Thiruvannamalai On Bike

Thirivanamalai from Top

Bird

On the Road

Pond

No helmet

Stop

Bike's on the side stand

NH-7

Trip meter says 575

Guitar, Asha, Sitar

I like this guy

Sid. Siddhartha is what he calls himself.

Siddhartha is Irish. Osteopath. Yoga teacher.

Was Yoga instructor for the Miss India Pageant.

Writes for an Irish “Health and spirituality Magazine”

Plays Sitar and Guitar.

 

Was swimming in Pondicherry Auroville beach when the Tsunami hit.

“One moment I was swimming, the next moment I was holding on to a coconut tree.”

Says,

“I know a lot of people lost their lives and it was so terrible.

And all those survivors, it will be so difficult for them to rebuild their lives.

But then sea water went into my bikes engine. THAT was bad.”

 

Met him in Thiruanamalai.

Went and found himself another place to stay so that we could stay in the house he was a guest.

Every time I said “Nice riding glasses”  “Nice gloves”. Kept saying “Take it”

Siddhartha rides a Royal Enfield Machismo.

 

 

 

No Shoelaces

Planning for a long bike ride over the long weekend.

Unlike Vaish, I hate making lists.

Totally listless, I go back to my general purpose guide.

Below is THE list.

Add good bike and good company and that’s all you need to live….on the road.

 

“What I have here is my list of valuable things to take on your next motorcycle trip across the Dakotas…

 Most of the items are commonplace and need no comment. Some of them are peculiar to motorcycling and need some comment. Some of them are just plain peculiar and need a lot of comment. The list is divided into four parts: Clothing, Personal Stuff, Cooking and Camping Gear, and Motorcycle Stuff.

 

The first part, Clothing, is simple:

1. Two changes of underwear.

2. Long underwear.

3. One change of shirt and pants for each of us. I use Army-surplus fatigues. They're cheap, tough and don't show dirt. I had an item called ``dress clothes'' at first but John penciled ``Tux'' after this item. I was just thinking of something you might want to wear outside a filling station.

4. One sweater and jacket each.

5. Gloves. Unlined leather gloves are best because they prevent sunburn, absorb sweat and keep your hands cool. When you're going for an hour or two little things like this aren't important, but when you're going all day long day after day they become plenty important.

6. Cycle boots.

7. Rain gear.

8. Helmet and sunshade.

9. Bubble. This gives me claustrophobia, so I use it only in the rain, which otherwise at high speed stings your face like needles.

10. Goggles. I don't like windshields because they also close you in. These are some British laminated plate-glass goggles that work fine. The wind gets behind sunglasses. Plastic goggles get scratched up and distort vision.

 

The next list is Personal Stuff:

Combs. Billfold. Pocketknife. Memoranda booklet. Pen. Cigarettes and matches. Flashlight. Soap and plastic soap container. Toothbrushes and toothpaste. Scissors. APCs for headaches. Insect repellent. Deodorant (after a hot day on a cycle, your best friends don't need to tell you). Sunburn lotion. (On a cycle you don't notice sunburn until you stop, and then it's too late. Put it on early.) Band-Aids. Toilet paper. Washcloth (this can go into a plastic box to keep other stuff from getting damp). Towel.

 

Books. I don't know of any other cyclist who takes books with him. They take a lot of space, but I have three of them here anyway, with some loose sheets of paper in them for writing. These are:

1. The shop manual for this cycle.

2. A general troubleshooting guide containing all the technical information I can never keep in my head. This is Chilton's Motorcycle Troubleshooting Guide written by Ocee Rich and sold by Sears, Roebuck.

3. A copy of Thoreau's Walden -- which Chris has never heard and which can be read a hundred times without exhaustion. I try always to pick a book far over his head and read it as a basis for questions and answers, rather than without interruption. I read a sentence or two, wait for him to come up with his usual barrage of questions, answer them, then read another sentence or two. Classics read well this way.

They must be written this way. Sometimes we have spent a whole evening reading and talking and discovered we have only covered two

or three pages. It's a form of reading done a century ago – when Chautauquas were popular. Unless you've tried it you can't imagine how pleasant it is to do it this way.

I see Chris is sleeping over there completely relaxed, none of his normal tension. I guess I won't wake him up yet.

Camping Equipment includes:

1. Two sleeping bags.

2. Two ponchos and one ground cloth. These convert into a tent and also protect the luggage from rain while you are traveling.

3. Rope.

4. U. S. Geodetic Survey maps of an area where we hope to do some hiking.

5. Machete.

6. Compass.

7. Canteen. I couldn't find this anywhere when we left. I think the kids must have lost it somewhere.

8. Two Army-surplus mess kits with knife, fork and spoon.

9. A collapsible Sterno stove with one medium-sized can of Sterno. This is an experimental purchase. I haven't used it yet. When it rains or when you're above the timberline firewood is a problem.

10. Some aluminum screw-top tins. For lard, salt, butter, flour, sugar. A mountaineering supply house sold us these years ago.

11. Brillo, for cleaning.

12. Two aluminum-frame backpacks.

 

Motorcycle Stuff.

A standard tool kit comes with the cycle and is stored under the seat.

This is supplemented with the following:

A large, adjustable open-end wrench. A machinist's hammer. A cold chisel. A taper punch. A pair of tire irons. A tire-patching kit. A bicycle pump. A can of molybdenum disulfide spray for the chain. (This has tremendous penetrating ability into the inside of each roller where it really counts, and the lubricating superiority of molybdenum disulfide is well known. Once it has dried off, however, it ought to be supplemented with good old SAE-30 engine oil.) Impact driver. A point file. Feeler gauge. Test lamp.

