Sunday 29 December 2024: Emerald Hills Shopping Centre to Liverpool
Shekhar and I got ready, met Hitesh’s dad who was already up, but didn’t have any cuppa or breakfast before leaving because it was going to be a hot day, and we wanted to cover as much distance as possible before the temperature became unbearable to walk. Besides, there were no formalities with Hitesh’s family.
After a short drive, we arrived at the starting point. I got off, touched my forehead to the ground to seek permission and blessings from Mother Earth. After a quick radio test, we were off. I crossed the Camden Valley Hwy and began to walk on the footpath while Shekhar was still at the shopping centre car park. We managed to start the walk before 6:30 AM and it was still cool. However, the mercury began to rise as we progressed into the walk. The Camden Valley Hwy is one of Sydney’s main arterials that carries a lot of traffic. While walking on the footpath is much safer than walking on the shoulder facing the oncoming traffic, the heavy traffic produces lots of pollution and noise. There is nowhere to park on this highway. Shekhar had to park in a side street and wait for me to catch up.
After a short break for a quick bite and a powernap, we continued until we reached Liverpool. However, we couldn’t park where we had been parking for the last two years. The area was completely fenced off as it was now under development. Shekhar had moved onto A34 New Bridge Road and parked past the Chemist Warehouse. I followed him. We had lunch in the van, and I had a powernap. The afternoon heat and humidity made it impossible to walk any further. We terminated the walk for the day.
We drove to Kuldip and Raman’s place. They had been waiting for us since lunch time. Their little angel Gurmehar had put on her beautiful pink dress, and she was very excited. We were met with a warm welcome. Despite the double pay offer for working on Sundays, Kuldip had taken a day off. They hadn’t had any lunch. We told them that we had lunch in the van. But they insisted and we all ate together. This meant Shekhar and I had a second lunch. We were absolutely filled to the top. The lunch was followed by tea and snacks. Shekhar and I told them that was it for the day. There shall be no dinner that night. But it wasn’t acceptable to the hosts. Kuldip worked different shifts and they were used to having dinner late in the evening after he got home. I had a shower to wash down the sweat and then I went for a quick snooze. I woke up to a call for dinner that was prepared with lots of love and affection. It was delicious. They had gone through so much trouble preparing such a finger licking food. It was worth it. Shekhar and I were not used to staying up so late. We hit the bed and sank into the world of dreams.
Monday 30 December 2024: A Complete Rest Day
Shekhar and I got up late by our standards. Kuldip had already prepared some herbal tea. No tea leaves or milk required to make this tea, which is made from herbs and spices commonly found in Indian households. This tea was Kuldip’s speciality as to which ingredients, their quantity and how long to boil them. The end result was a healthy, tasty and a soothing tea. Thank you so much Kuldip Ji.
The day started with a typical Punjabi breakfast – Aallu (potato) Parathas with yoghurt and other snacks. After such a heavy breakfast, it was natural to fall asleep. By the time we woke up, they were preparing lunch. I had a shower and subsequently, I started working on my blogs. I wasn’t able to keep up with our blogs as it was virtually impossible to work in the van when the weather was hot. The rear air conditioner was out of order and the front air conditioner wasn’t effective enough to cool down the rear portion of the van.
Their little angel Gurmehar had grown since we saw her last a year ago. Most of the time she was happy playing by herself. She was passionate about her friends at the kindergarten. She knew how to count to ten and she also knew most of her alphabet letters. Gurmehar was very ticklish, and she was able to laugh out loud which made her very lively and interactive. May God bless her.
We had plenty of soft drinks followed by a lavish lunch. I continued to work on my blogs. We had a cuppa with home-made snacks. We had a multi course dinner made with lots of love and affection. It is not just the ingredients that make the food taste good, but one’s state of mind when preparing the meal has greater influence on the taste. We enjoyed having a chat on the dining table and talked about friends and family we all knew in our native place in rural India. We wanted to continue our chat post dinner and so we had some masala tea before brushing our teeth and hitting the bed.
