After retirement, when most of us tend to withdraw and sit back in the cosy comfort of home, he is on a mission.
After spending 37 years in print media, 60-year-old retired journalist Sharat Sharma is on a bike ride, spending his own savings, spreading a message of staying fit in life to enjoy post-retirement life.
He reached Bhopal on Saturday.
bccl
Sharma told TOI he had started his journey on March 18, 2018. ¡°I had started a solo 28,000km bike ride from Delhi, which will cover 29 states, four Union Territories and Bhutan. I have reached Bhopal after covering 24 states, three Union Territories and Bhutan and have logged 24819km so far,¡± Sharma said.
He rides without using a mobile phone, GPS and navigation tools and wishes to prove bike rides can be managed and enjoyed without these.
He has so far covered Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, UP, Bihar, Sikkim, Bhutan, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland, Manipur, Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa and Maharashtra.
He has visited Chennai, Thiruvananthpuram, Kochi, Coimbatore, Mysuru, Goa, Maharashtra, Daman, Dadra & Nagar Haveli.
bccl
¡°I have reached Bhopal from Mandu, Indore and Ujjain. From here, I will go to Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab and Chandigarh. I will conclude my trip in Delhi,¡± Sharma said.
Sharma said, ¡°I am riding to spread the message of staying fit in life to enjoy post-retirement life which is the third innings of one¡¯s life cycle. This isthe time to enjoy and live one¡¯s dreams and give something back to the society.¡±
He said, ¡°For this to come true, fitness regime must be followed throughout one¡¯s life to avoid spending third innings in hospitals. I believe we all are born to complete our life¡¯s journey in three innings.¡±
Defining innings of life, he said, ¡°First innings is when we get ready to face the world after completing our college and professional education. The second innings is when we nurture our family and fulfil our career goals. The third innings is when we fulfil our dreams.¡±
bccl
He felt India has become a diabetics¡¯ capital of the world and is on way to be the world¡¯s capital of cholesterol diseases as well. ¡°This is happening because we have stopped taking care of our health and opted for a sedentary lifestyle. We must start working towards fitness to avoid these two tags and become a nation of healthy citizens,¡± said Sharma.
His other message is for young bike riders in the country. ¡°I want youngsters to follow traffic discipline and enjoy bike rides as part of life¡¯s journey and not waste life by dying in accidents. Roads are for enjoying life¡¯s journey and must not be turned into racing tracks,¡± he said.