This 'Motorcycle Diaries' features a mom, her son, and a Bajaj Chetak

Ever heard of a grown-up man driving his elderly mother on a two-wheeler to the length and breadth of India and even beyond to show her all the important religious centres?

Meet D Krishnakumar of Mysore who has already travelled an incredible 64,197 km on a 2001 model Bajaj Chetak scooter, with his 72-year-old mother on the pillion. It is a story that has shades of what Tamil writer Ambai (CS Lakshmi) wrote in a short story, Veettin Moolaiyil Oru Samayalarai (A kitchen in the corner of a house).

A short story

It talked about how women of a joint family were expected to work in a tiny space that acts as a kitchen, otherwise in a grand household.

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A daughter-in-law suggesting her father-in-law to expand the kitchen was itself seen as an act of defiance. That was one of the earliest short stories that shot Ambai to fame.

There is no chance of Choodarathnamma could have read Ambai’s story. If she did, she could easily see her own self reflected in that story.

“For most of her life, my mother hasn’t stepped out of her kitchen and seen the world outside. All she knew was, her family and kitchen,” Krishnakumar, in his 40s, told The Federal.

Incredible journey

Krishnakumar, in his mid-40s, once worked in the corporate world as a Team Leader. In 2018, he left his cushy job to take up an expedition.

“I call it ‘Mathru Seva Sankalpa Yatra’. The objective of the expedition is to take my mother to major temples across the country,” he explained.

Krishnakumar is from the generation where a person living in a joint family earned respect in the society.

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“We were a joint family of 10 members. I am the only son and child for my parents. Besides the three of us, there were my father’s sisters and their daughters. They depended on my father Dakshinamoorthy’s earnings, who worked in the Karnataka Forest Department. My mother’s only role was to take care of the family and kitchen” he said.

Mother’s desire

He continued: “In 2015, my father passed away. Over the years, our family started to part away. One day, I asked my mother if she had visited temples like Tirupathi or Tiruvannamalai. What she said shocked and saddened me.

“’I haven’t even visited Belur Halebeedu temple’,” she replied. “The temple is quite popular and it was located near our house. But my mother hasn’t had an opportunity to visit even that temple even once because of her toil in the kitchen all through her life.”

It was then Krishnakumar pledged to her mother that he would take her across the country and show all major temples. And how? On the Bajaj scooter gifted by his late father.

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64,197 km and counting

Krishnakumar and his mother started their journey from Karnataka on January 16, 2018. They have covered almost all parts of the country and even visited temples in Bhutan, Nepal and Myanmar.

“So far we have travelled 64,197 km. Our longest trip was 427 km in a day. During the Covid-19 wave, we travelled 400 km daily and covered 2,673 km in seven days” he said.

The mother and son took a break in mid-2020 due to the pandemic and resumed their journey on August 15, 2022.

“We have taken a break again recently since we have some functions like a marriage in our family. Once all those celebrations have settled down, we plan to take our next round of journey to visit the temples we have missed earlier,” he added.

Hard labour gives strength

It could be okay for Krishnakumar to travel on a scooter across India. But how about his mother? Couldn’t it be problematic for Choodarathnamma physically if not mentally, the sheer length of this trip, considering her age?

“I can understand the concerns of the people who we meet along the journey. But both my mother and myself are prepared for and see this yatra as a kind of sankalpa. My mother has put her efforts so much all these years in running day to day labour in the home. We were brought up in such a way without depending on any mechanical or electrical devices to do our daily chores. All that samskara has given us enough stamina to take up this yatra,” he said.

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Talking about the food and stay in their journey, Krishnakumar said they take food only two times a day.

Spiritual food

“We have our food and stay in temples, ashrams, mutts and religious or spiritual centres. The food is mostly the prasadam distributed in the temples. We don’t have food in hotels or eateries,” he said, adding that the food is just to keep them moving.

The travel is supported by the savings of Krishnakumar. For all his respect and love for his parents, he never married.

“For me, this life is for my mother. During our journey, we have come across different types of cultures and beliefs that have enriched our view on this world. What more can one ask for?” said Krishnakumar.

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