its about a write up on the journey from pune to hyderabad and the various responses i got...
Tuesday, October 15, 2002
home MAIN AKELA HI CHALA THA..........
LOG MILTE GAYE, KAFILA BANTA GAYAA................ ***************************************************************************
i wrote a "write up" on a journey i took.. go to the bottom of this page for it
and i mailed it to my freinds and acquaintances................................
the responses i got were so touching and encouraging that i decided to put them on the net,,,,,
just to show.. that small deeds go a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooNG way.........................
i have posted these e-mails in random, as i went on opening them in the mail box...
they r all dear to me
because they for a long time...... will help me keep on going ....................
i am sure there will be many additions to these...
My friend insisted that I shud have a photo on my site.So this is me and my bike
Dear Darasbir,
I went through the article that you have written below. I think it is
pretty cool.
A lot of life's lessons can and are learnt on the road. It is
here that you cannot survive on being a "manager" but you have to be both ,
a manager and a doer !
I liked what you had written so much that I shared it
with my wife too!
As a return gift I am attaching something that I think you would like.
Warmest and look forward to hearing from you,
AP(anil pillai, our marketing prof. amazing personality..) ******************************************
Hi Daras,
Read your description on the long and ardous journey from Pune to Hyd. Hats off first on thinking of this trip and executing it. Amazing.
Keep your spirits up ever like this.
Cheers
Rama ( the academician,the strategist,my senior in SIIB) ***************************************************
Dear DB,
congrajulations!!!
Too proud of you!!!
May all your ventures end with such sweet success!!!
Love,
niru (dear dear freind) ****************************************************
paaji...now..now. u paid heed to the advice we gave u in college.
"to do" has now been simplified for u and all the credit to u only
well, i must admit that i have never read a mail so thoughtfully penned and well crafted which DB wrote about his journey to HYD.
paaji tussi great ho....and well yes yaara da ta shan !!!!!
i should confess that mails on the alumni sift e group are more of a pain to me and burden on my mail box, but we can all make our own sift2002 e group a place where we can share such experiences . we can all share our love , joy , sorrows....and every small thing which could matter to our friends.
well DB has just shown us the way. i guess this is the best way for us to stay in touch and catch up on each others lives.
regards
sumit mundra(McKinsey KC,delhi..mundro ....)
***************************************************************
Dear Darasbir,
The mobike journey you described was most interesting and made very plesant and happy reading .
Very rightly it brings out very useful lessons in life.
I can imagine the determination on your face while you rode your bike.
Dr. BsKs Chopra (Ex-Director SIIB,taught me to be always Reliable)
hey dear.. thats great.... i thought i m riding the bike.. ur mail is really thrilling and worth reading , many times... CONGRATS FOR UR LOVELY LEARNING JOUNERNY...
bharat thakkaer(fellow vysian)
****************************** wow db grand travellogue!!!!!!
amit patkar(I-Flex,my batch mate ,,gr8 intellectual.....)
*********************************
Dearest Paaji, Hey PAAJI TUSSI SERIOUSLY GR8 HO! i normally never read mails in off hours, but today since i had some time i opened my mail and started reading your experience, and let me tell u paaji i kept reading it sooo carefully and got glued on to it as every single word in the experience was worth reading as Sumit very rightly said every single word was very well thought of and there was this innocent child like syndrome in u which helped u express ur self like a small child who is just learning how to walk and struggling to stand and balance each n every step of his in this bad world hey there are many simmilies that you can draw from your experience ..................... well i will take ur leave at this and would look forward to such similar experiences, well i have one of my own to share but will let u know sometime later. take care n keep in touch luv n luc rujuta jagtap(ppl call her chirpy,my batchmate) ****************************************** i read ur journey story today. amazing it was.
paaji tusi top ho india di hope ho....
