Rachit's quest to become invincible

Contributor: YA Team

On a beautiful dawn with the smell of the morning dew in the air, Rachit’s invincibility echoed from a challenging, gorgeous mountain peak. Travel has always been close to Rachit’s heart. ‘Travel doesn’t let my eyes rest and that makes me feel alive.’ Exploring new places, believing in their magic and immersing himself in their enormity prove to be his addiction. The promise for exploration is what made Rachit join ONUS. The program talked about self-exploration; its ideas looked fresh and innovative. Rachit wanted to go by his own truths and give a structure to his curious quest on life.

‘ONUS talked about values like trust, compassion and collaboration that young college people would laugh about’ says Rachit, who himself was a third year student of Deen Dayal Upadhayay College when he joined ONUS. But the thing about ONUS was that instead of preaching these values, they were put into practice extraordinarily. In ONUS’ first trimester, the values were lovingly introduced, the second trimester brought an opportunity to present these values to the world outside and the final trimester was a challenge to build a caravan of these values which could go on forever. Earn your breakfast, a task during the program struck deeply on Rachit’s heart. He says, ‘I had gone there to earn my breakfast and the lady making paranthas shared her heart out. The kind of bond we shared was divine…. Her persistence inspired me…struggles can slow you down but a strong spirit can never lose hope. That strong will and perseverance will always be a guiding force.’ 

With a support group to fall back on, Rachit took on traveling at an impulse. One fine Friday instead of heading home, he took the train to Varanasi and spent the weekend on the banks of Ganga. He experienced a divinity during this visit which wasn’t merely due to the sanctity of the city but because of the taste of freedom and the liberation of his being; the kind of liberation you feel when you realize your purpose. At the end of the program, Rachit co-led a padh-yatra (a journey on foot) to Kausani for the ONUS team. Recording his experiences, he writes, ‘Over the years I had been swinging between agnosticism and atheism only to discover myself as a theist. My god lies in the might of those very mountains, in the assuagement of those streams, in those thirsty deserts, in the meanings of my journeys and the masses I meet on the way. I read somewhere that even if there's no god, it is important to invent one. I think I have invented mine.’ 

Rachit has learned in the past year that when you believe in certain ideas and values, you should have the courage to put them into practice. It was because of his courage, the unwavering support of his mother and her constant faith in him that Rachit found a fellowship with an organization called Milaap which gives him an opportunity to work in and explore North-East India. He intends to pursue travel for a lifetime. He has set an example to the world that dreams can build their own pathways and unorthodox ideas can also find stability. ONUS never questioned Rachit’s questions. It was a team which encouraged him to delve deeper into his doubts and curiosities, supported and inspired him at every step. It taught him that money isn’t everything, it does not mark your boundaries and looking deeper into your conscience gives you the strength to fly away. From painting his ONUS journal with the word ‘Travel’ to getting ‘Musafir’ tattooed on his wrist, Rachit has certainly come a long way. The fragrance of his journeys lingers still, in the red and black scarf that hangs around his neck. ’I feel that I am invincible.’ He says. The echoes can be heard beyond the challenging, gorgeous mountains.

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This story is compiled by Prachi Lohia, who herself was a ONUS 2014-15 participant. Applications for the next cohort of ONUS (Aug 2015- July 2016) will be live from July 4th, 2015. Know more here: http://youthallianceofindia.org/onus/