01 — Inception
At 6:15 PM on December 29th 2016, Vivek Sankar & I, along with our families and friends, stood nervously outside the luggage booking office at the Egmore railway station. Our train to Nagercoil was scheduled for 7 PM and we had to ensure that our bicycles also boarded the train with us. In fact, we had no reason to board the train without them. Personally, I was worried more about this part than our planned cycling trip from Kanyakumari to Chennai, thanks to the lack of clarity we had about the processes and protocols of the government-run institution. After 15 minutes of impatience and nervousness, we were assured that our bicycles would be safe and sound in the luggage van of the train. From the next morning, we would be confined to our humble gears, bicycles and most importantly, our emotions.
But after cycling 943.68 kilometers, we came back to Chennai on January 25th 2017, much to the relief and delight of our families. Like a child savoring the only piece of the most delicious bar of chocolate, fragment by fragment, I have lived off the wonderful memories, learning and reflections of my journey, over the eight months after completing the trip. Now, I guess it is time to share, and to thank the many people who came together to help us with this fascinating journey.
There is no hiding the fact that I feel proud and incredibly happy that I made this trip. But when I sit back and think how this journey was conceived in the first place, I’m reminded of a mundane morning. As usual, I had logged in to Facebook the first thing in the morning, when a post caught my attention like no other. The post was about the cycling journey of a cyclist-photographer named Kamran. Kamran had completed a cycling trip from Germany to Pakistan! As I looked through his pictures and write ups, I was awestruck and humbled by his humility, genuineness, endurance, taste and respect for nature. Within minutes, I had decided to buy a bicycle for myself!
Now to think a bit deeper, the post was shared by some friend of mine whom I cannot remember unfortunately. With what intention the person did it, I do not know. But the person had shared it, possibly moved on with his/her routines and I happened to see it and act on it. Today, I thank that unknown person who shared the article on Kamran. The action that was probably done on instinct, perhaps became the little obstacle (read blessing in disguise) that diverts the ebb and flow of a river, gently enabling it to reach parched lands, thereby creating newer forms of life and transforming the existing ones.
Isn’t life all about encountering these instincts, coincidences, uncertainties and incidents that arise because of these coincidences? We never know why we encounter certain people, places or things, but after this trip, I’m convinced that there is definitely a reason. A reason that is at times prominent, at times an unperturbed mystery. This is the magic I’m now consciously ready to experience and share.
Everyday, we create and experience this magic, knowingly or unknowingly. And whenever we create this magic, we do have the option of deciding its intent, if not the outcome. I wish to choose the intent of my unknown well-wisher on Facebook.
But as Roald Dahl put it, “Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it!”
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