Sherry had written this nice coverage of the Motorcycle Travelers Meet. I’ve republished it here with her permission and a few photos that I have taken at the event.
Over to Sherry now, read on.
Uff!!! T’is hard enough trying to get back into work mode after a regular weekend. After spending three amazing days at one of the most inspiring events I’ve been to in a long time, well…it’s a drag (as in I REALLY had to drag myself back to work) to say the least! Actually, to say the “Motorcycle Travellers Meet” was inspiring is to put it way too mildly, but I use the word for want of a better one. Though, hang on, why AM I trying to find one word to describe this event when one word can’t possibly do it justice, and nor is there a need to stick to just one word? I guess my SMS-addicted brain can’t help but try and squeeze everything into one lil’ message. Hmmm… and then again, my saga-addicted brain may try to stretch this out more than required. Sigh… rather than allowing all my addictions to distract me from my goal, I REALLY should try to stay on track (note: this is good advice for bikers and other moving objects).
OKAY… so shifting down to first gear and gently easing forward, I’ll try describing MTM in more than one word, with as few distractions as possible.
Now, I have it from reliable sources, that “Team MTM” wanted us to come away itching to hit the road, and boy, did they do a good job of ensuring that happened! But first, a confession: much as I was looking forward to the meet, my A.D.D. addled brain wasn’t sure it’d survive three days of listening to talks. It turns out my fears were unfounded. The very well-chosen speakers made sure that, in spite of us stuffing our faces until we were almost comatose (the food was too delicious to stop at one helping), we HAD to stay awake. In fact, rather than wishing the talks were shorter, I actually groaned when I saw Nakul raising the “you-have-only-so-much-time-left” cards. To the nineteen inspirational talks, add one perfect setting (at Camp Shrishti), a hundred like-minded co-participants and a big dollop of the aforementioned delicious food, and well….Team MTM sure has a good formula going! Their impeccable organising ensured that about 120 happy faces left camp Shrishti on Sunday evening. Okay, so maybe not ALL the faces were happy to leave (in fact some of us didn’t!), but they were DEFINITELY happy to have been there.
So, who are these beings from another planet who inspired and entertained us last weekend? Here’s a brief line up:
Kick-starting our day was Santosh Kumar, the man behind the Meet – an entrepreneur, organiser and most of all most of all, a die-hard traveller with a vision that makes some of us feel SO short-sighted. One could wax lyrical about his achievements, but being a doer more than a talker, he would probably appreciate emulation more than praise (and to emulate him, we try!). So, suffice to say that some people dream of success – others wake up and make it happen!
Setting the ball rolling, was Kedarnath (he, of the perpetual twinkle in the eye), whose amusing anecdotes and funny insights from his Europe tour set the stage (and mood) for the rest of the event. Packing his bags (and almost losing his job) after last year’s event, he set out on his Thunderbird with the aim to widen his horizons – and in the bargain his eyes widened quite a bit too. Along the way, he met many people who warmed his heart AND a glass or two (or three) of vodka that warmed his body!
Next on, was Major General R.K. Jain, the awe-inspiring octogenarian who proves true the saying that, “A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams”. Not content with riding from India to England (on a Kinetic Honda, no less) after he retired, ten years later, at the age of 70 he decided to ride from India to Australia. Now, at the age of 80, with enough energy and enthusiasm to put a teenager to shame, he shows no signs of letting up on dreaming. In fact, many of us are convinced that we‘ll soon hear of him riding to Siberia or some equally remote location. I can only hope that sometime in this lifetime, I’ll be able to achieve half as much as he has and still have the energy to dream of more!
If you have any doubts that innovation and perseverance can take you places, Sundeep Gajjar, the “Motographer” will show you otherwise. After launching an online motorcycle portal, he went on to ride across many countries documenting his travels in the form of photographs and videos. And as a reward, he gets to ride some pretty amazing bikes in many a beautiful location.
Now, on the face of it, one would think Dan Popescu travelled alone, but once he got talking, we soon discovered that he had a worthy companion – his sense of humour (which is as huge as a Siberian bear)! Add to that his talking GPS, and “loneliness” is one of the many obstacles he overcame on the “Road of bones”. If the name of the route and the thought of the temperatures he rode through don’t make you shiver, some of his near-miss stories will. But, more than shivering, he had us quivering – with laughter!
Some couples “settle down” after marriage, and some…well…some don’t! No prizes for guessing which group Abhijith Rao and Kavitha Poovaiah fall under. Over the years, from small rides out of town, they’ve expanded their horizons and have set out for many a long ride to explore our beautiful country. Not letting small setbacks (like a winter jacket in the heat of an Indian summer) stop them, they’ve traversed many a convoluted mile to experience the joy that travelling in India brings (heat, dust and crazy traffic included!).