Catch ya later.
sanjeev(who has a mention in my mail,my batchmate..jharkhandi..!!! computer buff..) **********************************
hi daras, great to hear about the sexy journey you undertook to hyd. well ill just say that such kind of luck shines only on a few lucky ones who get such a chance. and truthfully id like to tell u that i never thought that u still had daring genes left in you cos i thought that u had mellowed down in life and the killer instincts in u were dead.but u just proved me wrong .
another thing i wanted you to tell is that u pen down your thoughts real well and to tell u the truth you r in the wrong profession u should have been a writer but then u can become a writer at any point in life. here is hoping that that u achieve success in whatever u undertake bye for now prashant sood( a fellow panju in SIIB) ******************************************************************************************* Darasbir, I have put up your story on my webpage and got 24 hits in 12 hours, cool runnings.
Auf Wiedersehen My Friend (who wanted to take off his name from this page) **************************** praaji tusi top ho, india di hope ho. honestly speaking even i have that dream of one day packing my bags and to leave home, just like a wanderer. unfortunately i dont havethe steely determination as you nor do i have an enfield. looking at my size, i think yamaha is ok. i love meeting new people and its a long time cherished dream that i would like to see come true, now that i have read about your experience and your very important learnings, i might do something of this type, some day.
keep mailing love aapka apna nanha sa munna sa chhota sa khare,
RAHUl khare(my batch mate, with whom i have done several bike races.)
*************************************************
hi there,
this is amazing & yes shows the amount of grit & determination you are built up of. And yes in terms of learnings .......jokes apart, u come to learn a lot of things, that cannot be expressed, i have also travelled most of the country, by the road. the people, the chai wallahs, the sense of achievment.....etc.....can only come close to it.(the feeling).
debashis mukherji(my junior in SIIB and a fellow adventurer..)
Great writing. I enjoyed it thoroughly. I am sure u can become a good writer. The messge was good. Life is an arduous journey so is every chapter in it which we must take mile by mile only. we tend to worry too much about things we have no control over. if only we took up things as they comwe with adequate preparations. Keep it up. I love reading books. Your style is good.
Pradeep K Das VP (Product Devt & Financial Services) Vysya Bank
************************************* hi daras BEER singh,,(rider on the storm)
congratulations on yr achievement,,must have been exciting,, what next a hydrbd to punjab.. also amazed at yr addiction to tea & parle gs.
but seriously it was a great thing only next time u carry a pillion rider,, thats always helpful.. keep riding
kaushik 2001
************************************************ one lesson i got from your mail was go on what ever comes and yu will achieve what yu want if yu are strong enough....well well right now i thought of this it can be dealt as a case study where inspite of all odds yu carried on and achieved what yu set out to achieve even though yu had problems coming your way but yu were strong enough to go on ....job well done hope yu go the same way in your professional as well as personal life....long way to excellence. bye and take care
nitin srivastava(my junior in SIIB.. gr8 humour)
************************************************************** My dear Darasbir, Sorry for this delayed response toyour mail. Infact I was not able to determine the type of response I should have.
On the one hand I felt nice about your adventure of traveling on your bike theentire distance between Pune and Hydrabad in a day.
On the other hand I was apprehensive of encouraging such ventures in future. I am not sure even now. All I would say is this that ventures like this should never be undertaken without proper training and stamina testing.
Be good at your work, prove yourself. Opportunities will follow.I am sure that in future you will have a job providing both money and challenges. Keep in touch. With warm regards,
S V Godbole.(my AMR(Applied Market Reseach) prof. in SIIB,learnt alot from him)
great going....u truly said..at the beginning of any journey..u r tested...and it is only the determined who can complete it...
reading this truly inspired me...especially at a time when our placements r nearing and we r all worried about what will happen...
have forwarded this mail to our yahoo group..
Aditi Waknis(SIIB,head PR committee,a freind..)
************************
hey daras,
wow man. i must congratulate u for this daring act.
i always admired u 4 ur balance and sheer determination.u've again proved it.
this surely would've been a gr8 learning xperience. i can identitify b'coz i too just came bac from mahabaleshwar. that was just about 250 kms. so obviously much less....but i cn imagine.
namit(my freind who always fights with me in punjabi..)
