The Indian Motorcycle Diaries

Journeys, Like artists, are born not made. A thousand differing circumstances contribute to them, few of them willed or determined by will- whatever we many think.
The flower spontaneously out of the demands of our natures and the best of them lead us not only outward in space, but inward as well. Travel can be one of the most rewarding forms of introspection.
It all started with my architectural career. Whilst doing my undergraduate degree in college, i had the chance to do a dissertation on the villages of Chorla and Surla. In the midst of the Western Ghats, on the edge of nothing i found myself, relieving myself from the pain of breakup. Both of these villages have played an important part in my life.
There was a point in my life i was totally dependent on other people for my happiness. Once i was sitting with my friends and discussing  regular stuff, where i realized many have gone through a similar phase which starts with school, college, breakup, a 9-5 job, having two kids and then finally waiting for death. This is the ideal idea of life envisioned by an average guy. There is nothing wrong in living the text book life, but I soon came to realize i was not meant for the same.
Many people travel and plan  a vacation only because they hate their job or hate their boss to break free indefinitely and return to the same mundane life. They plan a trip abroad or any hill station where an unknown tour guide becomes their boss who decides their sleeping timing, lunch timing, places to see etc. What’s the point in all of this?
I am of the opinion that India is the best country for solo travel. There is celebration at every nook and corner, whether it’s a religious or political celebration, people are on the streets celebrating. India is the only country where one would feel God almost everywhere, in every form, be it a stone, a tree, a cow, a person possessed by spirits, the small shrine in the middle of cross roads or even an auto-rickshaw mirror.
We started our journey on 12th May and covered places like, Shirdi, satara, Ujjain, Pushkar, Ajmer, Chittorgarh, Jaipur, Bhangarh, Delhi, Ludhiana, Patnitop, Srinagar, Leh, Ladakh, Sarchu, Manali, Chandigarh, Mathura, Lucknow, khajuraho, Nagpur, Hyderabad, Gandikota, tirupati, Chennai, mahaballipuram, Pondicherry, Tarangambadi, Picchavaram, Rameshwaram, Dhanushkodi, kanyakumari, Trivendrum, Thalassary, Kochi, Manglore and back to home Goa.
Me and Samir we both are friends since Kindergarten so we were planning for this trip from our college days but due to lack of finance it was postponed. So we both decided that we will work for two years and achieve this dream, meanwhile we came across a book titled “the Motorcycle Diaries” by Che Guevera and that book acted as an inspiration for both of us.
Durimg our journey across India we came across many people, we stayed in Jungles, slept on roadsides and footpaths, took shelters on Petrol pumps, Dhabas and tea stalls. Met people who offered their own food to us and themselves slept hungry. We survived 47 degrees in Chittorgarh to -7degrees in Sarchu. I learnt many things, it has completely changed my perspective towards life. I’ll be posting the pics of my travel on my instagram account “bullet.beard.biryani”. Its called Incredible India for a reason.. Dekhoge to Janoge