Speed breaker - Taj Mahal wannabe

As promised, here's the pic of the mosque at Karunagapally, Kerala which owes its design to Shahjahan's Taj Mahal. I was so much in a hurry that I couldn't get the name or details of this mosque. That's right on top of the must-do list next time I take a trip via that route.

0 to 167 kms in 4 hours

When I decided to go for a full blast 150 km trip from home to Trivandrum seldom did I know what was in store. Hours of convincing acts, before parents said yes. It’s difficult to make them understand that you are old enough to travel on your own. Considering the fact that I’m yet to put some decent miles on the odometer, they have a point. But as applicable to all humans, a hyper-excited mind is deaf to anything which goes against its wishes. I’m human.

What’s with all the excitement? The sights that caught my fancy en route during several trips did made me enthusiastic for a bike ride with scheduled pit stops. Pit stops which would function as “pic” stops too. I even went through the trouble of memorizing the names of all the places where I’d get down and shoot. But as the wise loser once said, man proposes, God disposes. And He did dispose it all.

Rain rain, go away, come again another day. But the rain gods were involved in other jobs and chose not to listen to my prayers. Drenching me at times with showers of blessings. With a backpack which weighed twice as much as I was when I was born, definitely my spine was in the interest of quitting. The less said about the least offending butt. I must say this - it went numb.

The list of good subjects which demanded to be shot is endless. A dozen damaged cars and trucks of all shapes and sizes filled up the sides of the road, which would make anyone scared of going beyond 30kph. A mosque which bears a close resemblance to the Taj Mahal, the rusted shell of a van, half buried in the mud, a deteriorating barge which still stood above the water as waves lashed out on its rusted sides, and miles of tree and coast lined roads craved to be photographed. I had a plan for each one when we drove past them previously. All went down the drains along with the rains. I was more worried about kissing the roads in a bad skid than about putting my eyes and the camera’s capabilities to the test.

That doesn’t mean that I didn’t shoot at all. A couple of frames did make their way onto the camera’s sensor. A few clicks at a beach and a quick stop pic of the Taj Mahal look alike mosque, that’s all.

A couple of close calls and hours of silent riding made up the trip which took all of 4 hours. Please don’t ask the receiving party on how I looked at the end of the road trip. It wasn’t the best way to turn up at any place. Thankfully, no one judged.

Stunning frames

A contrasting sky with dark rain clouds forming the lower section and the feather-white clouds filling up the portion above. This in turn imparted the image with two different colour schemes - blue above and a yellowish tint below. The Stunner made up the foreground and the evening sun's rays struggling to make their way through the dark clouds give the pic an end-of-a-roadtrip feel.

Speed Breaker - Honda Stunner joins the show

So finally I got my set of wheels. Thanks to the frequent convincing acts from friends, the blogger zeroed in on the ever-reliable Honda. A bit flashy here, a fantastic engine there, this machine is quite well above the expected standards. I often find it tough to convince others that this is a humble 125cc commuter which looks like a 150cc big bike(by Indian standards).

With a bit of performance bike aspirations thrown in, it looks purposeful. The fixed front cowl and headlamp assembly, the sharp fairing, the sporty seating postion and the stepped seat do lend it an aggressive stance. The low end range is encouraging as far as city commute is concerned. Say good bye to frequent gear shifts because of that. 5 gears isn't necessary for a bike which tops out somewhere around 100kph. I have no complaints, as the feel of having a 5 gear transmission at my disposal is pleasing.

Thank heavens, she is less demanding than her looks convey. Handling isn't exceptional, but doesn't make the rider uncomfortable. The tyres are meaty and give a firm grip on the tarmac, inspiring confidence. A fine choice for long trips too and that translates into more beautiful places to go to and shoot, like the one in the pic.

Trust me, the pillion rider will love this bike. The higher postion of the rear seat ensures that she (hopefully!) gets an unhindered view of the road ahead. That's a good excuse to buy this machine if you haven't got the bucks for a full-blown performance/cruiser bike. It works for me. :)