2013: The Year That Was

So, Facebook has this thing which shows life events as highlights of the year. I tried starting it up, but I noticed that most of what I consider highlights are merely listed as 'other' by those guys. I didn't get married, or into a relationship, for that matter. I did ride down to Goa with a bunch of near strangers who are now rather close friends, I did meet my future boss and a couple of colleagues in Goa, and I did get a job.

That job started on the 13th of February. I worked on Valentine's Day, was fried to death almost by the evening, spoke to my old manager who had switched brands, and was set to meet him. Later in the evening, I got a call from my present boss, who asked me what I was up to. I remember saying, 'I just joined an IT company, but I am more interested in what you have to say'. 'Meet me tomorrow at 4', he said. I dropped all plans, went to the ex-manager as a show of courtesy to see what he had to say and put forward my rather high demands. That dealt with, it was time for the real interview.

I reached on time, and he showed up a few minutes later. I was asked to write-up my experience of India Bike Week 2013. A 400-600 word essay on the India Bike Week (another highlight), which, 10 minutes later, was an 800-word write-up submitted. I would join on March the 1st, but started on Feb the 28th with my first multi-bike shoot. I started getting paid from the 5th of March, however, with my publishing company looking to save every last dime they can, that's still quite a bother.

So, here are my highlights of the year, and it isn't anything Facebook could possibly imagine:

January, was published in BS Motoring, my favourite Indian magazine! My article about passion won me a Ferrari hard copy book. Thank you, Srini! And the whole gang!

February was chaos, as I mentioned above.

March 5th, officially employed on paper as an Automotive Journalist, or Correspondent (Automotive) as they put it. A long-awaited, and as I'd imagined, rather distant dream come true. My first print article, apart from tiny news pieces, was a one page story on the new Toyota Etios.

April saw me stay the night in a new place, I'd moved into my to-be pad. Smokey roommates meant I was out, bags, pillows and blankets on Sylvia at 5 am. I would also write my first F1 report, with my name appearing below the winning Lotus E21 of Kimi Raikkonen, would you believe it?! And I got to experience the Audi Q3, Q5 and Q7. Quite a bunch!

May 2nd, rode one of my two dream bikes. Yes, I have two, one ultimate sportsbike and one ultimate cruiser. The sportsbike, the 2005 Yamaha YZF-R1 SP is still pending. The cruiser, the Harley-Davidson Fat Boy, check. 103 PS and 150 Nm Screamin Eagle stage IV tune-up nonetheless. The Heritage Softail Classic was also next in line. Adding to the experience was that it was another dream to ride a Harley along the Indian coastal roads.

I drove my first unreleased car, the Chevrolet Enjoy, during my first visit to Chakan, and my first automobile plant visit too. That was also the day I drove the Renault Duster over a long distance. How I love that car! Just love it! Perfection with a budget-cap on it is!

Somewhere in June, all of this happened. Sylvia celebrated her eighth birthday. My first crash course with a D-SLR camera, not a diesel Mercedes hypercar, as I must point out. A ride on the Vespa (a red one!), the Pulsar 200NS, my first INRC event which had me climbing rocks and trees to get good pictures, rewarded by the following article which read 'Story and Photography: Jim Gorde'.

I finally got the quad-core, Sony smartphone I always wanted, on the 22nd. The Xperia ZR and bid adieu to an absolutely abysmal service provider who couldn't decide for years whether the text of their logo should be black or white in favour of the one with the pug, which also happened to be the title sponsor for the dismal McLaren F1 cars.

July was all about the Srinagar to Kanyakumari trip. The 5th we left for Delhi via flight, and collected our Hyundai Verna 1.6 VTVT SX petrol, one of the worst cars on sale today, and the other, the Honda CBR 250R with Repsol graphics and ABS, one of the best bikes on sale today. We rode to Pathankot. 6th was Pathankot to Srinagar, with beautiful Patnitop on the way, and on the 7th, the ride began. Srinagar to Jammu was day one. A puncture ate into our time. Jammu to Udaipur, via Jaipur was day two, the 9th: yes, LONG way. Day three, the 10th, Udaipur to Pune. Home. 11th rest. 12th, Pune to Bangalore, planned. Hit a wildly crazy dog who didn't get hurt but blew our front bumper to smithereens. With a stapled bumper, Hubli was our stop for the night, thus. Hubli to Kanyakumari, on the 13th, over a thousand kilometres, again, was the next day. Bangalore and the magnificent Pavitra Idli Center, the Nice highway, and Madurai were somewhere on route. We reached Kanyakumari late night. The trip was over. Kashmir to Kanyakumari in six days. 6! Shooting took place in the morning of the 14th, and we set off for Bangalore. Ibis was a luxury we could afford having saved some moolah. 15th was Bangalore to Pune. Done, dusted, tired. Back to work.

