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Hindustan Times

I got a chance to meet people from all walks of life: YouTuber Raunaq Sahni, who travelled from Kashmir to Kanyakumari

Raunaq Sahni, a 27-year-old YouTuber and content creator from Delhi, made the about 3600 km distance from Kashmir to Kanyakumari with a unique premise in mind - he wanted to travel across India for free and by relying on the kindness of others. Hitchhiking, walking, trucking, and taking public buses, he has used every single method of transport to get to his destination for over 1 month. YouTuber Raunaq Sahni travelled from Kashmir to Kanyakumari Raunaq Sahni in Mumbai's Chor Bazaar(instagram) 'To make it even more interesting for my audience, I also made a rule that whatever money I spend each day - food, travel, stay, etc - I will have to earn it back somehow. I ended up doing odd jobs, selling my services by shooting and editing videos/ reels for business, and even turning into a photographer at tourist spots in Delhi,' he shares. Raunaq is currently tackling a new challenge, walking from Manali to Leh, which is around 200 km over eight days. He made over ₹18,000 over the entire trip. 'I did three different things. First, I became a photographer for a day in Delhi. I went to Lal Kila, India Gate, and Khan Market. And I clicked Polaroid photos of people, and that day I was able to make ₹2,500.' When he came to Mumbai, a trip to the massive Chor Bazaar resulted in him earning ₹15,000 in one day. 'As a content creator and filmmaker, I offered my services to create promotional videos for the shops in Chor Bazar. Bohot rejections face karna pada. But some people believed in me. In fact, one man came up to me, offered me ₹2,500 and asked me to create a reel for him.' The conflict between India and Pakistan put this effort on pause, forcing him to go home, but Raunaq began the trip right where he left off. He shares, 'I realised that if you put your mind to it, the entire universe conspires to make it happen. I am an introvert, and this is such extrovert behaviour, but when you get out of your comfort zone, magic will follow.' The aspiring filmmaker has donated the money that would've otherwise been spent on this entire trip and his earnings from odd jobs. He has collected around ₹2 lakhs and says, 'I want to help a dhaba walla, who let me sleep in his stall overnight in exchange for washing his vessels. But when it came time for me to repay him, he refused and said, 'You are my guest, I can't let you do this.' I will help him build a washroom and add a big board for his stall so that more people can stop there. I also found out about a school in Sikkim, which is in a very remote place and they don't have a lot of facilities, so I want to help them.'