Puducherry

A couple of friends, who were on a road trip themselves had decided to stop at my place for the night. Following some candid conversations and a few anecdotes, one of us jokingly said, Let’s take our bikes and visit Puducherry, and the rest of us said, “why not?“. As you follow my stories further, you will soon realise that this is how most of my voyages begin. Puducherry was about 150 Kilometres from my place, a short journey in the context of road trips.

However, this short ride to watch the sun rise over the horizon of Pondicherry’s beaches had changed the course of my life. It made me realise that there was more to life than what I was doing at the time. I was in awe of the orange hues of the sun, the green tint of trees, and the blue of the ocean, All of which I saw on an everyday basis, but never really appreciated. I felt weightless on the road, weirdly safe on my bike, and shockingly home in the middle of nowhere.

If life was a forest, and I was following a trail, this was the moment when my path split into two. One path promised a life that would fit into society’s normalcy, but guaranteed safety. The other promised a life of adventure, excitement, and risk, but not treaded by many. I was unknowingly stuck here for quite some time. Being on the road, that fortunate night, I felt a sense of belonging, that I had never felt before, and I, I…. chose the path less travelled by.