The anniversary issue was due to close and, suddenly, I had the travelogue to do. My V8 article for our eighth anniversary was approved (Beat that, Top Gear! You guys did it much later! Haha!) They're all on sale in India, by the way. A number Formula 1 articles too.

August was the first anniversary issue I held in my hands, with nine articles of mine in there no less. One of them was a story close to my heart. The road test of the Volvo V40 Crosscountry, my first 'big car' to be signed off by the boss to me, but not before I earned a nickname too.

Soon after a colleague left for 'greener' pastures, I was given an upgrade in rank and was to be moved out of my contract and onto payroll in September. The Car India and Bike India websites kinda became mine. That was the start, and I promise I can't seriously recollect everything.

I drove to Bombay for the first time all alone, in a Mahindra Verito Vibe. Hit 120 km/h before the car threatened to disintegrate. I moved around, got lost, was pulled up by a cop who wanted money, only to be shown a press card and bombarded with questions for directions. I picked up the Ford EcoSport, another car I got to drive before it was launched. I met the head honchos at our head office. I got through a detour which threw me off the Express Highway within the city. I still can't recall if it was the Western one or the Eastern.

There was a Volkswagen CrossPolo TDI test and travelogue which saw me drive to Bombay once more, only to come back another way to hit Dapoli and Harna, where I spoke to a dog, had four beers late at night, not necessarily in that order. I also remember crossing over the rock dam and going onto to the seashore in pitch darkness, but not before I had parked my ass on the possibly snake infested rocks and even dragged a couple of cigarettes (never happened again, I swear!). One of my most irritating colleagues had fallen off the Impulse earlier that evening, how, I still don't know for sure. While I had fun driving him back with his broken collar bone, he is a rather good friend of mine now, I must admit.

I rode the new KTM 390 Duke. Loved it so much I decided I wanted my own. Reluctantly, sold my Pulsar 220 DTS-Fi of five years to a friend's nephew. Goodbye, Xianne.

There was the Mahindra Off-road Challenge where I accidentally jumped into a Mahindra MM540 XD army-spec 4x4 and drove down to their track before being handed a 'regular' Thar.

There was a travelogue where I drove Hyundai's best car yet. The tiny little Grand i10 with a three-cylinder diesel is a much better car than even their Elantra. (Trust me!) One first drive in Jaipur, which got converted into a road test and two travelogues, Kochi-Munnar-Thekkady and Goa, later, the car is our long-termer.

I had to drive a car I wanted to hate so desperately: the BMW 118d. But, having driven it, its roadster like properties and rear-drive made it truly a fun car to have. Opinion altered. The Mercedes A180 CDI was with me for a whole day. Mum loved it and got some nice shots of me 'off-roading', kicking up some dirt in Mercedes' smallest Indian offering. Horribly under-powered and seriously over-rated; opinion, duly changed.

So many V8s (Thanks, boss!) the highlight being the Audi RS5. Not a supercar, not a sportscar, but a regular saloon, until you notice the two doors. My pick, eyes closed. There was the Audi R8 V10 and V10 plus which showed up, the Audi S6, and my first official V8 road test: the Audi RS5.

The Jeep Wrangler Unlimited CRD, which I had to pick up from the guys at evo India. Four doors and massive size in the heart of the city at rush hour, bad idea!

Its smaller, but US-staple-engine-Pentastar-V6-petrol engined Wrangler Sport, which had me jump into 4x4 and 4L for the first time solo.

That was the day of the 3-4-6-8 cylinder drives: Grand i10, FIAT Linea Classic, Jeep Wrangler Sport and the 557 horsey and 720 Nm laden Mercedes E 63 AMG! My most powerful and torquiest car ever driven.

I had a great birthday, found out more good friends. Was also presented with six cakes, all different, yes! Had a terrace party and danced to Arabic-adaptations of songs for the first time. Thank you, President Prime Minister Admiral General Aladeen. 'The Dictator' has taken its place firmly in my top three movies list.

There was a 2014 Range Rover Sport TDV6 HSE somewhere in October or November.

I experienced my first superbike, the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R on October 31st. 210 horses of it made me yearn even more for my to-be new bike.

Fedora, my orange Duchess, came on the 4th of November. My first 400-cc bike, something I'd longed to see in India for over a decade. 43.5 hp means it has 5.5 more horses than the Tata Nano while weighing much lesser. Perfect!

