Finding shade – Walking across India – Moving Upstream

How did you manage?

One of the most common questions that people ask in relation to the long walk along the river Ganga is, “how did you manage your stay while walking?”. It is a legitimate doubt and through a couple of posts on our website, we offer you a glimpse into what ensued.

 

The dynamics of finding a shelter depend upon a variety of factors: the type of area(urban/rural), time of stopping (nights are much harder then early evening), and surprisingly a lot on the happenings of the day – doesn’t help if you’re all dirty from a day of walking, but clearly helps if you meet someone while walking who offers you shade.

But what trumps all of this, especially in rural areas, is the generosity and empathy of people. The act of walking has the power to remove barriers, bringing people to the same platform irrespective of tags and hierarchical definitions that society generally functions around.

Some of the best moments have been spent in villages, with people lending a space in their homes and offering food and support;

while there have been days when finding shelter was difficult and the night was spent on an empty stomach.

At other times, small towns and cities didn’t have much to offer, except hotel rooms;

 

while highways always obliged with some space at one of the many dhabas;

and then there were times when people would appear out of nowhere and take care of everything for the evening:

 

 

I can only share a limited set of stories and pictures here, because there’s a story for every night from the many months of walking, but you can write to me if you’re intrigued by something particular or leave your queries in the comments.

This photo set is limited to the first leg of the walk from Ganga Sagar to Garhmukhteshwar (~2000kms of walking); by next week we’ll be sharing another set of images, with stories of resting spots from the second leg of the walk (~500kms) between Bijnor and Gangotri.

This photo story attempts to offer an insight into what it would be like to walk across India and i sincerely hope it inspires you to go out and do your own walk. You can write to me at asid@veditum.org if you want to discuss about your journey, i’d be happy to help you out with some tips; or if you have any questions, please leave your thoughts in the comments section below, i will try and answer these questions with the next set of pictures.

 

Moving Upstream is our homegrown project, the first edition saw us walking 2500kms along the Ganga from the sea to source. We are working to create a multifaceted experience revolving around the river. For more from the project visit: www.veditum.org/moving-upstream, and follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for more frequent updates.

We’re working on expanding our work with Moving Upstream to other rivers of India, if you’re interested in collaborating as an individual (participant/artist/researcher) or as an organisation (partner/sponsor) please reach out to us. Should you wish to re-publish this article, send us an email at: contact@veditum.org