The Journey Matters More Than the Destination

Hello Folks! I recently got a new motorbike to fuel my local adventures. It is an adventure bike, the Suzuki Vstrom 250 SX that was recently launched in the Indian market. It was a love at first sight. I bought it in vibrant Yellow, and named it the “Chetak”. The name comes from the horse companion of the 15th Century King Maharana Pratap, who ruled Mewar, Rajasthan. There were many stories referring to Chetak’s heroic act of saving the king when injured in the war. Chetak will now be part of my solitude journey through the beautiful landscapes of India.

My brother who always accompany me for local road trips, would not join me this time. So it was a perfect opportunity for lonely time with Chetak through the national forest nearby Bengaluru. I decided to travel just for the sake of it without any destination in mind. My initial plan was to head into the forest road, stop enroute and take photographs of the local flora and fauna.

“It is not the destination where you end up but the mishaps and memories you create along the way.”

Penelope Riley

I headed to Kaggalipura-Bannerghatta Forest road that had signs of Elephant crossing. It was monsoon time, and there is always an anticipation of rain in the forest. I noticed along the road beautiful bamboo trees, that caught my attention. It was serene and beautiful to just look at the leaves. Some times even the simplest things gives you a lot of pleasure and peace. I noticed locals crossing the roads doing there usual chores of life. Just being on top of the bike driving through winding roads, taking in the views, experiencing the wind was the highlight of my trip. I was surprised how such things gives you so much happiness. Simple pleasures.

There on the way I met a group of bikers. As I was photographing a King Fisher, at a distance I heard a faint sound of a man approaching. He was like are you a travel photographer? Do you travel alone? Your bike is so nice? What’s the price? Did you visit the totikallu falls? These were his first initial reaction, and soon many joined him. Finally he asked if I could take the pictures of their friends on the bike. Without much thought, I took some pictures along with their bikes, and then we exchanged our phone numbers so I could send them the edited photographs. I finally did send those pictures. These guys were really nice and offered me some tips on local destinations. Since I am a newbie to Bengaluru, such support was always appreciated. After good bye, I traveled back to the forest road, and while exiting I noticed a temple from a distance. The architecture was unique. Spent some time photographing temple and people. Although it was a short trip, I highly enjoyed driving chetak through the forest, and meeting new people along the way. Some people are very friendly with the get go, and makes the trip even more memorable. It was journey that mattered more than the destination. Keep traveling my fellow friends.