With the objective of creating public awareness against corruption, communalism and environmental pollution, Deepak Thimmoji, an architect, and Thankachan Andrews, a farmer, had launched an expedition on motorcycle from here in 2012. Based on the video clippings they had captured on the mobile phone and cameras during their expedition, a short film in English language of 57-minute duration, titled ‘Dream Ride’ has been produced.
They had started from Shivamogga on June 8, 2012 on their motorcycles of 500 cc capacity each. In the 44-day journey, the duo travelled 12,000 kilometres. As part of the expedition, they visited 19 States, including Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa and Daman. During the journey, they interacted with students in educational institutions and with gram panchayat members, focussing on the need to conserve environment and end corruption.
Mr. Andrews told The Hindu that as creation of awareness on environmental pollution was the primary objective of the expedition, they avoided using plastic water bottles. “As the increase in human needs is blamed for the destruction of environment, we kept our needs at minimum leve6l during the expedition. We slept in tents that were set up on the roadside and cooked food on our own,” he said.
Mr. Thimmoji said, the motorcycle expedition also helped them understand the plural culture and rich natural diversity of the nation. The short film would motivate the youths to take up similar adventures, he said.
The film is produced by ByZero productions. Mr. Thimmoji said, the short film would be screened on the campuses of educational institutions and adventure and sports clubs. The DVD of the short film would be released at Kuvempu Rangamandir here on August 21. The programme will commence at 5.30 p.m. A travelogue in Kannada, authored by Mr. Thimmoji covering the experiences during the expedition, would also be released on the occasion.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Veerendra P.M. / Shivamogga – August 20th, 2015