Nidhin Maliyekkal cycled from Kerala to Kashmir, selling tea to fund his trip

Nidhin Maliyekkal travelled from Kerala to Kashmir on his bicycle, selling tea to fund his trip. The 23-year-old from Amballur in Thrissur district started his trip on January 1, 2021 with ₹170 in his pocket. He returned on April 30, after masking, 5,647 kilometres.

Nidhin Maliyekkal from Thrissur who travelled from Kerala to Kashmir on his bicycle selling tea to meet the bills
 
| Photo Credit:
Special association

Nidhin was bitten by the journey bug after he completed his class XII and joined an Automobile Engineering course in Ernakulam district. “I commuted by train to college every day. The trips, usually two hours long, became so enjoyable that after three months I stopped going to college and travelled to other places. Nobody knew it since I would return home by evening. But once the college authorities came to know about it, my adventure and my studies came to an end.” he says.

In 2019, he went hitch-hiking throughout South India and couldn’t wait to journey extra. But he had to put his goals on maintain since there was no cash to fund his trip. “So I started doing odd jobs. I was working as a tea/juice maker but when India went into lockdown, I had no job. When I was about to take up another job after 10 months of unemployment, it was given to someone else. That was when I decided on this trip,” he says.

Nidhin Maliyekkal from Thrissur who travelled from Kerala to Kashmir on his bicycle selling tea to meet the bills
 
| Photo Credit:
Special association

Nidhin says that he would have liked to journey on a high-end cycle if he may afford one. But his youthful brother’s Hercules was all that he had. “He was not using it since he felt it had gone out of fashion! I thought I should manage with what I have. I sold my camera — my only saving — to repair the cycle and buy the things needed for the trip. I decided to sell tea during the trip to meet the expenses,” he explains.

When he began the journey all that he had was “a tent, a kerosene pump stove, flask, tea dust, sugar, saucepan, glasses, four T-shirts and two shorts. Everyone called me crazy. My parents didn’t know that I had just ₹170 with me!”

However, by that point, phrase had bought round about his trip through Facebook. Someone in Kasaragod purchased a helmet for him; one other well-wisher gave him a water bottle; a photostat store proprietor in Kannur made a placard freed from price to repair on his cycle…

Nidhin provides that he had no clue concerning the route to be taken when he began his journey. It was different cyclists, particularly from Kerala, who helped him out. Language was one other downside. “All I knew to say in English was, ‘I am from Kerala, going to Kashmir’.”

Nidhin Maliyekkal from Thrissur who travelled from Kerala to Kashmir on his bicycle selling tea to meet the bills
 
| Photo Credit:
Special association

He lined the states of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh earlier than reaching Kashmir on April 3. He cycled solely in the course of the day, selling tea at ₹10 per cup, and largely slept at petrol pumps or at lodging organized by well-wishers. The placard on his cycle, which learn ‘Kerala to Kashmir’ grabbed a whole lot of consideration and he was interviewed by the media and vloggers.

Unforgettable moments

He remembers a number of situations when individuals opened their hearts and houses for him. Malayali associations donated in money and sort and a few even felicitated him. “I stayed in Manali at a house run by a Malayali family while waiting for a Malayali cyclist. They provided food and accommodation and didn’t take a single penny. They also arranged for me to sell tea in the town. A well-wisher in Delhi bought me a gas stove. Some gave me clothes and eventually I could afford to buy a few for myself, especially thermal wear,” he says.

Although it was not straightforward to navigate the roads, Nidhin stresses that he by no means considered giving up. “I believed that I would reach Kashmir some day. The goal didn’t scare me and except for a few incidents such as a punctured tyre and food poisoning, the trip has given me only good memories,” he says.

Nidhin Maliyekkal from Thrissur who travelled from Kerala to Kashmir on his bicycle selling tea to meet the bills
 
| Photo Credit:
Special association

And when he was a couple of kilometres away from his closing vacation spot, Lal Chowk in Srinagar, he was in for a shock. “I noticed that five vehicles with armed personnel were escorting a jeep. They stopped me and someone got out of the jeep. He hugged me and gave me a few things to eat. It was so overwhelming that I cried. I was about to fulfil my dream and couldn’t control my emotion. Later, a mediaperson told me that he was the Lieutenant Governor [Manoj Sinha]. I didn’t know his name then. I found out after coming home from Google!”

His plan to return dwelling on his cycle had to be dropped after he reached Delhi, due to the lockdown. Someone he had met in Delhi organized for his journey to Kerala in a lorry.

A brand new lease of life

For Nidhin, the journey was extra about getting over a darkish part of his life. “Three years ago, I went into depression and had tried to give up on life. My childhood was spent in a shanty by the roadside. As a teenager, I had to deal with low self-esteem and social isolation. The trip isn’t a unique one because there are several people who’ve done it. But, for me, this is no mean feat and I am proud of myself. It might motivate others,” he says.

On his bucket checklist are a world tour, climbing Mount Everest and, after all, cinema. “I have been chasing my tinseltown dreams since my school days. I have done several auditions, written stories… ,” he says. The silver lining is that a couple of Malayalam administrators have referred to as him up after his story went viral. “Hopefully, I might get a chance…” he indicators off.