Skip to main content

Before it begins: A toast to my friends

It has taken me six (though very short) web logs to write something close to a prologue about my plans to undertake a long journey in Africa. Through them I have also tried to justify why I have this pathological need to experience Africa on a bicycle, alone. It was always in there, in me, this bohemian ‘me’, always wanting, craving to wander. And partly it is Mr. Tilman to blame, I guess.

My heart is full of excitement. I am excited in anticipation of the vastness of the unknown factors that lay ahead. Factors that will govern and dictate the fate of my journey. Factors that I cannot possibly imagine may be! And that is what making me alive, again.

In this episode I would like to mention my friends without whom my dream for this African journey would not have turned into a reality. People without whose support the stalemate of the mundane would have carried on and on.

First of all, it is, Mr. Sabyasachi Talukdar, the CEO and Editor, of Uttarbanga Sambad (www.uttarbangasambad.com) for believing in my project and extending invaluable financial support. Without his help the fate of my Africa dreams would have been seriously compromised.
With Mr. Sabyasachi Talukdar in his office at Kolkata


I will be contributing my articles, as I travel, in Bengali, to ‘Uttarbanga Sambad’ regularly. This daily newspaper is also available online.

I will be updating my blog, as and when I get a chance. For those who wish to follow me in English; this blog is the place.

The next person I must mention is Dr. Rupak Bhattacharya. In spite of his busy surgery schedule in C.M.R.I, Kolkata, he was always extremely enthusiastic about my project and gone out of his way to help me; from finding contacts in cities that I will be travelling through to planning my route. I owe a great deal to him; not just because of the enthusiasm and support for Africa, but also for doing a damn good lung surgery on me back in 2010. For me it is truly the second innings of my life! I am grateful. 
with Dr. Rupak Bhattacharya, during one of our many map study sittings in Kolkata


Next is Sri Biswanath Dasgupta, or should I say ‘BDG’. Through his messages and blogs he has been outstandingly inspiring; to many like me I am sure.

Then my old friend Martin Muecke, with whom I had raced in Elbrus (2008) and climbed Manirang (2009) and Satopanth (2011). He is truly a good friend and I am indebted to him for his support and help. 
Martin Muecke, at Nandanvan, on our way down from Satopanth, July 2011


And of course, my new mountain friend Ananth whom I met in Kalanag a few weeks back; his gesture of support touched my heart. 
with Ananth at Seema on our way out of Kalanag


Tomorrow I leave for Nairobi, Kenya. I will be flying to Mumbai tomorrow afternoon and then catch the Nairobi flight on very early morning of 21st June.

Today, as it happens, it’s my birthday and I have just turned 42. Now that I am officially middle aged, let’s begin this journey with a toast to all my friends. I wish I could play that Joe Cocker number for all of you. You know which one I am talking about: “...with a little help from my friend”...of course!

Cheers!


"...What would you do if I sang out of tune,
Would you stand up and walk out on me.
Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song,
And I'll try not to sing out of key.
Oh I get by with a little help from my friends,
Mmm,I get high with a little help from my friends,
Mmm, I'm gonna try with a little help from my friends."

Labels:

Comments

Arin Ghosh said…
Excellent description; keep going
June 20, 2012 at 1:32 AM
Tuareg Anindya said…
Thank you very much for your comment Sir!
June 20, 2012 at 1:37 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Across The Sahara on a Bicycle

Across The Sahara on a Bicycle Between the things we get And the things we celebrate Flows a desert                            Lest we forget. #SaharaQuartet Background: My Africa My first exposure to the real Africa in 2005 after climbing Kilimanjaro. Scanned from slide. On top of Kilimanjaro in 2005 with a copy of Tathyakendra magazine. Scanned from slide I first visited Africa (Tanzania to be specific) in 2005. I hiked Kilimanjaro and came back home. It was just a tourist thing I did. But in spite of being wrapped up in an itinerary and a travel package of all things touristy; something very curious happened. I got even more inquisitive about Africa. I wanted to go back to Africa. Not as a tourist, but as a drifting wanderer, living an ever curious life. But for that I had to wait a good seven years. In 2011, while I was exploring the barriers of the Nanda Devi Sanctuary in ...
4 comments
Read more

To the Mountains of the Moon: A Journey from Fiction to Facts

In 1937, Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay chronicled the adventures of a Bengali boy named Shankar. This novel was named 'Chander Pahar' (English: 'Mountains of the Moon', as the fiction refers to a range of mountains and not a single standing mountain). 'Chander Pahar' went on to become one of the most loved adventure stories in the Bengali literature. In his lifetime, Bibhutibhushan wrote 16 novels and over 200 short stories. Interestingly, even though most of Bibhutibhushan's works were largely set in rural Bengal; in this particular novel the writer chose the setting of 1909 Africa. Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay (1894-1950) In the story 'Chander Pahar', our protagonist Shankar gets a lucky break to go out from his little riverside village in Bengal to work for the Uganda Railway. Thus begun his sudden and long journey from the mundane to the extraordinary. A roller coaster ride through adventures involving the infamous man eating lions of Tsav...
4 comments
Read more

Straight from a Story Book: Part I

It all started with a story book. In 1937, Bibhuti Bhushan Bandyopadhyay , one of the leading writers of modern Bengali literature penned ' Chander Pahar '. It is a story of a 22 year old young man from rural Bengal who sets out to Africa on an adventure of a lifetime in 1909. (If you have not read the book already you can read the plot summary here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chander_Pahar ) Like millions of Bengali readers I had read this adventure story when I was a kid and then as I grew up, as indicated by its publisher (juvenile literature); it became a thing of the past, a childhood fantasy for me.  It is only in recent years, after I climbed Kilimanjaro (2005), I picked up 'Chander Pahar' again. It is then, the book started opening new meanings and fresh directions for me. It is then I began to understand the meaning of the Swedish proverb- 'In a good book the best is between the lines' .  My repeated readings of 'Chander Pah...
2 comments
Read more