S.Venkatraman, a physically handicapped person riding a motorcycle with a sidecar, starts a 1,302 km motorcycle journey from Delhi to the Himalayan town of Leh August 9. Venkatraman and four team-mates in normal health plan to reach Leh, some 18,000 feet above sea level, on August 15 when India would complete year-long celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of independence from British rule in 1947. The road to Leh is one of the highest in the world.

JS/FY