Bala Bala !!!

Bala is up to something very "Balla Balla" (something very "crazy") as the Germans would say.

The spring energy has been building up within me since May this year.... and on the 20th of June... it was one of those days, when you have all this positive energy and you just feel like getting up and doing something wonderful... I wanted to do something adventurous that I had never done before... to assure myself to start with... and to spread the message that one can achieve anything when they set their mind to it...

At the same time, I wanted to make a very small difference to the world we all live in... A world full of competition, greed, hatred, jealousy, indifferences, poverty and the poor and hungry kid's... The poor and orphan kids have always stirred my emotions as I was growing up in India.

There has always been an inner desire to help, but, I always came up with a million excuses not to venture out to help... I wasn't going to waste this good energy.... that's when I decided... and that's how this little project began...

Initial thoughts were to cycle within India from Kanyakumari to Kashmir (K2K) for charity, but then as days went by, I focused more on the purpose and it became clear (please read it as "it's getting clearer" as I continue to question myself).

I decided to start in Southern India where I grew up, visit the schools I attended plus stop at a few more on the way, talk to the kids about my experiences and urge them to DREAM ON, believe in their dreams and to direct all their energies to fulfill their dreams. Make them think for themselves, to help them grow up intelligently but still maintaining the innocence.

I decided to cycle through India (around 2000 to 2500 kilometers) - to stress on the Eco-friendly way of life - ironic that such words come from someone who used to drive a car to work everyday :0 - (

I would like to also take this opportunity to get to know rural India. "India lives in her villages" as Gandhi had once said. I am aware that I will not be able to make a big difference in such a small period of time, but, if I manage to inspire at least one person to think differently, act differently, I would consider this humble beginning to be a big success...

I intend to raise some money (sponsors/family/friends) and start a scholarship fund, so that the children who badly need financial assistance can continue to benifit from the fund.

The details of the planning and preperation for the trip, my (learning) experiences will follow in subsequent posts...Stay tuned !

I am eagerly looking forward to any suggestions... so, please do not hesitate to drop me an email... So long... (a la "Alex Trebek of Jeopardy")

ps: Will make a sincere effort to cut down on the "I will/I have decided to/I intend to" part next time around ;-)

On top of Großer Feldberg (878 meters)