After Goa, Mumbai: A Family Journey of Memories and Togetherness

Some journeys become memorable not because of the places we visit, but because of the people with whom we share them. 2019 was one such year for our family. After our beautiful trip to Goa, we continued our journey and spent precious time in Mumbai—creating memories that remain close to my heart.

These photographs take me back to those days when life felt wonderfully simple: family together, rain in the air, the sea before us, and the joy of being with people we love.

Mumbai in the Monsoon

Mumbai welcomed us with its characteristic monsoon sky. The rain had covered the streets and promenades with a beautiful sheen, while the Arabian Sea looked vast and restless under the cloudy sky.

Standing before the Gateway of India, with the historic monument rising behind us, Shruti and I captured a few moments together. The wet stone pavement reflected the Gateway, the people and the grey sky, creating a scene that feels almost timeless.

For me, travelling with Shruti has always been more than simply visiting new places. It is about sharing experiences, discovering new corners of the world together and collecting memories that stay with us long after the journey ends.

With Family by the Sea

The Mumbai visit became even more special because we were together as a family. The sea gave us a natural space to pause, talk, laugh and simply enjoy one another's company.

The photographs from the seafront capture different moods—Shruti looking out towards the Mumbai skyline, the young members of our family enjoying the sea breeze, and all of us standing together against the vast Arabian Sea.

There is something deeply beautiful about such ordinary moments. No grand occasion is necessary. Sometimes, a cloudy afternoon by the sea becomes a treasured memory for a lifetime.

A Special Bond with Jitesh

Among the people who made this journey special was my brother, Mr. Jitesh Singh, son of Late Shri Mahendra Pratap Singh.

Mahendra Pratap Singh was an exceptional human being of his generation—a person whose values, warmth and humanity left a lasting impression on those around him. His legacy is not merely about family ties; it is also about the human values that he represented.

Spending time with Jitesh therefore carries a deeper meaning for me. Family relationships are not only about blood—they are also about shared memories, affection, respect and the stories that connect one generation to another.

Looking at these photographs today, I feel grateful that we had the opportunity to spend those moments together.

Memories That Time Cannot Wash Away

Years pass quickly. People grow older, children become adults, circumstances change and journeys become memories. But photographs have a remarkable power: they allow us to return, even for a moment, to a particular time in our lives.

The 2019 Mumbai photographs remind me of rain-soaked afternoons, the sound of the Arabian Sea, the energy of Mumbai, family conversations and the happiness of simply being together.

After Goa, Mumbai became another beautiful chapter in that journey.

And perhaps that is what travel really gives us—not just destinations, but memories, relationships and stories that become part of our lives.

Today, when I look at these photographs, I don't simply see the Gateway of India or the Mumbai skyline.

I see family.

I see love.

I see togetherness.

I see a beautiful moment in time that we were fortunate enough to live.

Some journeys end when we return home.

But the best journeys continue forever in our memories.

#Mumbai #GatewayOfIndia #MumbaiMemories #FamilyJourney #2019Memories #FamilyLove #ShrutiNagvanshi #JiteshSingh #MahendraPratapSingh #TravelMemories #MonsoonInMumbai #ArabianSea #Togetherness #Family #MemoriesForALifetime

 

Goa 2019: Between Waves, Work and Family

A journey with Kabeer and Shruti

Story by Lenin Raghuvanshi

Some journeys remain with us not because everything went perfectly, but because they capture a particular moment in our lives.

My Goa journey in 2019 was my first trip to Goa with my son, Kabeer Karunik, and my life partner, Shruti Nagvanshi. Looking at these photographs today, I remember the sea, the monsoon sky, the boat rides, the green landscape and, above all, the feeling of being together as a family.

Goa had already entered my life once before. Shruti and I had travelled there earlier with some family members, but that journey did not become the peaceful family memory I had hoped for. There were tensions and circumstances that made it difficult to simply enjoy the place.

Then came 2019.

Kabeer was with us this time, and that changed the meaning of the journey.

A Goa under grey skies

The photographs from that trip are not the postcard version of Goa.

There is no bright summer sun. The sky is heavy with monsoon clouds. The sea is grey and restless, and the green landscape seems to disappear into the mist.

Yet I find these photographs beautiful.

Perhaps because they remind me that beauty does not always come with perfect weather.

On the boat, Kabeer and Shruti are together beside me. Behind us is the wide water, the green coastline and a bridge disappearing into the distance. There is something very ordinary about these photographs—and that is precisely what makes them precious.

