An Auction - that carries a million emotions! ....Vandeemaataram!

I sit here checking my emails and updates.....and there's something that attracts my attention an Auction!!

The word brings out all kinds of emotions. We wonder what is being auctioned and why.... secondly, we also know that for being auctioned the possession has to be worthy of being auctioned, I would say something that's been priceless for someone. That priceless thing at the moment is heart breaking!

It is this feeling that makes me write this post.

My grand mother used to tell us stories, stories of kings and queens. She would say that the  kings had huge empires and the wealth of the state. I used to ask her how did they manage to do that and she would say by asking every household in the kingdom to contribute. That's how a part of the produce from every farmer would go to the kingdom. Similarly a part of every trader's goods would go to the king. The king in return would protect all the people and help the kingdom flourish. Simple story and simple logic.

Why do I think of this story and my late grandma today?

Vande maataram takes me to these thoughts. For whose who haven't heard of it yet...

Vande Maataram

It was the largest movement that united all the people of India before Independence. And it is now going to unite all the youth of the nation to come forward and vote. 

The bikers of the country are uniting to undertake the largest ever biker movement to help build a bright future of this great nation. The movement is spearheaded by Bharadwaj Dayala, the first Indian to go around the world on his motorcycle.

The ride

The ride started from Mumbai on 15th March 2014, the core team of riders ride to each and every state capital, meeting and energizing the youth all along the way. They are not supported by anyone but the people of this country. No politics, no parties, no persons. It’s just the Call of duty! with the largest number of bikers coming to support the core team. The rally ends at New Delhi with the largest ever gathering of bikers in the world (the event will feature in the Guinness book of World Records).

The team is in Kolkata at the moment, the riders are on their own. 

Message from Bharadwaj Dayala

"Good morning buddies. You know that Vande Maataram movement is not supported by any sponsors. All the riders are doing it at their own expense and for the cause of better India. Hence I have decided to auction my WORLD TOUR bike and support the Vande Maataram movement. All the riders will be fully funded from the proceeds of this bike sale. 

I know everyone will be angry with me. But support me to support this cause.

FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT AWARE: THIS IS THE FIRST INDIAN BIKE THAT TRAVELLED AROUND THE WORLD, ACROSS 5 CONTINENTS AD 16 COUNTRIES, 47,000 KMS. BUT STILL DOING GREAT 

( more details will follow soon)"

A noble idea for sure but for raising funds for the ride you can't be doing this. The planning of Vande Maataram was just a couple of days...  Bharadwaj Dayala felt before his DreamLive project where he goes around the world on his motorcycle, he had to do something for his country- urge youngsters to vote. The event is going on as planned and beautifully. Vandemaataram has more than 15000 people who support the cause. The support and interest generated in less than a month, I see it as a huge achievement and in the right direction.

This time of the year companies take a bit of their time to allocate funds from the new budget for their organisations, so sponsorship is discussed and debated. I know the sponsorship will come eventually but the need is now. Probably that prompted Dayala to auction his pride possession. That clearly shows the passion that the man has and how he wants his bit to be done for the country.

I strongly feel that the people who support Vandemaataram must give a solution and a way out. Bikers ride from their heart and for their passion, must certainly show that heart and passion now. How, what and when... I don't know but the ride must be supported and believe me when it is accomplished, the satisfaction can be unimaginable. Truly rewarding and enriching yourself!

Give your thoughts on this would love to hear from you all.

Where there's a will there's always a way! .... that's the way forward..... believe in it today and forever!

PS: the team is in Assam now.

Details of the mission Vandemaataram: http://laxmitodiwan.blogspot.in/2014/03/a-revolution-called-vandemaataram.html

Check: https://www.facebook.com/Vandemaataram2014

A revolution called Vandemaataram - Bikers Ahoy!!

The riders start the rally from Mumbai 15th March 2014- Bharadwaj Dayala, Christopher Nadar, Bullet Navin and Raman.

