Mysore man takes mother on pan-India pilgrimage on scooter; reaches Visakhapatnam

Heartwarming story of D. Krishna Kumar and his 75-year-old mother on a country-wide pilgrimage, defying societal norms.

At a time when people abandoning their elderly parents is not rare, this is a story that will warm up one’s heart. Meet 45-year-old D. Krishna Kumar from Mysore, who along with his 75-year-old mother Chudaratna (Ratnamma), is on a country-wide pilgrimage on his 24-year-old scooter.

Popular as the ‘modern-day Shravan Kumar’, the famous mythological character who carried his blind parents on his shoulders on a pilgrimage, on social media, Mr. Krishna Kumar, along with his mother, reached Visakhapatnam on Monday (March 10, 2025) night after completing a 92,822-km pilgrimage titled ‘Matru Seva Sankalpa Yatra’ on his 2001 model Bajaj Chetak.

On Tuesday (March 11, 2025), they visited Sri Kanaka Mahalakshmi Temple, Kali Matha Temple, Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple (Simhachalam) and other famous religious places in the city.

Narrating his story to The Hindu, Mr. Krishna Kumar said that he was undertaking this journey to show the beauty of this world to his mother who did not step out of her house until his father Dakshinamurthy passed away in August 2015.

Mr. Krishna Kumar worked as a team leader in a corporate company in Bengaluru. He quit his job and deposited all his money in his mother’s bank account. He is undertaking this journey with the interest earned from the money he saved, he said.

“We are undertaking this journey on a self-funded basis. We do not accept donations. We avoid rich food. We prefer temple ‘Prasadam’ or fruits. We do not go for costly fruits like apple or dry fruits. We have not faced any health problems during our journey so far,” he said.

“I do not believe in yesterday or tomorrow. Today is what I have. I live for the day. Visakhapatnam is very peaceful and spiritual,” said Mr. Krishna Kumar, who is unmarried.