Tuesday 31 December 2024: Liverpool to Canterbury
By the time Shekhar and I got ready, Kuldip had already prepared a cuppa and light breakfast for us. We drove to Liverpool and stopped in the car park behind the Chemist Warehouse. I touched my forehead to the ground to pay respect to Mother Earth. We cross-checked the two-way radios and started the walk towards Canterbury. After about three hours, we stopped at a petrol station for a quick bite and a powernap. It was disappointing to note that one of the main roads connecting the Western suburbs with central Sydney the A34 which becomes Canterbury Road and later New Canterbury Road had sections with no shoulder to walk on. Finally, we reached Wonga Road in Canterbury and finished the walk for the day. I touched my forehead to the ground to thank Mother Earth for the permission to walk upon her.
Today was the last day of the year and we were looking for some Indian sweets to celebrate the arrival of the new year in the morning. We drove to two different shops at two different locations but found both closed. In the end we drove back to Raman and Kuldip’s place. Kuldip had gone to work, and Raman had been waiting for us to get back and have lunch. Raman, Shekhar and I walked to Gurmehar’s Kindergarten to pick her up. It was just a few minutes’ walk. Gurmehar was very happy.
Kuldip had planned to come home around 8:30 PM so that we could all go to see the fireworks to mark the arrival of the new year. He called Raman and told us to meet him at the front of the house. We drove off towards Penrith. There were hundreds of cars on the road trying to find a spot to park to watch the fireworks. We found a place just before 9:00 PM. The fireworks was just beginning to splash all sorts of colours and designs in the sky. This was just a small sample of what would be on display over the Sydney Harbour at the stroke of midnight. We drove back home, had dinner and went to sleep.
Wednesday 1 January 2025: New Year's Day - Rest Day
Today was a complete rest day. Before going to bed last night, I had turned off all the alarms. Yet, my body clock woke me up as usual around 4:30/4:40 AM. I was wide awake but I didn’t want to disturb anyone else. I didn’t want to use the bathroom because flushing toilet would be noisy and disturbing to those still asleep. But I wanted to get up and get some work done on my blogs. I got up, quietly unlocked the front door, and went to the van that was parked on the street at the front of the house. I had some water, set up my laptop and started working on it.
Around 7:30 AM, I came inside the house and went to have a shower. Raman and Kuldip were up. First thing in the new year we made was Halwa or Prasaad (food first offered to God) and we had it for breakfast with masala tea and other snacks. Today being the rest day was obvious and time moved very slowly. We just lazed around for a while and then watched some episodes of the Kapil Sharma Show with Sabri Brothers that we all enjoyed. It was a mix of Hindi and Punjabi comedy at its best. Thank you so much Raman and Kuldip Ji.
Kuldip, Shekhar and I went to Woolworths to get the necessary ingredients for a vegetarian Lasagna. I told them that it would take two hours. Sure enough, the timer started ticking. We all started taking on different tasks including cleaning the oven, chopping and cooking vegies and making the white sauce etc. We layered them onto the tray and placed the tray into the oven. When we finally took the tray out of the oven, it was around two hours since the operation had begun.
We all enjoyed the late lunch with a lightly sweetened pinkish Indian soft drink. In fact, the lasagna turned to be tastier than we all expected. Consequently, we overate and fell asleep. There was plenty of lasagna left over. We had some more lasagna for dinner and went to bed.
Thursday 2 January 2025: Canterbury to Entertainment Quarter
By the time Shekhar and I got ready, Raman had packed freshly prepared masala tea and nutritional snacks for this morning’s walk. We drove to Wonga Road to start the last leg of this year’s walk. I was about to enter the final few hours of the 1,300 Kms journey spanning over nine weeks. Like a young child who achieves top marks in the exam, I was very excited. But I was also relaxed because the end goal was now within reach. I had emailed the McGrath Foundation that keeping up with our schedule, I was going to walk to the Entertainment Quarter this morning and complete the MCG to SCG Walk.
