Moksha Jaitely: A Ride For Change

“Is it safe for a solo woman rider to travel across India?”

As I ask Moksha a very serious question (that perhaps emerges out of my own conditioning), she replies with an enviable nonchalance.

“I think many girls let the “safety” factor stop them from doing the things they want to. On most of my journeys, I only find men riding along the way and I always think that if more women came out and did this, the streets would be safer for all of us.”

Moksha’s message is simple, there is power in numbers. If more of us followed our dreams and passions, if more women came out to inhabit spaces that they were cautioned from, it would make those spaces safer for all of us. We need more solo women bikers, more women CEOs, more women cops, more women athletes. And, it was perhaps this idea that led her to raise money to educate a 100 young girls — so they can go out and pursue their dreams.

Moksha’s life has been a bumpy ride. Hailing from Hoshiarpur, a small district in Punjab she married young and gave birth to a daughter a year later. She faced resistance from her mother-in-law who wasn’t very happy about the birth of a daughter and received no support from her husband. One day as her mother-in-law tried to physically harm her newborn, Moksha decided she’s had enough and left the house with her daughter. Instead of playing victim, she worked various jobs to become independent and raise her daughter. Once Prachi was old enough, Moksha decided to return to her passion for riding and started her own travel company.

“My daughter is my best friend,” boasts Moksha of Prachi. Which is why, on the occasion of Prachi’s birthday, Moksha is setting out on a journey to spread the message she truly believes in — Daughters are Precious.

But, Moksha wanted to do more than just spread the message. “Prachi heard of crowdfunding through a friend and we decided to spontaneously start a fundraiser.”

Picking an NGO to fundraise for was a challenge. Like many, Moksha was apprehensive about how to vet the NGO and how to gauge if the funds will reach the right people. She knew that it was her responsibility to make sure that the donations were used properly. She picked Nanhikali — a popular NGO that aids education of underprivileged girls after much deliberation.

“We went and spoke to the people there who ensured us, amongst other things, regular updates and yearly reports on the education of the girls we wanted to fundraise and sponsor. This gave us confidence that we will be able to track the proper utilisation of our donations.”

At NanhiKali, it costs around Rs.3000 to sponsor the education of 1 girl for a year. Moksha wanted to sponsor a 100 which would cost around Rs. 3 lakhs, an ambitious amount for her that she didn’t think she could raise.

But, to her surprise her first tryst with crowdfunding was “overwhelming.” She raised more than her goal of Rs. 3,00,000 from 84 donors in less than 40 days!

“I think the response largely depends on who is asking for the funds and how. Most of the donors were my clients and people with whom I have travelled. They know me personally and thus they believed in the authenticity of my cause.”

This was however, not Moksha’s first time helping. “In 2012, while I was guiding a group in Spiti, we stopped by an old age home. I just casually asked the group to help out the home and I was amazed to see that contributions just poured in.” It is here that she understood her potential to bring change. On the 5000 km journey she is set to begin on 2nd October, she plans to stop at the Nanhikali center in Nashik to meet the girls herself.

Today, the 54-year-old Moksha is a single mother, a successful entrepreneur and Limca Book Record holder for being the first woman biker to have completed the Leh-Manali strip in 20 hours and 20 minutes. Riding gives her confidence.

“When you are on your own on the road, you are in control of yourself. There will be problems of course, but you have to face them as they come.”

She considers solo riding to be a great way for girls to build physical and mental strength. She has often travelled as a single female in all male groups — much to everyone’s amusement.

“Have you ever received disapproval from people around you for riding alone as a woman?” I ask yet another naive question.

“I don’t worry about what people around me say or think. I believe each one is on a unique journey and what’s important is that you believe in your journey.”

Follow Moksha’s journey through her Instagram page @Moksharides.

Written By Fatema Diwan

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