Almost a week has gone by and so much is happening on the Vandemaatram front. I have been like the watchdog for the event. Keeping my eyes on information coming from all quarters, the phone and all the social media. This morning was a pleasant surprise when I receive the pictures on my Whatsapp and also a heart warming, cheerful note from the man of the moment Bharadwaj Dayala. 

The message - Loud and clear!

As we all know that the country warms up to the Lok Sabha elections next month. India being the largest democracy in the world, the citizens have the key to electing a great government. In fact the citizens can play 'Genie' for themselves and the fellow Indians. But in reality the voting percentage is really low, a lot of the people, the eligible votes don't really care exercising their rights. But we all need to remember that every vote counts, its the drops that collect to finally turn into the sea and then the mighty ocean. As citizens we need to do a bit of the homework ourselves and bring the right people to run our country. Its important to learn about the candidates as well as the party ideology and their election agenda.

With students in Goa

With the idea of getting the people to vote especially the youngsters a group of bikers lead by Bharadwaj Dayala, the first and the only Indian to go around the world on a motorcycle, have taken it upon themselves to spread the idea and get the youngsters to vote. They started their 15000 km ride across India, on 15th March from Mumbai and have already covered 4 states, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Union Territory of Pondicherry and reaching Chennai today. 

The group is getting amazing reception from the local bikers and the people at large. The rally turns into a grand procession as they head towards the state capital. That really motivates the bikers, as they are on their own without any sponsorship. They are riding purely for the great cause- Vandemaataram!

Team Versiviouz in Trivandrum, Kerala

Its nice to see the local riders joining them in their home states and riding one lap of the rally. Some riders from across the country are getting in touch to plan their own participation in the rally. The riders are visiting the state capitals only as its not possible to cover all the cities. Hence the riders from the different cities within the state need a better planning and coordination to ensure that they are there on the due course of time at the appointed place. Local biker groups are in touch facilitating the same. Its going to be a unique event, one for the purpose that it serves- creating awareness and asking voters to vote and two, it'll be biggest biker event in the country. 

I guess every passionate biker and ever responsible citizen would want to be a part of this event, isn't it?

Vandemaataram is 10000 support strong on their facebook page.

Bharadwaj Dayala says, " We the bikers will stand for good causes apart from riding. We will be proud to bring that little change".

We all can support the group in whatever capacity  we can.... be a part of it and simply love the journey!

An enthusiastic rider waiting to receive the team and ride a lap of the journey with them.

Like Vandemaataram on facebook : https://www.facebook.com/Vandemaataram2014

Mission Vandemaataram starts 15th March 2014

What is Vande Maataram?

It was the largest movement that united all the people of India before Independence. And it is now going to unite all the youth of the nation to come forward and vote. 

The bikers of the country are uniting to undertake the largest ever biker movement to help build a bright future of this great nation. The movement is spearheaded by Bharadwaj Dayala, the first Indian to go around the world on his motorcycle.
The ride
29 riders representing 29 states of India will ride to each and every state capital, meeting and energizing the youth all along the way. They are not supported by anyone but the people of this country. No politics, no parties, no persons. It’s just the Call of duty!

The ride will start from Mumbai on 15th March 2014, with the largest number of bikers coming to support the National Team of 29 riders. The rally ends at New Delhi with the largest ever gathering of bikers in the world (the event will feature in the Guinness book of World Records).

A bit about our national song

Vandemaatram movement is  based on Vande Mataram, our national song  which means  "I bow to thee, Mother" ,It is a hymn to the Mother Land taken from a poem by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's 1882 novel Anandamath. Written in both Bengali and Sanskrit. 

It played a vital role in the Indian independence movement, inspired people to attain independence. First sung in a political context by Rabindranath Tagore, at the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress. In 1950, post independence, when India became a republic, only the first two verses (stanzas) were taken as the national song. 

Our freedom fighters laid their lives to earn a free nation for us. We were born in a free and modern, developing nation. A country, that the whole world looks upto not just for our rich cultural heritage but also for being an upcoming economy.

