Jagriti Yatra, 2016

Jagriti Yatra is a train journey of discovery that takes around 500 highly motivated youth from across India and the world on a 15-day, 8000 km odyssey to meet the role models, social and business entrepreneurs, of the country. The vision behind it is "building India through enterprise."

I was selected among 450 applicants out of 3000+ applications for the 2016 Yatra. It's been my life's most rewarding and meaningful experience so far.

Why I joined

• As a 19-year-old, I wanted a sneak peek of the world outside my comfort zone.
• To learn from some of the best and most empathetic leaders and entrepreneurs.
• To understand grass-root level problems and build solutions for them.
• To grow as a person and network with like-minded people.

What 15 days on a train looked like

I interacted with people from all walks of life and many countries: entrepreneurs, social activists, students, teachers. We visited role models and studied the work their organizations were doing across the country; the visit to Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya stuck with me. In between, there were workshops and debates on the train covering energy conservation, sustainable development, and entrepreneurship.

The centerpiece was Biz Gyaan Tree, a business model competition. We ran user research in a village on the UP-Bihar border, talking to farmers about irregular electricity supply and the high cost of pump installation. We proposed a "movable solar water pump" as a solution and pitched it to the villagers during the evening chaupal.

Made a lot of lifelong friends along the way too.