BackFoot Notes | Wheeling through
This doctor is biking across India to raise awareness and funds for health-related projects in 70 countries
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A former international president for the medical relief organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Unni Karunakara, 50, is undertaking a 5,000km cycle ride that is taking him from Srinagar in Kashmir to Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala. On this journey, which started in October and will end on 31 January, he has been sharing the experience he gained in 18 years with the MSF, an organization that won the Nobel Peace prize in 1999. He is using this opportunity to raise funds for health-related projects in 70 countries.
We caught up with Dr Karunakara in Bangalore on Day 91 of the ride, chatting over lunch about the 4,100km he had already traversed. Edited excerpts:
Tell us, where did all this begin and where is it headed?
Twenty-five years ago, as a medical intern in Bangalore, I set off on a ride from Delhi to Leh and from Srinagar to Delhi. I wanted to cycle down to Bangalore, but came down with hepatitis. That ride has waited 25 years to complete itself.
People take to walking or marathons, using the body as fuel, to challenge others into supporting their cause. I suppose this is my way of taking an 18-year commitment to healthcare a little further.
What is the difference between riding 25 years ago and now?
For starters, I haven’t come down with hepatitis. It appears that things have improved. But the truth is they have become worse. Half the children dying of malnutrition in the world are from India. We are unable to overcome the last mile problem and ensure that healthcare reaches everyone. People don’t know where the healthcare centres are. We have to go looking for these people and provide them the care that is rightfully theirs.
What kind of nutrition have you been taking on this arduous journey?
We (my support team and I) began with a proper diet plan for the journey: steamed broccoli, steamed chicken and the like. Wisely, I ignored the advice. I’ve been eating a lot of the local food, at dhabas. The food has been good. I had a mean masala omelette off a cart in Manipal and learnt to make first-rate coffee from roadside vendors. There’s so much good food—enjoy it.
Which parts of your journey would you recommend to others?
There are three routes I would recommend to those who want to take a long bicycle ride:
Alwar to Jaipur (163km):I took the flat, fertile side of the Aravallis for this part of the journey. There are beautiful country roads. It is a very colourful part of the country, with inexpensive havelis that have a faded elegance about them to stay in.
Mumbai to Panjim (638km): This ride is along the Konkan coast. There are steep gradients but the ocean views are spectacular. There’s excellent fish and solkadi to be had in addition to the pav and missal (almost licks his chops and slurps).
Bekal Fort to Kakkabe and Nagarhole (296km):There’s a gruelling 100km-plus ride on hill roads, including a 25km climb up the Talacauvery Wildlife Sanctuary. It is challenging, but worth it for the kind of terrain you go through.
What kind of co-riders have you had and what has been their impact? Should those who want to do the three rides you just described keep company?
I had my girlfriend Jyotsna Puri join me in Rajasthan. Jo is an economist and a champagne cyclist—does 60km or so, then has a glass of champagne. We had Chhavi Rajawat, the first female sarpanch with an MBA, join us through Rajasthan. I met a Japanese cyclist, Hiromu Jimbo, briefly on the Konkan coast—he has cycled through 55 countries. Then there was Sumit Patel in Mumbai, the third cyclist from India to qualify for the insanely difficult Race Across America. And now Olympian Helen Upperton has joined me in Bangalore. I don’t have to talk much when they are around. They talk to the people we meet and I get to watch, listen and absorb.
So where is this ride going?
When I was a student, I was inspired by the people I met. Now I feel I can spark ideas in people. I hope I can inspire them to practise medicine slightly differently— by healing people and not treating them for diseases. These young people are there, somewhere in India. I need to go out and seek them.
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