We too have a role to play as the citizens of the largest democracy in the world; it’s certainly no mean feat!  The need of the hour is exercising our rights as well as fulfilling duties towards our nation. We have to help get the right people to form our government.

Vande Maataram movement is launched just to address that - our little bit for our great nation. Everyone do your duty, go out and vote!

Now that we understand the idea behind Vandemaatram, Everyone is going to be a part of it either out there on the field or in the neighbourhood voting and inspiring everyone in the locality to do so. Youth has the charm and the power to move an entire nation! 

Selecting the riders

The riders were asked to register by emailing their details to team Vandemaatram. Based on the applications received the riders were chosen for this ride.

Vande Maataram,  has already gained so much of support from everyone, if you go by the social media there are more than 7600 people already supporting the cause and the numbers are going up each moment. It shows that we all have the pride of our nation as the topmost priority. It’s not even a month when the idea was born. This is an achievement for sure, the achievement is certainly not numbers but the fact that people, citizens of this country are united in the idea and have something great and unique to look forward to. The riders/ rider groups from the different states can join the ride in their own home states and be a part of this unique mission.

Bharadwaj Dayala's thoughts behind the launch of Vandemaataram

"When I thought of this idea (Educating the youth of India the importance of their vote), I was not very sure whether I'll be able to do it or not. As time passes by, few more gave me a thumbs up for this noble cause and motivated me to proceed.
Now, after looking at the response from people around the country (your queries, motivation, curiosity and most importantly willingness to join & support this movement) has built the confidence in me that We'll make it happen. I would like to thank personally each and every individual supporting this cause of uniting our nation once again. Let’s spread out and tell everyone out there that "We are coming for you in your city / college on our motorcycles just for your support".

---Vande Maataram Movement--- 15th March 2014 from Mumbai.

A lot of planning has gone into finalising the route, Bharadwaj Dayala has worked day in and out with his team of bikers to finalise the dates and the riding plan. 

Date     Departure   Arrival   Stay   Distance 

15-Mar Mumbai  Goa  Goa   600
16-Mar Goa Chitradurga Chitradurga 360
17-Mar Chitradurga Bangalore Bangalore 210
18-Mar Bangalore Tenkasi Tenkasi 600
19-Mar Tenkasi Trivandrum Trivandrum 120
19-Mar Trivandrum Tiruchirappalli Tiruchirappalli 450
20-Mar Tiruchirappalli Pondicherry 210
21-Mar Pondicherry Chennai Chennai 160
22-Mar Chennai Hyderabad Hyderabad 650
23-Mar Hyderabad Adilabad Adilabad 310
24-Mar Adilabad Raipur Raipur 600
25-Mar Raipur Sambhalpur Sambhalpur 300
26-Mar Sambhalpur Bhubhaneshwr Bhubaneswr 300
27-Mar BhubhaneshwarRanchi Ranchi 510
28-Mar Ranchi Calcutta Calcutta 400
29-Mar Calcutta Farakka Barrage Farakka Barrag 300
30-Mar Farakka BarrageSiliguri Siliguri 400
31-Mar Siliguri Bongaigaon Bongaigaon 260
1-Apr Bongaigaon Shillong Shillong 300
2-Apr Shillong Guwahati Guwahati 450
3-Apr Guwahati Bongaigaon Bongaigaon 200
4-Apr Bongaigaon Gangtok Gangtok 360
5-Apr Gangtok
6-Apr Gangtok Dalkhola Dalkhola 250
7-Apr Dalkhola Patna 350
8-Apr Patna Lucknow Lucknow 550
9-Apr Lucknow Rampur Rampur 310
10-Apr Rampur Dehradun 250
11-Apr Dehradun Shimla 250
12-Apr Shimla Jammu Jammu 450
13-Apr Jammu Chandigarh Chandigarh 350
14-Apr Chandigarh Delhi Delhi 250
15-Apr Delhi Delhi
16-Apr Delhi Jaipur Jaipur 300
17-Apr Jaipur Bhopal Bhopal 600
18-Apr Bhopal Indore 200
19-Apr Indore
20-Apr Indore Gandhinagar Gandhinagar 420
21-Apr Gandhinagar Ahmedabad 30
22-Apr Ahmedabad Daman Daman 350
23-Apr Daman 

