Guru about to get on his bike for epic trip around Australia

The man behind Guru Driving School, Mandar Tamhankar, will hit the road himself on August 21 for an epic trip around Australia.

And as he tells the South West Voice in Macarthur this morning at his Glenfield office, for this journey he is combining his life long connection to road transport with a desire to do something different to celebrate the 75th anniversary of India’s independence from British rule.

“All my life I have worked on things connected to roads, like the driving school, and the transport industry,’’ says Guru, as most people these days call him.

He arrived in Australia in 2005 and has lived in Campbelltown for most of the time since then.

“So when I was trying to decide how to celebrate this 75^th anniversary of India’s independence I realised this would be the best way to go,’’ he says.

The original plan was for the Guru to drive the very first vehicle he used in his driving school 11 years ago.

“I kept that car well serviced, but later on I decided that I would ride a bike,’’ he said.

Guru plans to use social media to signal his impending arrival in various towns across the country, and to invite locals to say hello.

“I want to spread my safety message everywhere I go, and this is: drive under the speed limit,’’ he explains.

Once the trip is done and dusted Guru plans to donate his motorcycle to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

And, the Guru hopes, the bike will be auctioned to raise funds for the families of fallen soldiers in India.

But while he hasn’t quite worked out how all that will click in place, the Guru says one thing that will definitely happen is he will hit the road on August 21.

And once again he has combined another event to add a little bit of fanfare to his departure for Canberra.

For the past 10 years he has been putting on bus tours around Sydney for senior citizens for just $1 each person.

This year he has aligned the bus tour with his departure day on August 21.

“The buses will leave from here and first go to the Indian temple at Minto,’’ says the 50 year old father of two.

“We will spend a little bit of time at the temple then head out for Cataract Dam, me out the front on the bike.

“After the picnic lunch I will wave bye bye and get back on the Hume Highway to start my trip around Australia.

“I am really excited thinking about it.’’