Welcoming 2010!

Goodbye Noughties. We’ll miss you. So 2010 is here. And I’m still left behind. I’ll be turning 24 in less than 5 months and I’ve still got no idea where the heck I’m heading. A year has ended but still nothing seems to change. Even today, I have no graduation degree, no valid academics except a token diploma in Electronics & Telecom which I loathe and I’m still neck-deep in my world cinema, music, knowledge, trivia, Twitter, Facebook and devil-knows-what-not!

And yes, my fingers. They are still dancing for me like they did last year too. Dance with the same spirit that Basanti did for Viru in Sholay. This may sound a bit strange but it’s true. My fingers. I do have a job. A transcriber’s job. A job enough for my needs. Had it not been for my fingers I wouldn’t have made it here, to this point where I’m blogging, posting and tweeting as per my wish. That’s what is helping me keep my head above my shoulder and avoid facepalms! But the dark side is its toll on my body. I’m a perpetual time criminal now. That means I hardly concur anything on time. I don’t even wear a watch for that sake!

I’m currently working as a business transcriber in one of the coolest company you’ll ever come across. Cool in the sense it hardly has any formality rules that plague most of the other companies. It doesn’t restrict people from wearing clothes or shoes of their choice nor bother with the kind of hairdos we prefer. I love it but am not sure for how long I’ll be loving it!!

So I want something new with this year like I often do in the month of January that eventually fades away with no remorse, as the year-train picks up speed. So that brings me to my first concern-- my career. I never wanted a career in the first place. I wished to live my life like a nomad and end it like a gypsy, full of color. That was what I dreamt of. I wanted to travel and I’m traveling too. The only problem is I’m not traveling enough. That’s a dream and like all dreams, my reality too has to stop by to stare at me sometimes.

It’s impossible to define time and how fast it runs on basis of the kind of life we live. Time is just a parameter to set things uniform in this fast skipping world. What matters is what you have done with the time available. Well, I don’t know of others, but for me, time hasn’t really existed. We exist, time doesn’t. That’s what I’ve believed and I hope to keep it the same this year too. I don’t need to mould myself to the concerns and securities of the society I live in where the crooked mental prison is build and then advertised so that you feel safe. I won’t give in to any such nonsense. At least I’ll try this year too.

Motorycycle Memories...

I was supposed to update this blog as soon as we returned back home from our BIKE TRIP down South with our legs on either side of the wheels but laziness has its way with my mind.

Okay, at last, I’m here. It was a truly phenomenal journey and it was for three of us (including my colleagues, Tushar and Lawrence). We set out on this 4000 km road trip on 1st of December and returned home on evening of 15th December. Needless to say, hardly anyone from my family was approving of this endeavor and most wanted me to stay back and don’t even think of it. But thankfully, my Amma was in Manipal at that time so it was pretty easy convincing my dad!

Well, talking of this trip, statistics don’t count. 4000 km or 15 days on road or 5 states we touched, hardly matters. What matters is that we made 2009 memorable. We decided to do something and we did it. It was Tushar who masterminded everything from the roadmap we’ll be following to the halts we’ll be taking. We had just two bikes, as I don’t own a bike so I was pillion-seated most of the time with the camera and handycam in tow.

We crossed Maharashtra and stepped over to Karnataka through Solapur and then circled Karnataka around Bijapur, Badami, Hospet, Hampi and sticking in via Shimoga, Jog Falls and then stretching downwards toward Mangalore and Manipal. After this, we decided to sneak into Kerala and we vroomed till Kasargod, visiting two completely empty and beautiful beaches on the coast. After returning back to Manipal, we were to draw into Tamil Nadu so decided to catch NH-48 and reached Mysore, touching Hassan and Shravanabelagola (Gomateshwara) on the way.

