old Manali which shows the real spirit of the town with interesting cafe's and shops lining it's narrow lanes. It's best to be seen on foot or on a two wheeler.

Even though Maa was sceptical of going around the area on a bike she loved the experience. In her words "It is much more exhilarating and gives you a sense of freedom that no other vehicle can. I felt like a teenager again".

27/06/2016

Traveling with Maa (Day 3)

Moving out from Hotel Baba Deluxe (I know the name's funny :P) we went to a quaint place across the river Beas. The road takes you into the woods where you get to see a fast flowing stream right in the middle of the greenery. The cold water and absence of tourists added to the beauty.

A few hundred metres of driving on a rough, twisty and narrow road where Maa was at the edge of her seat we parked the Nano next to the road. From there we walked on a small trail that leads to an opening on the edge of the mountain.

Afterwards we went on to search for a hotel and got stuck for around an hour in the horrible traffic of Manali. Having crossed the area a few times on my motorcycle I didn't know the pain of driving your car through the town.

Fortunately after going through the pain we found a beautiful hotel in the upper part of Prini village (4-5kms from Manali) and spent the rest of the day enjoying the views and breeze from the balcony.

Both of us are looking forward to another new experience tomorrow.

26/06/2016

Traveling with Maa (Day 2)

After getting up at 6:30 both of us quickly got ready for a rendezvous at the Chandigarh railway station in a few hours.

There it was, a blue nano waiting for us at the station parking lot. And only after getting a photo clicked with it did we realise that the color of our clothes exactly matched the car's.

Having always thought of it as a toy car, today I realised that it's a proper car with good leg room and easy 100 km/hr cruising ability.

After reaching Manali we had the special 'fried trout fish' for dinner after which we walked down to the riverside. The sound of the flowing Beas river and the cool breeze washed away our tiredness.

19/06/2016

Out of all the things you do, riding can have the biggest impact and bring forth an aspect of your persona that you never knew existed. And the best part is almost everybody can do it.

The man hunched over his motorcycle can focus only on the present. He is caught in a fragment of time cut off from both the past and the future. He has no fear, because the source of fear is in the…

14/06/2016

Here's an article that gives the full details of my journey. :)

At 24, an age when most people struggle to make a mark in their first jobs, Krishanu Kona rode solo for 224 days non-stop, covering 25 states. | The longest journey by motorbike in a single country!

13/06/2016

Come and find out what a trek into the Himalayas feels like.

Himalayas are an open invitation to trekkers to get a taste of adventure and test their will power and scale the massive mountains. Trekking gives you a chance to see the beauty and power of nature…