Asutosh, Author at Cycle Tour India

How is the life of a Westerner who runs an NGO in India?

Working for an NGO is no easy job and running one simply requires one to dedicate their entire life to a welfare mission. Selflessness is the number one criterion to be able to work for the good of others and not everyone can achieve the same. If running an NGO in itself is an outrageously difficult job, running it in a foreign nation is unfathomable.

On my all-India cycle tour, I had the wonderful opportunity of meeting Mr Robert Lyon a UK-based individual settled in Goa, India, for the past few decades. The first time I got to know that a foreigner was running an NGO for the education of kids from slum areas across Goa, I wanted to know what went on in his mind to initiate such a task. Any reason I could come up in my mind mystified me.

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How is the life of a naturist nudist in India?

2 Comments / Goa, People / Asutosh

Although naturims has been there since a very long time, it is comparatively fresh concept in India. It is the practice of social nudism for a variety of reasons. One can practice nudism because inherently they feel comfortable being bare bodied or do it because of a wide range of philosophical reasons. One of which is being close to nature.

Naturists are social nudists in a non sexual way. They do not want to be nude for any reasons apart from the fact that they feel most comfortable being nude.

On my all-India cycle tour, I had the privilege of meeting Mr Vikram who is a Naturist living in Colva, Goa. It all started when I sent a request to Mr Vikram over a platform called couchsurfing which most travellers use to find a stay at a hosts house during their travel. When I sent out a request to Vikram, I didn’t know he had a set of rules to be followed in order to reside at his house. On reading his profile, I figured the ways and thought I should give it a try.

Interacting with him nude, I got to learn about the lifestyle and the psyche that goes into social nudity as a lifestyle.

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How is the life of a cafe/restuarant owner in Goa?

1 Comment / Goa, People / Asutosh

Most of us would have been to Goa to enjoy the beaches, sunsets, long rides on beautiful roads, and most importantly eat seafood and drink cheap booze. There are no statistics on the number of cafes/restaurants in Goa. Goa runs on tourism. This means one can find a restaurant located every 50 metres.

While most of us enjoy food and a drink in one of these cafes, we hardly question who these people are who are running the show. To run a business in Goa is no ordinary job. A filled restaurant or an empty one depends on the services offered. Managing staff off-season, keeping customers pleased, maintaining the required ambience, and most importantly serving good food adds to the burden.

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How much does it cost for a 40 day tour across Karnataka on cycle?

1 Comment / Karnataka, People / Asutosh

Karnataka is one of the best places for tourism in India. The western ghats, national parks, waterfalls, beaches, temples, and rich traditions make for a wholesome experience for a tourist. Considering the above, one can tour Karnataka as a tourist which will meant that it will cost a lot, or one can tour as a traveller. Major expenditure as a tourist comes from the stay and the food at tourist locations. Considering that people are willing to pay for a weekend or a summer outing, tourist places are almost always expensive. Expenditure on travel, food, and stay can be heavily slashed if one wishes to tour as a traveller.

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Souvenir you get to collect if you are touring Karnataka

1 Comment / Karnataka, People / Asutosh

Souvenirs need not always be purchased. The purpose of a souvenir is to help one get reminded of a place, person, or thing. The best memories do not come from the price paid at the gift shops, rather they come from the small things that came to your hands in your journey. These could be things as simple as a chocolate wrapper to a leaf from a tree.

During my all-India cycle tour, I made it a point to collect a small souvenir from each place I stayed at which I could pin to my diary. As long as you can flip your diary and cherish your memories, whether or not the souvenir is heavily priced or procured from the best gift shop in the town doesn’t matter.

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What I learnt from cycle touring Karnataka for 40 days

1 Comment / Karnataka, People, State summary / Asutosh

There is a lot one can learn from travelling. Especially when it is for 40 days across the length of an entire state such as Karnataka. The cultures, traditions, language, crops, food, and weather here change every 50 Km. If one gets ample opportunity to speak with the locals, there is a great deal to learn. In my 40-day trip across Karnataka, this is what I got to learn.

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Are want for materialism and hardworking capabilities the most important traits of a person who pursues CA?

1 Comment / Karnataka, People / Asutosh

The Charted accountant job is considered the king of all jobs allowing one to earn a handsome salary and one of the most respected professions. This is the exact reason why CA exams are one of the toughest exams in the country. At the same time, the jobs are also highly demanding and stressful. For one to select this career there has to be an extreme amount of dedication and grit to not give up. So, what propels an individual to pursue such a profession?

I have come across a lot of my friends who are in the process of pursuing CA, but I never got the opportunity to ask them the question. On my all-India cycle tour, I met a person Sai Kumar from Hubli, who is currently in his CA internship. Speaking with him, I got to understand the mindset of an individual who has an interest in clearing CA and entering the profession.

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How is the life of a security guard in remote places of Karnataka

1 Comment / Karnataka, People / Asutosh

Agencies employ security guards and deploy them to different places for patrolling by providing a small sum of money as wages. We see these people guarding buildings and other large companies and factories. However, we hardly get an opportunity to interact with them considering their job.

On my all-India cycle tour, I got the opportunity to meet Mr Somashekar Rudrappa, a security guard at a mutt (Mrityunjaya mutt) at Dandeli. He serves as a guard for an agency at the age of 62, even post-retirement.

The life of a security guard was nothing like I imagined it to be. He has the same commitments and lifestyle as most of us do. Most of all, he shares the same feelings and emotions as anyone else.

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How is the life of a person who regularly offers services at ISCON?

2 Comments / Karnataka, People / Asutosh

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISCON) is known for its Hare Krishna movement. Concepts in Bhagavad Gita is the central theme of education to the disciples who worship Krisha as the highest form of God. The practice of mantra meditation also known as the Kirtan is a prominent part of worship. Founded in 1966 in New York by Swami Prabhupada, ISCON has received a wide audience appeal with 800 centres in India and many centres located all over the world.

My first experience with ISCON came when I was in Bangalore. A beautiful temple located on the hilltop serves as a tourist location offering tasty Prasad. Every Bangalorean would have visited the place at least once. Entering the place, subconsciously I could sense that I was being subtly requested to enrol to their programs. Being a staunch atheist back then, I figured that ISCON was not the place for me to visit.

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The man who converted 5 acres of government land into a forest and lives in it

1 Comment / Karnataka, People / Asutosh

“There is no law for doing good. There is only law for doing bad”
This statement quoted by Mr Devito Nagaraj from the remote village of Heddur, Shivamogga district, Karnataka, sums it all up. If somebody wants to do good, the law shouldn’t stop them from doing so. Law is only for those who do bad and not for the ones who do good.

A veteran all-India traveller on foot, Mr Devito Nagaraj, lives in a mud house that he has built with his own hands in the middle of a 5-acre government land, which he has converted into a forest.

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