At rest

I hope today isn't my last ride here. I had been looking forward to it, though the bike, in dire need of servicing, had been groaning even more loudly since last week. All I did today was to follow direction. Adda rode with us after a long time and he does know his way around.

The weather cooperated too; an useful cloud cover ensured that the sun remained hidden until our ride ended. Even the wind stayed. We found our way into vast fields of a variety of crops, lone farmers, small groups of herons, pigeons (surprisingly), doves and even peacocks. One of our friends, D even spotted weaver birds' nests! A large variety of terrain greeted us, including abandoned dirt roads overgrown with thorny bushes, and fields with destroyed crops. We even crossed a railway line where we stopped for a few shots. A bit of a silly thing to do really, but we gave in to temptation. Riding through abandoned sandy soil proved to be a bit of a challenge. A road bike might have found it tougher.

Almost as a ritual, we had breakfast at one of the cheap South Indian places before heading back home. If there was one thing I could change about today's ride, it would be to extend our pauses on those vast open farmlands and to hear their voice, to connect with them. To perhaps even shoot a little. I could just go there and sit by the haystack near the fields and do nothing. For me, the desire to shoot is an effect of being able to connect with my subjects. By just passing through, it isn't possible to go beyond the surface. Photography is meditative in nature, but not everyone in our group was a photographer. And with the impatience to return to their families weighing on their minds, we had to keep moving.

P.S. I do have quite a few "sane" shots from our ride today, but this one will do. Always wanted to rest the bike on a haystack!