At a time when much of life is experienced through screens, maps and short videos, 28-year-old Soham Verma chose a slower route one measured not in notifications, but in kilometres, conversations and observations. Currently on a cycling journey across India, Soham is travelling through cities, towns and highways to better understand the people and systems that shape everyday life across the country. His journey, which began in Jammu, has, so far, taken him through Pathankot, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Delhi and various other parts of India before arriving in Nagpur. Having previously worked in marketing in Coimbatore, Soham had long wanted to undertake something that allowed him to experience India more directly.

 

When he found himself with a three-month break, the idea finally took shape. One of the most interesting things Soham learned during his journey was how so many legacy businesses that are a 100 -150 years old are not competitive in the sense they want their competitors to lose. There is a sense of mutual respect, brotherhood, and fraternity rather than animosity that runs among owners. Along the way, Soham has spent time interacting with small business owners and workers, observing systems that rarely make it into textbooks or classrooms. His father, Colonel Mohit Verma, expressing pride in his son, said, there is a growing need among young people to step outside structured learning and actually experience life.

 

“There is a difference between reading about society and actually experiencing it. When you travel slowly and meet people directly, you begin to notice things you otherwise would not.” While discussions around excessive mobile phone usage and shrinking attention spans do emerge during Soham’s interactions with business owners and people he meets on the road, the cycling expedition is not about campaigning against phones. Many of the people Soham meets, particularly business owners and workers, speak about how constant engagement with screens has affected focus, patience, and face-to-face interaction.

 

These discussions naturally become part of the larger exchange of experiences taking place during the journey. His journey also reflects a wider shift towards experiential learning. Increasingly, young people are choosing travel, fieldwork, fellowships and independent projects to understand communities, livelihoods and cultures beyond conventional academic spaces. Now in Nagpur, Soham has been joined briefly by his parents, who travelled by car from their residence in Mumbai to meet him during this leg of the journey. But the road ahead remains long, with more towns, conversations and experiences waiting further down the highway.