‘The length of India, though. Think of that. The magnitude of it takes my breath away, even months later. When next will I get such an opportunity? As the Yatra got going, through its early days in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, that question began to haunt me. Through those early days, the challenge of finding an answer came to mean something to me. Something deep, profound, elemental. The challenge of the walk, yes. But what it helped me articulate for myself, too. The way it dredged up long-ago experiences, reminded me of what they had meant, wrung new meaning from them now, said things about my country, my family, myself. All in all, it helped me decide — if I wasn’t doing the whole trip, there was a next best thing I could do.’

Dilip D’Souza joined the Bharat Jodo Yatra four times. This is the story of that experience. But even more, this is the story of how he found energy, empathy and enthusiasm in the Yatra. How it spoke to him of renewal. How it filled him, and many others, with hope. ‘This was my chance to make my own slice of personal history,’ he writes. ‘That was enough for me.’