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TRIP UPDATE - 1 (December 3-9)
The mission and philosophy of our South Asian Motorcycle Odyssey is to spread the message that the people of South Asia, particularly India need to demand Equal Education for All. Here is a sneak preview of our daily activities during the first week of our sojourn:
December 3, 2006, Bangalore
After months of preparation D-Day dawned bright and clear.
After a quick pooja at the temple, my team mate Kishore Patwardhan and I proceeded to the Gandhi Statue near Cubbon Park, our point of departure. The media was there in full force and we were flagged off by R. Chandramouli, vice president (marketing) TVS Motor company and John McClure, director (marketing) of the Intel Corporation.
 
R. Chandramouli and John McClure with Borderless bikers during flag off ceremony
Twenty-five bikers of the Royal Knights Motorcycle Club, Bangalore w ere also waiting at the point of departure to accompany us upto Nelamangala. Neither of us had met any of the bikers who came to see us off. It was the power of the Internet — Orkut.com had connected us!
Flag off by R. Chandramouli and John McClure
We were flagged off at sharp 10.30 a.m and together with a cavalcade of over 50 motorcyclists drove for 40 minutes to Nelamangala where most of the bikers signed off after wishing us, while 15 decided to hit the NH-48 upto Kunigal with us.
Following a quick brunch at Kunigal two of us rode to Hassan (115 km). As we rode along the NH-48 the fatigue and sleepless nights of the past week took its toll. Both of us were feeling drowsy and on couple of occasions Kishore nearly veered off the road. We stopped for a cup of tea at Chennaryapatna so that we could keep awake for the rest of the ride. We reached Hassan at 5.30 p.m, where we were courteously accommodated at Kishore's cousin's house. Our hosts Mr. & Mrs. Gokhale asked us about our mission and enquired how we are funding our tour. We explained our mission and they were impressed and also contributed some money for our petrol expenses. They prepared a good meal and over fed us saying that we need to eat well to be healthy throughout our journey. We hit the sack soon, in anticipation for a longer day ahead.
December 4, 2006. Hassan-Dharmasthala
Starting at 8.00 a.m from Hassan it took us 45 minutes to negotiate the narrow, pot-holed, roads and streets choked with people, cattle, poultry and pigs too and of course loaded vehicles before we reached the state highway leading to Belur. Surprisingly the 34-km two-lane Hassan-Belur road is as good as any national highway and provides a great driving experience. Scenic vistas of quaint villages, azure lakes and green fields enhanced the ride.
Belur hosts a well-preserved historic temple dedicated to Chennakeshava. The Hoysala kings took over 100 years to build this temple and it is perhaps the most popular in Karnataka. Getting out of Belur was another time-consuming experience because the weekly market is on the highway to Mangalore. However once out of the town, in the next 25 km the terrain, weather and road quality changed, with the Western Ghats carpeted with coffee and cardomom plantations, orange orchards, cool weather and great scenery welcoming us.
We passed smoothly through Mudigere, Kottigehara and continued our ride through Charmadi Ghat, 27 km of riding pleasure. Every corner had a stream, rivulet or a water fall greeting us. So much of lush greenery... in one of the world's most famous bio-diversity hotspots. Once into the charmadi ghat we had 17 hairpin bends to negotiate. But our TVS Apache bikes smoothly negotiated the curves, twists and turns.
 
Charmadi ghat - beautiful scenery
At Mundaje (pop 5,000) students and staff of the local junior college, where my fellow biker Kishore was a student welcomed us. Enthusiastic students and staff were briefed about our odyssey and the importance of Equal Education for All mission. Next stop was Siddhavana Gurukula, a free residential school for poor meritorious students. Established in 1940 the gurukula is housed in a 15 acre verdant campus the school has a large auditorium where we were feted. During a two hour interaction during which we stressed the importance of self-study and continuous supplementary learning we proceeded to Dharmasthala where we met Sri Veerendra Hegde, chief trustee of the Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheswara temple and managing trustee of SDM group of 13 education institutions which have an aggregate enrollment of over 10,000 KG-postgraduate students. Dharmasthala is also famous as a pilgrim destination which attracts over one million visitors annually.
 
