15th August 2010, 02:17
| #1 |
| BHPian Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Mumbai
Posts: 84
Thanked: 178 Times
| The Road My Home Forever... It was a moment that defined our lives, that were to change. The two of us understood that. It was unspoken. In some ways it was a moment of loss. Perhaps an awakening call. The Pigeons would no longer fly over M8/1. After 25 years of the Bhanumati society generously feeding thousands of birds, their hearts were sealed now. And I would no longer come back to a place I called home –M8/1. For I had chosen my path - Life on the road forever. Almost a wander, in search of nothing but a new perspective of life. Willing to embrace all that the road has to offer.  The pigeons were now wanders in search of a morsel. Life moves on. And the next two days revealed just that. Fewer pigeons came stayed for the entire day, in confusion. And then flew away.... never to come back to M8/1. There was nothing for them to come back to, no hope for mercy, no hope for survival. And they didn’t protest. They simply flew away.  A day before I was to leave Mumbai, a traffic cop stopped me at a signal for not having a number plate. He looked at me and then my bike. In a stern voice he asked, “Why don’t you have a number plate and what’s with the stand attached to your bullet?” I told him I was on my way to fix the bike including fixing the number plate and bike stickering. He thought I was off on a business tour. The cop who had by now mellowed down was surprised to know that I’d quit my job to travel. “You must have earned a lot of money to travel forever,” he curiously remarked. His amusement grew when I told him that I had no savings just around Rs 10,000 in my pocket. He wished me luck, while everyone at the signal were left confused as to whether I was fined or did I escape the fine. Well, I did pay the fine but I knew that cop would remember me for a long long time. They all asked me, “Where are you heading to?” I replied, “I don’t know. Somewhere down the road I will decide.” Perplexed they enquired, “So how long will you be gone?” I had no concrete answer or rather I did. “Hmmm...forever. The road will be my home,” I said to them. They smiled in hilarity and wished me luck. A few people didn’t believe me. But all I did was smiled and rode away. Cheers! Merwyn Coutinho |
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16th August 2010, 16:02
| #2 |
| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Palakkad/Coimbatore
Posts: 1,226
Thanked: 1,079 Times
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16th August 2010, 17:55
| #3 |
| BHPian Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Mumbai
Posts: 84
Thanked: 178 Times
| The Road My Home Forever... Towards Gujju land One sleeping bag that weighs less than a kilo. One all season tent that weighs 3 kgs. One bag with laptop and camera. Two cramster bags full of bike equipment, camping equipment, medicine kit, toiletries and clothes. All packed on my 1980 model bullet. Come to think of it this is all I own in life. With just 10,000 bucks in my pocket, I was off from Mumbai on the morning of 21st July.  Rao, my friend gave me company till Delhi where we were to have a reunion with friends from Bangalore.  The first day we drove till Gujarat. Well, sure it was just 300 kms on day one but the monsoons slowed us down. What added to the rain fairy’s blessing that afternoon was the yum Parsi food we treated ourselves to at Ahura Restaurant 100 kms from Mumbai. As we drove on the Gujarat highway, we were cheered by people passing by, giving us thumbs up and wishing us luck. The moment of irony was when a few guys driving offered us alcohol! (Alcohol... in Gujju land). While alcohol was a no-no for us at that point, we were calling out for chai chai. Even the smallest of thelas in Gujarat charge ten bucks for one cuppa tea. But yeahhhh....it wasn’t a cup of chai it was a cup and a saucer full of chai!  That night we settled ourselves in Kamrej in a room for 300 bucks. Passed out... |
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16th August 2010, 20:12
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17th August 2010, 11:05
| #5 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: New Delhi
Posts: 381
Thanked: 188 Times
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19th August 2010, 20:03
| #6 |
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