*********************************
Hi! DB,
Great!!! Once you have set your eyes on the goal, there is no looking back!!!!
So, now you have set your eyes on what....oh Sorry!! I mean whom ;-)
Sachin
************
Wonderful Story!
brings back good memories of the forgotten past.
I know of a similar story (also a very respected sardarji on his enfield)................
Great write up. Congratulations on having made it safely. Your learning I am
sure would help a lot of adventurers BUT, I would differ on the last
learning.....YAMAHA RX 100 is the best bike in India.
Happy Riding,
Gautam (SIFT class of 97)
**************************
Hey Darabshir...
that mail made interesting reading.... you bet it reminds me too of the good
ol days of sift....
Regards,
Kartik (SIFT,Class of 99)
*********************
Dear Daras,
WOW,.... I was simply impressed by this endeavour of yours...very few DREAM
of doing things out of the usual...
U DID IT !.....
Rupa
94'Batch
****************************
Hey Daras,
Made an interesting read. Lotsa learning too. Keep up the raw spirit of SIFT
going!
Good Luck.
Nithin K.
Senior Officer (LCV Sales)
TATA Engineering
******************************
hi!! that was an interesting write-up, daras. hmm... an introduction with an
impact!!
rinu george(class of '97)
*********************
Daras,
Hi there!... Though i am a silent spectator on the alumnigroup and our own Yahoogroup but was not able to stop my self to give my applause and i thought i will take the onus to say that Paji u are the best.
These small things u do ,do matter and it was very nicely done by you.daras it was not philosipical or narritive it was interesting and i can say continue the contribution which is very interesting .,...
adiois
take care
Sachin sood (fellow panju in SIFT.)
******************************************
Dear Darasbir,
It was a beautifully written piece on your sojourn.
And, believe it or not kinda inspiring too! Very
interesting.
Showed that with grit and determination one can travel far, no matter what difficulties the path may bring, if one has his destination(the goal)set, one can reach it with one's hard work(and a
little luck-very much like finding the petrol pump- we
all need to fuel up once in a while our tanks(our mind
& heart)
with joys and happy emotions.
Bravo! Kudos to your spirit Darasbir!!
with regards,
Vineet vaid(my senior at SIFT)
*********************************
Papaji
ur journey frm Pune to Hyd is the talk of the town...oops...SIIB.
DB that was an adventure.... and frm ur learning.....(300km per day, well prepared b4 journey,...) we would surely learn.
Hey DB...
I don't know what to say....this is the FIRST time that I've had tears while reading a mail...truly...becoz of your achievement..but more so becoz of your learning in the journey.
I just hope that you will always be there to guide me on my path...thru my journey...coz I may not have the drive as strong as yours..nor may I have the courage to face obstacles!!
Love you very much
Take care
Sonali (my freind)
hi db
great job done pal, had fun just as much we missed yuou , hope to meet up
with yoiu sometime soon probably after we get placed .
all well here
with love from sonu and myself
shankar raghu(SIIB,gr8 pal)
*******************
hi Paaji,
kaise ho. aapki article bahut acchi thi. It was in great detail as to how much thought had gone into it. also we discovered the other side of my buddy, writing talent socha aur nahin to ye hi sahi...., kahin outsource to nahin kiya tha isko bhi......... nahin just joking. It was really nice and it actually is surpriasing that u covered such distance in so short a time and that too alone on ur enfield.
***********************
Well Daras Bhai,
Congrats on the milestone U achieved in your own sweet way.
Nice to read the mail of yours written with full of passions.
Its truly a reflection of total passions in you.
Was nice to read it. I read it thrice mainly for the way in which U had written.
U have got a Nice writing style,
Ramesh Gopal(Fellow Vysian)
*****************************
Dear Darasbir,
It was great learning about your journey which has brought alongwith a
treasure of knowledge on which the essense of our life is based.
It's really great.
Rajesh Batta
Centre Director,STG Ludhiana
****************************************************************
Are paji tusi tan great ho!!!!!!
U will be glad to hear that I award you the Enfield man of the year award.