November 9th, my baby sister got married to an idiot I once considered one of my best friends. Just kidding, fool! You probably still are.

November 14th, I became the first journalist in India to ride the Royal Enfield Continental GT Café Racer. One shot went on to become the cover photo, the non-Facebook kind, on the front of the December 2013 issue of Bike India magazine.

November 17th to the 22nd, I was at my first international motor show, in Tokyo, nonetheless, but not before driving six brand new cars, which hadn't seen Indian soil yet, at the MotoGP-famous race track Twin Ring Motegi. The Mugen RZ, a supercharged and manual transmission equipped version of the Honda CR-Z Hybrid sportscar was the highlight there. I visited the Honda museum and stood right next to my favourite F1 car livery of all time, the B&H Jordan Honda. Oh, I also had sushi and caviar the previous night, for the first time.

Then, the actual motor show itself had another highlight. No, it wasn't the Volvo Concept Coupé, or the turbocharged Suzuki Recursion motorcycle, nor the KTM 1290 Super Duke R, or the transforming Kawasaki J Gigacell thingy, or the Nismo GT-R, or the Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabriolet, or the Mercedes SLS AMG GT Final Edition, or the magnificent S Class Coupé, or Honda's triad of big launches the S660, Vezel and F6C GoldWing-based power cruiser . It was in the corner of the ancillaries and suppliers section, tucked away behind Bosch and Continental. The BEWITH soundmaker's booth; it held the Pagani Huayra. Magnifique personified. Absolute AWE!

I returned happy and was greeted by a shootout, the Audi A4 2.0 TDi, the BMW 320d, the Mercedes-Benz C220 CDI. And, a car I was yearning to drive for five long years, the BMW 530d, complete with the M Sport package. The Audi A6 2.0 TFSI was also there in the middle, good car, but needs a hundred more horses.

Somewhere, in between, I came across the creator of a blog I'd been following for years. A new friend with creative genes, jeans and everything is something to appreciate, always.

The day the 530d had to go, the guy dropped off the BMW Z4 sDrive 35i DPT 2014 model. That was the 5th of December, and it was my first topless drive. Er, my first convertible. The turbo-straight-6 sounded splendid and rasp!

There was also another car which returned for the awards, one I hadn't gotten the chance to drive then. The Porsche Cayman S, the first Porsche I've ever driven!

Mum's birthday, and thanks to Shumi, I managed to get something rather simple but amazing from Uniqlo in Tokyo. Her smile was the best! Thanks for everything, Mum! I love you loads!

One day later, the all-new S500 2014 came along, twin-turbo V8 and all. What a car! However, our archaic rules didn't even spare this Mercedes flagship. No 'Magic Body Control' means that floating head chicken is gonna get pwned! Yep, that was the last big car I drove this year.

Christmas was good, I spent time with people I love, another awesome new friend I'd made this year. The fact that I was in Toons, was the icing on the cake. Good day!

Now, as I type, I'm thinking about the Ninja ZX-14R that's coming in tomorrow! Er..Monday, the 30th. How I love Mondays! Beat that, Facebook!

Gear Up

Sometimes, all it takes is a good meal and a good night's sleep. When you wake up, one thing is evident:
as long as the engine's running, there is no destination.

Gear up, get out there, and don't forget your smile; it's a bumpy ride.

Acceleration

What happens when you move too fast too soon? It's like the world is a blur. It's like nothing else matters and everything exists only to pass you by, except that one thing. That one thing you want to be headed towards. You can see it in the distance. You believe you'll get there. You know you want it, deep inside you believe you'll get it, and soon.

So, you set off; the biggest, most powerful engine you can have. Your right foot musters all the courage and drains your heart out, simply so you make the move from floor to throttle. And then, eyes closed and hoping for the best, you push!

You've done this before, but you remember the engine being less powerful, the world had things you noticed, you could take a second to observe the goings on. Not now, this was too sudden. You weren't ready. What would've otherwise taken a much, much longer time was going by in seconds. Thoughts were racing, your heart was racing. Your brain couldn't keep up, and then, barely within the time you could catch half your breath, there it was: the destination. Or was it? Slowing down only enough to see it unable to have you there? How could a place you thought was your destination not have a parking? Should you go and investigate? How could you? You couldn't leave your ride behind. You can't enter without it. It has to be the whole thing. Then, there you are: not knowing whether to go on what you believe, at that moment, to be aimless, leaving your 'destination' behind, or waiting right there till a space opened up. Is that the best for you? Is that the best this world has? How many more unknown miles are to be travelled? How many more white lines going on for what seems like forever? You can't go on. Not so soon. Rest. Rest you must.

