Daulat Rahman/Guwahati

Even at the age of 58 Sabir Hussain is a die-hard biker. After several successful bike expeditions including two solo ones to the remotest and most difficult places in India, Hussain is now planning to follow the route that Alexander the Great took to reach the Jhelum River to enter India.

In an interview with Awaz-The Voice Assam, Sabir Hussain said that even though age matters at some point in time for a biker, one can do it well past the age of 60 in case he remains physically fit.

“Keeping yourself mentally and physically fit is the key. It is not easy but not impossible. Always remember, your triumph lies on the other side of your fears,” Sabir Hussain who is also a journalist and author of two books said.

On May 20, 2013, Sabir Hussain embarked on a solo ride from Vaishali on the Delhi-UP border to Turtuk via Ambala, Jalandhar, Pathankot, Jammu, Rajouri, Shopian, Srinagar, Sonamarg and Ladakh. In the total distance of 1,600 km one way, Sabir Hussain had a company Suzuki 150cc Fiero loaded with saddlebags and a few packets containing tools, spare parts, shoes, and water bottles.

Challenges, hurdles, pleasure, and inner satisfaction of the 2013 bike expedition found expression in Hussain’s maiden book Battlefields & Paradise, published by Westland. In the book Sabir Hussain also talks about the politics of Kashmir, straight from the mouths of ordinary people with extraordinary resilience and hope in their hearts.   

In the winter of 2018, Sabir Hussain set off on his longer solo journey on a borrowed Royal Enfield Himalayan motorcycle to retrace his roots in India’s North East. The ride that began in Siliguri in north Bengal took Sabir through Sikkim, the Darjeeling hills, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, and Nagaland along some of the most perilous and picturesque roads in the country.

Photos clicked by Sabir Hussain during his expeditions

“Many of the places on his route to the North East were just dots on the map but they have their charm that left me with priceless takeaways from the once-in-a-lifetime trip,” Sabir Hussain reminisced.

Once again Sabir Hussain's bike expedition has found expression in words and his second book “Into the East” has been published. 

“The Northeast is mostly viewed through a prism that paints it as unstable and often a dangerous place to visit for a variety of reasons. Much of the population is considered alien for their physical features, food habits, and way of life. The reality is very different. The North East is a hidden paradise inhabited by beautiful people and my book is an attempt to highlight the region before the world,” says Sabir Hussain.

Sabir Hussain who is from Assam graduated in commerce towards the end of 1987. He then joined The Sentinel, a leading English daily in March 1988. He moved to Delhi in 1990 to join the Press Trust of India (PTI) and then worked with various media houses before quitting the profession in 2022 to become a content writer.

“I was always in love with motorcycling. I made a few short trips to Uttarakhand when it was still part of Uttar Pradesh. I became part of a motorcycle club in Delhi in 1998 for my first ride to Ladakh. I remained with the club till 2008 and did 8 rides to Ladakh. I left the club in 2008 and in 2013 I went on my first solo ride through Kashmir and Ladakh,” Sabir Hussain said. 

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“Even though it is quite outlandish at this moment to say this, I will leave no stone unturned to retrace the route that Alexander the Great took to reach the Jhelum River to enter India,” Sabir Hussain said.