To that kid out there

So what makes a journey truly memorable ? Sometimes it’s the people you’re with. It could be the destination. At other times it’s the journey in itself which proves to be an adventure. Nature’s gob smacking beauty often has a decisive role to play. Occasionally it’s something that a person said and did. Often it’s about things someone didn’t say or do. And sometimes, just sometimes, it takes a stranger to make a journey special.

I was on a recent biking trip with Sunny (an army officer whose stories have instilled even more respect in me for our tough armed forces, another post for another time) to a famous waterfall that is over a 100 kays from here. The ride there was fabulous as the roads were empty but we were treated to a waterfall that barely lived up to its billing as a major tourist attraction. Then again, expecting a gushing fall months after the monsoon was probably our fault. We rode to another spot further down the road in the hope of a better view of the other side of the falls but all we got was a sight of even less water trickling down. Resigning ourselves to our fate, we settled for a quick photo session and realised that all we had were solo pictures. Since the crowd there wasn’t the best on that particular day, we asked a kid who had wandered close to us (and our bikes) to take a snap. As I continued my photography experiments, the kid came up to us and said “When I grow up I am going to buy your bike”. It was then that I realised that he had been examining Sunny’s Bullet and my bike with an eager eye and after a considerable point in time he had decided that he liked my bike more than the evergreen Bullet. Heres the rest of our conversation

“Pukka (Are you sure) ?”

“ Definitely !”

“Only if you ride safely and wear a helmet. Which colour?”

“ Same colour”

"Want a photo with the bike ? "

We showed him the picture on the camera moments later which brought a huge smile to his face. He even asked us if he could get a copy of his photo. I told him that the next time I come to the same falls I will bring a printout of the pic. I doubt if I ever will see him again or if he is reading this. But thanks to him, the trip to the waterfall that was bereft of water became rather unforgettable.