2 city kids spend summer vacation cycling from Sion to Kanyakumari
Mumbai: It's a summer vacation they'll never forget. Two school-goers from Chunabhatti cycled from
Mumbai to Kanyakumari
over 14 days. After a brief halt, the children — Sanvi Patil (11) and Arnav Bhoinkar (12) — started the return journey with the girl's father, Pravin Patil (46), on Monday — 3,300km to and fro.
The main aim of taking the children cycling such a distance was to wean them away from cellphones and other tech gadgets, says Pravin, adding that he also wanted them to enjoy their vacation in an unusual manner. "It's easy for today's children to get hooked to the screen… Sadly, today's kids hardly play on playgrounds. Even carrom, chess or snakes and ladders are played on the mobile phone," says Pravin.
When he first revealed the plan to his daughter, she was more than ready.
Sanvi is used to cycling from Chunabhatti up to Mulund and back, some 33km, twice a week with dad. Arnav too is a regular at cycling. "The boy's parents agreed when I told them of my plan," says Pravin who works for Sion hospital. Plans were finalised, the bags packed and the three set out from Chunabhatti on three geared bicycles early May 2, wending their way towards the Konkan, snaking southwards to reach Kanyakumari after a fortnight.
"We covered about 100+ km in a day," says Pravin. If it gets too tiring or too hot, they take a longer break.
Pravin has two cycling panniers strapped to his bicycle with bare essentials for all three of them. The kids have just a hydration backpack (water bags) and water bottles on their cycles. The panniers hold clothes besides nutrition fuel — dry fruits, chikki, nibbles and munchies. They choose restaurants carefully so as not to be taken ill along the way.
Largely, the meals are light but nutritious. A stash of bananas is always at hand.
Both children, who study at LK High School at Chunabhatti (east), have participated in the Kumbharli ghat race which is organised at Chiplun in Ratnagiri.
On the current tour, the the three did encounter roadblocks. Sanvi's bicycle chain broke, Arnav's gear cable snapped, for which they had to call for help from a cycle shop in Kudal. A puncture or two also made them lose time.
"But the real problem has been extreme heat," points out Pravin. He found it a challenge to fix punctures as the rubber patch would just melt due to the heat.
Curiously, traffic has not been a big issue, he says. Pravin has set a rule for the team – all three cycle in a row, remaining within shouting distance of one another.
Passers-by are amused on seeing the cycling trio, especially the two young cyclists. "The children are the show-stealers," says Pravin. Some stop them, bombarding them with a barrage of questions. Others insist on selfies. At one pit stop, a family insisted on paying for their breakfast as a "salute to their effort". An absolute stranger in Tamil Nadu even welcomed them home for a break.
The children had a brief word with TOI. Sanvi said she's waiting to get home to tell her friends about the
cycling trip
. Arnav spoke little. "Majjaa yeteh [It's fun]," is all that he had to say.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Commuters celebrate as new city flyover reduces travel time
Ranchi: The Siromtoli flyover, inaugurated on Thursday by chief minister Hemant Soren amid protests by various tribal outfits to demolish the flyover's ramp in front of the Kendriya Sarna Sthal, has become a popular spot among motorists and citizens alike. The newly built structure has not only eased traffic congestion but also significantly reduced the travel time for commuters. Motorists are eager to try a ride over the new flyover, which connects the Mecon roundabout to Siromtoli via the Rajendra Chowk. Many of them were seen clicking selfies on the flyover. When TOI took a ride on the flyover from the Siromtoli Chowk at 1.30 pm on Friday and returned to the spot via the Mecon Chowk, the whole to-and-fro journey took only 10 minutes, a distance which would take at least half an hour without the flyover. Meanwhile, Ranchites expressed satisfaction with the govt's intervention in the timely completion of the project. The 2.34-km project built at a cost of Rs 355.76 crore, began in 2022. Sumit Kumar, a commuter, told TOI, "We are happy that the flyover is now open. Earlier, we had to take a longer route to reach the Mecon Chowk from Siromtoli via Sujata Chowk which used to take at least 30 minutes or even more during rush hours. We can cover the same distance in 10-12 minutes, saving both fuel and time." An autorickshaw driver, Riyaz Khan, said, "Now, we can make more trips in a day as it takes less time to travel. It will increase our monthly income. Once the elevated corridor connecting the flyover at Kantatoli is completed, it will further ease the traffic. Due to ongoing construction of the corridor now, we still are facing inconvenience." Many residents also flocked to the flyover to click selfies and make reels. Some citizens have, however, raised safety concerns over such activities. "The administration has to be strict and vigilant so that no untoward incident takes place," Ashutosh Kumar, a senior citizen said. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Eid wishes , messages , and quotes !
Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
Diversions kick in for six-lane underpass to decongest Gaur Chowk
Noida: Vehicles travelling from Bisrakh and Surajpur to Noida have been restricted to the service lane on Greater Noida West Road as excavation on the carriageway began for a six-lane underpass near the congested Gaur Chowk. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The 700-metre underpass, which is to run parallel to the Taj Highway, will allow vehicles coming from Surajpur to bypass the daily bottlenecks at Char Murti roundabout, also called Gaur Chowk, by connecting Greater Noida directly with Gaur City and Delhi-Meerut Expressway ahead. Greater Noida Authority CEO Ravi Kumar NG told TOI that a key section of the carriageway has now been blocked due to digging at the main intersection for the underpass. "Traffic from Bisrakh towards Noida will now use the service lane and then turn left towards Parthala. Commuters heading to Delhi-Meerut Expressway and Gaur City will have to take a left and then a U-turn to proceed. There are no restrictions for people travelling from Noida to Ek Murti Chowk ahead via the Gaur Chowk as the rotary has not been blocked," he said. More diversions are expected on the Taj Highway as the work progresses in the coming days, the official said. The Rs 92-crore project is expected to be ready in 18 months. Of the total length, 350 metres will stretch on either side of the roundabout. The underpass is among the several infrastructure projects undertaken by UP govt in the region, including Noida expressway bypass, Chilla Elevated Road and a flyway linking Ek Murti Chowk to DME, which are on the drawing boards anticipating heavy traffic movement in the area once the Noida airport becomes functional. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Gaur Chowk, a central traffic node in Greater Noida West, a housing hub accommodating over five lakh residents. The six-lane road, already under pressure from traffic pouring in from Noida, Surajpur, Crossings Republik, and the DME. While the Parthala flyover, inaugurated in 2023 on the Vikas Marg-FNG Expressway junction, eased bottlenecks at Parthala Chowk, it shifted the snarls towards Gaur Chowk. Over the years, traffic cops have tried to ease tailbacks by blocking two arms of the rotary and creating two U-turns, about 500 metres away from the intersection. However, with traffic volume increasing continuously, those measures proved inadequate. With more traffic restrictions likely over the next few months before the underpass is ready, motorists fear daily bottlenecks in the area. "While diversions are necessary, they're already causing traffic jams during peak hours. There's also dust pollution, as the contractor isn't following NGT's dust control guidelines," Amarjeet Rathore, a Gaur City resident, said. Meanwhile, despite traffic diversions, a number of bikers were seen plying on the wrong side of the service lane. Ecovillage 1 resident Manish Kumar said, "There was already traffic pressure due to diversion, and now people driving on the wrong side are further worsening the problem. Cops should be deployed in the area to check these violations."
Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
Tatkal ticket mystery solved: IRCTC may have found the dirty tricks behind train ticket fraud, blocks 2.5 crore user IDs
In a large-scale crackdown on ticketing fraud, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has identified 2.9 lakh suspicious PNRs booked within five minutes of the opening of reservation windows. This action was part of a special drive conducted between January and May 2025 to detect irregularities in the ticketing system, a TOI report stated. Crackdown on fake accounts and email domains According to top railway officials, IRCTC has deactivated 2.5 crore suspected user IDs and placed another 20 lakh IDs under revalidation. A total of 134 complaints have been registered on the national cyber crime portal, and over 6,800 disposable email domains have been blocked. Disposable email addresses, which are often used temporarily or for single-use communication, were found to be misused by fraudsters to bypass booking limits and secure tickets at scale. These tickets were later sold at higher prices to passengers. Limited to select trains and routes Sources said the issue of tickets selling out instantly is mostly confined to certain trains and routes. 'So, the focus is on weeding out users who are beating the system. Passengers can't be blamed as there is a genuine shortage of confirmed tickets. So, the effort has been to increase capacity and to run more trains, particularly during peak travel seasons,' an official told TOI. Security upgrades to block bots Officials said IRCTC has introduced systemic changes to prevent misuse of the platform. These include the use of content delivery networks and anti-BOT technologies to differentiate between real users and automated scripts. These upgrades aim to make the ticketing process smoother and more secure for genuine travellers. Live Events On May 22, 2025, at 10 am, IRCTC recorded its highest ever per-minute booking of 31,814 tickets. 'Attempt versus booking ratio has increased from 43.1% to 62.2% between Oct 2024 and May 2025,' said an official. Don't rely on platform promising confirmed ticket Officials have warned users not to rely on travel platforms that claim to guarantee confirmed tickets. 'None of the travel platforms can guarantee confirmed ticket bookings and hence people should not fall prey to them,' said an official. Some business-to-consumer (B2C) sites offer premium services and advertise 3X refund offers in specific cases, but officials advise caution while using such services.
