Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Breaking the Shackles



So many people get into the vicious circle of the monotony of life that it becomes impossible for them to break the shackles of the drudgery and they keep moving like a bloody wheel…taking along with them professional pressures & the pains of the Family Life...kids & wives combined!!!…but some amongst us are brave, rebellious & adventurous enough to get their act together and then do the things which they always wanted to do since their days of growing up…

One of such brave men is a gentleman by the name of P.G Tenzing, a 44 years old Sikkimese; he studied at the Delhi University, qualified the Civil Services Examinations and joined the Kerala Cadre as an IAS Officer, worked as one for 20 odd years and was heading 5 Government Departments and one fine day in 2007 decided to quit his monotonous and shitty job to go for a Bike Journey through India with no set agenda or plan…just 2 things were sure in his mind, one that he would ride an Enfield Bullet and second that come what may he would be riding through all possible terrains of India.

He has written a book by the name of “Don’t ask any Old Bloke for Directions : A Biker’s whimsical journey across India” …Sachin Bhatia of www.makemytrip.com fame shared this book with me last weekend and I read the 218 pages book in 4 hours flat and what a helluva experience it was going through his travelogue…one amazing write-up this guy has written…



He travelled a total of 25,320 kms in a journey spanning 9 months starting from Kerala and going through almost all states of India, he took his breaks in-between but as a lone-warrior kept riding through some unimaginable terrains of Naxal-infested Jharkhand -Chhattisgarh & also through some tough roads of Arunachal…



The best part reading his book was when he has mentioned some of the roads which I have travelled through my Bike Rides, namely the West Coast Ride, Mcleodganj, Landour & the Ladakh Ride…also the subtle humour he has used is extremely hilarious, ripping the IAS System apart, exposing the Mafia-Government Nexus and the Police Corruption on the Highways of India…

His book sounds a little confusing at times as he has tried to connect lot of his actions with the Buddhisht tenets which I could not completely understand but tried connecting them with his experiences; nonetheless it is not a major dampener…

I am sure his book would definitely inspire many people to take the similar path which he has taken and hopefully those people would find the real meaning of their life rather than just surviving…

Luckily I would not be one of them as I am living my passion of riding today and am sure by the time I turn 44 I would have covered atleast covered 2 Lakh kms. riding through India, I can say that with confidence on my passion & abilities as I have already covered 22,000 kms in 14 months of my Bullet experience…

Hats off to Mr. Tenzing for living his dreams and coming out victorious…I would love to meet him one day and hopefully ride along with him…

Che would be back on the road again…

Till then Ride safe & have safe sex…

Hasta la Victoria Siempre…

8 comments:

Sachin said...

well written review.....next time mention the guy who loaned u the book:-)))))))))

Idiot_love said...

@sachin..

Nice comment dude.....

Marcopolo said...

very well expressed . True motivating lines for any Biker . --Thanks to Sachin for loaning the book to Nish ,, other wise we wd have never come across this review!-- YOHOMY !
Pravin "Marcopolo"

Sachin said...

Sir I stand corrected.....full credit given to me 'Sachin Bhatia of www.makemytrip.com fame shared'.

Prashant said...

for of a bijer sharing his feeling for another biker.....and as i true biker not really following the philosphical buddhism....for a biker why to follow when he can create his own .....

keep riding...and i think i missed that safe sex tagline this

Prashant said...

o sorry its there....my bad

Ken Slayer said...

Luckily, I am also not one of the persons who need inspiration for a whimsical journey.

It was really sad to learn that Tenzing had to stop his tour one month ahead of schedule.

I'm sure you would have had the most fun reading, since it covers the West Coast.

A strange find was the missing of KhardungLa and Lake Circuit which I feel should be on the CV of every biker.

wanderlust said...

he did it at the right moment, for I'm sure you know he passed away a couple of years after the book came out