I touched my forehead to the ground and prayed to Mother Earth seeking her blessings and permission to walk the final leg of this year’s marathon walk. Like any large city around the world, as you get closer to downtown, it gets more congested. Shekhar had nowhere to pull over and had to keep driving ahead. I followed Wilson Street which is a long street and walked past Redfern Station until I came to Cleveland Street. I walked past the Sydney High School and beautiful old trees in the park planted a long time ago under the British era. Around 10:00 AM, we reached the Entertainment Quarter. We thanked Mother Earth for the opportunity to make a small contribution to the betterment of the society and raise funds for a noble cause. Shekhar and I took some photos, before having a cuppa and snacks in the van. In accordance with my daily routine, my body was dying for a powernap. Thus, I went to sleep.
We returned to Raman and Kuldip’s place. They had been waiting for us to come back. Today Gurmehar didn’t go to Kinder but stayed home. She was playing with her toys. She is a good girl who keeps herself busy with games and toys while watching cartoons on TV. We had typical Punjabi lunch chickpeas, vegies and daal with home-made pickle and chutney. After lunch, the temperature dropped significantly. We sat outside and enjoyed fresh air over a cuppa with delicious pakoras and snacks. We had dinner around 9:00 PM because we had a long day ahead the next day.
Friday 3 January 2025: The Big Day - Pink Parade to the SCG
Raman and Kuldip had made fresh parathas and packed daal and Kidney beans for us. Shekhar and I had one final cup of masala tea with them and took leave to drive to our destination. We took some photos with the van. We are so grateful to Raman, Kuldip and Gurmehar for their company and generous hospitality. A big thank you for everything you did to make our stay comfortable.
We drove to the street near the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) where we could park for four hours. It took us over an hour to reach that street. We walked over to the Allianz Stadium. We were meeting at the top of the steps at Gate 1. Sanjay Sharma from Canberra had arrived before us. Shortly after Matt Hatcher Mayor Eurobodalla Shire Council also arrived. Samba Murthy was on his way. The crowd started to build up as the supporters began to arrive in large numbers. Tracy Bevan arrived. She personally thanked us, took photos with us and then did a media interview. Soon my friends from the Big Three Trek arrived. It was great to catch up with Luke Alexander, Glenn Gorick, Leanne Moss and many others. Many nurses including Jo Lovelock, Kerry Patford Chief Nurse arrived. The members of the Pink Sari brigade arrived. The Indian dancers in their beautiful costumes also joined. It was smiles all around. It was like a sea of Pink. It began to drizzle a bit, and many people moved under cover. Luckily, the drizzle stopped and the clouds disappeared.
It was such an electrifying atmosphere. There was live band playing popular songs. There was happiness. There was a roar. There was excitement. There was enthusiasm. Everyone was pumped up. We were all gathered just for one reason and that was to support the McGrath Foundation. We lined up on the steps. Jo called me to the front to stand along with Tracy Bevan. Some people were taking photos and video recording the event. We were requested to come down a few steps and stop. More photos and more videos followed. Finally, the four young Indian girls got off the last step and began performing their moves to specific dances. Everyone was thrilled to witness these moments. I got excited by the Bhangra beats and joined in. The girls’ dance was spell bound.
For a while, we remained close to the steps. Slowly, we began to move towards the SCG. After a few steps, we stopped again. The music was taking turns between the western band and the Indian drummers. It was highly entertaining. After a few stop - starts, we finally reached the spot outside the SCG where we were received by the cricket legend and President McGrath Foundation Glenn McGrath and the national media. This moment was out of this world. The time had come to stand still. The clocks had stopped ticking. All eyes were on Glenn Mcgrath and Tracy Bevan. She tested the spirit and the excitement of the Pink Parade that was answered in the loudest roar you could imagine.
Tracy opened the proceedings and outlined the changes at the McGrath Foundation. She thanked all the supporters of the McGrath Foundation. Pointing towards me, Tracy highlighted my name and the long walk from Melbourne. She specifically thanked the Big Three Trekkers for their walk from Newcastle. Glenn McGrath also appreciated our efforts to contribute to improving the health of fellow Australians. He shared the great news that the McGrath Foundation was no longer confined to caring for just breast cancer patients. The Foundation would now care for ALL cancer patients regardless of what type of cancer or what part of the body is impacted. The speeches were followed by lots of photos taken from all sorts of angles.
