A Sudden Plan

It was a usual day. I was coming back from office in bus (Yes, I have a job now and I’m living in Mysore, Karnataka. It’s been quite a long time, hasn’t it?) when suddenly a thought struck in my mind. “Are there motorcycles with automatic transmission?”. Yes, I know it’s really random but what can I do; happens to engineers all the time. So I ask my friend if he knew anything about it which led to a discussion about motorcycles in general. Later, I realise that I ended up with the most random plan I’ve ever made in my entire life. 

Okay, so I was never really into bikes as much as I was into cars. I never even knew how to ride a bike properly. But we (me and Shashank) make this random plan of going on a road trip with bikes as we had the next 2 days off from office. We book a “Yamaha FZ” and a “Bajaj Avenger” that night so that we could pick it up early morning. The only thing lacking was the destination. 

The next morning, we leave by around 6.30 am to pick up the bikes at 7 am. Going there, we get to know that the Avenger hadn’t been returned yet. So we take the FZ and a “TVS Wego” to roam in and around Mysore till the Avenger comes back. We ride towards Srirangapatna where we plan on visiting Ranganathithu bird sanctuary. We decided to go there as we had already visited all the main tourist spots in Mysore like Mysore Palace, Chamundi Hills, etc. The ride towards the bird sanctuary was via Mysroe- Bangalore highway. It was around 10 kilometres from the place where we picked the bikes from. We roamed around the sanctuary. To be honest, it was a dull place. We then rode to Tipu Sultan’s Summer Palace. It was comparatively better. We then got a call that we could pick up the Avenger.

By that time, I got a good grip on the FZ. I built up the confidence and set a destination in mind. It was COORG. We took the bikes and went back home. We got all the necessary things required for the trip as it would be cold. We had lunch outside and immediately left for Coorg after seeing the directions on the map.

I completely got the hang of the bike and then it was like a child’s play. My left hand knew when to go for the clutch and my left foot knew when to shift. The road to Coorg from Mysore is one of the best roads I’ve travelled so far with lush greenery and Kaveri river runs alongside you throughout (though not visible from the road).

We stopped on the way when we felt we needed a little rest, had sugarcane juice from a vendor which pumped us up. Once we stopped seeing what looked like an amazing rocket soaring high up in the sky. Later we realized that it was actually some sort of sound rocket probably sent for some data collection. It was a hell of a sight (couldn’t be captured in the camera).

During the ride, we saw a board saying “Harangi Dam- 8kms”. We decided to take a detour and visit the dam. Unluckily, the dam was closed for visitors due to the Kaveri river water issue that was going on between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. But we managed to have an amazing click in front of the dam.

Gradually, we entered hilly region when we realized that it was impossible to ride anymore without a jacket. So we took out our jackets and started riding again when it started drizzling. That moment, I was like “This trip couldn’t have been any better”. 

We entered Madikeri (a.k.a Coorg) and searched for a place to stay as it was almost 6pm. There’s nothing to actually do in Coorg at night. So, we decided to crash as we were really tired from the ride and that we would visit every place possible by getting up early the next morning. We got a decent place to stay, had dinner and slept like a log.

The next morning started with an alarm at 6am. We checked out, took our bikes from the parking and went straight for Raja Seat which was the closest to our hotel (around 3 kms). It’s a wonderful viewpoint from where you can see the entrance to Coorg; cars and buses moving in zig zag hilly roads. 

The next place on the list was Abbey Falls. It was around 10 kms from Raja Seat. The ride to the falls was wonderful with drizzle all the way through hills. We parked our bikes at the entrance to the falls, had breakfast with coffee and omelette, then went down the stairs to the falls. It was a very beautiful place. There was a bridge constructed just to get an amazing view of the falls, but sadly the bridge was closed due to some issue. 

Coming back to our bikes, we realized that we were running low on fuel. We had to travel 10 kms back searching for a petrol pump. During that, we met two people who needed lift and at the same time guided us to the nearest fuel station. We fueled up and then checked the next place on the list.

We realize that one site of attraction was on the way to Abbey Falls and that we have to travel around 8 kms on that same road and take a right and then another 16kms. The destination was a place called “Mandalpatti”. It’s an amazing viewpoint located at the top of some hills. We reached the place and then realized that we’re left with 5 kms but the road was messed up. We tried taking one bike, but ultimately gave up riding for like 100 metres. But there was a very nice viewpoint right beside where we gave up. We then brought both the bikes there. A lot of other people also joined in as even they couldn’t take their cars and bikes. That road was only meant for Off road cars. The view from that place was nothing like I had ever experienced before. It was a straight cliff with nothing on the edge and fog blocking your view making you feel like it’s the end of the world. The drizzle made the view more breathtaking. 

After 2 hours of roaming around, we decided to leave as the drizzle started forming into a proper shower. We then decided to leave for Mysore. On the way, we saw a board saying Dubbare Elephant Sanctuary- 12 kms. We took the detour. On the way, we stumbled upon an adventure sports camp where they had a proper ATV track of 2 kms. I actually wanted to try that even though they were charging Rs. 400 for one lap of 2 kms. But later when I sat on the ATV, the guy was like “You will have a guide with you throughout”. It was the worst ATV anyone can ever ride. It didn’t have a brake. The guide was less of a guide and I was more of a spectator. He was the one who accelerated throughout and left the accelerator whenever he felt that friction can’t stop the inertia of the vehicle. Trust me, if you ever visit Coorg, don’t go to this adventure sports camp on the way to Dubbare.