Then we met a couple who have been there and done the “settling down” bit and then decided to “un-settle” their lives. Leaving their jobs and their sons, Petra and Anders sold their “trappings” and decided to ride around the world on their BMWs. Luckily for us, their travels brought them to India at just the right time, so while they feasted on our tasty South Indian fare, we feasted our eyes on their “yummy” bikes, and our ears on their funny stories.
By now, we had got used to being entertained, and Johan Senekal didn’t let us down. Inspired by the documentary “Long way round”, this South African from the Gulf soon proceeded to inspire us. And in the bargain, he tickled our funny bones too! But his good deeds for the day were not done – along with Jay he taught us a thing or two (and also what NOT to do) about changing a tyre and how to take said tyre (with bike attached, of course) over tricky, muddy surfaces.
Neuroscientists are not normally associated with motorbikes, but then Mauktik Kulkarni, is not a “normal” neuroscientist (if such a persona exists). So, off he went, to South America to chase the “Ghost of Che” on a motorbike. Methinks he misunderstood the “study of motor skills”, but hey, I could be wrong. One thing is for sure though, this engineer/neuroscientist suffers from wanderlust – and boy, does he have it bad! Or, perhaps it’s more apt to say – does he have it good!
Close on the heels of the other couples-on-wheels came Anupriya and Sudeep. This young couple, who were studying in the UK decided to cement their relationship in an unlikely way. While most couples are content exchanging simple engagement rings, Sudeep instead gave Anupriya a ring in the shape of the route they travelled – around Europe. From what I gathered, more off-beat jewellery is in the making!
“Who stole my India”, is a question you may or may not ask. Well, for reasons he explains quite well, Amit Reddy did ponder upon this for long. So, in search of the answer and more importantly, to escape from the conundrum of what being an Indian is, he set out to ride around India on his trusty steed, Kaya. The excerpts he read from his book were funny, insightful and oh-so-relevant to most of us.
Aside from all the interesting talks, we were treated to some cool hands-on stuff by Jay Kannaiyan (who spent three years and three months riding around the world). And when I say hands-on, I mean it – have you ever tried changing a tyre or riding on a bumpy field with your hands off?! Both the workshops that he conducted with Johan were so interesting and informative that it had some of us asking for more. As I told him, in him I see the makings of a Motorcycle-Guru and I’m sure he’ll soon have a long queue of followers saying “Masta, show me the way”!
When designer, Arvind Prabhakar opted to ride out (literally and metaphorically) of the rat-race he decided to go a step further and become a rider-reporter. An avid biker, traveller, storyteller and a gadget guru to boot, he soon got himself a “GoPro”and set out to master the art of documenting his travels. Apart from sharing his experiences, he’s also keen to share his expertise. And so, he took us through an intensive workshop on how to use the GoPro and in the process has probably unleashed a horde of rider-reporters – ‘YouTube’ be warned!
On the other end of the spectrum (of gadgets and fancy new technology) we had Gokulram Vasanthi, an unassuming but VERY inspiring gentleman, who decided to traverse a road well travelled on a motorcycle not so well travelled – the Bajaj M80! Even on the best of bikes, the K2K (Kanyakumari to Kashmir) is an arduous journey. How this man rode more than 10,000 kilometers on an M80 is something I’m still trying to digest. He may not have been fast and furious, but he definitely proved that it’s not the ride, it’s the rider!
For all you women (and men) out there who think marriage and children curb the wandering spirit, Sangeetha Jairam, the “Motorcycle Mama” will make you think again! After her first international ride (across Bhutan) in 2007, she has since ridden across many countries in Asia (some of which I can neither place on the map, nor spell NOR pronounce!) and is now moving on to other continents. When I think of her (as I often do – with a whole lot of admiration tinged with a fair amount of envy!), one of Marvin Gaye’s songs come to mind…” cause baby, there ain’t no mountain high enough, ain’t no valley low enough, ain’t no river wide enough”…to keep her from getting her kicks!
To end the sessions, we had another gutsy woman, Chithra Priya, who in a world dominated by men, has proved that gender is NOT a criteria for winning. After many a podium finish, she decided to leave the comfort zone (yeah, right!) of the race track and set out to push her limits. And, believe me you, 1600 kilometers in 24 hours is REALLY pushing it! As a woman biker, who has felt fears and inhibitions that only another woman can understand, all I can say to this amazing woman is…You go, girl!
NEED PICTURE
I could go on and on (and on than some more) about all the big and little things that made this an incredible experience, but as a friend often tells me (hmmm, I wonder why?!), there’s a certain sanctity in knowing when to stop! So, I’ll end with a summary of what the event did for me. It made me smile, made me laugh out loud, brought tears to my eyes, made me sigh in admiration (with more than a touch of envy) and most of all, once again made me believe (with all apologies to Shakespeare) “Why, then the world’s mine oyster, Which I with motorcycle will open”.
THANK YOU, “TEAM MTM” – you guys rock!! 🙂
#MTMIndia