Akbar Sha and Abel J. George belong to that rare breed of adventurous college kids who not only dream of going around the country but actually execute their plan. The final year mechanical engineering students of CUSAT (Cochin University of Science and Technology) covered 18 states in 46 days on a bike. They carried with them seeds of different trees and planted them wherever they halted.
Sharing the story behind their inspiring trip Akbar says, “We met each other when we joined for engineering here. We happened to watch the movie Motorcycle Diaries and that inspired us to plan such a trip. Back then we had no money or motorcycle.”
Camping at Kheerganga
For the next three years, they worked towards fulfilling their dream. “We did part time jobs and started saving money. Finally we bought a Royal Enfield Thunderbird. Next we bought riding gear and kit. It was a slow process.”
They were sure that they did not want to embark on a regular road trip. “We wanted to do something different, something good. So we carried along seeds of Jackfruit, which we had collected and sprouted earlier. We also carried vaka tree seeds, jamun and tamarind seeds. We started from Kochi, covered Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Delhi, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Kashmir, from there we went to Punjab, then back to Delhi. We had very few halts on the way back from Delhi and we covered Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Kolkata, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, from there we reached Kochi through Kanyakumari.”
A break at Taj Mahal
The route they had planned was entirely different. “As days passed, plans began to change. We had to cut down on certain places and include a few others. We met many riders along the way and decided to visit places that they advised us to. The number of days we spent in a state depended on the climate and the roads. We spent nearly seven days in Kashmir because of the cold weather and bad roads but covered places such as Bihar in a day.”
They did have some life-altering experiences. “Every part of the trip was unforgettable,” says Abel. Akbar says, “We faced punctured tyres four times throughout the trip, encountered two accidents which slowed the trip down by two days. There was a Malayali vacationing at Kasol who came to our rescue during the accident. Malayalis are everywhere,” Akbar laughs.
Would they recognise the places where they planted the seeds if they visited again? “The seeds were mostly planted in interior areas. We thought of marking the places on a Google map, but connectivity is nil in most of the places. It was impossible to plant it beside a highway. Unlike the bad highways of Kerala, rest of these places had four lane highways and the National Highway Authorities have beautified both the sides with plants. We gave away many seeds to riders we met along the way.”
The learnings after such a long trip? “There is a lot more clarity in our minds. We are lucky to be born in Kerala, we saw the difficult life that kids in some other places lead. We have the confidence that we can face any difficult situation now. Also learnt that we get back what we give.”
Akbar and Abel say that it took some time for them to convince their families and friends about the trip. “Convincing the family was difficult. And there were lots of friends who taunted us. But now they are asking us how we did this!” says Akbar. They had a third friend who had planned to join them “It was Antony, our friend who had introduced us to a lot of people who helped us in the trip. But he met with a serious accident a month before the trip.”
An amount of Rs 92,000 was spent by the boys. “Petrol, food, accomodation along with a few light purchases and maintenance of the vehicle is the break-up. We took tuitions and I also worked as a part-time driver. We went for any part time work that came our way.”
Is there a plan for another trip anytime soon? “Right now we are broke and we sold the bike after we returned. But some day, maybe after we get a job and before settling down with a family, we hope to get going again.”
