Coronavirus has brought the nation to a standstill and daily routines have taken drastic steps to try to curb the coronavirus pandemic. As per latest update coronavirus cases in India has now risen to 1,26,86,593, from which 7,85,619 active cases, 1,17,30,310 have recovered and 1,65,583 deaths. While most of us during this time are sitting in lap of comfort and having three meals a day but on the other end the most affected people during this pandemic is the migrants who are walking on foot to reach their respect homes.
I was really moved by one such story of a 23-year-old youth from Kashmir who cycled from Kashmir to Kanyakumari in just eight days. In doing so Adil Teli has created a unique record also etched his name in Guinness World Record for the fastest Kashmir to Kanyakumari journey on cycle by pedalling 3,600 kilometres in just eight days, 1 hour and 37 minutes. Adil hails from Narbal in Kashmir’s Budgam district, he started his voyage from the iconic Ghanta Ghar at Lal Chowk in Srinagar around 7:30 am on 22ns March and reached Kanyakumari around 9 am on 30th March. His journey was flagged off by Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Pandurang K Pole.
He broke the record of 17-year-old Om Mahajan from Nashik who travelled from Kashmir to Kanyakumari journey in eight days, 7 hours and 38 minutes. In order to break the said record Teli began pedalling for almost 20 hours daily to break the earlier record by a huge margin and was quoted saying that “I had studied Om’s route well and how he rested. I quickly realised I needed to reduce break time in order to beat it. So, I usually took power naps in between my physio sessions.”
Teli also shared that the toughest task in his journey was the high temperature and humid conditions that got to him the most and added “Coming from the mountains, I’m not used to hot weather…here I was riding in almost 40 degree Celsius,” In order to achieve his goals decided to cover his whole journey during evening at night and at earlt hours of the day. He used to recharge his batteries by resting during the afternoon and traversing the NH 44, the major north–south National Highway in India, the longest in the nation.
During his course of journey, he had to travel throughout Indian and covering cities such as Delhi, Agra, Gwalior, Hyderabad, Madurai, among others before finishing his journey in Cape Comorin. He travelled with an eight-member team which consisted of a physiotherapist, a nutritionist, a mechanic and camera crew. He was quoted saying “This journey will always remind me to keep pushing myself beyond expectations. I got to know my own capacity once I finished this wonderful, stressful and enjoyable ride. But every pedal was worth taking all the risks. During the ride I got demotivated because of unbearable pain. Every time I thought of quitting, I could see my parents’ faces and tears in their eyes…that kept me going,”
He had summited his official document to the GWR body last December and finally got the approval in March to start his dream journey. He started prepping up for the journey in Punjab for five months and used to pedal for 250 km thrice a week to build his strength. He also thanked towards the love and support which has received through to his support of his family, crew and sponsor.
He has been sponsored by Abraq Agro, a controlled-atmosphere storage facility company from Kashmir and said “I come from a middle-class family, I could have not achieved this if I didn’t have the sponsorship. Thanks to their efforts, be it providing support staff or equipment, I could focus on my goal without worrying about the rest. It was one hell of a ride but it was beautiful in its own way. I have a feeling that my own era has started and it will not stop until Allah stops it.”
Vikramroymehta's Blog 