Riding to capture smiles en route

Freelance photographer Radhika Rao arrived in Hyderabad from Chennai on her Bajaj Avenger, crossing Nellore, Ongole and Vijayawada. This is just a part of the 26- year-old’s journey across the country on her motorbike, where she aims to cover all the 29 states.

“After two years of waiting to go on this journey, things finally worked out no,” she says, adding that her family, the Bajaj Avengers Club, and the “crowd” who funded her trip were the biggest motivation to start off. Radhika says her mom, a Central Government employee and a cousin who’s in the Army, have provided her great help too. “Thanks to them, I am finding places to stop over throughout the country,” she shares.

Radhika’s mission is to spread peace and happiness through smiles to raise funds for cancer patients. “I’m capturing smiles of people around the country and have shot nearly 200 pictures in just three days!” she says, adding that she’s collecting a rupee from everyone she meets, or whatever they are willing to donate, to add to her personal contribution to a cancer organisation in Chennai.

Does the heat make her ride difficult? Radhika explains, “I don’t feel anything as I drive, but when I stop, I can feel sweat trickle down my body. I carry almost 50 kg of gear with me but I need it for protection.”

As to when she will complete her journey, Radhika says she is not out to set a record. “I just want to meet and talk to a lot of people. Maybe I shall finish within six months,” she says, adding, “I don’t want to fall sick or hamper my journey, so I am doing yoga, back exercises, and eating good food along the way.” A journey such as this requires some preparation and so, she has done a practice ride from Chennai to Hyderabad once before.