Shailendra Singh is a man on a mission. He intends to unite 1.4 billion Indians through his music anthem One India My India and has successfully embarked on his purposeful journey. He is covering a 7,000 km journey across 11 states and 15 cities to spread the message of love, peace and unity which ends on October 18. He is meeting unsung heroes, interviewing them and appreciating their work. During his halt in Pune, the former joint managing director of Percept Limited interacted with Sakal Times and spoke about the purpose of his journey.
In the past three years, Singh has spent most of his time with youngsters and has made some interesting observations. He says, “Except love, everything else like caste, religion, maps, languages etc divide us. The philosophy of divide is far stronger than the philosophy of love. This generation is being brought up on two things — divide and the digital world. I want to change that to unity and the real world. The aim of this rally is to unite India and tell that we are one big family.”
Even after making a song for unity, Singh did not feel satisfied and therefore started this journey of reaching the untouched territories and the people there. The idea is to make real connections with real people. Starting the journey from Kanyakumari, he has travelled to Kochi, Coimbatore, Bengaluru and many other places, Singh recently halted in Pune. His last stop will be Srinagar.
Speaking about the situation in Kashmir, he says, “The geographical conflict is rooted deep in our society’s DNA. The factors and variables of these issues change everyday. They are not in our control, what is in our control is to be united and love each other. Don’t let any factor whether political, religious, geographical or any other, drive us. For me, the celebration of humanity matters most.”
“How can any society allow a human to kill other humans and be okay with it?” questions Singh, adding “This is not a healthy and happy society. We’ve not done very well so far.”
Travelling across the nation in this festive season is both exciting and challenging. While Singh enjoys different cultures, festivals and celebrations, what he finds challenging is driving on unpaved roads. The team consists of eight constant members, though the counting goes up by two-three as per the number of people joining and leaving the journey.
About his experience, Singh says, “The trip is mentally and emotionally draining. When one travels, they get time to absorb whatever they see and feel. But we are on a different mission. We interview people and listen to their stories and leave. Not getting that buffer time to absorb these extraordinary works of ordinary people is what makes it harder. There are people who are living only to help others. If we can’t give 100 per cent, we should at least contribute to the good work.”
Speaking about his professional journey, he says that the past 33 years have been great. Every dream has come true. He believes that if one has faith in his/ her dream, it will come true one day.
Post this rally, the team plans to produce a documentary and a book only for India. The whole journey, articulation of people and their stories and every positive aspect will be featured in both, he informs. “I have a lot of things in hand that need attention after the rally. However, I am in no hurry. I don’t do things from my mind anymore, I do things from my heart. What I’ve observed is people forget to live while making a living. I believe in living life to the fullest,” says he, adding “We all have the spark of goodness and happiness in us, we just need to come together to light the world and fill it with love.”
