S.S.S. Shameem, an assistant professor in the Department of Computer Applications, at Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT), wanted to ride his bicycle from Kanyakumari to Ladakh, a distance of 3,840 kilometres.
According to a press release issued by the Manipal University here on Thursday, Prof. Shameem set out on the arduous journey on May 23, 2016, with the hope of completing a rare feat.
But as luck would have it, bad weather and a bit of indisposition dashed his aspiration 320 kilometres short of a dream finish, at Patseo in Himachal Pradesh on June 18, with four days break in between.
“The going was good, very good, till I had to call it off much to my dismay and deep disappointment,” Prof. Shameem said. “The satisfaction was that I was able to cover over 3,520 kilometres in 23 days by then. I may not have been able to complete expedition, but I can proudly say, I tried my best, achieved something, but learnt a lot,” he said.
During the journey, he crossed 11 States and two Union Territories (Delhi and Chandigarh), 53 districts, 52 cities and countless townships. “I met and connected with lot of strange, yet lovely people,” he said.
For his adventure, Prof. Shameem got support from Manipal University, government officials, private sectors, the Police Department of different States, Railways, and the Army in the last leg of the expedition, particularly in the mountainous region was invaluable.
“I got to know a bit of the real India,” he said. Prof. Shameem had a message for all, that of “unity and humanity.”
Prof. Shameem, who is an avid cyclist, had earlier covered a distance of 1,500 km on a high-end bicycle from Bengaluru to Koraput in Odisha in December, 2015. Then, he had started from Bengaluru on December 18, 2015, and reached Koraput on December 26, 2015, via Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Vishakapatnam and Salur
