VARANASI, Aug. 10 -- With a Kanwar balanced on his shoulder and dressed in a saffron T-shirt and shorts, 19-year-old BCA student Bhagwant Upadhyay walks with purpose. He is one of a group of 50 Gen Z Kanwariyas currently making their way from Varanasi to a Lord Shiva temple in Jaunpur. Between the long stretches of their journey, these young minds fond time to contemplate their future goals and the strength of their faith.

Bhagwant is accompanied by Divyanshu Vishwakarma, an eighth-grade student; Lucky Upadhyay, a ninth-grade student; and Sunny Chauhan, a factory worker from Ahmedabad, Gujarat. All hailing from Jaunpur district and aged between 16 and 25, these young pilgrims are driven as much by their career ambitions as they are by th...