THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: At freezing -3 degree, Sajna Ali clutched tightly onto a little piece of rock and scrawled two names on the snow-clad mountain slope. Even as the snow gave way under her feet, she ambled up and continued until the names were etched in the snow. Her friend Tuna Bastin kept recording it. The two women were on a Himalayan regalia, and were scripting history. They had just summited the Khardung La on a scooter, arguably the first women to do so.
The highest motorable pass in the world, Khardung La is the dream of any traveller. And so it was for Tuna Bastin who rode from Kochi to Kashmir with Sajna as her pillion. After having braved the elements and negotiating some tricky and dangerous passes, the duo is back in Kerala after their mountain siesta. They ended their 29-day road trip exactly where they had started off on September 2, at St. George’s Forane Church, Edappally. With bare minimum luggage and all equipped to handle any contingencies that the vehicle could throw up, the duo started the journey on TVS Ntorq 125, which Tuna has nicknamed as ‘Nkru’.
“Tuna had told me about this dream ride of hers to Leh. She asked me to accompany her, and I did,” recalls Sajna, who founded Appooppanthaadi, an all-women travel group. “This was an experimental ride. There is a misconception that to traverse the lofty mountains, you need to have a bike. And we wanted to bust the myth as well. The initial plan was to go on a bike. But we then decided to do it on a scooter,” chips in Tuna, who works as an investigation officer at Star Health and Allied Insurance.
The ride would start early morning and wind up by evening. “Each day was an experience. At times we would feel that we were the only ones that existed. The roads can be that lonesome, but the views are breathtaking,” says Tuna. Seven mountain passes in all were covered and five of them were surprise passes for the duo. “We had the route planned, but a few of the passes surprised us. Chang La Pass was difficult. There was snowfall as we rode through and we hadn’t taken take any winter gears, so that was a bit of a challenge,” she adds.
Fellow riders and local people were extremely helpful and considerate, they tell you. “Only in India will you see language, colour, culture, food, and landscape change every 200 km. The best way to experience India is through a road trip,” says Sajna. The duo is already flooded with calls on their ride.“You encounter the toughest situations on the road. The ride will change you. We hope more people are inspired,” she adds. Sajna is hoping to convert the experience into a book.