Like different kids his age, four-year-old Abijosh won’t be capable of reel off all of the capitals of Indian states.

However he has already performed one thing that his friends won’t do of their complete lifetime: go to 28 Indian states and 4 union territories.

Abijosh – alongside together with his dad and mom, Ashok B and Prabha Ashok – launched into an all-India tour in January, and have already lined the size and breadth of the nation. All this, inside 100 days, in a brand new automotive that lined 15,000-plus kilometres, thus residing as much as the outline they provide themself: ‘India’s first van life household.’

“In brief, we’ve got performed this: eat, journey, sleep, repeat,” laughs Ashok, throughout their latest pit-stop at Chennai, after which they plan to cowl Puducherry, Rameshwaram and Kanyakumari. “Regardless of all the varied challenges, it was life-changing.”

Ashok, a supervisor at a dyeing unit in Tirupur, has been dreaming of this all-India journey for greater than a yr, however the logistics was a lot tougher than he thought. “Once I shared my intention with my spouse, a homemaker, she was sport too. Convincing my dad and mom was the hardest, particularly as a result of we’ve got a four-year-old travelling with us! Solely after we promised that we might name on daily basis and share our location did we get permission from them,” he recollects.

Ashok B, Prabha Ashok and Abijosh, in Chennai, throughout their all-India tour
| Picture Credit score: JOTHI RAMALINGAM B

He first deliberate to journey in his previous Maruti Zen however fearing mechanical problems, invested in a brand new automotive (a Maruti Eeco Star) and put aside a sum of two lakhs for the journey. Within the first week of January, the three launched into the journey within the automotive that accommodates all necessities, together with a mattress, fan, gentle and torches, and a tent, in case the situation they’re in provides area. Armed with a 15-litre water can and and a range and cylinder for cooking, the household not solely skilled the varied cultures that the states needed to supply, but additionally lead an bizarre life, together with sleeping within the automotive, bathing at petrol bunks and consuming at roadside dhabas.

Alongside the best way, they chronicled each main facet of their journey on their GoPro, to make sure that their 20k+ YouTube channel subscribers (Prabhas View) get to expertise their journey as effectively. “There have been difficulties,” admits Prabha, who balanced camerawork and caring for the kid whereas Ashok drove, “However it’s all about adapting to totally different environments.” Her favorite experiences embody spending time within the Thar Desert, the place the household slept underneath the celebrities, and in Kashmir, the place they noticed snow for the primary time.

Aside from experiencing the cultures of various Indian states, this household’s journey additionally has a objective: to advertise and save agriculture. “We wish to elevate consciousness concerning the significance of agriculture in our society.”

The household began from Tamil Nadu, headed to Kerala and Karnataka earlier than going north. In a frenzy to get from one state to a different, from did they miss the routine? “Right here too, there was a routine,” he stresses, “We would have liked to go about our on a regular basis enterprise, with out the comfort and luxuries {that a} residence provides us.” In chilly areas, the household would go for a late begin, as a result of poor lighting exterior, however in different places, they’d have completed 200 kilometres earlier than 10am. Whereas their morning breakfast was normally at a lodge or dhaba, they took an hour’s break within the afternoons to cook dinner, for each lunch and dinner. “In these few months, we’ve got bathed in petrol bunk relaxation rooms, small streams and even a farm pump-set! In the event you embark on one journey like this, you’ll study to adapt and never all the time demand luxuries, like fan and air-conditioning.”

He is not only speaking about himself and his spouse, but additionally his four-year-old, whom they quickly plan to home-school. “On this 100-day journey, he has already noticed and learnt a lot. Why go to high school when there’s the world to study from?”