Jagriti Yatra – Introduction
On November 2nd, 200 kids returned to Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya (KSV) after their month-long holiday break. A week later, on November 9th, the school had its biggest event of the year, hosting the first stop of Jagriti Yatra. Jagriti Yatra is an entrepreneurship program for young professionals interested in social development. Over 500 people board a train, which takes them to various organizations across India over the course of two weeks where they learn about the work being done across India in the development sector. KSV has been the first stop of Jagriti Yatra for the past seven years. Not only is Jagriti Yatra the biggest event of the year at KSV, but it also represents a massive area for potential advancement for the school with new volunteers, donors, and sponsors. This became incredibly apparent a couple of years ago when KSV lost their FCRA funding for 3 years at a time when most of its sponsors were coming from overseas. KSV began wondering if they would have to lay off staff, or worst-case scenario, cut the music programs which make the school special. KSV was able to not only stay alive, but also thrive, because of the generous donation of a Jagriti Yatra alum who was touched by the work that KSV was accomplishing and wanted to help. All of this to say: Jagriti Yatra is very important.
The Leadup
From the moment I arrived on Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya’s campus on September 27th Jagriti Yatra was all anyone was talking about. Since the students were on break, the staff’s sole focus turned towards the biggest upcoming event, Jagriti Yatra. There was so much work to be done, and so little time to make it all possible. The biggest wrench was thrown into our plans when we learned that Jagriti Yatra would only be spending a half day on KSV’s campus instead of the full day they typically spent. This meant that the schedule used in the past could not be reused and instead had to be reconfigured with the crunched time they would be spending on campus. A lot of the posters, flyers, and ID information also needed to be updated since there were slight edits from last year to this year. This meant that we had about 5 weeks, including holidays, to remake everything and get it printed and posted in time for Jagriti Yatra. As Communications Coordinator, my job was to make sure all of the posters, flyers, standees, staff ID cards, and student pins were ready in preparation for the big event. I also wanted to make a standee highlighting the girls empowerment that KSV undertakes to support and uplift the young women who come through the school. The days leading up to the event were incredibly chaotic in a fun and communal way, where everyone was feeding off of the energy. Everywhere you went there were people cleaning up the grounds, hanging up posters, or designing things to print for the day.
My Role in Jagriti Yatra
Before we knew it November 9th had arrived and we were ready for Jagriti Yatra. While other people were running the info stall, and speaking to tour groups, my sole job was to document everything that was happening in the form of photos and videos. As the 525 Yatris descended onto KSV’s campus, the sounds of students on the table greeted them. I got the experience the wildness of Jagriti Yatra like someone touring the campus for the first time. It was so much fun running around capturing the reactions of our visitors as they got to see our students perform and hear about how we support socio-economically underprivileged youth in Northern Karnataka. Since I have been at the school only a couple of weeks it was a thrill to watch the campus come alive as people interacted with the students, teachers, and staff (including me!). One of the most fulfilling moments of the entire day was when I met Anjali Marihal. Anjali is a KSV alum who is currently getting her MBA who was a Yatri this year. I also quoted her on my girls empowerment standee, so meeting her in real life was such a cool moment. It was also amazing to hear her talk to the other Yatris about the impact of KSV on her life, and how this school is the reason she is where she is now. It was also great documenting the entire event on social media and seeing all of the positive reactions to the event.
The Aftermath
After a wonderful, chaotic, half day spent at KSV, the Yatris left, and within a couple of hours everything was put away with the help of students as if the event had never even happened. However, the sense of relief every staff member felt at having everything go well was palpable. This was an amazing professional experience for me, as I met so many young professionals working in India. I also got to see all of the work that went into preparing an event like this, especially because I prior to this I had never worked on such a large, expansive event. I am endlessly grateful for the professional and personal growth Jagriti Yatra created for me.
