'Will Use it for Social Service': Man Who Toured India With Mother on Scooter Gets Keys to New Car from Anand Mahindra

The man who made headlines last year after he travelled the expanse of the county along with his 70-year-old mother on a two-wheeler, finally received a car on Friday,  a gift from Anand Mahindra. The man D Krishna Kumar and his mother picked up the sparkling red Mahindra TUV 100 Nxt from the Mysore Indian Garage. The chairman of the Mahindra group had offered the car to the man after he was impressed by the dedication of the doting son.

“It was a great surprise for my mother. She couldn’t believe it. I drove my mother to the Chamundeshwari temple to offer prayers. She kept asking me questions about the touch screen and the automated operations of the car. She was a baby in our new vehicle. From the pillion seat of the scooter to the front seat of a luxurious four-wheeler, it has been a great journey for her,” Kumar said.

Dubbed as the modern Shravan Kumar of India, the former corporate team leader completed a pan-India temple run on a 20-year-old scooter which was gifted to him by his father. By January this year, he and his septuagenarian mother Choodarathna had covered 56,552 kilometres. The adventure which began on January 16, 2018, took the mother-son duo across four countries — Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar. They crossed difficult terrains, rugged frontiers, testing altitudes touching millions of hearts through their journey.

“As the vehicle has come as a gift, I shall use it for social service. Anyone in my neighbourhood with a health issue, old age problem or emergency shall use the vehicle for free,” Kumar said.

After completing his “Matri Seva Sankalpa Yatra”, he now intends to dedicate his life in guiding the youth. He also plans to convert his house in Mysuru’s Bogadi into “Gyana Vikasa Kendra” which will house the memories of the journey with his mother.

“The Akhanda Bharat journey has evolved me spiritually. I would like to dedicate my life to the service of the nation. Today’s youth need guidance and I will associate myself with spiritual organisations and provide the needed guidance to them,” Kumar added.

In October last year, the news of their travel had reached business tycoon Anand Mahindra, who had then shared the news on his Twitter page. “A beautiful story. About the love for a mother but also about the love for a country… Thank you for sharing this Manoj. If you can connect him to me, I’d like to personally gift him a Mahindra KUV 100 NXT so he can drive his mother in a car on their next journey,” Mahindra had tweeted.

The introduction of the new four-wheeler in the family, however, shall not keep Kumar away from his scooter, which he says will continue to remain an integral part of his most cherished memory. He did not rule out the second phase of the journey in the near future as he says that he needs to meet the people who were with him all along in his journey.

“The time now is not to travel but to stay indoors. To stay safe and ensure a corona free society. Travel means to meet people, stay with them and be a family. I pray that time comes soon,” he said.

During his trip, he never stayed in hotels. The mother-son duo spent their days in temples and monasteries. They were taken care of by strangers who now have become a member of Kumar’s extended family.

“I get around 25 to 40 calls daily form Northeast. People call up from Majuli, Tinsukia, Dibrugarh and ask for my mother. I am in debt to these people, they made my journey a pilgrimage. Back home my people identify Assam through me,” says Krishna Kumar. “Being a man from Karnataka.., I represent Assam or Tawang and this is a matter of pride for me and my mother,” added the doting son.

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