Biharinath and Garpanchakot

Trip to Biharinath, Asansol.
When one thinks of mountain biking in India, one thinks of the great Himalayas, the Eastern and
Western Ghats, the Peninsular India. I remember going to my unclefs place in Burnpur, Asansol and
seeing some sick trails out there. At once I decided to go there again, but this time I made sure I went
there with my bike.

Music , Nightlife and Long Drives: Always a great combination.

Fuel Up.

Love

Finally reaching at Sunrise.

Biharinath in the background. 

Semi-Downhill Trail. Yeah,

Once you reach the riverside, you have to cross the river. This magnificent , shaky man-made bridge is the only way to cross this. Great Experience. 

Up and Up. Ride Up.

Some nice snaps.

Calf Workouts.

Checking places to Drop.

Distance to the next village - 1km. Distance to destination - Unknown. Resources- Limited.
Heat-Unbearable 

Nature Shots. 

Posing

The Guy behind the Lens. Prithvish Samanta. Copyright. C 

Prateek Singh. The man behind the idea of this trip and a mentor, an elder brother and a fucktard. 

Prateek Singh. 

You are what you are.

OUTLOOK

I had a difficult time deciding the name of this piece which I think is quite considerable. At first I thought I would name it “Comparisons” but then “Relativity” popped up. People would say that there is not much dissimilarity between them and in a way it is true.

Forgive me for my mistakes if any and do comment.

The complete childhood of mine was spent in an era of comparison. The boy at my neighbour’s was a brilliant student, the shining star of the future generation. Ideal, obedient and securing the highest numbers in almost every subject.
“Why can’t you be like him?” maa would say, “His parents have absolutely nothing to worry about. He’ll obtain good grades and seek admission in the city’s best college in while you’ll be eating on our pockets.”
“You are just a reprobate who should go and find shelter in some other place.” Baba would say every alternate day.
I listened to their words every time. Never paying any heed. Never uttering a word of protest.
I would just listen and go on with my thoughts.
Things used to be different when my parents compared me to my elder brother, who was a good student, not intelligent but very diligent. Or even my cousins who seemed be the pioneer of education in my family tree. I was the worst of the lot, and as a result, my parents would start comparing me to them and would tell me to learn something from them.
Over time I have been accustomed to such behaviour from my parents. But there were days when these words would stab my heart and I won’t be able to control my emotions and shed tears unknowingly. There were days when I would lose my temper and burst out.
Then there would be family get together where my parents could brag about my Dada’s result and behaviour. For me on the other hand, they had nothing to brag about and they would express their grief over me. Partiality prevailed in my home because my Dada was a better son and by better son, I mean a good student, a ‘better’ student.                            
I have been a sportsperson from my childhood, and quite frankly I was quite proud of it. I wanted to become the school hero and I think I succeeded at it pretty well. Being an avid football player, I soon made my way into the school team and then into a respectable football club of Kolkata. I was a hero in my school and locality. My Ma used to say that these things won’t fetch me food or money, and I never got any mental support from them, no appreciation, rather they didn’t let me do all these and they tried to find ways to stop all my activity. But these made me happy and my determination helped me to fight through it.  I was born up materialistically well, but mentally not.


As I compose this down, I realize that every activity in this of living being is Relative. I assume, all of you have already heard of the theory of relativity by Prof. Einstein. Well if you observe closely, there is one in the society too, applicable in our practical life.

You are not a good person. But who is the parameter of this goodness? You say someone isn’t a good person only when you’ve seen a better person than him. So you compare them both and decide the later to be a not so good person.

The perspective is very important. 

Are you happy or are you sad?
I can say that you are both at the same time. You are happy with respect to a sad person, but you are sad with respect to a happier person. It is actually important to set your own standards. It’s not necessary that you have to be good in studies. But if you set your standard to a high and never reach that level, you’ll remain disappointed throughout your life. Never compare yourself with the guy next door.  If you really want to compare then do it with yourself. I understood the fact that I am bad in studies with respect to my cousins, but are they better than me when it comes to sports?

Obviously not.

 Every human being posses different qualities which in every way deserves recognition. No two people have the same perspective which also means that both the perspectives have their different tastes. It’s never healthy to compare yourself with others.
As a child I have suffered from inferiority complex. I now realize I was a fool then. Late realizations. But as they say, “Better late than never.”

I may be wrong here, but many people have gone through this phase and I feel for them.
Some people might not like this piece because of the perspective from which I am seeing things. But all you have to have is a clear OUTLOOK.

P.S. ::::  The above piece was written completely from the emotions that were buried for the whole of my teenage years. Still counting though. It’s very difficult to control such emotions and it hurts. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments. 

                                                                                                 Ritabrata Patra.