For a person whose life has often been occupied by meetings, human rights work, travelling, crises and responsibilities, such ordinary family moments are rare.

Travelling with Kabeer

Kabeer has always had his own way of looking at the world.

Travelling with him allowed me to see Goa differently. I was not only looking at monuments, landscapes or the sea; I was watching my son experience them.

There is a particular photograph of Kabeer standing alone beside the water. He looks young, confident and thoughtful. The sea stretches behind him, while the monsoon clouds occupy almost the entire sky.

Whenever I see that photograph, I think about how quickly children grow.

A photograph freezes one afternoon, but life continues moving.

The boy in that picture would go on to travel, explore and build his own relationship with different places. Goa became one of those places that he would return to many times.

Goa beyond tourism

What I remember most about Goa is not simply the tourist image of beaches and nightlife.

It is the landscape where history, water, architecture, communities and everyday life exist together.

From the boat we could see old structures surrounded by dense greenery. The monsoon had transformed everything. The red earth, coconut trees, old walls and traditional houses seemed to belong to another rhythm of time.

One of the photographs shows an old, imposing structure standing above the water, surrounded by vegetation and traditional architecture. It reminded me that Goa carries layers of history that are easily missed when we visit only as tourists.

The sea was our moving window into that history.

A little music, a little laughter

Another set of photographs captures a cultural performance on the boat.

People are sitting around the small stage, watching the performers. Under the blue netted roof, the performers move across the floor while everyone watches.

It was simple entertainment, but these moments are often what remain after a journey.

Travel does not have to be made entirely of famous monuments.

Sometimes it is a song.

Sometimes it is laughter.

Sometimes it is watching a performer dance while your family sits beside you.

Sometimes it is simply knowing that, for a few hours, nobody is asking you to solve a problem.

The room between journeys

There is also a photograph from our room—a television, a sofa, bags, shoes and the ordinary disorder that comes with travelling.

I like this photograph because it is so unremarkable.

Travel albums often contain only beautiful landscapes. But a room tells another story.

It says: we were there. We arrived, we rested, we changed clothes, we watched television, we left our bags, and then we went out again.

These small details are the real texture of a journey.

Goa and the weight of work

The 2019 trip was not completely free from the pressures of my professional life.

At that time, PVCHR and my human rights work were deeply woven into my everyday existence. Even while travelling, responsibilities did not disappear.

There were some problems around the PVCHR office during that period, and they created tension during the trip.

That is also why these photographs mean something different to me today.

They remind me that life is never neatly divided into work and family, struggle and happiness. They overlap.

Sometimes we carry our worries to the sea.

And sometimes the sea gives us enough space to breathe.

Looking back from 2026

Since that first trip in 2019, Goa has become a familiar place in our family story.

Kabeer and I have travelled to Goa many times and explored different parts of it. Shruti and I also returned later. Our last visit together was in 2023, and that journey felt very different.

It was wonderful and relaxing.

We explored Goa on a scooty, moving around at our own pace. There was no need to turn every moment into an itinerary. We could stop, look around, eat, ride again and simply enjoy being together.

Perhaps that is what time does to a place.

The first time, we are visitors.

After returning several times, a place begins to feel familiar.

And sometimes, a place becomes part of our personal history.

And now, another journey is waiting

Life keeps moving, and so do the journeys.

When I look back at Goa 2019, I feel grateful for those moments with Kabeer and Shruti. I also remember the later journey with Shruti in 2023—the relaxed rides on the scooty, the freedom to explore and the simple happiness of travelling together.

But perhaps the most beautiful part of travelling is knowing that the story is not over.

A wonderful new trip with Shruti is waiting for us very soon.

I do not know yet what photographs we will bring back.

Perhaps there will be sunshine.

Perhaps there will be rain.

Perhaps we will discover a new road, sit quietly by the sea, ride a scooty without a fixed destination, or simply find a beautiful corner where we can pause together.

Whatever comes, I hope we carry less luggage from the past and more openness for the present.

Because after all these years, I have learned that the best journeys are not always about the destination.

They are about who is walking—or riding—beside you.

And I am looking forward to the next Goa chapter with Shruti.

The sea is waiting.

The road is waiting.

And a wonderful journey is waiting for us, very soon.

