“Girdling the globe”

I believe that every coin has two sides and that every person has an opinion... But what I don’t believe in is an opinion that is forced on others.

With Cyclists Around the World is a book of adventure, a book of what life is all about, a book of having the guts to do what one wishes to, a book of knowledge for us who haven’t had a chance to go around the world to see and experience things in the true sense of a traveler. But I guess this is something reviewer Firdaus Gandavia ("Girdling the globe,” Books, Parsiana, May 7, 2008) has not appreciated.

Gandavia starts off by saying that "it’s a painstaking record of great expedition and gigantic test of endurance”... and then immediately starts to contradict everything you think he believes in. Has he forgotten that this great expedition was undertaken in the year 1923, not a very easy or comfortable time for most people? If he was really keen on reading about the beauty of the Taj Mahal, this certainly wasn’t the book to read. This is a book about what three brave men went through and if the reviewer finds that some places haven’t been well described, well why should they be? Why should a reason or explanation be given for why two of the cyclists dropped off half way through the journey? When they say the reasons are personal, it means exactly that.

As for the writing of the book, Gandavia feels that it is of a very dated style and manner and that the prose is full of unfortunate cliches. Of course it is. It was written is the year 1923. What did he expect? That they should have written the book after doing a course in IELTs (international English learning tests)?

The book has a fabulous foreword by Jawaharlal Nehru. That itself should indicate how great an achievement theirs was.

All I have to say to readers is: take time out to read the travails of this great adventure by three Parsi cyclists. You will be thrilled by their experiences and at the same time will come to understand the meaning of commitment, sincerity and humility of these noble people. Life has so much to offer, so let’s seek it and be happy with achievers.

JASMINE HAKIM MARSHALL

Calicut, Kerala

jastinmarshall@yahoo.co.in