Monday, 23 June 2025
The University of the Third Age meeting report
Encounters on My Small Wheel Bicycle - 1500 Kilometres in South India
Speaker: Chris Green
Chris is a member of our u3a branch, as well as what he described as a committed 'slow cyclist'. He has cycled in India, and other countries over the years, and has estimated that his average speed throughout worked out around 56 kilometres a day.
Our speaker's outfit included an orange sash and white cap – headwear similar to that famously worn by Jawaharlal (Pandit) Nehru - an Indian anti-colonial nationalist and statesman. This man was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century, and later played a key role in establishing the Atomic Energy Commission of India.
One of Chris's many slides featured the largest statue of a person in the world, twice as tall as the Statue of Liberty. Most, if not all, of the audience had never heard of Sadar Patel, a member of the Congress Party. This man was known for his strength and willpower in his part of bringing about India's independence. He had the job of convincing the heads of 562 separate states to join the movement to unite, and create the country, of India. 559 of the states complied, and Chris said that the other three were 'persuaded' later.
The main themes of Chris's presentation were the diversity of the country, and the people who live there. One of his many examples was when he passed a field with two young men working hard on their crops and stopped to talk to him. The farmers were keen for Chris to take their picture. After Chris obliged them, they asked him to send the photo to 'Instagram'. Similarly, Chris mentioned talking to a father and son who worked on a coconut farm along the way and asking the younger man what he planned to do in later life. The youth's reply was slightly unexpected – he wanted to work in Artificial Intelligence.
Another slide showed a man taking part in the January Kite Festival. He was riding a bicycle which had a vertical piece of metal rising from the handlebars – did anyone know why? Chris explained that many people taking part tied their kites to handlebars to fly them – the strong wires to do this caused injuries, even deaths from people riding into them.
He showed us what looked like a random, tall, lump of concrete in the middle of a barren landscape – and asked for suggestions of what it could be. One or two of his audience suggested it related to trains. Yes, it was – part of the 'Superfast' railway, currently under construction. It will eventually cost much less than the UK's attempts at HS2 and, at least Chris thinks, will actually come to fruition.
Throughout the presentation Chris had tales of his many encounters with people along the route. One of these was when he met a man, another cyclist, with bare feet. Asked why, said that he would continue to do this until his son won a boxing tournament. No pressure there, obviously(!)
Chris mentioned the vast number of people who cycle for work or pleasure. He recounted being kidnapped, in the best possible way, by the Boisar Cycling Group for a day. It started with his conversation with the barefoot cyclist which led to him being given a breakfast by a new acquaintance. Chris intended to get on his way afterwards, but the man insisted he take a better route. Chris did so, and along the way met another man who asked what he was doing for the rest of the day? This led to him being given lunch, and subsequently his evening meal after being taken up a mountain to a holy site. It was actually one of many holy days celebrated in the country, and Chris had agreed to stay with his new friends for the night. They had already provided him with biscuits and other food, and pointed out another visitor to the site now and again - a Jaguar, who had left a footprint in the cave Chris would sleep in.
He told us that 40% of India's coastline were beaches, which are very often used for marriage ceremonies – particularly in Goa. These occasions are quite expensive though – an average of fourteen thousand pounds per ceremony. But, as Chris stressed throughout his talk, the population of India is very diverse – extremely rich people along with others who live from hand to mouth. Across all people working in India in their various employments, the average yearly pay is two thousand pounds.
Fourteen and a half million of India's population are fishermen. People of all status are involved in this industry and depend on it for their livelihoods.
The roads in India vary in quality and maintenance. Chris mentioned that the roads near to the beaches were well made, but in the main had nothing in the way of ice cream stalls or cafes. He recalled having a fall from his bike while travelling through the city of Mumbai, he admitted through lack of attention. His bicycle was slightly damaged, and he remembered that every other vehicle in the vicinity stopped. He was helped to his feet, feeling rather foolish and the cars and lorries around only started moving again when he was safe. Not for the first time in the talk, Chris stressed the kindness of just about all the Indian people he encountered. Other traffic problems are caused by cows on the roads – there are estimated to be 308 million cows in the country.
He showed us one of the bikes that he had ridden in India – a 'Brompton' model. As some of the audience knew, this is a folding bicycle and Chris demonstrated putting it into a bag so he could, if needed, take it on to public transport, as well as in the hold of the aircraft there and back to India.
If cows, bad road surfaces or inattention were things to watch out for, there was something even odder for Chris to show us. Some busy highways in India are separated like the motorways in Britain, but with two lanes of traffic going the same way. However, drivers have to look out for buses being driven towards them in the same lane because of the siting of bus stops – as shown in one of his film clips. Chris would have to cycle round the buses that approached him on these highways, which he described as 'quite exciting'.
Chris said that in all his travels in India, he only encountered one other foreigner riding their bike there, a 'round the world' cyclist. They had a cup of tea, or 'chai' together, before resuming their journeys. Chris's usual accommodations along the route would be hotels which, like most things in India, were varied in price and facilities. He would also take trains, buses and boats to get to and from his starting and finishing points.
Chris confirmed that he had plans for yet another cycling tour of somewhere in Asia and answered questions from the audience after an hour plus of amusement and information, and well-deserved applause.
Not yet a member? We're always delighted to welcome new members. Contact details: website at www.u3atod.org.uk or email at info@u3atod.org.uk.
Many thanks to Colin Sanson for this report
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