Sonny Ramaswamy, Purdue’s associate dean of agriculture (right) and his son-in-law, Andrew Park, on April 19, 2005, at the start of their 11-day motorcycle ride across India.
Andrew Park, Sonny Ramaswamy and Travis Mellon (left to right) pose near the end of a 300-kilometer ride on Day 2. Mellon is a friend of Park who went along for the ride. The symbol on the right side of the sign is the logo for Hindustan Petroleum.
Farmers terrace mountainsides to so crops can more easily retain rainwater and snow melt. The practice also reduces erosions.
The bike journey took them to this Hindu temple on the banks of the Ganges River.
The group got off their bikes and onto a raft for a two-day float down the Ganges River.
Steep cliffs, where Ramaswamy posed for a photograph, drop down to the banks of the Ganges.
Some of the roads were little more than rocky paths carved out of the mountainside.
This woman wandered across the roadway at a village that consisted of a few sparse huts.
Cold, damp weather in the mountains required frequent stops so Ramaswamy and Park could warm up and dry off.
Nilesh Shah (left), a California businessman, joined Mellon, Park and Ramaswamy for a warm glass of Chai (Chinese tea) in a hut insulated by sheets of newspapers.
The route featured winding roads and severe elevation changes. The ride started at 3,500 feet above sea level and topped off at 13,000 feet in the Himalayas.
There was scenic beauty even in this poor, rural village huddled tightly along the banks of the Beas River.
A portion of the Jalori Pass, at 9,800 feet above sea level, was still snowed over. So the bikers stopped in this rock-roofed restaurant to warm up.
The 500 cc. Enfield Bullet motorcycles performed so well through the journey that Park even bought one upon his return to the United States.
At the end of the ride, Park, Mellon and Ramaswamy pack up the bikes and pose for a photo with Kamal Kumar, the driver of their support vehicle.