— Lenin Raghuvanshi

#GoaMemories #Goa2019 #FamilyJourney #KabeerKarunik #ShrutiNagvanshi #LifeJourney #FamilyLove #TravelMemories #MonsoonInGoa #GoaDiaries #BeautifulMemories #Togetherness #NewJourneys #GoaCalling #MemoriesForLife #LeninRaghuvanshi

Kabeer Karunik: A Blend of Education, Entrepreneurship, Sporting Excellence and Family Values

 Kabeer Karunik: A Blend of Education, Entrepreneurship, Sporting Excellence and Family Values

B.Com., MBA | Director, Sattva Wellbeing & Consultancy Pvt. Ltd. | National-Level Snooker Player | Entrepreneurial Family Background

💐  BIODATA  💐

KABEER KARUNIK

Date of Birth: 24 January 1998 Time of Birth: 4:25 PM Place of Birth: Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh Age: 28 Years Height: 5'7" Gotra: Kashyap Religion: Hindu Caste: Kshatriya

Educational Qualification

Graduation	B.Com.
Post-Graduation	MBA

Professional Details

Designation	Director
Organization	Sattva Wellbeing and Consultancy Pvt. Ltd.

Sports & Interests

Snooker: Plays snooker at the national level.

Business & Entrepreneurial Background

Janab Harihar Private Limited: Associated with super-stockist activities for Tata Consumer Products and Wah Masala.

Ambarnapali Associates: Associated with super-stockist activities for Vikram Tea.

Sattva: An emerging venture incubated at IIT Ropar.

Family Details

Father	Dr. Lenin Raghuvanshi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenin_Raghuvanshi
Mother	Shruti Nagvanshi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shruti_Nagvanshi
Family Residence	Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

 

Personal Profile

Kabeer combines management education, entrepreneurship, family-business experience and national-level sporting achievement, with an interest in building a positive and independent professional career.

Partner Preference

Looking for an educated, well-mannered, caring and family-oriented life partner with good values and a positive outlook towards life.

Contact Details

Mobile	9935599333, 9935599330
Address	SA 4/2A Daulatpur, Pandeypur, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh – 221002

 

Remembering a Journey of Courage and Solidarity

Some newspaper clippings become more than memories—they become a record of a movement.

I am deeply moved to see this old Times City report recalling the courageous struggle against child labour in the Bhadohi–Mirzapur carpet belt, and the work we undertook alongside Kailash Satyarthi and other colleagues.

The struggle was never only about rescuing children. It was about confronting systems of exploitation, standing with workers and communities, challenging bonded labour, and creating a future where every child can live with dignity, freedom and education.

The article recalls the rescue of 23 children and the risks faced during those operations. It also reminds us of the collective efforts of many activists and organisations who worked together against child labour and exploitation.

For me, these photographs and this newspaper clipping are a reminder that human rights work is built through courage, solidarity and persistent action.

The journey continues.

For every child. For dignity. For freedom. For justice.

— Lenin Raghuvanshi

#LeninRaghuvanshi #ChildRights #ChildLabour #BondedLabour #HumanRights #Bhadohi #Mirzapur #CarpetIndustry #ChildrensRights #Justice #Dignity #SocialJustice #HumanRightsDefenders #KailashSatyarthi

 

An Urgent Appeal for the Protection of Palestinian Children

By Dr. Lenin Raghuvanshi

Gwangju Human Rights Award Laureate, 2007

Founder-Convenor, People’s Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR)

As a human rights defender and laureate of the Gwangju Human Rights Award 2007, I appeal to the Government of India, civil society organisations, human rights defenders, child rights organisations, media, and all concerned citizens to urgently raise their voices for the protection of Palestinian children.

The Embassy of the State of Palestine in New Delhi has circulated a summary of the briefing presented by UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Hannan Sulieman to the United Nations Security Council on 11 August 2026, highlighting the rapidly deteriorating situation of Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

According to the UNICEF briefing, between January 2024 and the end of July 2026, the United Nations verified that 174 Palestinian children were killed and more than 1,500 were injured in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. The briefing also documented grave violations, psychological trauma, barriers to education, restrictions on healthcare and water, and the detention of Palestinian children.

The situation demands our moral and humanitarian attention. Children must never become victims of political conflict, occupation, violence or displacement. Every child—regardless of nationality, religion, ethnicity or political circumstance—has an equal right to life, safety, education, healthcare, family, dignity and a future free from fear.

The UNICEF briefing reports that more than 800,000 Palestinian children face barriers to safe and continuous education, while violence, raids, intimidation and displacement are having a profound psychological impact on children and their families.