Then it was my turn for media interviews. It started off with a detailed interview by Special Broadcasting Services (SBS). Along with other media, the Asian News International (ANI) and the Press Trust of India (PTI) also recorded interviews. However, the interview with Channel Ten remained most comprehensive. Everyone wanted to know the answer to one question. Why I undertook such a long walk in the first place let alone for the third consecutive year? I told them that this great country had given me a beautiful life, and now it was my turn to give something back to the community. And I was so grateful to the McGrath Foundation for giving me the opportunity to make a small contribution.
For me personally, it was a day to reflect upon the journey of the last 63 days. It was a day to celebrate the completion of the most difficult walk since signing up with the McGrath Foundation in 2022. It was not just the completion of the walk but also the completion of a hat-trick. It was a dream come true. To achieve a feat of this calibre at the age of 73 was remarkable by any measures and I thank God for selecting me to fit into this role. I am so grateful to all my supporters for their contribution, prayers and thoughts.
Starting at the MCG and slowly progress through small towns and wilderness along A1 Princes Hwy through rural Victoria and country NSW until we reached Batemans Bay. Then taking on the toughest climb to get across the Clyde to reach Braidwood and walk to Canberra. Attending the Meet and Greet event at the Cricket ACT was a great honour. Vishal and Mani are a part of our family. Staying with them requires no formalities. Meeting Clive Harwood and his friend Allen at Wingello was a pleasant surprise. The overnight stay at the Bungonia National Park was an eye-opener. The Christmas lunch with Pam and Brian was once again a great honour and privilege. Stay with Clive and Narelle was amazing. The time spent with Hitesh and his family as well as Raman and Kuldip was a family like experience.
After rewinding the images of the past couple of months, it was time to come back to the present and that was to walk to the Entertainment Quarter and have a cuppa with Samba and Shekhar. Outside the Café, we met John a medical practitioner with special interest in clinical trials. We had a good chat. Subsequently, John made a generous donation to the McGrath Foundation. After the cuppa, Shekhar went to shift the van as the four hours were coming up. I waited outside the entrance gate for our tickets. By the time Shekhar and I took our seats, India after winning the toss and opting to bat, looked in trouble. We shared the SCG photos with a few friends and family. We watched the game for a few hours. India was losing wickets with very little addition to the score. India didn’t look to be in a position to win the game and the series.
We left the SCG and drove to Hitesh’s place. I messaged him when we began driving to his place. Due to heavy traffic and a couple of accidents, it took us almost two hours to reach there. We had lunch and a quick cuppa before leaving for Goulburn. Vishal was on his way to Sydney to meet with select players in the Indian cricket team. Mani had already prepared dinner for us. Shekhar and I had dinner and went to sleep.
Saturday 4 January 2025: Heading back to Melbourne
Shekhar and I got ready early morning and pulled the front door to lock it as we left Vishal’s house. We drove to Café 5911 and had breakfast before embarking on the long drive to Melbourne. I had freshly squeezed orange juice and Shekhar ordered a coffee with some vegetarian breakfast. We left the café around 8:00 AM and drove straight onto the feeder road towards Canberra. Once we were on M1 the Hume Hwy, we knew we won’t stop for a break before Albury. We filled up at the Ampol Service Station and parked under a tree to have lunch in the van. Once we entered Melbourne, we filled up the van again before arriving in Boronia. We were home at last. As soon as we arrived, Shekhar and I shifted food and soft drinks out of the van fridge because the solar battery in the van that supplies power to the fridge and other appliances had gone down to just 3 percent. Both of us were absolutely drained. We left the rest as it was. When I went to bed, I fell asleep straightaway. Not because I have a special mattress or comfortable bed. In fact, I sleep on the floor on a very thin mattress. However, you sleep well because there is no place like home.
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