This year Chinmaya mission LA organised a trip to select States in North Eastern states of India from the 27th Nov. to 12th Dec.’25. Seventy nine yatris had enrolled for the trip, which started from Delhi.
To organise a trip of this size over hilly terrains across different States over a fortnight required the support of an experienced team to ensure there were no surprises.
The flight details of each yatri was monitored by the committee and pick up was arranged by cars from the Delhi airport by a team from the travel agency, TripAcross pvt. Ltd, assigned for this purpose, who have been associated with CMLA for over five years.
An initial welcome diñner was organised by CMLA in the evening at the hotel to welcome the yatris and brief them on the requirements, to make the journey comfortable.
Next morning, two buses were arranged to drop the yatris at the Delhi airport for the first halt at Gauhati.
To manage navigating through narrow roads, eight cabs were arranged and the yatris were split into eight teams with a specific member in each team as the leader.
We were able to visit the locations planned, in an organised manner, without any difficulty.
At Kaziranga Reserve the yatris were driven round the forest in open Gypsy vans of the government, with six yatris in each and the cabs had to be dispensed with.
At our next halt at Darjeeling we had to move to smaller vehicles from the cabs.
Twenty two cars were enlisted for this purpose through the local travel agency, where the local drivers were conversent with the terrain. Each car was chronologically numbered from 1to 22. Then the cars were grouped in clusters of four to five, with one of the experienced drivers in each group being nominated as a leader of the group to guide the respective drivers in case of necessity.
The yatris were again classified in groups of four and were assigned a specific car. The yatris followed the instructions and the drivers ensured that the programs were on schedule.
For the ride on the toy train between Darjeeling and Ghoom, the yatris were split into two teams A and B as it was difficult to accommodate all the yatris in one train. Each team was dropped at the Darjeeling station at an agreed time and picked up at Ghoom by the assigned car drivers.
At Sikkim, there are strict restrictions on the vehicles of other States plying there in specific areas, like Lake Tsomgo. Hence arrangements were made for twenty two vehicles with local number plates and drivers. On completion of the visit to the lake, the local cars dropped us at an assigned spot from where the orginal cars took over. After a visit to local temple and monastries, shopping option was put across to the yatris. Those who preferred to go back to the hotel were assigned to specified cars which dropped them at the hotel. The yatris who were interested in shopping had to walk down a slopy road for about fifteen minutes before we reached the local market, as the drivers had difficulty in locating parking slots.
Once the shopping was completed the yatris had to walk for about ten minutes, through the local road and a small over bridge for us to reach the local car parking area, from where we were dropped at the hotel.
We were then ready for our return home after an enjoyable yatra. The twenty two cars dropped us at Bagdogra airport to board our plane to Delhi.
At Delhi, two buses were waiting to drop us back at the hotel.
The next day each yatri dispersed at different times for various destinations and were dropped at the airport at the respective time fixed for the purpose in independent cars.
Kudos to the backroom team which had worked with such meticulous care, dedication, precision and coordination to make the yatra comfortable and enjoyable.
I am sure no management schools address such complex logistical issues in their syllabus as this comes through hands-on practical experience to steer the wheels of yatra with such commendable ease.
Sundar Rajan
