'Modern Shravan Kumar' of India gets keys to new car from Anand Mahindra

Mysore: D Krishna Kumar, the man who made headlines last year after he went on a pan-India tour along with his 70-year-old mother on a two-wheeler, finally received a car on Friday, a gift from Anand Mahindra. The chairman of the Mahindra group had offered the car to the man as a gift after Kumar went viral for his dedication towards his mother.

Kumar and his mother picked up the new Mahindra TUV 100 Nxt from the Mysore Indian Garage, and it was a "great surprise" for the old woman. After receiving the sparkling new car, Kumar drove his mother to the Chamundeshwari temple to offer prayers.

Kumar said that "from the pillion seat of the scooter to the front seat of a luxurious four-wheeler", it has been a great journey for his mother, who has been asking him questions about the various installations -- such as the touchscreen -- in the new vehicle.

Kumar, a former corporate team leader, completed a pan-India temple run on a 20-year-old scooter which was gifted to him by his father. By January this year, he and his mother Choodarathna had covered 56,552 kilometres. The adventure which began on January 16, 2018, took the mother-son duo across four countries — Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. This led to Kumar being dubbed as the "modern Shravan Kumar of India."

Interestingly, Kumar and his mother never stayed in hotels, and the mother-son duo spent their days in temples and monasteries. They were taken care of by absolute strangers, who have gone on to become a part of his extended family. Kumar recently told media that he still gets calls from Northeast Indian states like Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, where he spent some special moments during his journey.

The vehicle, he says, will be used for social service. Anyone in his neighbourhood with a health issue, old-age problem, or emergency, shall be able to use the vehicle for free, he said.

Meanwhile, he has revealed plans to convert his house in Mysuru's Bogadi into "Gyana Vikasa Kendra", which will house the memories of the journey with his mother. He also plans to help the youth of the country who might be in need of guidance.

It is pertinent to mention that tycoon Anand Mahindra heard of Kumar's journey in October last year. Sharing the news on his Twitter page, Mahindra wrote, "A beautiful story. About the love for a mother but also about the love for a country... Thank you for sharing this Manoj. If you can connect him to me, I'd like to personally gift him a Mahindra KUV 100 NXT so he can drive his mother in a car on their next journey."

Kumar says that scooter on which he undertook his journey shall not be discarded after the introduction of the two-wheeler. Instead, it will remain an integral part of his life, he said.

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