Manipal
With Manipal, I was punching above my weight class. The distance was a staggering 800 kms, one way, cutting past three Indian states; Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. Adding to all this was a section of western ghats separating the lower regions of Hassan from the coast of Karnataka. This anecdote begins in a similar way to the ones before. An impromptu plan, an old Royal Enfield, and two teenagers who were out of their mind, their judgement of feasibility and practicality, clouded by a strong desire to travel.
ft. Krishna Charith
Prior to the trip, it felt like we were very well prepared. We had reviewed the route, strapped our luggage, and sorted out our finances. Well, that’s what we thought. Everything was going as planned until we crossed the town of Hassan. The road was beautiful, we were set to reach our destination by 8 AM (According to google). We crossed Hassan at 3 AM, about 500 Kms from our origin; Tiruttani, and 300 kms away from our destination, Manipal. With the passing of every kilometre from Hassan, the roads got narrower, villages got smaller, trees got abnormally larger and the night got darker. The road ahead, was only moonlit, we could feel the chill of the wind on our necks, and the road behind, we were scared to look at. There was not a single soul in sight. The trees flanked the road on both sides, their white barks looked like the pale skin of a wild beast, and they inanimately gazed at us, as we ‘‘trespassed’ through their kingdom. We treaded forward, on our bike, seldom looking back, often fearful and weary of what was to come. My pillion, was sitting a little closer, my hand on the throttle was a little softer, and my shoulder was vigilant, ready to command my arms to make turns, if necessary.
It was not until sunrise, that we’d let our guard down. The sun rose, piercing through the darkness, turning the landscape into a wonderland. Everything that we feared, now became a reason to admire. Then, we reached the foothills of Chikkamagluru. Alas, our phones had died, and we could not capture a single picture from this point. We were literally above the clouds, it was brittle cold, streams flowed through the evergreen forests of the western ghats. Roads curved beautifully into blind turns, revealing one scenic view at a time. The sun got warmer, dew settled on the grass, and the air we breathed, satiated our lungs. The views never stopped. Chikkamagluru was followed by Agumbe, then we finally descended to the town of Manipal, at 2 PM. Yes, 8 hours off our ETA. A twenty hour ride, In total.
What do two sane people who’ve reached their destination, after twenty hours on a bike do? Rest, right? Yeah right, that’s what sane people do but we met a few friends, and danced in a club till 4 AM the next day. After exploring the town, meeting a few friends who studied at Manipal university, it was time to head back. Out of the two us, Charith ( the friend I always talk about - My permanent pillion) is the more reasonable one, relatively. He was sick and advised us that we should just take the train back home. But, times like these, my irrationality takes over and I tend to make brash decisions. Not all that I am proud of, not all that are safe, but all of them, give us one heck of a story to tell. The ride back was through the ghats of Charmadi. A daunting journey ridden with obstacles and challenges. The western ghats made us realise that day, that the top of a mountain, is the bottom of the next. It made us realise how small we were compared to the immaculate beauty of nature. We just hoped that there would be another vehicle, in front or behind us but for the major part of this dreaded section, we were alone. We had each other though. I could not have embarked this journey alone. Throughout the journey, there were multiple occasions during which I thought, thank god this person exists and is by my side. Our motivation was the beautiful horizon in our field of view. Our goal, was to reach the horizon that we could see, in that moment. And we kept chasing these horizons, until we reached our destination, seldom looking back.
Chasing horizons was born.