24-Apr Daman Mumbai Mumbai 150                                   

Now coming up is the execution part, Money can't buy happiness they say but happiness of this magnitude sure needs the basic funds, talks are on to mobilise that. But it has been on a short notice, as the plan itself is not more than a month old. But it was so captivating and powerful that everything is falling in place and the Ride is all set to kick start. Everyone connected is emotionally attached with the purpose of this ride. The team is hopeful that sponsors may join hands along the way. For the 40 days ride the budget required is a little over 1 lakh rupees per rider. The ride is anyway taking off on schedule and riders have pooled in their own money. Team Vandemaataram is trying to arrange sponsorship for the ride. Talks are on with a lot of big players and they are awaiting response from them.

It certainly would be a delight if people, the business owners themselves support the cause. Every city the petrol pump owners, accommodation providers and hotel and restaurant owners can come forward and play the vital role. This support can ease a lot of financial pressures that the riders may face.

Check our facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Vandemaataram2014

Join there and support the cause! You'll love the journey and will be proud of your role.

Get spotted or you'll be spotted

Are you ready for Vandemaataram?

Now that we understand the idea behind Vande Maatram, Everyone is going to be part of it either out there on the field or here on the page and in the neighbourhood. Voting and inspiring everyone in your locality to do so. Youth has the charm and the power to move an entire nation! So people get on with it.

An update from Team Vande Maataram. (Sharing it in the post as it is...)

WANTED RIDERS FOR VANDE MAATARAM.

**** SEND YOUR PROFILE TO vandemaataram2014@gmail.com***

(SUBJECT should be RIDER REGISTRATION)

Dear Rider,

Thanks for waiting so patiently. Here are the details to join the Biggest ever biker movement. We can assure you this is not a fun ride. The ride is going to be tough. You may need to ride 10-12 hours a day with breaks and may also need to ride in the night if necessary (though we don't plan to do it). staying would be in college hostels and camping.
The ride is all about being a proud son of India doing his own duty for the betterment of the Nation.

WE ARE TRYING HARD TO GET FUNDING FOR ALL THE 29 RIDERS. WE ARE POSITIVE ABOUT IT. BUT THE TIME IS SHORT SO YOU MAY HAVE TO BEAR THE COSTS OF THE RIDE. We will give the break up of the costs and exact schedule of the ride.
ALL RIDERS ARE WELCOME TO RIDE WITH THIS CORE TEAM OF 29 BIKERS IN THEIR OWN STATES AND CITIES.

Our requisites:

1. 5000 rupees fully refundable deposit only if we select you (we want only serious riders).

2. Gender - Both male and female

3. Age - 23 to 33 (we are campaigning for youth and trust us the ride is going to be strenuous).

4. Bike 190cc and above (we will be riding continuously at 80 kph for long hours).

5. A fit body & less attitude. And of course the bike must be in very good condition.

6. No liquor/contraband substances during the entire ride (there will be a grand party at the end though  )

7. Must be willing to sleep in common rooms or tents (we will make sure you are comfortable).

8. Will have to sign an affidavit saying you will not support any political party or person or religion during the campaign. And indemnity bond.

9. Give us your Facebook profile, stories of past rides.

10. What bike you are riding. Description of your bike & a its mechanical knowledge.

11. If you can stay all the 45 days of the ride (first we will chose those who want to ride all through).

12. Are you willing to fund yourself if necessary?

13. AND WHY SHOULD WE SELECT YOU???

Send us your profile with all the details above to vandemaataram2014@gmail.com at the earliest (too many are waiting).
Yes we know you have many more questions. You will get all that information during the day itself.