One thing is proven : - where there is a will there is a way but please be
careful in such expeditions.
Punya Bakshi(HDFC)
*********************
Hi DB,
great work..........thats not flattery.............but i can understand wht passion is n wht exactly is it to achieve it!!!!
I read it completely.....got totally involved .......n the best part was the learning............START IN THE EARLY HOURS............something very inspiring for me cause at this juncture of my career when I am gonna embark into a totally new world........my right decision can take me places. It is many times that one has to make a choice between taking up a mainstream career n between wht his interest lies! I know it needs some sacrifices but as db says it.................i dont wanna take the easy route................I WANNA START EARLY!!!!!
I guess the moral of the story........"when u want something really badly the entire universe conspires n helps u to achieve it!"- Paulo
Take care,
luv always,
mrugesh shah(lovely junior at SIIB)
******************************
good stuff...
very much like the life's journey...
Rakesh(SIFT,SENIOR)
*****************************
that was awesome dude
keep it up
that was really great man .
GAURAV RAMPAL
(ONE OF THE FEW PPL WHO, I KNOW, R FOLLOWING THERE DREAM,EX-SCMHRD)
U surely did it...i was very hopeful of ur achieving it when we were
discussing the route and stopovers the penultimate night. Also this short
written saga make an interesting read. Seems like u took same 11 1/2 hrs to
write it but it kept me glued.
So what's next paa-ji...next tour?????? Pls do tell me and congrats for
starting another chapter of ur life at Hyd.
Sandeep Bhatia(my batch mate)
**********************************
daras,
after reading ur experience.....am surely and truely impressed!!!
great going dear!!! when sanjeev told me ur plans i was a little scared.
That was quite an interesting recount of your biking
journey..
Can almost feel the elation you are feeling right
now..
Great going.
Cheers and all the best for many more such trips in
the future
Sups
Suprita Sarkar(HSBC,mumbai)
***********************
paaji remember nxt time u set out for such a journey u need a navigator and that would be me
hey paaji read the "alchemist" in the recent past i c a strong influence of it, in ur writing
Rajat Girdhar
*****************************
hey!!!
this is great.. really.. amazingly well written piece...
hey. me is jealous of u.. me want to go freaking around like this too....
anuradha balasubramanium(chennai, my freind)
************************
hey d.b.
congrats ...it really reqd a lot of guts and courage............................................!!!
u r trip had a lot of learning for all of us ..........u have rightly pointed out that a journey well begun is half done.
i think it doesn't matter what i think cause when i see people around and hear them speak about your mail i feel good...and i feel proud that even though in a small way but yes i am connected to you.
thanks to aditi who took the initiative of making you a hero not that you are not one but a recognised one in the eyes of all after they read the account of your experience,as she fwded it to all on the egroups.
wht next everyone was talking about it the next day.
hey did u read db's mail...??
hey did u check out db's mail??
db's just so different...
he is amazing...
and not only that even though i felt intoxicated feeling so proud of you and just by the mention of ur name to me....in my own small way i felt like the heroine after reading my name in the mail well i too was popular...wht say..!!! ha ha ha...
jokes apart..
all i can say is that the experience has been so well narrated that i almost felt that i took the journey myself...
the occurance of incidences were so vivid and beautifully described.
thanks for taking me on this virtual trip to hyderabad.
someone has said it correctly...
"journey is the reward"
all the best...
keep up the good work..
may u always say.....i've done it...!!!!!
My dear Daras,
Am delighted to hear from you.Am most delighted to note that the Hero is The Trouble-free Bike.
Thank you so very much for taking me back by 25years when I kept adventuring.I did Delhi-Kanyakumari twice,Bombay-Gauhati,Delhi-Srinagar twice,Delhi-Nainital/Simla/Mussoorie etc.etc.Three golden rules I learnt, are:
1.Plan,to the minutest detail, including sleeping bag,Medical-kit &water-can.Those days we did not have roaming-cellulars.
2.Partner-Always have a partner, preferably a person who can ride the bike, as a stand-by.One of my partners was Satinder, who rode my bike better than me.She also was struck by wonderlust.
