Delhi Bikers

I am inspired by the wisdom that's freely shared on Indian trucks and road signs. “Socho-Saath-Kya-Jayega” (Reflect on what you’ll take beyond this life) painted behind trucks is one of my favorites. Then on route to the Living Roots Bridge near the Laitkynsew village I came across another gem. “Heads in Clouds – Feet Firmly on Ground”  Its important to dream big dreams and do the hard work on the ground to see it fulfilled. A long time ago, the villagers in the East Khasi Hills wanted to cross the flooded rivers rushing down to the Sylhet plains of Bangladesh. They could have stopped at simply dreaming about it. That’s called wishful thinking. Dreaming, but doing nothing about it. Or worse, waiting for someone else to make it happen for you.  Where clouds get distilled into wild waterfalls Back then, the world only knew stone and wooden bridges. Wooden bridges would rot and stone bridges would have been washed away even if they managed to build one. Th...

T hey say it takes a village to raise a child.  Similarly it takes a lot of people so you can go on a memorable solo ride. My friend William told our mutual friend Abhijeet that I needed a bike in Guwahati. Abhijeet called his brother Riju to lend me his Classic 500, who then told his friends to ensure the right mechanic’s looked it over. If you were wondering why we call it a 'brotherhood', now you know. I landed early enough from Delhi but a traffic jam of two hours helped me get things into perspective. However thorough your plan, you cannot control anything other than your self. Not the traffic or the unpredictable weather, nor the incidents on the road and definitely not the reliability of a borrowed Royal Enfield. Uzan Bazar mechanic fits rearview mirrors on Riju's bike.  Abhijeet, a fellow biker, painstakingly guided me through the labyrinth of Guwahati by messaging me hand drawn maps so I could get the bike checked and ready. By the time I fill...