Any Body Can Drive!!

A Journey of Inspiration and Self-Belief

While praying before a photo of Lord Hanuman one morning, Bharat heard a song on the radio “Naanu yaaru..? Yaava Ooru?” A famous kannada song meaning, “Who am I? Which place do I belong to?”

Bharat, a 53-year-old clerk at Kannada University, lived a simple middle-class life with his wife and two children in Kampli. His days followed a familiar rhythm - office work, tea, newspapers, and quiet evenings.

That day, while reading the newspaper, he noticed a photograph of a biker standing near India Gate. The article mentioned that the rider was travelling from Bengaluru to Ayodhya as a devotee. At first, Bharat dismissed it as just another travel story. But his curiosity grew when he learned that the same biker had earlier completed a solo ride across India, covering more than 22,000 kilometres during the celebrations of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.

The biker had begun his journey from Anjanadri Hill, believed to be the birthplace of Lord Hanuman, towards Ayodhya, the birthplace of Lord Rama. Inspired by the story, Bharat called the biker using the phone number printed in the newspaper and wished him a safe journey. And asked him if he could catch up at Anjanadri, during his visit.

A few days later, Bharat visited Anjanadri Hill. The crowd was so large that climbing the hill would have taken hours, so he offered his prayers from below and began waiting at a Hotel for the Biker to arrive. A relatively small stature alighted from a bike, who, for sure, can’t rest his both feet on the ground while sitting on the seat. Bharath grinned from inside, and started looking for a Biker with a fancy bike decked with Saddle bags, Top Box and other fancy instruments attached on an adventure bike. But, when this short stratured man removed his full face helmet, Bharath was surprised to know that, THIS was the biker for whom he was waiting at that hotel.

While conversation with the biker, he was surprised to know that, he had already met a few people from his contacts, who were in and around Hospet.

First, he met Mr Ashwath from Munirabad, a government employee and talented Tanjore-style painter whose home was filled with beautiful paintings of Gods and Goddesses. Bharat admired how Ashwath balanced his profession with his passion.

Then he met Mr. Srinath, a former software engineer who had walked away from stressful MNC jobs in Bengaluru and Hyderabad to return to his hometown and run a peaceful hotel business near Anjanadri foot hills.

Another inspiring person was Shivashankar Banagar from Hospet, a freelance photographer whose work had earned huge accolades, that newspapers eagerly waited for his pictures.

The biker also spoke about Shaila Huggi, a differently abled social worker from Gangavati, who dedicated her life to helping disabled people access government benefits. Her service earned her the prestigious Onake Obavva Award.

Bharath then let out what he was with-holding in his mind from the time he saw the biker. “Sir, Your height, your age and this epic ride..? How?”

Then the biker told Bharat, “It doesn’t matter what our physical condition is. What truly matters is the work we do.”

Those words deeply moved him.

And he continued:

“When we truly love what we do, even the hardest journeys begin to feel joyful.”

Bharat realized he might never become a painter, photographer, hotel owner, or social worker. But he could still learn something valuable from each of them - motivation, courage, and willpower.

Bharath then began to dig deep about the biker. He found out that the biker was Mr. Chiranthana, worked at Bangalore University, also a 52 Year Old Clerk like Bharath himself.

As he looked at his own dusty scooter parked outside his house, a sudden spark of inspiration arose within him. The song at the background was ending “...nan hesralle kammal... naane kanwarlal..” meaning... “Greatness is my middle name, I will Inspire !!”

He wanted to share his experience with his Reporter friend. He picked up a blank sheet of paper and started with the heading:

A.B.C....D !!

His wife curious about what he was writing, asked him what it meant, Bharat smiled and revealed its true meaning:

“Any Body Can Drive !!”

And in his mind, he was thinking, If there is will power and passion,

Any Body Can DO Anything !!