3.No night riding.Law & order problems are worse now.
I have thoroughly enjoyed reading thru' your trip & the learning experience.
Enfield is the best bike in the world for Indian conditions.
Wish you many more fun-filled , well planned,partnered trips.
God Bless,
Best Wishes,
Prof.Iyer
****************************
hi daras,
Hats off 2u. I can't imagine travelling by road to HYD. Probably Punjab da putter only can do it.
Your account of bike ride from Pune to Hyderabad was interesting. Not only that your journey was exciting, but your write-up about it was equally interesting.
daras,
wow!
is what i have to stay and that is an understatement.....an awesome
feat indeeed to travel that way and and even a better one to put the same on paper on record....am very proud of you...
this is a write up on a journey i took....
and i mailed it to my freinds and acquaintances....
the responses i got were so touching and encouraging that i decided to put them on the net,,,,,
just to show.. that small deeds go a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooNG way.........................
I DID IT…
hey hey…its not what u r thinking.(Polluted minds….)
What I am talking about is that I did PUNE-HYDERABAD (548 km) by road on my Enfield-bullet in flat 11& ½ hours….
It was Gandhi-jayanti 2nd October 2002; I had planned to start at 6:30 in the morning but due to sleeping late could start only at 7:45 am. Tied my rack-sack (bag) on the pillion and tied a ‘kerchief on my face but I wasn’t having a pair of goggles;
Within minutes I was in trouble. The sun was shining in front of me and the air was bringing tears in my eyes. It was really really difficult, and lo my bag started falling, it was only 10 km I had covered. Within 15 min of my taking off I thought that I had taken a rash decision in taking up this journey. It was too long and I was too under prepared and totally out-of-practice. But then when I stopped in the outskirts of pune tying-up my bag I thought…
“Every journey is like this
At the start the forces test you
& When you prove that u mean business
“The forces” then turn around,
Only to help you”
“NOT SO WELL” BEGUN…. ONLY STRENTHENS YOUR RESOLVE.." This came out to be true…… read on…
My eyes adjusted to a certain extent, I slowed down tremendously 35-40 km/hr range. But I went on….
At about 47 km from pune I enquired for a optician’s place. There was one in that small place but it was closed , I guess it was too early. So I went on. Slow but steady. The bag had also stabilized ,the bike’s sound the air was singing, the sound from the engine and the exhaust .. it all turned to be a well orchestrated one. The wind was cool and lovely but my eyes were hurting and tears streaming out.
But I went on….
GOGGLES ON… At around 95 km from pune I enquired about the optician again since it was the prime most thing on my mind even I wasn’t feeling hungry, (even when I hadn’t eaten anything since the morning ) and I got lucky it was there and there were some cheap offerings. I looked at some 5/7 and then picked up one of the plastic ones. Not a shade on my Ray-Bans but still gave me a clean look and saved me from the sunlight and the wind; all at a price of Rs 60 and to tell you the truth I tried to bargain also and got it at 5 Rs less.. he he ..
AIM …SHOOT… ADJUST… Now it was 100 km already under my belt my bag was stable eyes were taken care of but still 450 odd km to go…the time was 10:45 , I was pathetically slow. I calculated and said to myself. I have to be in Solapur by 2:00 pm otherwise I am in deep $#!+. so it was 155 km and a little over 3 hrs; an average of 50 km/hr a little high but achievable; the goal was set. I pulled my bike’s ears a little more than usual and it responded beautifully. In the next 45 min I had done 50 km or so. Now I was hungry and Solapur was already in striking distance, I felt it like that I sat there drinking tea and Parle-glucose biscuits thinking that how much I had still to do..i decided not to and just go on…back on road to repeat the feat of 50km in 45 min the sun was already on my head but the air wasn’t hot it was warm. I did the next 50 in an hour or so , I didn’t want to speed without a reason . I again stopped more to just take a break rather than anything else. Took a leak and drank a Maaza I washed my face and saw that it was already a little darkened so applied some cream on it and I went on……
THE LUNCH… I didn’t enter Solapur , I took the by-pass. I saw a couple of good factories , the only thing I noted was that it wasn’t very crowded road unlike the by-pass roads in the north specially in Punjab also the road was not of very good quality. Once I was on the highway again I started to look for a place for my lunch. I saw a couple of fancy cars and in the hope of meeting pretty girls stopped there. I wasn’t totally disappointed but not much happened there to write home about. I had dal makhani, chapatti, pepsi. I lied there on the charpai and was very tired . I don’t know , I completely dozed off, for about 10-15 mins. When I came back I saw it was 2:15 my back was hurting but the will to go just went stronger. I had to do it now
So I went on….
