Meeting Bharadwaj Dayala - The first Indian to go around the world on a motorcycle.

We meet people everywhere, every interaction is a kind of a transaction and we open an account with the people called the Emotional Bank Account. Like any banking deed it will have deposits and withdrawals. How we perceive that interaction is a reflection of who we are as individuals and what defines our attitudes. Some will remember the deposits, these are the Optimist type of individuals who want to see only positives and to some extend close their eyes to anything negative. Some people on the other hand will only see the withdrawals ignoring anything positive.  I am not approving or disapproving either of the stance here.Its just a perception! and individuals choose that.

I met one such individual who had a huge impact on my thinking and my perception of life. This may sound a bit philosophical but I mean it. I am glad that our paths crossed and I had an opportunity to talk to him. Mr. Bharadwaj Dayala, the first Indian to go around the world on a motor cycle. He did this in 2006 - 2007 and intends to repeat that this year.

Who is Bharadwaj Dayala?

I had no clue of who he was. I went for the Royal Enfield Owners ride this republic day. This is one group, individuals who are passionate about the Bull and love their rides. I aspired to join them at least once and finally realised that dream this 26th January. I was all charged up to ride with the boys on their ride for safety the REO brotherhood as it is lovingly called. The ride was from Vashi to Panvel in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Just before the ride, the leaders of the group briefed us and they invited Bharadwaj to address the group introducing him as the first Indian to go around the world on a motor cycle. That, kind of attracted my attention and saw Dayala for the first time. He stepped on the bike, the make shift stage that day so that everyone could see him. He spoke about what brought him from Vizag to Mumbai, just to be a part of this ride and experience it. That in a way explained his passion for the bike! I was impressed with him like all the others in the group. 

That first impression was the 'moment of truth' for me. I wanted to know more about this gentleman. That got me looking up for him on the internet and also talking to him. Knowing him a little better, my impression of him changes from admiration to being inspired by him. I wish the youngsters and even older people to know a bit about him. That makes me do a post on him. 

You can find a lot of information about him on the internet, his achievement, which again is no mean feat. Its always the most difficult to be the first in anything. But I was more interested in knowing him as a person, what it is it that makes people take up their passion this far turning their dreams into reality and the attitude that they wear on their sleeves. Such people are maniacs when it comes to setting up their goals and achieving them. They don't let anything deter them, for them nothing is impossible!

With this background, I had a chat with Dayala, thought it'll be just a couple of minutes exchanging a few pleasantries and notes I may take down! didn't realise how time flew and how much I got to learn from this gentleman. He is an unlikely biker, a middle height and built person not your typical macho biker, no fancy hairdo or the tattoos. But a man who looks more like a 'commando'. Yes the commandos are not very tall and big built people, I have seen half of the navy commandos, my dad was an instructor. I am sure he has the toughness and dedication that a commando follows.

Bharadwaj Dayala - the man

I spoke to him on phone, in fact he called me when he got a bit free with his assignments. The first thing he told me was he generally doesn't talk, in case he has made the call then he certainly wishes to speak and what he says will depend on what I ask him. Fair enough! I told him I wanted to know him as a person I had read his blog, heard his interview and done some reading up on what was available. I told him that nowhere he has mentioned anything about him as an individual. To this he says he doesn't like to talk about himself. For that matter he said that the people in his locality where he has been living for 8 years just learnt that he was a biker and that he had done one world tour on the bike. And that he intends to do it again soon. This the neighbours learnt from the newspapers. 

On plodding further, I learnt that he is a resident of Vizag, Andhra Pradesh. Is the middle of the 5 siblings, 2 elder brothers and 2 younger sisters. He says all of them are married except him, he says he is so by choice as he feels that the passions that he follows in life are quite crazy and will keep him away from home and family for long. He understands that the lady would have expectations from the relationship, even if she didn't he didn't want anyone to just keep waiting for him. This was certainly deep, valuing the sentiments of another human being.

Moving on, I wish to highlight his views that inspired and motivated me to achieve my own dreams and follow my passions. I wish to share with others who may not get an opportunity to talk to him but something every person should learn from him.

Bharadwaj loves travelling, has been doing that since he was 22 years old. Mostly it'd be on business he says. He loved the train journeys as that allowed him to see places and also do his own work, may be reading or working on the computer. 

He is a typical Gemini, has two distinct phases. One of them is a very private person, totally closed and the other one is a people's person, an entertainer. He plays the guitar, sings, he reads a lot, loves to travel, surfs the internet for getting information on a whole lot of things. Apart from doing the world tour, he has also toured India on his bike, he has climbed the mountain just to feel what solitude is as a part of the preparation before he embarked on his world tour.