Thanks for your support.
Vande Maataram.

They have not made me eligilble to ride, I guess 37 is too old!.... old my foot!... all the people belonging to my generation and older, lets show everyone that we are young at heart and can move a mountain if we wish to! What say?

Check our facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Vandemaataram2014
For the minute planning details: http://vandemaataram-getspotted.blogspot.in/
Join there and support the cause! You'll love the journey and will be proud of your role.

Be the Change!

The future belongs to the visionaries that believe in change.
~Mauricio Fragas Rosenfeld

Believe that tomorrow will be better than today!

Dream Live Series

In one of my posts I wrote, " If you can't change your mind, you are not using it." and someone took it literally and started working on it. We met on 27th February to discuss the launch of Dream Live. A dream project for Bharadwaj Dayala and all of us connected with it either directly or in spirit. It has tremendous support and fans building on the social media. We were waiting for the announcement for Dream Live to go live on 1st March.

Everyone was expecting Dayala to share the first information about the project Dream Live and the very reason why we were there in the first place. Dayala, addressed the gathering, he began with saying that I would be disappointed to hear what he had to say as I had worked on the countdown coming out with an enthusiastic and encouraging post on my blog everyday without fail. I was looking at him wondering what was coming up.

He said Vande Mataram! Spoke about our country being at the threshold of change. It could be either for good or for worse but it was bound to change, the elections were round the corner. Then he asked us how many of us had voted. Amost everyone sitting there answered in the negative excepting a couple of us who said that they voted once. He asked us whether we thought we did our duties as the citizens of this country. Were we fit to be living in a democratic country or we still loved playing the blame game? Why we were not involved in the change process? The least we could do was to go out and vote. He never told us whom to vote but vote we must! He said that this bothered him. If we didn't care about such important aspects of democracy, do we then have  a right to blame the system? Another round of pin drop silence followed his remark.

Again got us all thinking on a different context now and we somehow agreed with him. He said the elections would somewhere decide the fate of the nation either good or bad. That's also the time he would start his world tour, his Dream Live project. He said that for the past couple of days that he was in hibernation, he had been thinking about this. He added that when so much was happening here he didn't want to be out. So before he embarks on his second world tour, he had to do something for his country that may push Dream Live by two months may be. 

I was certainly not disappointed but felt good that all bikers and youth will be united for a cause that may change the way elections happen. Everyone will be involved in the decision making for a better government and somewhere we all would have played a little role in that. What else could one ask for.

He  spoke about what he intended to do and asked us what we thought of his idea. It was brainstormed and finally we all agreed on the big plan, "Vande Maataram". It'll involve bikers, no matter what bike they ride to come together and be a part of this drive for the motherland, for nation building. Again a voluntary and non commercial activity. He doesn't even want to associate with any company or political party. It'll be a biker driven initiative. But something that we all can be proud of, our little bit for the nation, that can go a long way. It'll start from Mumbai with a few bikers going around the states visiting colleges and asking the youth to go out and vote and also spread the word in their neighbourhood. 

He wrote on his page, 

"Thank God for this timely advise.I was in doubt till now as to how people will react to my ideas, plans or intentions? Will they support me or shun me? Or label me to some type or the other? But now the decision is made. I will be what I am and I will do what I think is good and if my intentions are right then people will be with me and together we will conquer. This must have been the thought behind Vande Maataram".

Get spotted or you'll be spotted

Its not just biking / riding anymore!

We all ride. We ride for our passion, obsession towards riding / bike/ bullets, for refreshments, for friends, etc. This time we are gonna ride cos our nation needs it. For something that is important but hardly we (the youth) pays attention. We all crib that politics has ruined India, so who'll change that? Youth of the country has the potential.
---Vande Mataram Movement--- Join the support.
Get spotted!  Jai Hind!

Don't worry about hard times because some of the most beautiful things that we have in life come from changes and mistakes.

Never apologise for trusting your intuition - your brain can play tricks, your heart can blind but your gut is always right.