THE MID-POINT…. Then after I had traveled for 15 min or so I saw the magic mile stone.. on one side was pune 274 on the other side was hyderabad 274. I was mid way( manjhdhaar) after about an hour or so I stopped for tea again I had covered 50 km and the weather had turned about to be beautiful. I was near a fort. Nal-garh or Nal-gonda something like that. It was between the hills and a height it was huge and Mighty. I went on and after crossing only had tea. After this point I would say the weather all through out was lovely. Tea always rejuvenated me and stopping brought back the circulation in my legs. But my butt and my back was hurting and hurting badly. Then I put my sweat shirt to cushion off nmy butt and adjusted my bag to give support to my back, actually both helped but still it was hurting .
but I went on…..
PUNJABI TEA IN KARNATAKA….. When I breached the milestone which said 199 km to Hyderabad I thought time to celebrate. It was Bidar distt. In Karnataka. I stopped for tea. I don’t know how, but the tea was all Punjab into it, I checked it wasn’t a Punjabi dhaba or the cook too wasn’t Punjabi either. It was cooked in only milk no water and a little sweeter than usual, just like Punjab. It was interesting and for that he charged me only 2 Rs. So I bought some other stuff, some toffies some biscuits( parle-G all the way..). It was 4;15 or so and because of clouds it already was getting dark , the evening was approaching and I had to cover 200 km still. I got scared. This was not the type of driving I was contemplating.
THE VILLAGE PETROL PUMP… I decided that now no more stops for tea etcetra, i would just go on , so i kicked my bike
But it would not start, I tried again and still then I realized that I had already done 350 km and so the petrol must be over, at reserve it just came to life in 2 kicks. I started off, but still after traveling for 15 kms I didn’t come across any pump, my bike could go for 25-30 km but I had never tested it. I asked some villagers and they told me that in the next village the kirana shop wallah sells petrol also. I thanked god and reached there. He charged me 39 Rs about 5 Rs premium but I was ready to pay anything at that pint in time. Then onwards I didn’t look back again, just stopping to get my tank filled.
Up till now my back and butt had stopped hurting, because they had gone NUMB, absolutely no feeling at all. But I went on……
THE LAST LAP……….. Suddenly it came again, as if before the glory of being able to see the horizon clearly u have to climb the final hill, or “the forces” wanted to test your mettle one last time. Night came , had to remove my goggles ,opposite lights were blinding and the wind had become cold. It suddenly all began to stack against me, But I guess it was too late to quit or I must say the feeling of having made it edged me to go on and GO ON I did…
THE PHONE CALL …… As I reached Hyderabad I searched for a a PCO to call Sanjeev whose place I had set out in the morning and Neha who knew that I was on road…
Calling them was just a signal to mark the culmination of the journey. I was happy and satisfied.
LEARNINGS ……. I learnt a few things….
1. That pre-journey preparation is more important than the journey itself
2. Leave for the journey in the early hours
3. 300 km in a day is the optimum; beyond that a little difficult
4. Enfield is the best bike in India
As I came out of the PCO I asked someone that how far is Dilsukhnagar and the person said 25 km.
My journey wasn’t over yet and I set out again…………………………….
Love and regards
daras(darasbir@rediffmail.com,darasbir@hotmail.com)
if u like it please refer this blog to others also... or u cud copy it and send to them .. i wud be obliged)
