Friday, September 11, 2015

Suresh Joseph: How this former railway officer turns a road adventurer, Limca book of records holder

“My car is a living being…it has a soul”, the former Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) officer Suresh Joseph tells his friends when they ask him about his wanderlust. He used to travel across India in a Swift car, and created Limca book of records for his 24,000-km-drive covering 28 Indian states and 17 railway headquarters. And yes, he authored the book Ek Swift Bharat Yatra-The Journal of a Railwayman’s Journey Across India. Before writing about some of his record drives, let’s first find out where…
this road adventurer from Kerala is currently stationed. He is now undertaking a Cochin to Cochin round trip that will finally cover 14,000 km. He has already completed the trans-Himalayan portion of it, from Jammu to Tezu (Arunachal Pradesh). He is currently driving a Ford Endeavour.
One of his epic journeys was from Kochi to London spanning two continents, 25,000 km and 27 countries. The drive in a Fiat Punto was completed in 75 days. Popular Malayalam film-maker Lal Jose accompanied Joseph in that drive. Joseph also undertook another adventurous journey---the South East Asian Odyssey spanning 21,635 km across eight countries, which was covered in 77 days.
He is currently a consultant based in Cochin.
But why does he travel so much on road, and that too going solo? He says, his objectives are goodwill across nations, and road safety - responsible driving.
“I believe a smile will help you through the most trying circumstances, for one smile begets another. The journey of my life has been exciting, fulfilling and thoroughly enjoyable. I have got more out of my life than I have deserved and hence, am contended and grateful. I consider it fortunate to have had the most wonderful parents, grandparents and teachers to groom me during the early years,” he writes in his blog.
And his family? Read his own description about his family :“I have a great family consisting of my wife (Beena), my daughter (Maya), her husband (Kiron), their daughter and my first grandchild (Eva) - the latest addition to the family - and my son (Ajay). My brother (Satheesh) and his family in Cochin as also my sister (Geetha) and her family in the USA are the feathers in my nest".
A fan of old Bollywood songs, Joseph also spends time reading books. His favourite books include “Go Kiss The World”. Yes, this railman's road journey continues.

2 comments:

  1. Dear BoI team, there are factual errors in the report including my name. I wish the report is reposted after necessary corrections

    ReplyDelete
  2. What's your name then? Not Suresh Joseph?

    ReplyDelete