If I slide back to my childhood memories, I have several incidents which are unforgettable in my life and one would be (.)
As an young boy, I was very much interested in possessing a bicycle. But my parents were not prepared to get me one due to several reasons. I was very adamant in learning how to ride a bicycle and planned to gather as much money as I could from the pocket money I get or from any other sources. I tried to go to nearby cyclewala who used to hire out bicycle on hourly basis. He was charging 25 NP per hour and I tried to take small bicycle for learning. Since this learning class need to be carried out without my family members knowledge or any neighbors seeing, I used to push the bicycle far away near to a military ground and there I tried to learn. While trying to get on to the cycle, concentration were somewhere else. Worried about someone seeing me, other on time limit. Within an hour, I need to return the cycle, if not he will charge me extra which I do not have.
This followed for several days and I managed to learn and could ride a small cycle own my own. Now the next attempt was to hire half cycle and learn. Once I hired a cycle and asked one of my friend to help me. From Palace Guttahalli, we took the cycle and went to High grounds and he made me to sit on the cycle and pushed me .I was in excitement and gained confidence in holding the handle and move ahead. But the steep slop on the road towards Windsor Mannor bridge made the cycle to move fast where I could not control and as a result I went and hit against the bridge wall.
My lower lip was cut, with heavy bruises, bleeding I was lying unconscious. I do not know who took me from there to hospital and when I gained conscious. Having recovered I reached home trying to camouflage the wound on my lips and body. But my mother found out and I had to get severe thrashing from my dad.
Whatever it might be, untiring quest within me made me to go-ahead with full cycle and mastered to ride bicycle. During that period, one day my aunty visited our home from Mysore and as I was fond of her, requested to take me along with her to her house. But my mother did not permit. I decided to go to her house on my own. But I do not have any money left for bus charges nor can travel along with her. So after she left our home, without anyone’s knowledge, I slipped out and took an hired cycle and followed her to the bus stand. After confirming the bus route she boarded, I started following the bus. Since I could not peddle that speed to match with the bus speed, I used to ride without stopping. Whenever bus halts, at the respective stops, I was leveling the distance. Though the bus reached ahead of me ,I finally managed to reach Mysore and went to her house. Seeing me tired, sweating, with a bicycle, she started crying. I narrated the story and she them conveyed the message to my parents.
After three days, I was sent back home in a bus and cycle sent as luggage. Aunty gave me Rs 50/- asking me to pay the cycle rent for 4 days. Reaching B’lore I had to get the reserved quota from my dad for my daring act. Whatever it might be, my cycle trip to Mysore from B’lore at a small age encouraged me to do many daring things. In fact in 1994, I planned to take a World Cycle Tour. Approached several Industrial houses for sponsorship including MRF, AVION Cycles, Indian Oil. But owing to certain administrative reasons, it was cancelled.
That’s the end of “MY TRIP TO MYSORE ON CYCLE”
