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| Sooraj, Kodungalur, Thrissur |
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13 years
ago, Sooraj of Kodungalur met with a vehicle accident that paralysed him. That he could
overcome its trauma and gather courage to take up riding a 3-wheeler scooter
was itself appreciable. And now his indomitable will has prompted him to undertake
a cross-country journey of 12000 km along with his wife in that 3-wheeler scooter.
The
two-month long journey of the duo started from Thrissur. Accompanying them on a hand-controlled Nano
car was another daring one, Rajesh, his brother and another relative. Rajesh was paralysed below the chest
following cancer of the spine.
The car-scooter
team covered Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odissa, West Bengal, Bihar,
Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Bhutan. On the way back, they covered Sikkim, Siliguri,
Darjeeling, Nepal, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa and
Karnataka.
While they could experience the overwhelming love and support of the common-folks in most of the places, they had their challenges as well. For example, in the journey from Silchar to Imphal in Manipur, they had to go through a rough and deserted road. As they proceeded in the evening hours, they reached a valley where a man-made road block greeted them. Suddenly few gun-wielding young men jumped in front of them. It was only after these militants were paid the amount they demanded that their vehicle could proceed further.
Jayachandran
Poyinachi (text), Mathrubhumi, Mar 28, 2026
