A 'pop-up yatri introspects

The Main nafrat ke bazaar mein mohabbat ki dukaan kholne aaya hoon his is what Congress leader and Lok Sabha member Rahul Gandhi said once again as he entered Odisha earlier this week for the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, the sequel to his Bharat Jodo Yatra.

This public declaration of his desire to be a vendor of love in a marketplace of hate might come across as naïve to those who are used to a more macho style of politics. But it carries an unmistakable emotional appeal for Indians who have been yearning for feel-good moments to hold on to amidst the gloomy news cycle.

If you are keen to explore what this politics of love might look and feel like, get hold of computer scientist-turned journalist Dilip D'Souza's new book Roadwalker: A Few Miles on the Bharat Jodo Yatra. It documents the author's experience as a padyatri on the journey from Kanyakumari to Kashmir that began in September 2022 and ended in January 2023. The author did not walk the whole stretch with Mr Gandhi, the Congress party cadre and fellow yatris, but he joined the yatra four times.

Through his joyful and introspective account, Mr D'Souza takes the reader along on his travels through the states of Punjab, Karnataka and Rajasthan, and the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir. It reads well because the author sticks to telling his story as a "pop-up" yatri instead of singing the virtues of the Congress or trying to sell Mr Gandhi as a prime ministerial candidate in the upcoming elections.