Spare parts include: Plugs. Throttle, clutch and brake cables. Points, fuses, headlight and taillight bulbs, chain-coupling link with keeper, cotter pins, baling wire. Spare chain (this is just an old one that was about shot when I replaced it, enough to get to a cycle shop if the present one goes).

And that's about it.

No shoelaces.”

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

An Inquiry into Values

Robert M. Pirsig

 

Makes sense even if you don’t care a dime about Motorcycles.

 

And they play on...

(Mon ami Rajan loves the way devil says "throw away that stupid lance,It's really not your style". I agree. Listen to it. Mail me if you want the song)

Chris De Burgh - Spanish Train

There's a spanish train that runs between
Quadalquivir and old saville,
And at dead of night the whistle blows,
And people hear she's running still...

And then they hush their children back to sleep,
Lock the doors, upstairs they creep,
For it is said that the souls of the dead
Fill that train ten thousand deep!!

Well a railwayman lay dying with his people by his side,
His family were crying, knelt in prayer before he died,
But above his head just a-waiting for the dead,
Was the devil with a twinkle in his eye,
"well god's not around and look what i've found,
This one's mine!!"

Just then the lord himself appeared in a blinding flash of light,
And shouted at the devil, "get thee hence to endless night!!"
But the devil just grinned and said "i may have sinned,
But there's no need to push me around,
I got him first so you can do your worst,
He's going underground!!"

"but i think i'll give you one more chance"
Said the devil with a smile,
"so throw away that stupid lance,
It's really not your style",
"joker is the name, poker is the game,
We'll play right here on this bed,
And then we'll bet for the biggest stakes yet,
The souls of the dead!!"

And i said "look out, lord, he's going to win,
The sun is down and the night is riding in,
That train is dead on time, many souls are on the line,
Oh lord, he's going to win!.."

Well the railwayman he cut the cards
And he dealt them each a hand of five
And for the lord he was praying hard
Or that train he'd have to drive...

Well the devil he had three aces and a king,
And the lord, he was running for a straight,
He had the queen and the knave and the nine and ten of spades,
All he needed was the eight...

And then the lord he called for one more card,
But he drew the diamond eight,
And the devil said to the son of god,
"i believe you've got it straight,
So deal me one for the time has come
To see who'll be the king of this place,
But as he spoke, from beneath his cloak,
He slipped another ace...

Ten thousand souls was the opening bid,
And it soon went up to fifty-nine,
But the lord didn't see what the devil did,
And he said "that suits me fine",
"i'll raise you high to hundred and five,
And forever put an end to your sin",
But the devil let out a mighty shout, "my hand wins!!"

And i said "lord, oh lord, you let him win,
The sun is down and the night is riding in,
That train is dead on time, many souls are on the line,
Oh lord, don't let him win..."

Well that spanish train still runs between,
Quadalquivir and old saville,
And at dead of night the whistle blows,
And people hear she's running still...
And far away in some recess
The lord and the devil are now playing chess,
The devil still cheats and wins more souls,
And as for the lord, well, he's just doing his best...

And i said "lord, oh lord, you've got to win,
The sun is down and the night is riding in,
That train is still on time, oh my soul is on the line,
Oh lord, you've got to win..."

Mom's Worries

Uncle lands in B'lore.
We wake up in the morning and I ask "So where do you want to go?"
"To the Barber's"
"What?" I smell a school of salmons.
"I want to go to the barber, lets go together"
Mom's sent Anna kaka on a mission.
Guess when your son refuses to chop the crop and insists that he is aiming for the Jesus Christ look and daugther cuts hair shorter than him, its a matter of great worry in Mommydom.
"At least a shave" kaku tried to negotiate, I refuesed.
"You never said anything to Tai"
"But you look as if you are ill (And she looks cuter)"
The the part implicit in the statement, I agere.
What say you?

Before	After

Atheists

"Some people say God died during the Partition in 1947. He may have died in 1971 during the war. Or he may have died yesterday here in Pondicherry in an orphanage. That's what some people say, Pi. When I was your age, I lived in bed, racked with polio. I asked myself every day, 'Where is God? Where is God? Where is God?' God never came. It wasn't God who saved me--it was medicine. Reason is my prophet and it tells me that as a watch stops, so we die. It's the end. If the watch doesn't work properly, it must be fixed here and now by us. One day we will take hold of the means of production and there will be justice on earth."

"This was all a bit much for me. The tone was right--loving and brave --but the details seemed bleak. I said nothing. It wasn't for fear of angering Mr. Kumar. I was more afraid that in a few words thrown out he might destroy something that I loved. What if his words had the effect of polio on me? What a terrible disease that must be if it could kill God in a man"

Life of Pi, Yann Martel

Expectation!!!

All excited about my weekend visit to Pondi, plans cancelled, lamest of lame excuses by a friend. Get invited by kids for Christmas, tied shoelaces for Kiran, Elisa and Alex.
Whole of east coast hit by tsunami. Me in Bangalore. Called up Pondi and BBSR.
Started for Sri Sri's campus, took a different turn, landed at some lake in the middle of nowhere. Birds, Blue and Quiet. Peaceful.
Trousers wet and rolled up, finally land at "Art of Living", smile at everyone extracting just one "Jai gurudev" with an affected simper.
Hard work, percentile of 99.18 and not a single call.
Disappointed?
Waiting for the positive to surface...










(Snaps taken with my phone :)