For all those who have been following and eager for updates... Posting this from an internet cafe in Mangalore.
The first stage has been completed... Stage 1 being - getting to India and those who had known me, know it well that I had developed this (unreasaonable) uncontrollable fear of flying... I made it safely to India with my bicycle and the BOB trailer("Bala-on-Bike" from now on) Thanks to Nikki from emirates who sat next to me during landing and take-offs.
Currently enjoying time with family and friends and will be starting to cycle on the 6th of january.
Manouvering around traffic will be my biggest challenge. For those who are curious, try to search for traffic in India on Youtube.com and you will know what I mean. Will be visiting a home/school for mentally challenged kids in a few minutes. Need to sign-off... more to follow... stay tuned...
December 28, 2007
December 12, 2007
Do you enjoy cycling ?
After a few minutes of cycling, if you start whistling, singing, smiling or start thinking of pleasant things... then, you already have the answer.
If not, ride some more to the nearest cycle store, get your bike adjusted by a specialist to suit your physique and probably get a new saddle ; -)
N' joy cycling... u will be surprised how it brings out the child within you...
If not, ride some more to the nearest cycle store, get your bike adjusted by a specialist to suit your physique and probably get a new saddle ; -)
N' joy cycling... u will be surprised how it brings out the child within you...
December 11, 2007
November 15, 2007
November 2, 2007
What have you learnt today ?
I used to be a big fan of Linda Goodman (an American astrologer and poet) and remember reading something on the lines... "When you are ready, the Guru appears automatically". Though, I do not believe in waiting for a Guru to appear in the form of a mystical person, many a times, I realised that if you are just willing to listen, you meet people from various walks of life and there is always something you can learn from the other human being... What have you learnt today ?
From "Mahatma Gandhi" to "Bhavik Gandhi" ...
(Photo Courtesy: Ocean rowing.com)It was in early March this year, when I came across a news article about an Indian attempting to row across the Atlantic Ocean SOLO and UNSUPPORTED. Initially I wondered, as to why anyone would attempt something like that... I started to follow the journey of the modern day Gandhi's adventure (Bhavik Gandhi) and it became a daily ritual...
Reading about Bhavik's joyful stories of him swimming with the dolphins in the open Ocean, watching amazing sunsets and sunrises, enjoying the solitude, his ordeal of pumping for hours to make a litre of water using a manual hand pump, surviving and setting right a capsized rowboat, eating uncooked cold food, surviving on protein shakes made me realise that life is too short and unpredictable to keep complaining and live in fear... and that we need to follow our heart, our inner-calling, realise our goals and live in the moment...
In short, although, it was Gandhi - The Mahatma's life, which had influenced(awed) me all throughout until now, it took another Gandhi to plunge me into action... THANKS Bhavik !!!
October 29, 2007
e-Sprit
That's the name of this cycling project from now on...
e-Sprit (n) - (like everything else in this e-World)
- earth Spirit
- educational Spirit
- eco-friendly Spirit
e-Sprit (n) - (like everything else in this e-World)
- earth Spirit
- educational Spirit
- eco-friendly Spirit
- endowment Spirit
- enquiring Spirit
- endurance Spirit
hopefully, it will lead to "enlightened Spirit" ;-)
Not surprisingly, coined it while cycling on my 'esprit' bicycle, which I plan to use for the journey.
- enquiring Spirit
- endurance Spirit
hopefully, it will lead to "enlightened Spirit" ;-)
Not surprisingly, coined it while cycling on my 'esprit' bicycle, which I plan to use for the journey.
September 24, 2007
Inspiration...
Wanted to share one of the pictures that inspired me to start my little project. These kids are playing on a dry river bed, without shoes... using a piece of branch from a coconut tree as a cricket bat.
September 22, 2007
The first person to read my blog...My teacher...My Son !
picture taken in Aug, 2007
picture taken in Aug, 2005 September 18, 2007
Bala Bala !!!
Bala is up to something very "Balla Balla" (something very "crazy") as the Germans would say.