A field of watermelons becomes visible close by. A much-needed distraction and replenishment. How glad are you that you like something so much too? This is nice. Although, you can still feel the pieces inside.

Six Degrees of Separation?

The world is round and I fail to see how 360 degrees is considered a complete circle. Clearly, people have many different directions and 360, or even 720 for that matter, simply just doesn't cut it.

Everyone is so different from each other that you can actually line them up end-to-end at the Earth's diameter and form a shoulder-to-shoulder chain around its circumference and you would have millions, if not billions of people, forming a circle of sorts around. The Earth is no perfect circle, I give you that, but why should that stop us from getting together to figures out how many 'degrees' of separation the Earth can handle, us standing on water aside.

Can you imagine a micro-thin string of connecting wire between each one of us and the core of the Earth? How many would there be? That is the true distance measured with a person being a degree, and it's a lot more than 360 I can assure you of that!

Six degrees of separation would translate to roughly seven feet between one and the other. I take this quite literally, because my mind's eye created quite an insane graphic as I imagined billions of us floating through the universe with the Earth as the only connection. Like an appliance plugged in to a power socket, must we draw power from this central entity? Can't we just be, well, free?

Counting Stars

It takes a lot or very little to make someone happy. And there are times when a lot of small or medium-sized things add up and make a huge difference. That's quite cliché yes, but how many actually realise when that happens to them? If you do take the time to count the stars, you'll begin to realise just how many of them there are.

When a month goes by where you inevitably realise just what all it is that you have been blessed with, and then handed even more once-dreams and the responsibilities which come with them; it's a feeling which combines the essence of joy, satisfaction, contentment, excitement and gratitude. As I turn another page, nay,a chapter, I find myself looking just a little bit further, with a view set to encompass not just plain sight, but the bits I would hope to uncover as well. Whatever the possibilities ahead, I want to at least know of their existence. Mario's 1-up mushroom never had a visible hiding place; you would just have to jump free and bump your head into somewhere you thought there was absolutely nothing.

In the last six or seven weeks, the people I've met, the places I've seen, the experiences I've enjoyed and the absolute awesomeness of the sets of wheels I've been given a shot at have been astounding. I thank my stars, my heavens or insert word of choice here that these steps were mine to take, sample and enjoy.

It's not everyday you make new friends and drive 3, 4, 6 and 8-cylinder engined creations in the span of a few hours. Glorious indeed.

And now, contrary to my last post. I find out first hand that some singles are better off than many pairs.

"I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars." ~Og Mandino (Thank you, Cressida.)

Forever Single?

There comes a time when you begin to wonder, 'How long can one go on?'. It's like that guy at the ice cream parlour who makes your scoop bigger and bigger, filling up the whole cup, or cone, till it cannot hold any more. Yet, a second scoop is always refused. Is it too expensive? Will they not work together? No, it's neither.

Some are just content with one. And that's the problem, complacence raises its ugly head yet again. It's been years. It's time to move on. Why can't it just become better for everyone? How long can someone keep dragging the ancient idea, blowing into it and scraping out a little more each time to make just that little bit larger? There comes a time and a place when you have to stop and start over. There will be an all-new one, something more powerful and engaging than ever before. And it won't be one, it will be two, or three or even four.

The KTM 390 Duke has shown that while twins were promised, here we are with yet another single. When will it stop? Harley-Davidson has had twins for over a century now. If the Americans can make something like that 100 years ago, why can't we? Is a little cost holding us back? The market is there for those who dare to venture. No one wants to stay single forever!

Move Along

Move along.. Nothing to see here...

*bzzt*

Dream Big

Been a while I haven't been here, and for good reason. A transformation has occurred. I see things differently. Yet, there is something that hasn't changed. The dream. Yes, there's a big dream and several little dreams. Not so little, mind you, just some not as important as the big one.

That being said, belief in dreams is indeed a statement. Those who say they don't come true, haven't really set milestones or believed strongly. The way has to be the right one. Or s it may seem, cos it's not always easy to tell. In fact, it almost always isn't. Anyone would want to head to a glitzy life in Europe. But if you have no choice but to go to South Africa, you must. But while South Africa is a great place to be, it really isn't where you want to be. So you must gather up every ounce of courage and step out. Step out to the journey which lies ahead that will take you to where you want, nay, need to be. And that means crossing the toughest, most demanding circumstances. You will even have to battle for life, because giving it all up will seem like an option when you're in the middle of the desert and think that everything's done. Just when you think it is though, you may just hitch upon a camel ride; one which takes you through the tough times and into less dry pastures. Maybe they were once green, who knows? Your journey must continue though. Take those steps, they are what will take you to the place from your dreams. You must go on.

