THE EVE

Friends,
The D-Day is almost here. The car was serviced by Thevara Indus Motor - they have given it a complete and thorough check up to facilitate the long drive. I underwent a medical test to determine my roadworthiness! Fortunately, no major corrections were needed. The places of halt, to visit and the accommodation for the first 31 days have been tied up. The bags are loaded in the car. I expect to leave by 7 am tomorrow. I will try and update the blog every day subject to connectivity. Cheers,

THE SCHEDULE

Friends,
The schedule for the journey is now complete - departure 1st Oct 2010 from Cochin and return on 27th Jan 2011. Have fixed up accommodation for the first 15 days of the tour. The car in which I am to travel is on loan from a kind friend, Deepak Narayan of Cochin. Over the next one week the car will be thoroughly checked up so as to withstand the rigors of the journey ahead - the weather news from Uttarakhand is no help! I am also contacting Maruti in Cochin to get any assistance in remote locations as is possible. The personal gear is also being readied for the varied climatic conditions expected en route.

The Genesis

Friends,
This is a journey I had planned to do in 2000. Unfortunately, it remained a plan and a dream unrealised since my dear mother fell ill and passed away. New assignments, change of jobs, relocation and then the passing away of my father rolled half a dozen years over. A passionate love story with a unique project called the International Container Transshipment Terminal, Vallarpadam in Cochin, Kerala brought me into 2010. Once that assignment was over, it was the wedding of my dear daughter Maya. She wed a handsome young man, Kiron, on the 21st of August. They left for Botswana, where Kiron works as a CA with PWC, on the 6th of September.

I have been evaluating various offers for professional engagement since the wedding was over last month. However, the unrealised dream resurfaced and I decided to reassess the option of doing the All India tour. Encouragement from friends and relations lent further meat to the reassessment. The trip is more challenging now than it was ten years ago. The route has been planned out and I am in the process of tapping friends and contacts along the way. Any help for accommodation and company en route is most welcome.

PLANNING THE JOURNEY

Friends,
After the wedding of my daughter Maya to Kiron on 21 August 2010 in Trivandrum and before I get into the next professional engagement, I have decided to tour the entire country. The program is elaborate and the journey on a shoestring is expected to be completed in about four months. I will be travelling alone in a Maruti Swift and will stay with friends and well wishers. Apart from the objective of appreciating the diversity and magnificence that is Bharat, I would like to report my observations of ordinary Indians that make up this great land.