Giving wheels to his dreams

With the unique initiative of a solo bike trip from Udupi to Kashmir and back to Kanyakumari, city-based cinematographer Sachin Shetty has made a statement — ‘there is nothing that can come between a dreamer and his dreams’.

Travelling 11,000 km in 37 days across 16 states with a purpose of shooting his entire trip he called this expedition ‘Lights, camera, Ladakh’.

Ask him what inspired him to make this journey and Sachin says, “This trip was my biggest dream. Being a cinematographer, I wanted to make a documentary on India, the different cultures and food habits of people. I started my journey from Udupi on May 28. I mapped my route through Mumbai, Pune, Udaipur, Rajasthan, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir. On the way back, I came through Manali, Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Kanyakumari and back to Bengaluru.”

Throwing light on the fact that it is a biker’s dream to ride to Leh-Ladakh, Sachin, who has been passionately riding for nine years, says that he was planning a similar trip for over six years and feels blessed that it finally happened.

“There were a lot of challenges that I faced through this journey, from the heat in Rajasthan to the piercing cold weather in Khardung La to problems with the bike. But keeping the challenges aside, it was amazing to come across different cultures and practices of different states. All these together made this trip a memorable one,” he says.  

Recalling a memorable incident, Sachin talks about one of his Instagram followers, Chandan in Rajasthan, who was following his journey closely and waited to meet him in person.

“It was a bit of a challenge to ride on the roads of Uttar Pradesh as there are people who carry guns and it is scarier when one is riding alone. I remember, while I was riding on one of these roads, there was a man walking right in the middle of the road.  I honked so he would move. But I noticed that he was drunk and had a double barrel gun.”

Manali, Khardung La, Pangong Lake, Bikaner, Jaisalmer and Hyderabad, he says, were some of his most favourite places and great places to ride through.

“It gave me goosebumps to witness the ‘Wagah border ceremony. This is something that everyone needs to experience once,” he says.

Taking forward his passion for bikes and love for exploring places, his next plan is to ride to Nepal and cover the Eastern and North-Eastern states by next year.