It also reports that at least 355 Palestinian children from the West Bank are currently held in Israeli military detention, including children subjected to reported violence, degrading treatment and other forms of ill-treatment.

These are not merely statistics. Behind every number is a child, a family and a future.

I therefore appeal for:

• Immediate and effective protection of Palestinian children from killing, injury, violence and abuse.
• Full respect for international humanitarian law and international human rights law.
• An end to the administrative detention of children and protection of children from ill-treatment.
• Protection of children's access to education, healthcare, water, food and other essential services.
• An end to forced displacement of Palestinian children and families.
• Safe and unhindered humanitarian access to affected communities.
• Accountability and independent investigation of grave violations against children.
• Stronger international diplomatic action to create the political conditions necessary for children to live safely and with dignity.

The Embassy of the State of Palestine has specifically called upon human rights and child rights organisations in India to give urgent attention to the documented violations, raise their voices in defence of Palestinian children, and support UNICEF's calls for their protection, an end to forced displacement and administrative detention, and accountability for grave violations.

As someone who has spent decades working with survivors of torture, violence and human rights violations, I believe that silence in the face of grave violations against children cannot be an acceptable response.

Our commitment to human rights must be universal. The dignity of a Palestinian child is no less valuable than the dignity of an Indian child, an Israeli child, or any other child anywhere in the world.

Children need peace, not war.

Children need protection, not detention.

Children need schools, not destruction.

Children need dignity, not displacement.

Children need a future.

I urge the international community, the Government of India, Indian civil society and fellow human rights defenders to stand firmly for the rights, dignity, safety and future of Palestinian children, and to support all genuine efforts aimed at ending violence, ensuring accountability and creating conditions for a just and lasting peace.

Human rights cannot have borders.

The protection of children must be universal.

Lenin Raghuvanshi

Gwangju Human Rights Award Laureate, 2007

Founder-Convenor

People’s Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR)

Varanasi, India

Compassion Must Resist Injustice: The Philosophy of Lenin Raghuvanshi

 “Compassion without resistance to injustice becomes surrender; resistance without compassion becomes hatred.”

These words capture a powerful philosophy at the heart of social transformation: justice requires both courage and compassion.

For Lenin Raghuvanshi, compassion is not passive sympathy. It is a commitment to stand beside people whose dignity has been denied, while resistance is not an invitation to hatred or revenge. It is the moral courage to challenge injustice without losing our humanity.

Compassion Without Resistance Becomes Surrender

Compassion allows us to recognize another person's pain. But compassion alone cannot dismantle the structures that create that pain.

When discrimination, violence, exclusion or exploitation is accepted in the name of peace, silence can become a form of surrender. True compassion therefore asks us not only to care, but also to act.

Resistance to injustice means refusing to normalize suffering. It means questioning systems and practices that deny equality and dignity, particularly when marginalized communities are unable to speak with power.

Resistance Without Compassion Becomes Hatred

Yet resistance has its own danger.

When the struggle for justice loses compassion, it can become driven by anger, revenge and hatred. Such resistance may replace one form of domination with another.

For Lenin Raghuvanshi, the challenge is therefore to hold two principles together:

Compassion gives resistance its humanity.

Resistance gives compassion its courage.

The goal is not to defeat people, but to transform injustice.

From Suffering to Dignity

The philosophy reflected in this message is rooted in the belief that every human being deserves dignity, equality and justice.

Over more than three decades of engagement with marginalized communities across India, Lenin Raghuvanshi has advocated a model of social transformation that connects grassroots action with compassion, accountability and resistance to injustice.

His work through the People’s Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR) and Jan Mitra Nyas reflects the idea that social justice must begin with listening to people, recognizing their lived experiences and creating space for them to claim their own dignity.

Justice Needs Both Heart and Courage

Our societies often face two extremes.

One is indifference—seeing suffering but refusing to act.

The other is hatred—fighting injustice by dehumanizing those on the other side.

Neither creates lasting justice.

The path forward lies between them: compassionate resistance.

It asks us to be courageous enough to challenge injustice and compassionate enough to protect the humanity of everyone involved.

A simple principle for our times

Do not let compassion become silence.

Do not let resistance become hatred.

Let compassion give strength to resistance, and let resistance protect human dignity.

This is more than a quotation. It is a call to build a society where human dignity, justice, compassion and equality reinforce one another.

