Udupi : Sachin Bhandary, a 32-year-old public relations professional who has been working in Mumbai for eight years, has quit his job to follow his passion. Sachin, who spent his childhood in Udupi, is planning to travel to 12 countries to learn something new or undertake a challenge by staying one month in each country.

As part of a project he has named “The 12 Project” and himself “The Odd Traveller”, he wants to take up 12 challenges in 12 months in the 12 countries he plans to visit.

Mr. Bhandary has already started the project – his first one is focused on India and is called “25 Days, 25 Trains’. He started from Mumbai on February 7, and will now travel to the Southern tip to Kaniyakumari and then towards Ledo in Assam. From there, he will try to reach Baramulla, the last station in the North. Okham, which is the Western tip of Indian Railways, is his last stop before he takes a train back to Mumbai.

This is just the first project, Sachin has eleven others planned. Some of them include looking for positive stories of Tamil-Sinhala friendships in Sri Lanka, learning rock climbing in Thailand, learning to play Batucada music in Brazil, trying to surf in Chile, walking through mountains in Peru, visiting Colombia to find out the reality of drugs, scuba diving in Costa Rica, learning to cook in Mexico, learning to dance the Salsa in Cuba and cycling for 2,000 kms in the U.S. His last project is the most exciting for him – becoming a stand-up comedian in New York for 30 days.

Udupi was his first stop on the “25 Days, 25 Trains” project. Mr. Bhandary decided to stop here as Udupi is close to his heart because of his childhood memories. “My childhood years spent here with friends and family is the best period of my life,” he said.

“Most youngsters travel only for fun. I feel that travel is a great opportunity to learn something new and discover the world and yourself. I hope that my project will inspire other youngsters,” he said.

Mr. Bhandary will spend Rs. 8 lakhs of his own money for the project. Some private brands are also sponsoring his project. “I will also write to some travel publications during my trips to sustain my project. I am also planning to tie up with an NGO and raise funds for them,” he said.

His eventual dream is to start a programme for Indian youth to help them learn by helping them to travel to parts of the world. He also plans to write a book on ‘The 12 Project.’