After Mysore, it was upward climb of Chamundi Hills and Nilgiri Hills!! We then crossed the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border through Bandipura Forest (former lair of Veerappan!!)and reached Ooty and I have to admit it was a lame trip since the climate was too chilly for us and the ambiance was for hunky-dorky honeymoon couples, not for sunburned bike-runners. So we came back to our base, Manipal, suffering bad roads, rowdy truck drivers and reckless bus drivers.

Now the real road was waiting for us. NH-17. The road which I first saw in that movie, Dil Chahta Hai and fell in love with it. Its one of the finest roads in all of India and best suited for bikes. We invaded Goa and frolicked naked feet on beaches where foreigners seem so homely compared to our novelty. After Goa, it was ride home and we left Panjim City early morning and took the northward direction towards Panvel and rushed home safely with no casualty.

We took lots and lots of pics and videos too. It amounts to more than 17 GB on digital scale. But frankly speaking the moments we had on road were the real gems, the real souvenirs. There were kids waving hands to us from road side, farmers herding their cattles, womenfolk carrying water pots on their head, birds of different color and cry, hills and landforms unimaginable, good road, not that good road and bad road, bridges over rivers, endless trails of human faith, heaps of filth and garbage, surprised looks on youth thanks to our cruisers!

There was hardly any mis-happenstance. Everything was so cool and so fine in detail that it felt like a movie. This was the longest in recent times I guess when I was sans any Internet facility. No newspaper. By the way we were surprised to know that Telangana issue was burning while we were happy burning petrol.

All and all, I can say it was a job well done. The only crease was Lawry losing his cellphone and Tush, his glares! Other than that, I guess it was smooth. Oh, I almost forgot to say, I lost my nose out there on the road. Its still a bit burnt. But I am happy 2009 is leaving me on a happy note and I hope that 2010 brings with it more road trips, more traveling and less stagnancy for India is too huge a country to cover in one lifetime.

South Indian Motorcyle Trip...

I’ve been talking of traveling since I came to know that there was a world out there. So at last, I’m going to do that. Travel. And see for myself what exactly is on the road and beyond.

Like Prophet Mohammad said, “Don’t tell me how much you studied. Just tell me how much you traveled.” Well, I can’t actually tell any one how much studied because I don’t even have a degree to boast so I better stick to the traveling plan to avoid shame!

According to our plan, we will be leaving on bike early morning tomorrow (Tuesday, 1st December, 2009) from Sanpada, Navi-Mumbai and will endeavor to cover at least 3000 km on road straight towards Kerala’s northern district of Kasargod. This road trip will last for more than a fortnight and will definitely kill our backs. Hopefully, I won’t be riding the bike because my partners, Tushar and Lawry, won’t trust me with their bike thanks to my unreliable riding skills. So I guess I’ll be switching pillion-seats which I wish it to be an easier job!!!

Our plan is simple; we will stick to NH-9 and try to reach Solapur on our first day out. Then stay the night there and head towards Bagalkot and then towards Hampi, followed by Shimoga and Udupi and then towards the kissing edge of Karnataka and Kerala. We won’t enjoy Goa on our way down but will sneak in while coming back.

Tushar is the mastermind behind this trip and Lawry is the supporting “lever” behind the total plan and I’m definitely sitting “behind” these two geniuses! By the way, my Ma who is currently in Mangalore, is worried that we are starting the damn journey on Tuesday and she wants us to postpone the event but superstition hardly matters to us so sorry Amma!

I’m getting a lot of advice from people I meet be it real or internet-induced and all are saying, “It’s going to be tough!” It won’t be an easy job but I guess its time we took this decision because we all are bored of our monotony and need a punch or a kick or a crash or a screech to pinch us alive!

I’m allergic to sunlight like that Vampire from Twilight (Hahaha) so I guess I’ll be having a real rough time under sun. But after spending the last two years of my life working in a graveyard shift, it will be all worth it! And I sincerely hope my stupidity don’t kill me or anyone as its not their fault that they are my friends!!!