The spring energy has been building up within me since May this year.... and on the 20th of June... it was one of those days, when you have all this positive energy and you just feel like getting up and doing something wonderful... I wanted to do something adventurous that I had never done before... to assure myself to start with... and to spread the message that one can achieve anything when they set their mind to it...
At the same time, I wanted to make a very small difference to the world we all live in... A world full of competition, greed, hatred, jealousy, indifferences, poverty and the poor and hungry kid's... The poor and orphan kids have always stirred my emotions as I was growing up in India.
There has always been an inner desire to help, but, I always came up with a million excuses not to venture out to help... I wasn't going to waste this good energy.... that's when I decided... and that's how this little project began...
Initial thoughts were to cycle within India from Kanyakumari to Kashmir (K2K) for charity, but then as days went by, I focused more on the purpose and it became clear (please read it as "it's getting clearer" as I continue to question myself).
I decided to start in Southern India where I grew up, visit the schools I attended plus stop at a few more on the way, talk to the kids about my experiences and urge them to DREAM ON, believe in their dreams and to direct all their energies to fulfill their dreams. Make them think for themselves, to help them grow up intelligently but still maintaining the innocence.
I decided to cycle through India (around 2000 to 2500 kilometers) - to stress on the Eco-friendly way of life - ironic that such words come from someone who used to drive a car to work everyday :0 - (
I would like to also take this opportunity to get to know rural India. "India lives in her villages" as Gandhi had once said. I am aware that I will not be able to make a big difference in such a small period of time, but, if I manage to inspire at least one person to think differently, act differently, I would consider this humble beginning to be a big success...
I intend to raise some money (sponsors/family/friends) and start a scholarship fund, so that the children who badly need financial assistance can continue to benifit from the fund.
The details of the planning and preperation for the trip, my (learning) experiences will follow in subsequent posts...Stay tuned !
I am eagerly looking forward to any suggestions... so, please do not hesitate to drop me an email... So long... (a la "Alex Trebek of Jeopardy")
ps: Will make a sincere effort to cut down on the "I will/I have decided to/I intend to" part next time around ;-)
The spring energy has been building up within me since May this year.... and on the 20th of June... it was one of those days, when you have all this positive energy and you just feel like getting up and doing something wonderful... I wanted to do something adventurous that I had never done before... to assure myself to start with... and to spread the message that one can achieve anything when they set their mind to it...
At the same time, I wanted to make a very small difference to the world we all live in... A world full of competition, greed, hatred, jealousy, indifferences, poverty and the poor and hungry kid's... The poor and orphan kids have always stirred my emotions as I was growing up in India.
There has always been an inner desire to help, but, I always came up with a million excuses not to venture out to help... I wasn't going to waste this good energy.... that's when I decided... and that's how this little project began...
Initial thoughts were to cycle within India from Kanyakumari to Kashmir (K2K) for charity, but then as days went by, I focused more on the purpose and it became clear (please read it as "it's getting clearer" as I continue to question myself).
I decided to start in Southern India where I grew up, visit the schools I attended plus stop at a few more on the way, talk to the kids about my experiences and urge them to DREAM ON, believe in their dreams and to direct all their energies to fulfill their dreams. Make them think for themselves, to help them grow up intelligently but still maintaining the innocence.
I decided to cycle through India (around 2000 to 2500 kilometers) - to stress on the Eco-friendly way of life - ironic that such words come from someone who used to drive a car to work everyday :0 - (
I would like to also take this opportunity to get to know rural India. "India lives in her villages" as Gandhi had once said. I am aware that I will not be able to make a big difference in such a small period of time, but, if I manage to inspire at least one person to think differently, act differently, I would consider this humble beginning to be a big success...
I intend to raise some money (sponsors/family/friends) and start a scholarship fund, so that the children who badly need financial assistance can continue to benifit from the fund.
The details of the planning and preperation for the trip, my (learning) experiences will follow in subsequent posts...Stay tuned !
I am eagerly looking forward to any suggestions... so, please do not hesitate to drop me an email... So long... (a la "Alex Trebek of Jeopardy")
ps: Will make a sincere effort to cut down on the "I will/I have decided to/I intend to" part next time around ;-)
On top of Großer Feldberg (878 meters)
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