For his living, read it as earning to fund his passions, he manages a hospital in Vizag. He has some doctor friends who are a part of this team. He says they support him in his endeavour. At 43, he is single by choice as he doesn't want to upset the feelings of another human being. He follows a dangerous passion. He says anything can happen. When he is preparing for an upcoming event, say a tour or climbing the mountain he needs to be just by himself, preparing, planning executing. That takes a lot of time and energy. Is a very disciplined activity. He talks about safety and says that he has never had an accident so far! Touchwood!! He says he is always busy but will always have some time for people who want to communicate with him. He may not have that time to revert quickly but he'll for sure. He prefers communicating on emails or messages that he makes it a point to answer. He says that of late he uses the electronic media like a 19 year old! Also adds that when he is in a conversation with someone and it doesn't interest him he starts reverting to the emails and messages. Thats a good take and a lot of us do it. Don't really know if this is polite or not but its fine I guess!

He says that he's a jack of all trades, he doesn't need to master anything. He says that one should know how to learn rather than learn all the time. If you know how to learn you can do it when you want to. He says life is very simple, we complicate it.... how true! Thats all he shared on his personal life!

One his first world tour

He says that it took him more than two years to plan and then about an year to execute it. He just wanted to go around the world on his motorcyle, how, what, when would follow. He says that he was sure he would do it that's it! He added people thought he was crazy to even think something like that as said earlier that he is a very unlikely candidate to be a biker. He says that he is not the best biker in the country. He had to get so many visas and the agencies and offices rejected that. Then he took it on himself to organise the visas and says that he got all of them, went back to the very same offices and agents, put them on their tables and told them to look at his visas. Since the legal requirement was fulfilled the next step was to embark on the tour. 

He had no sponsors. Some companies wanted to but their legal cells advised them against it as that was a very dangerous adventure he was taking up and it could turn to be liability for them, So finally he had no sponsors. Even that didn't deter him. He says no one knew about his tour, his friends got to know only 3 months before he embarked on it and his parents learnt about it only a couple of days earlier. Friends suspected something big happening in his life as they saw him running around. He says he had a poster outside his room that read, " You are welcome! in brackets, Please leave in 10 minutes. As he says he had tremendous amount of work to do. It was a mission not a job! First time is the most difficult as there is no information available, everything is going to be on trial and error, there cannot be a room for doubts. Being the first has its advantages as well as disadvantages. One spends a lot more money and takes a long time to execute the plan. There are also long gaps. He says it took him nearly 3 years to embark on his tour, 2 years were just planning and preparing but now he can put anyone on a tour in just 3 months.

He says that  he didn't want to give his parents an opportunity to say no to his adventure. Finally they learnt what all had gone into planning and executing it, they agreed to him taking up the project and give their blessings. The first Indian toured the world on his motorcycle from 2nd April 2006 to 2nd October 2007.

Learn more about the world tour on a motorcyle, follow the link to his blog:

http://bikingtheworld.blogspot.in/

Dream Live

Dayala has named his second world tour on his motor cycle as, "Dream Live" It will involve the Indians both laymen and riders. They'll all be a part of this event hence the 'dream' will be realised 'live'. Everyone will be able to be a part of it. No one knew about his first world tour, very few people learnt from the little coverage that media did.

He says that not many people want to realise their dreams. They don't want their dreams to come true as they are scared that it'll break the routine in their lives that they are so used to and that forms their comfort zone. 

There are many riders in the country very good in what they do, have the money too still they won't be able to take up the world tour. There's some hesitation, something holding them back even when they want to they don't. He wishes to show direction to such riders. In fact Dream Live will be launched on the 1st of March 2014.

This he feels will be the most talked about event in the social media. He still insists there's no money and no plan as of now. He'd begin from 'Zero'. Give Dream Live 100 days and on the 100th day take off. How this dream is realised will be planned my the people- laymen, riders, media, sponsors and enthusiasts. They'll decide how everything will shape up.

This sounded so amazing to me and the idea goes so very well with my blog called the,'Optimist Diary'. I am hopeful that it shall be realised beautifully. Social media and the people have so much of power. We'll get to witness a great event, that too Live!. AAP government is an example how the strength of common people can realise just about anything. I am not talking politics here its just something that I thought loudly. So in 100 days the dream will come alive.

From 1st march 2014, Dream Live will go live on the social media and Dayala will share what he is doing that day, people will contribute, suggest and be a part of it. This will be a daily activity. People will watch their dreams taking shape each day and finally they'll be ready to take off with the rider. Sponsors will come onboard, corporates will join hands, a lot of people will keep a watch on this platform. Ofcourse corporates and their brands will earn a lot of mileage. He also wants about 10 - 12 bikers to be selected by the sponsors, flown to an international destination and ride with  him during some part of the tour. This I feel should be the dream of every biker worth his salt!

This will create awareness among the masses, an activity happening in the world with its heart in India. Will also be for peace and brotherhood. Every new project requires tremendous dedication and utmost discipline. He says that such freedom comes with huge responsibilities to be safe and to come back, being some of them!

Everyone has a dream but very few know how to make it a reality. Dream Live is about making a dream turning into a reality while everyone is watching it happen. Will certainly follow Dayala in his pursuit and be witness to another dream turning into a reality. Good Luck! Keep going!!