Life in the city can get monotonous with the daily mundane routine. Every once in a while we find ourselves yearning for that ‘much needed break’ or adventure; even reminiscent of days ‘way back when’.
Most of us hold those childhood days close to our hearts as a reminder of the simplicity life offered us in the past. It is even more cherished when we are able to maintain this simplicity with friendship that defies the ruins of time; which is sadly hard to avoid in this busy city life leaving most of us with estranged relations.
While some of us may be dreaming of an alternate exciting life, members of the ‘Sons of the Hills’ are busy living it!
A few childhood friends have formed the adventurous group that explores the nooks and cranny of Meghalaya on two wheels.
Hailing from Shillong, the members — Jonathan Dkhar, Kamlihok Hynniewta, Khrawkupar Nongsiej, Phaibha Kharlukhi and Aiban Pakyntein and a few others — share a common love for nature and passion for adventure and riding. After years of exploration, the idea of naming the group came about in 2015 by member Jonathan Dkhar. They now have a big following on social media.
Since its inception, the Sons of the Hills Adventure and Motorcycling Group has gone on countless expeditions to remote areas. On these long trips they hunt for places with waterfalls, crystal clear waters and rivers, natural swimming pools and offbeat localities.
Anyone can imagine the obstacles that one could face when travelling long distances on two-wheelers. However, the bikers are never disheartened whenever they face any difficulty while off-roading. Braving harsh rains, strong winds and even blinding fog, the riders ride on. The struggle is not without a reward as these difficult roads lead to beautiful destinations. The places they discover do not fail to mesmerise them and they cannot help but appreciate nature in its crude beauty.
All the members ride with great enthusiasm and zeal through the windings of “our own lands”. It either takes a week’s planning or they go on spontaneous rides deciding on the day itself which places to visit.
“There is a secret to how we discover places. Everybody has been asking us this but we cannot disclose it,” laughs the riders.
“We ride on every weekend and on holidays every year since the inception of this group. There are numerous places that we have explored and there are still more to explore and we won’t stop exploring on our bikes,” they added.
When asked about the nature of their trips, the members said, “Our biking trips are very different in nature. We go on long trips and also we go on short trips like for a day. We would always carry our homemade food in our lunch boxes. Food tastes much better when you have it outside. We not only ride motorcycles, we do trekking and camping too. We like to hunt for waterfalls, crystal clear water and rivers and natural swimming pools because we love to swim too. If you follow us on instagram, facebook and youtube you would find us swimming all the time,” the adventurers said in unison.
“Every biking trip is special and always a treat for us. Every ride is a learning process for us. And we grow individually and as a group too. We never go to the same place twice until and unless if it’s one of the best places we have visited. And every time when we travel we always find a better place than the other. So, why go to the same place twice. But the Bhutan Trip was a memorable one for us,” they added.
Recently, the Sons of the Hills attended the 9th North East Riders Meet (NERM) hosted by Bullet Clubs of Arunachal Pradesh. Last year, it was held in our state at Pongtung village hosted by RERAM (Meghalaya).
Speaking on their visit to the state, the bikers said, “Arunachal Pradesh is beautiful, has the most amazing landscapes and is still raw. There is so much to explore in Arunachal Pradesh. It was a fun ride all the way to Pasighat where the event was held.
Every year the Bullet Club in each state organises the North East Riders Meet (NERM) for three days which is specifically for the Bullet Riders. It passes on from one state to another every year. It is an event where every bullet rider, a solo rider and a club rider can participate in the meeting for brotherhood, for respect and to meet friends old and new.
“It is a happy and thrilling experience to meet new people from everywhere, sharing the same passion for riding and sharing riding stories together. The best part about biking is that you make new friends all over the country and the world knowing that you will see each other again sometime soon. This is how you grow individually, how you learn different cultures and how you can respect each other. And we can’t wait to ride to Sikkim for the next North East Riders Meet, 2018,” said the members.
The Sons of the Hills is, however, not rebels without a cause. They are strong advocates against littering. “It all started when we were really appreciating nature and keeping it as it is. We strongly condemn littering and destruction of the environment. We have so much here in Meghalaya. It is sad to say that people visiting places would always say ‘let’s go to another place, this place is dirty’. It’s dirty because you throw shit everywhere you go, it’s because you don’t have civic sense at all. Be responsible,” they urged.
It is important to remind ourselves the importance of respecting nature and preserving it for our future generations.
The riders also hoped to be able to use their passion in making a living just as well as musicians do out of music. Jonathan is the only member of the group who gives his bikes on rent and also takes people out at times when he is available.
The enthusiastic riders inspire us to explore not only our own lands but to explore our passion and interests in order for us to really live our lives to the fullest. Their thrilling adventures remind us of the sense of freedom that comes with being in the wilderness and away from the madding crowd. The Sons of the Hills often invites riders to join them on their trips. Be it amusement or therapeutic, taking a long ride to the country side sounds like an opportunity one should not miss.
(Contributed by Donisha S
Basaiawmoit)
