“Each forest, plain, flower, mountain, village or town is a separate section of your homeland. It is necessary to familiarise yourself with these pages through experience rather than reading about them,” said Richard Schirrman, the man who started the youth hostel movement in Germany in 1909.
Youth Hostels Association of India (YHAI) - Gangothri Unit seems to have taken a cue from these words and helped hundreds of its members get a feel of adventure in neighbouring areas such as Kunthi Betta, Karighatta, Chamundi Hill and other parts of the country including Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Members are exposed to various adventure activities including trekking, tube rafting, cycling and rock climbing. Speaking to City Herald, YHAI - Gangothri Unit secretary M V Parashivamurthy said the unit conducts programmes throughout the year. While every first Sunday of the month is set aside for monthly meetings, the remaining three Sundays are used to take members out into the countryside. The unit is planning a visit to Nandi Hill on July 9 and 10, followed by trekking at Bheemanakindi in Malvalli Taluk of Mandya district on July 17.
Members will be trekking at Devarayana Betta in Tumkur on July 24 and the monthly activity will conclude with a cycling trip to visit a farm at Kadakola. The advantages of joining a YHAI is that members travelling across the country can avail accommodation at any unit across the unit at comparatively low rates. Members are divided into two groups of 10-18 years called juniors and those above 18 years termed as seniors.
Parashivamurthy said that annual membership fee for juniors is ` 50, while it is ` 100 for seniors. Life membership is ` 1,550 at the YHAI - Gangothri Unit. Interested in joining YHAI-Gangothri Unit may call 2341419.
History
Forty years after the first youth hostel was opened in Germany, Mysore earned the prestige of having set-up the first youth hostel in South Asia in 1949. With partial financial assistance from Mysore University, a group of 14 members set-up the administrative office at the Maharaja College premises. It functioned until 1955, after which it was transferred to New Delhi.
The YHAI - Gangothri Unit was started in 1988. Having completed more than 20 years, this unit claims to have around 800 members, the most in the state.
Wiki note
The youth hostel movement was started in 1909 by Richard Schirrmann, a German schoolteacher, who saw the need for overnight accommodation for school groups so that they could experience the countryside. The first youth hostel was opened in Schirmann’s own school in Altena, Westphalia.