BENGALURU: On a pleasant Friday afternoon in September, the temperature was 27 degrees Celsius in Bengaluru. Niall Ahern – a black helmet safely secured over his head, dressed in jackets, gloves, and boots, his forehead adorned with vibuthi and kungumam – ran a final check in his backpack. Stella, his motorbike, was geared up. He tied his orange saddlebag to the seat, started his Royal Enfield Himalayan range, and set out on the journey.
Over that weekend, the first secretary of Trade and Investment, British Deputy High Commission, drove through village roads and highways to Thiruvannamalai, Tharangambadi, Nagapattinam, Velankanni, and Tiruchy.
Choosing locales across India and riding to them has been his pastime for the last four years. Ahern enjoys exploring the brightness of the cities and the darkness of the villages. He uses his social media accounts as a platform to educate people across the globe on the potential India has.
“The message that I am trying to show particularly to foreign people – from Europe and North America – is that India is changing and the image that people have of India might be quite dated,” he says, adding, “People in the UK have a dated view of India, what they have seen through films. But everything could be different when you go around here.”
Ahern made an “unplanned” trip to Tamil Nadu on September 6. With suggestions from his team in Chennai he mapped the route, with his first stop being the Arunachaleswarar Temple in Thiruvannamalai, early Saturday morning, Ahern found it “peaceful and relaxed.”
One conversation at a time
Ahern is not new to the state, having been to Chennai, Kanniyakumari, Rameswaram, and Puducherry. “I enjoy going out on the bike because I think, particularly being a foreigner, and because my bike has diplomatic blue plates on it, people come up and talk to me. They always ask, ‘Where are you from?’ ‘What are you doing in Tamil Nadu?’ I am a big fan of Tamil Nadu, Tamil movies, and songs. So, my answers are always genuine and sincere,” he admits.
On Day 2, he reached Tharangambadi. “The town was a Danish trading port to Andaman and Nicobar Islands,” he wrote on X. Here, he visited New Jerusalem Church, and Nagore Dargah Shariff. “This is a place filled with history and peace. There was a mixture of Hindu and Muslim communities living side by side. India as a country is very diverse,” he notes.
Navigating through both smooth and coarse roads, Ahern approached people with a “vanakkam” and furthered his conversations with “Eppadi irukinga? (How are you?)”. A roadside vendor also had a chance to experience his heartiness.
He narrates, “The aunty was selling some fruits. She didn’t speak any English, but her daughter did. She thought that I was a Bollywood star. Then after spending time, they tried finding out my age and whether I was married. It was a charming moment because she was smiling throughout. The daughter said that she had not seen a a foreigner.”
Long road ahead
Ahern drove as the road led him, and the trip extended to Velankanni. “There was a celebration at the church. It was a religious weekend. Lots of people had come and I had filter kaapi and conversations with a few of them,” he says. On the list was the US Vice President, Kamala Harris’ ancestral village, Thulasendrapuram.
“I was wearing a baseball hat that had Kamala Harris’ name. People who noticed that were proud of her as she is campaigning for the US presidential election,” he says.
Finally, he headed to Tiruchy. Soaking in the traditions of the temple town, Ahern wore a veshti to the Rock Fort temple atop a hill. He climbed more than 300 steps to look at the sunset. From here, he bid adieu and headed back to Bengaluru.
Following his travels and posts, Ahernhas noticed foreigners eager to come to India. “This journey will continue over the future as people realise that the country is changing and there is so much to see.” he says.