“I want to educate and motivate the people of my age to live and work towards the success of my country.” This is a cliché dialogue majority of the youth say when asked about his/her responsibilities towards society. However, when it comes to applying the logic, most of them fail to live up to their own expectations. Noufal P., in his early twenties, is an exception. This young blood has set out on a solo trip on his Sport Matrix 10 bicycle in order to spread awareness on the ill-effects of drugs, encourage youth, promote the need to adopt eco-friendly methods of living and to promote cycling for a healthy lifestyle.
As he puts it, Noufal believes in ‘stop dreaming and start doing’, which persuaded him to do something unusual in order to spread a message that is important for the society at large. Getting vocal about his first expedition, Solivagant, where he will be traversing a distance of 4,200 km in 60 days, Noufal says, “I will be cycling across 10 states from Kerala to Kashmir. I have planned to meet students of schools and colleges and give them classes about the need to stay away from the grip of drugs that can ruin their lives. I would also be talking about the need to promote a healthy living style.”
Why did he choose to travel in order to accomplish his dream? “It was a conscious decision to go on a solo trip as I always wanted to interact with different types of people and talk to them after analysing their perspective on various subjects. I feel that if you want to make a change, you need to get out and talk to people without limiting yourself to any particular region. We are all one country and if we have an aim to do something for our people, we should not discriminate them. Moreover, I knew that sending emails to the principals of different colleges might not fetch me the desired output. I have, therefore, listed out various colleges, institutes and schools in different states so that I can directly go and meet them and talk about my mission. I am positive that I will succeed.”
Noufal set out on the Kerala –Kashmir expedition from Valanchery on November 15. However, the official flag-off of the expedition will be done on November 16 from Kozhikode by S.Kaliraj Mahesh Kumar IPS, City Police Commissioner. Elaborating on the preparations he made to make himself physically equipped for the trip, Noufal says, “I didn’t do much preparations in terms of the items I had to carry because I had to keep it very simple and minimum. Riding the bicycle with heavy weight is tiring and exhausting. I am, therefore, carrying the cycling gear, two jerseys as I am not planning to change while I am giving classes, other basic things and two books that I am currently reading. I had contacted a couple of people who have already gone on bicycle trips to the places I will be covering, and have collected information about the do’s and don’ts. Also, as it will be winter season till I arrive in Delhi, I plan to buy woollen clothes and other necessary riding gears for the rest of the journey from there.”
Though it seems that Noufal has set out on a trip without caring much about his comfort, this aviation graduate is well versed with the path he is going to cover as he has been planning this with the support of his family ever since he was in college. Noufal hopes to do his part towards nation building with utmost sincerity.