With Sri Veerendra Heggade and in front of the Dharmasthala temple
December 5, 2006. Dharmasthala - Mangalore
From Dharmasthala we proceeded to Mangalore via Belthangady and BC Road. The road to Mangalore after B.C. Road is in bad condition and full of potholes. It is described a national highway but is worse than a village road.
Before reaching Mangalore we took a 5 km detour to visit Karanje Gudda a beautiful rocky hillock tucked away amidst thick forest and quaint villages surrounded by beautiful scenery. The rocky hill crowned by an ancient temple dedicated to Karanjeshwara is sited on the banks of a vast rectangular shaped stepped tank full of azure water. When Kishore suggested the detour I was sceptical and was worried that we would get delayed. But when I reached the base of Karanje Gudda I wished I could stop and spend the night camping on the banks of the stepped tank in the shadow of the hill. It was great to be away from the cacophony of the highway amidst the cool and serene environs of the Karanje gudda. The scenery around the hill is simply breathtaking and after clicking a few pictures we proceeded onwards to Mangalore.
As we reached Mangalore in the evening our host Sri. N.S.Gokhale invited us to attend a function where several achievers of the Brahmin community were being feted by Vipra Sangama an NGO in Mangalore. When the organisers came to know of our mission, they immediately added our names in the list of those being feted and honoured us and asked us to speak about our journey and mission. The highly educated audience were very happy to know of our mission and wholeheartedly agreed that 'Equal Education' for all was the only hope for India to transform from a third world nation into a developed country.
December 6, 2006. Mangalore
The day dawned with another invite. The Mangalore Agriculturists Sahakari Sangha Ltd (MASS) a cooperative of farmers of South Canara district wanted us to address their staff and members. We enthusistically accepted the invite and went to speak the the farmers. The response was very good and the audience said that they would try and take an active role in their children's education in the future. We had to halt at Mangalore for an extra dry to get our bikes serviced at Mahalasa Motors, a TVS authorised service centre. There is a lot to see in Mangalore, including the historical Mangaladevi temple from which the town derives its name and its famous beaches Panambur, Ullal and Someswara.
We visited the Someshwara beach named after a famous antiquated Shiva temple sited here and watched the panoramic sunset. It was a soothing experience as we watched the sun paint the skies with various hues of orange and red before setting into the far horizon.
December 7,2006. Mangalore-Edugunji
It was a bright day and as we started from the city a biker astride a Royal Enfield accosted us. "You guys going on a bike tour?" he asked. Immediately the biker bonding routine started we pulled over and examined each others bikes and started talking about our bikes, travels, etc. Zahin took couple of an pictures and offered to snow us the way out of town upto the highway. We set out from Mangalore on the coastal highway (NH-17) towards Karwar. The initial 27 km of the road is in shambles without a trace of asphalt or road dividers, and thick traffic comprising rashly driven local buses, taxis, lorrys, bicycles, motorcycles, bullock carts, hand carts and what not. Meandering in between were cattle which were in their own worlds. But the road is strewn with numerous pilgrimage centres all along the road upto Karwar. We visited the most famous of them: the Udupi Krishna temple, the 1,000-pillared Jain Basadi at Brahamawar, the Anegudda Ganapathi temple at Khumbashi, Shiva temple at Murudeshwar and Ganesha temple at Edugunji, about 13 KM from Murudeshwar, where we spent the night.
One of the best stretches in this part of the highway is the one between Bhatkal and Byndoor. Here the road runs straight along the sea coast on the left and the backwaters of river Sharavathi on the right. It is an amazing phenomenon to see the roaring sea on one side and the calm backwaters on the other. We felt highly thrilled as we rode along the road towards Murudeshwar.
Murudeshwar hosts the world's largest cement sculpture of Lord Shiva in a seated position. Installed atop a hillock on the sea coast the idol inspires devotion and awe in the minds of viewers. We spent a few hours near the sea and marvelled at the various sculptures installed over there and headed back onto the highway towards Edugunji where we were supposed to halt for the night.
December 8-9,2006. Edugunji-Balli, Goa and local travel in the coastal state
We started off at 8.00 am and after a quick nide through country roads reached He NH-17 when we turned might and proceeded towards Karwar. One Major hassle or this Stretch was cattle or the road the bovines would suddenly decide to cross the road and no amount of honking would Make them stop. Both of us had some near escapes. It was purely because of the Apache's wonderfully sharp brakes that we could avoid these creatures. We reached Gokarna, a popular temple town and famous beach resort.
We were warmly welcomed by Sri Joglekar a senior vedic scholar and his family who manage a small Veda Pathashala in the temple town. We visited the famous Athmalinga, Parvathi and Ganesha temples. We took in the main three beaches here the Holy beach, Kutle beach and the Om Beach. The azure waters and rock formations around Om beach made it our favourite. But it is saddening to note that unchecked exploitation of the beachside properties have marred the scenery of the place. There are hotels, shacks and restaurants all along the beach. It is indeed sad to note that this beach was unknown and didn't have road access barely a decade ago.
On the way to Karwar we met up with Hari a biker from Ooty on his way to Goa on his red CBZ we stropped him and were talking to him for a long time at over a cup of coffee. Suddenly Hari took out a small silver idol of lord Ganesha and gave it to me. "May the lord remove all obstacles on your route!" he said. It was a very touching gesture I felt and gratefully accepted the gift. I guess this is something that only a traveler would do, gift something valuable to someone whom you have just met.
Talking to Hari the biker from Ooty
After a brief halt on the beaches of Karwar, we crossed border to enter India's most famous beach holiday destination Goa. Our first stop was at Balli, a small village near Margao where a farmer family of Mrs. Meera Karve and son Mandar, hosted us. They had seen our website and wanted us to stop by. During the next two days we visited the various beaches in Goa: Margoa, Palolem, Colva, Miramar and Calangute. As also the ancient Shantadurga temple at Fatropa and the sprawling St. Francis Xaviers Cathedral in Old Goa.
Shantadurga temple (left) and St. Franscis Xaviers Cathedral, Old Goa
One thing I noticed in Goa is the absence of abject poverty and beggary which is so common elsewhere in the country. Even the poorest families in the villages had a proper tiled house to live in and almost every kid spoke acceptable English without flinching or stuttering. Perhaps the result of good education and awareness among parents about the importance of the same.
Click here to visit our picture gallery
Click here to read about our onward Journey from Goa
If you feel that we are doing something cool and want to help. E-mail us to find out how you can help us?
We need the following support urgently!
- Offer a place to stay for few days
- Sponsor fuel for one or more legs of the journey
- If you are an editor/ publisher, buy our travel stories
- Get us publicity in your local newspapers, TV or radio
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