One Life to Ride

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The book is based on my motorcycle journey from Pune to Ladakh and Kargil - a travel story which takes the reader through the hot and dusty plains of India to the higher mountains of the vast Himalayan range many covered in snow even in June. Weaving its way along coastal roads of western India, to Goa, with pig toilets and palm liquor, the story winds through old and new stories - one from a holy-man cycling from Mumbai to Mecca, another about the meditation technique of Vipassana, yet another of a light-hearted con-game at a scout's camp in Rajasthan - the tale finally takes you to the highest motorable road in the world - the fabled Khardung-La. You'll meet Sufi saints, fake fakirs and homesick soldiers. You'll get stuck in an icy road river and be miraculously rescued. You'll feel the stress an average Kashmiri experiences everyday. You'll see how blind and dangerous religion can be if it is only followed in rituals and illogical beliefs. You'll see how friendly and hospitable everyone is on the roads of India. You'll come away feeling exhilarated, entertained and yes, also exhausted by the physical arduousness of the motorcycle ride.