— Lenin Raghuvanshi

Founder-Convenor, PVCHR | Senior Advisor, Jan Mitra Nyas

Lenin Raghuvanshi at Stated

 https://app.stated.in/principles/dr-lenin-raghuvanshi

Dr. Lenin Raghuvanshi

Founder, People's Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR)

Author, Kashi: The Heartbeat of India's Civilizational Ethos(opens in new window) and Dalits in Independent India

“On what he stands for — five principles stated publicly, in his own words.”

Format

Leadership Principles

Read time

7 minutes

Principles

5 stated

Published

July 2026

Human Rights ActivistFounder, PVCHRAuthorDalit RightsCivil Society Leader

Read the principles

About this feature

“We asked Dr. Lenin Raghuvanshi five questions. He gave us something better — five principles he lives by.”

Instead of a conventional interview, Dr. Lenin Raghuvanshi responded with the principles that have guided a lifetime of human rights work — from confronting caste discrimination and bonded labour in eastern Uttar Pradesh, to founding the People's Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR), to writing about Kashi as a shared civilizational space.

What follows is not a Q&A. It is a record of what he stands for, stated publicly, in his own words. This is how Stated Principles works: the person states their beliefs. We make them visible. You decide what to carry forward.

Five principles · Stated by Dr. Lenin Raghuvanshi

What he stands for — in his own words.

01 of 05

Human Dignity Before Identity

The principle that has guided my life is simple: every human being deserves dignity before any social, religious, caste, gender, or political identity. A society is not judged by how it treats the powerful, but by how it treats those whose voices are least heard.

Working with survivors of caste discrimination, bonded labour, torture, violence against women, and marginalized communities has taught me that lasting change does not begin with laws alone. It begins when we choose to listen with empathy, challenge injustice without hatred, and create spaces where people can reclaim their voice and agency. Social transformation is not about defeating opponents; it is about transforming relationships built on fear into relationships built on trust and justice.

I have also learned that democracy is more than elections and institutions. It is a daily practice of respecting diversity, protecting dissent, and ensuring that every person feels they belong. Whether I write about Kashi as a shared civilizational space or advocate for Dalit rights and human dignity, the underlying principle remains the same: our shared humanity is greater than the identities that divide us.

In an increasingly polarized world, I believe courage lies not in speaking louder than others, but in listening more deeply, building bridges across differences, and standing with those who have been pushed to the margins. Human dignity is not a reward to be earned; it is a birthright that must be protected for everyone.

When dignity becomes the foundation of our decisions, justice is no longer an aspiration — it becomes a way of life.

— Dr. Lenin Raghuvanshi, stated directly

What this means

Dr. Raghuvanshi is drawing a line before every other line: identity — caste, religion, gender, politics — comes after dignity, never before it. He measures a society not by how it treats power, but by how it treats the people with the least of it.

Why it matters

Decades of working with survivors of caste discrimination and torture led him to a conclusion that shapes every part of his work: laws alone don't create lasting change. Change begins in the daily, unglamorous practice of listening, and in treating democracy as something rebuilt every day — not something that ends at the ballot box.

Reflect on this

Where in your own decisions does identity quietly get weighed before dignity? What would change if dignity came first, every time?

Create a Commitment inspired by this

02 of 05

Dignity Has to Be Named Before It Can Be Restored

The principle emerged from my early work with bonded labourers, Dalit communities, and survivors of torture in eastern Uttar Pradesh. As a young activist, I realized that poverty alone could not explain why some communities remained trapped in generations of exclusion. Caste, discrimination, and the denial of dignity were at the heart of the problem.

One experience has remained with me throughout my life. I met families who had accepted humiliation as their destiny because no one had ever told them that they had rights. Their greatest suffering was not only exploitation but the feeling that their lives had no value. That changed my understanding of justice forever.

I learned that before people need legal remedies, they need someone who listens without prejudice and recognizes their humanity. This conviction inspired the founding of the People's Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR), where we placed dignity, active listening, and non-violent dialogue at the centre of our work. Since then, every decision I make begins with one question: Does this restore human dignity?

— Dr. Lenin Raghuvanshi, stated directly

What this means

The defining moment wasn't a single event but a realization: entire families had accepted humiliation as destiny simply because no one had ever told them they had rights. The deepest injury was not the exploitation itself, but the feeling that their lives had no value.

Why it matters

This is why PVCHR was built around listening and non-violent dialogue before legal remedy, not instead of it. A right you don't know you have cannot be claimed. Recognition has to come first.

Reflect on this

Who in your own circle has stopped asking for something because they've quietly stopped believing they deserve it? What would it take for you to notice, be