Bobby Grewal, the India Association chairman, who began his trek across India with the aim of raising £1,500,000 for charity, was given a warm welcome at Nagpur. He has already covered 1,940 km of his Bobby’s Walk Full Circle Charity Fundraiser that has seen him walk from Kanyakumari to Delhi at the age of 80!
Arriving on 5th of February on the outskirts of the city, his first night’s stay had been arranged at the guest house of the Jamtha Cricket Stadium. Leaving early the next morning, Bobby was greeted by Shirish Dharwekar and Anand Sahasrabudhe of the national charity Saksham, one of the two causes supported by the walk. Bobby was greeted along the way by hundreds of school children who had lined the route enthusiastically waving flags and shouting words of encouragement. Some also held banners welcoming Bobby to Nagpur.
Bobby visited the Bharat Utkarsha Mandal School and Hospital, stopped for a rest at the Pride Hotel and met with Nagpur’s Mayor outside the Radisson Blu Hotel. Bobby met with many Radisson Blu staff with speech and hearing impairments who had been successfully placed in jobs with the help of Saksham and Radisson.
An evening press conference followed at Nagpur Press Association HQ wrapping up a tiring but motivating day. On Sunday 7th February, Bobby visited the Ramdas Peth Gurudwara where he was welcomed to talk about his walk raising money for the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund and Saksham’s ‘Corneal Blindness free India by 2018’ campaign.
The next day also he was welcomed by thousands of more eager school children and staff lined the route with some of the school’s bands welcoming him. He visited the SGGS Educational Institute school then spoke at the Singh Sabha Gurudwara before continuing on his way to stop for lunch at Food Junction Restaurant on the Kamptee Road. Bobby stopped for the night before making his way toward the Pench National Park the next day.
The India Association are managing Bobby’s Walk Full Circle and together with Bobby are grateful to Dr Sukumar, Shirish Dharwekar, Anand Sahasrabudhe, all Saksham members, schools and staff involved in organising such a warm Nagpur welcome. The schools who greeted Bobby were Bharat Utkarsha Mandal, Narayana Vidyalaya, DSS Idyalayachichbhavan, Shantiniketan Gyanpith, Santaji College, Jupiter Convent, Pratapnagar School, Madhav Netra Pedhi, Tbran Mandal School, MSS Social College, Saraswati Vidyalaya, Deaf & Dumb School, Hindu Dnyapeeth, Dharampeth Girls School, Dharampeth Boys School, Dharampeth College, Hadas High School, Sewa Sadan Jr College, Sewa Sadan Primary School, Madan Gopal Agrwal School, Snehangan MSS Disabled School, Matru Sewa Sangh Hostel and MSS Hospital.
From Nagpur Bobby started walking the remaining 1,060 km through Narsinghpur, Sagar, Gwalior, Jhansi and Agra before arriving in Delhi by 8th April. In total, he would have covered 3,000 km from the north to south of India and by that time, in his own words he will be ’81 years young’.
