Bikers out on peace mission

MUMBAI: A group of eight Christian youths from the city is on a mission. They have covered 2,500 km on their bikes in 10 days, travelling through 20 cities in seven states in north India. Moved by the instances of communal violence in the country, five boys and three girls, most of them members of the city bike riders group Interceders, came together and started a mission called Jaago.
They started from the Wagah border on October 23. They reached Mumbai this week. They met political and humanitarian leaders in different cities on their way, organised prayer meetings with locals and gave presentations on the teachings of Bible.
"When we watched communal violence and hate crimes in different parts of India, we realised that the youth has a lot to do. That's why we took up this mission. We wanted to look into the hearts of the people of our country,'' said Sanjeev Samuel, a bishop from Mumbai who is the leader of the group.
So what did the group find in the hearts of the people? "Only love and affection,'' said Benny Varghese (26) who is an engineer by profession. "Wherever we went, people welcomed us with garlands and sweets. They would around us and look at us with affection. The taste of aalu ka paratha, which we ate at dhabas in Punjab, is still on my tongue.''
For Tiera Thomas (21), a businesswoman, starting their mission from Wagah border was enlightening. "Everything was normal at the border. People from both sides looked alike and they were well known to each other. The only thing that separated them was a small line. There, I found the spirit for this mission in me,'' she said.
Asked why they chose bikes, Roney Mabem (24), who owns a cake company in the city, said, "Bikes can go where four wheelers can't. Besides, the sound of the Bullets excited us.''
Other members of the group are Sandeep (24), a girl from Kapurthala who joined the group during the tour, Marshell Singh (33) who is an engineer and Anisha Serrao (23), who works in an ad agency.
Samuel told TOI that in the next phase of their tour, they will be headed for Kanyakumari. "We also have plans for the North-East. We even want to go to Leh and cover Ladakh. We hope that we would be able to cover the entire country in five phases,'' he said.
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