Through the hot sands and colourful desert town, and the ever so rare oasis, you come across a glimmer of hope - a sign - which tells you you're close. You must now take everything you've got and give it your best. Tread lightly, but tread forward nonetheless. Morocco. The gateway to Europe. And there you stand: wiser, stronger and more determined than ever.

No dream is too small or too large, it is only that which you choose to achieve, and that which you consider too unimportant to pursue, thus leading to complacence and the place you never wanted to be for the rest of your life.

I wanted a Royal Enfield motorcycle. I wanted to ride through the snow. I wanted to drive a big V8. I wanted to ride a Harley-Davidson. I wanted to ride along the Indian coast-line on a big V-twin cruiser.

I got my Enfield. I rode through the snow. I drove two big V8s, I rode a big V-twin Harley-Davidson along the Indian coast-line. And now I'm looking forward to more small ones and that big one. Next!

View From The Clouds

Forget the whole 'behind every cloud is a silver lining" thing. Let's face it, the sun is always shining. It doesn't stop shining at night; the world turns its back to it. And you wouldn't have dark clouds if the sun were facing them. Clouds don't have a tailor sew on shiny linings to each of them. No,they're special those linings and if you spot a good one, it stays in your memory for a while.

So what when you have your own clouds to deal with. All that heat getting to you, sucking the life from you and then having to deal with evaporation is no easy task. But then again, when in the air, you see how beautiful it can look. That's just it. Those dark clouds can be protectors. As I type that I see flashes of the Silver Surfer and it makes me smile. There is no Galactus or other aliens to worry about. They don't want our world, not like this. We have our own problems to deal with right here. But snapping back to reality, it would be fair to recognise these clouds as inevitable parts of our being. They're just some more things we have to deal with until we get clear skies. Clear skies don't always mean the sun will shine. Half the time, you have to take in the beauty of the moon and other little suns from afar taking care of their own little handful of planets others call home.

What we see, what we touch and what we imagine are far too limited to perceive what the universe has to offer. Open up. Embrace how tiny we are to the universe, yet how much we can be to some people and how much of a change you can make.

The End of the Beginning

There comes a time, always. It must, lest you fail to survive. It comes quietly, suddenly. You walk ahead; half-expecting each step to be the last before you stop; regroup with your thoughts, hopes and ambitions; rest; and a new day has come.

Realisation that life is passing by has been the most important. All those inspirational thoughts, life goes by reading those too. It's all a facade. Time. The concept creates a whole new set of emotions to go with your already back-breaking burden. Forget about time. Do what you must. Do what makes you happy. Then, when you least expect it, when the last candle of hope is about to burn away into a shapeless pile of hardening heat; there's that knock. A knock so clear you know there's a package for you; what you signed up for ages ago when you thought you had found yourself. Those thoughts fade too, of course; and with them your belief starts to die. It doesn't ever really go away. It's a cool down. Like when you die in a video game only to respawn a few seconds later. But it's always there. It doesn't go anywhere. And then you realise what that feeling was; being saved; ending a new beginning before it began to change you.

This is what you were meant to do. At least, it's all you can do with what you have. Now to create some more of me and pile it on. Oh yes!

A New Chance

Another new year is upon us and like the ones before; we promise ourselves and others to do something different or change what we're doing, or pretty much just aim to be a little better. There's nothing wrong with a little wishful thinking. Yet, there are some who do more than that. Be among those few who dare to do what they foresaw themselves doing. It's not too difficult to take the first step once you know where you want to be and how you want to be. The trouble is, many of us need to collect our thoughts, guts, feelings and our soul and put them all together in order to take what we can and make that first step. It's never always easy.

Everyone wants to turn over a new leaf. It's not that hard. It's as simple as turning over a leaf on the road. Start small. Appreciate the little things. Realise that these little things can make a big difference. Once you get past that, every little action seems substantial and you know that it will make a difference. Not everyone will respond the way you expect; do it anyway. Someone will come along and respond like you had originally hoped and that gives you the reason you need to try again with a hundred more.

The turn of this new year has seen many events take place. Some of extreme magnitude, but if that's what it takes to get the ball rolling, so be it. Some people die to live, while some die so others can truly live. There is always hope. There is always will. And when united, they can battle ignorance and win.

Here I am, hoping for a better tomorrow. Happy New Year!