Day 31, August 14 2017, Fatehgarh Sahib to Swarghat
Distance- 95 kilometres.
Duration- 11 hours.
After paying her respect at the Gurudwara and seeking God Almightys blessings for her mission, Sunita was on the road at 6:00 am. Today she completes a month of her arduous journey which began from Kanyakumari on July 15,2017. She has spent many happy moments, testing moments, inspiring moments on the road- “Everyday has taught me something. I get a chance to interact with so many people . Each life has something to offer me and make my life richer . I have become stronger in my conviction towards my mission as I get support from my well wishers”.
At the Punjab Himachal border near Kiratpur she was welcomed by a group from the Gurjar community. They had made elaborate arrangements for her reception and commended her efforts towards this noble cause. Sunita belongs to the Gurjar community . “Gurjar” literally means destroyer of enemies and Sunita found it very heartening to see the youth of this community embrace change stand up to support the fight against illiteracy of women and the need to provide equal opportunities to women. Sunitas father Shri Johari Singhji was also present who has been a rock solid support for her in all her endeavours. After bidding farewell to Sunita and blessing her he set off to return to his hometown and Sunita resumed her journey.
From Kiratpur it was hardly 25 kilometres to her next destination Swarghat but as she entered Himachal this seemingly short distance turned out to be extremely exhausting. The road was uphill- steep uphill and the sun was harsh. It took Sunita more than 3 hours to cover this last leg of todays journey.. Sunita recalls, “Every time I felt that this was it, I can’t cycle anymore, a beautiful butterfly would appear and buzz past my ear. It was like it was cheering me up and asking me to continue.“. Her game with the butterflies continued as she cycled and reached her destination Swarghat where she checked into a hotel . Her evening non cycling hours are also a flurry of activities which have to be done before she can actually have the luxury of rest. Apart from meeting people who have been waiting for her, she has to make and receive calls informing her family and friends of her well being, charge various devices which include phone, GPS and the lights of her cycle, wash her clothes, clean and prepare her cycle for the next day, refill her water and repack. Its only after all this that Sunita finally retires for the day.