We then left for Dubbare. Arriving there, we realized that the elephant sanctuary was closed from 2:30pm till 4:30pm. It was around 2.45pm then. But people were enjoying river rafting on the river Kaveri. Unfortunately, we didn’t have extra clothes for river rafting. So, we decided to ride back.

That stretch from Dubbare till the next town was at a constant speed of 75kms/hr but it gave us the feel of our bikes. We stopped after crossing the town and decided to recreate that stretch. Instead, when we started this time, the stretch was at a speed of 110-120 kms/hr. It was the most amazing feeling you can have. It gives you the proper “Roadrash” atmosphere.

We returned to Mysore by 5pm, kept our bags in our apartment and went out for some work that had to be done. After finishing the work, had an awesome dinner, returned the bikes, came back to the apartment and called it a day.

It was one of the most wonderful roadtrips anyone could ever take in bike. Do go for it if you’re in Mysore or Bangalore. I’ll be back with more amazing roadtrips. Till then, stay tuned.

Ambition in life

Long time, no blogs. Just a thought which crossed my mind. Jotted it down.

There are three words which form a very simple question, which every child hears in his life and has an answer to since his childhood. That answer varies from child to child. I hope you guys would have understood which question I’m talking about. Yes it’s “What’s your aim in life?”. There are very few people who actually get to be what they want in life. People who actually become what they want to become in life, I salute you guys.

It’s a very simple question, I agree. But when it comes to India, it’s not a question which you get to answer. It’s a question which either your parents or someone among your family members will answer for you and you spend your whole life bringing that answer come to reality. Yes, I agree that when you’re asked this question by anyone, you answer with a doctor or engineer or whatever, but after you become that you realise what you had done with your life. When someone asks you then, it’s like you’re even confused in telling them that you’re an engineer.

When you enter school, you’re told an answer to this question by your parents. You keep saying that everywhere which forms a mindset that I have to become that. I don’t know why but maybe to prove your parents that yes, we can make you proud. But in all this you never realise what you actually wanted. Before 10th boards, everyone is like this is a very crucial year of your life, study hard, everything depends on you. It’s like if I don’t do excellent in my boards, the world is gonna collapse or some shit. You come out with flying colours in your boards. You face reporters for your excellent performance where they ask you this question and you’re like numb for a moment and then you remember the answer which was told to you and you say that and then everyone who reads the paper gets to know that you want to grow up to be a doctor or an engineer.

In India, if you are a guy, you’re destined to be an engineer and if a girl, then a doctor. I’m not saying it’s always that, but that’s the maximum cases. I don’t know where people get this mentality. If you tell your parents that you want be a footballer or an F1 racer or in a girl’s case, a fashion designer or something, you’re gone for good. They’ll tell you that you don’t have the skills to be that. You need a lot of practice to become a footballer. You have to join coaching for that and there’s a lot of competition in sports. My question is “Was I born engineer? Did I come into this world with ohm’s law and mechanics engraved in my mind?” No, right. I learnt all that. Something which I never knew. And on top of that I did excellent in my boards. So why can’t I go for football or racing. Yes, there are risks, I agree. But what worth is life if you play it safe forever. You get your life only once, make it worth living for.

That’s not it. This is just 10^th boards. Then you have to choose your stream for 11^th and 12^th. That’s another herculean task. That’s just a herculean task if it’s given to you to choose. Or else it’s already chosen for you. There are just three streams: Science, Arts and Commerce. That’s all you have in life. For me, Science was fixed considering my 10^th results. Then comes 12^th boards. Again you get to hear from everyone that it’s the most crucial stage of your life which will decide whether you have to go for medical or engineering. I mean how many crucial stages can be there. Here also once you take Science, you have only two options.

My mom always wanted me to be a doctor. I studied Biology for 3 months, I realized that I’m nowhere close to being a doctor. And if by mistake I became a doctor, then people’s lives would be at great risk from me. So I dropped it and took up engineering.

Now another great stage of your life: choosing your engineering branch. That also, someone or the other from your family or maybe your neighbor would choose for you. And you will be like “Maybe they know better, let’s take that”. I’m not saying this is the case for everyone. It’s the case with most of the students. Then when you start studying in that branch, you realise how messed up your situation is, where you stand in front of everyone else in that branch.

I joined engineering coming from a small town where we were never taught any kind of programming, so I took electronics and communication thinking that computer science won’t be my cup of tea. Then I realise that it’s even worse. You’re neither in complete electronics and neither in complete computer science. The best part comes when it’s time for placements. You spend 4 years in engineering trying to maintain a good CGPA learning core electronics so that you can sit for companies during campus placements and then all of a sudden you realise that all your computer science getting placed with amazing packages and you’re left with nothing. The few companies that come for ECE include CSE and IT branches as well. And even if by mistake, an ECE student manages to go the the interview round, they’ll ask him programming questions where he’ll start to think whether he joined CSE or ECE. I mean if you wanted a coder, then why allow ECE students. If I wanted to be a coder, I would’ve joined CSE. What’s the use of taking ECE if I wanted an IT job.

That’s what people here don’t understand. People even after completing engineering, stand clueless as to how to proceed in life. There’s no shortage of engineering colleges now-a-days in India. There was once a time when an engineer was looked up with great respect. Now it’s nothing.

I had a friend who made every decision whatever she wanted with her life, didn’t matter how many branches or fields she had to change. I know that’s hard, but I respect her for that.

I’ve been through many personal experiences in life which have made me take this question so seriously. Students aren’t just students. They can be anything they want to. Even if that gives them very less income, it’s something they’ll enjoy doing in life. When you make your hobby your job, that’s the life you want.

It’s just a normal topic of discussion in the current scenario of Indian students. Hope you guys liked it.