Trip to Vikarabad

People often think that riding is just a way of touring and is just for people who are wanderlust or those who have a lot of time on their hands.

Well, that is not the case. In reality, motorcycle touring or even a solitary ride, in general, calms a person down and gives us ample time to think about what is going on in our lives and how to tackle the problems we face.

Another advantage to motorcycle touring is that we can reach remote places and villages where standard modes of transport seldom work so that we can spread awareness and educate the masses.

I undertook one tour to Vikarabad, a dense forest-covered district near the outskirts of Hyderabad city. It is known for its scenic surroundings and is a must-recommend for all newbie motorcycle enthusiasts. Vikarabad is a great tourist spot. Being close to the city has its perks, especially for beginners who are not used to long biking tours.

My club consisted of ten people, and we decided to make good use of this tour and promote mental health awareness to the townsfolk of Vikarabad.

The town is not a well-developed place, and elements that cause stigma in society still exist in those places where education itself is a luxury. To create awareness among people, we started our journey.

The bike ride is a little short, so we decided to go at a leisurely pace, relaxing in between by taking breaks at roadside dhabas to have a cup of chai, making small talk with the locals to find out what their stories were, and enjoying the view of a town in sync with nature.

We also had time to visit local hotspots and attractions, such as Resorts, temples, old libraries, etc.

We decided that a temple would be a good stage for spreading our message since there were not many places that would welcome a bunch of bikers. Yep, people are weird sometimes.

Anyways, we asked the temple priest if we could propagate the idea of mental health awareness in the temple in the evening, since people who come to temples generally come to find solace and comfort from their problems, and it would be a place where maximum people who show up will be willing to listen to us. The priest gave us his blessing, and I mean it literally. He was overjoyed that there were still people who cared enough to spread awareness in a temple, and he actively spread the message around.

We prepared a speech and all, but the speech soon turned into a great conversation, with people engaging with us and asking us different questions. Everyone shared their stories, while the priest arranged some prasad for us, and I didn't think there would be so many people who were gonna be interested. Turns out most of the people who turned up needed a space to let it out, and were grateful to us that we took the time to introduce a concept that was very important and overlooked in life.

I returned to Hyderabad with my club, with a smile on my face and a group who were happy we were able to achieve something.