Words of the Earth Saviours were the placards

Gandhi, Kumarappa, Vinobha and Wangari Mathai, Krishnammal Jagannathan, Vandana Shiva, and Mosanabu Fukuoka, wisdom from any land has always resonated with the

ancient farming Tamil folks, language, race or religion has never been an issue in love for the Earth Wisdom

Central course were the portraits of the legendary leader Nammalvar and the Environmentalist elder Dr Jeeva. It was the spirit of Nammalvar and the guidance of Dr Jeeva which kept continuously getting invoked by the several elders called to share their reflections and wishes for the yatra. Ramasamy Selvam who is leading the yatra outlined its objective and mission. The amazing hosting by the Nilgiris team with Beliappa, Shanmuganadhan and many others ensured that everything was organised smoothly despite the long weekend holiday crowd in a popular tourist destination. Some of the major leaders from across the state had joined, Vanagam Ramesh, Aadhappan from Pudukkottai, and many more weere there. Dedicated and passionate activists like Bharathi Kannan one of Tamilnadu best teachers Ariwarasan Ai and the grassroot governance campaigner Nandakumar Shiva had all joined for the yatra inauguration.

And leading the blessings was the emotional Marutham Kumar the tall inspiring figure instrumental in organising this yatra, ably assisted by youngsters including Baskar Manimegalai, Vishnu Priyan, Monisaanth and many more.

The notable presence of the Women’s Collective, the most formidable women’s group in the state that has continuously been working - it is importance to note that at the beginning of the yatra, 50% of the yatris committed to walk the full distance are women.

The music of the kattunayakar tribes announced that the yatra was about to begin - later the tribal lands rights activist VB Gunasekaran (VBG for most people in this circuit) pointed out the subtlety of the tribal instruments as they were meant not to disturb the animal life around. It was his speech and that of the Ecologist Sadasivam that highlighted the historical nature of the yatra.

Lighting a lamp, symbolically each one of the yatris were garlanded with khadi hand spun garlands and the characteristic green towel, and a special kappu or wrist band.

The wrist band was made with hand spun khadi from Magan Sangrahalaya Samiti Wardha that was dyed with the Tamil farmland soil by friends around Auroville - farm land soil from the oldest certified organic farm, Annapoorna, now facing take over and many other farms nearby. The kaappu was tied to the yatris by some of the leading volunteers including Subha BharadwajThe yatris will gather soil, water and traditional seeds along the path at every stop. Symbolically they received seeds, water and the Nilgiris soil from the local elders and farming elders from across the state.

A moving Malayalam song on the farm land translated to Tamil was sung together as a tribute and m representing the spirit of the yatra led by one of the younger participants Rishikesh Ramnarayan Tirumala , he walks the entire distance along with another national figure in Manas Arvind the coordinator of FarmVersity Alliance - Manas spoke of how TamilNadu is seen as a pioneer in every organic and environmental initiative across the country and hoped that this revival of relationship to soil will inspire other states too.

The beginning of the yatra was filled with symbolic invocations of all the Earth Wisdom from across the Globe. The yatra is a simple act of a few walking, but thats how tyrant empires have been uprooted, wisdom has spread, monarchs challenged, voluntary land transfer facilitated and pilgrimages that succeeded. this yatra begins with a powerful invocation - lets revive the most precious and most sacred of relationships, the cherishing of the relationship of land and natural resources with humans. history starts with such small steps of intensity, dedication and perseverance…