Section 2: The Journey > Prologue

I plead insanity. For insane is just about the only way to describe the experience that unfolded between the 29th day of May and the 26th day of June, 2010.

Not so long ago I wrote...

"Why pen down the anticipation, the possible journey or the disappointment, the experiences beyond? To share with those before me? But they've already experienced it. I'll only be telling them what they already know. To share with those after me? But they'll experience it some day. I'll probably be ruining their surprise. To share with those that never will? If they did not care enough to experience it themselves, will they really care about my perspective on it?"

I was wrong on every count.

Those that went before us followed our travels the closest; sensing our excitement, our joy, our disappointments, our jubilation, reliving their past, making promises for a future return. Only some of those promises will be fulfilled.

Those that will go after us looked to our travels as an approximation of their own future adventures. Is it worth it? Can WE do it too? To which I say - give it a whirl for I do not know the answer. Your experience will be distinct from mine, for Nature can and will find ways to surprise you. Its usually kind.

As for those that probably never will attempt this journey, those that are not bikers, those that have no inclination to be - it was from them I received the most adulation. Little did I know my journey would strike the fancy of so many, so dear. Little did I know that I would receive emails, SMSes, PMs requesting...no...demanding more information on my whereabouts, my adventures, my day of return. Little did I know that what I thought was a personal journey, meant so much to so many. Little did I know that apart from the one who expressed his desire to live through me, many more rode with me in spirit.

I dedicate my journey to you all.

A close friend recently wrote:

"how r u? been following ur amazin trip to leh n back. it seems like a trip of a lifetime! do u thing u have changed as a person becoz of it? had any epiphanies?... v."

The answer... I do not know yet. For in the course of this journey, there was way too much to take in, very little time to process it. Much has yet to sink in. And in committing my memories to digital ink, I hope to discover the new me... if indeed one exists. I believe readers who know my beat will be the first to spot the change if any, long before I do.

We view the world through the perspective of our individual lenses. I began my journey looking through a glass that was foggy from a persistent search for relevance, cracked by the loss of my father 2 years ago, twisted by misleading words that masked actions unfair, insensitive, inhuman, marred by lies. I do not know what has changed. But I do know that I have a new lens now. A new perspective. What it shows I do not comprehend. Discover I will, bit by bit, as I recount the 28 days that changed it all.