For 47-year-old Josphine Jose, a psychologist from Thrissur, one of her brightest childhood memories is the ride on her father's two-stroke Bajaj Super. It was during those trips her father, Jose Kavalakkat, who had served with the Military Engineering Services, would tell her about a dream to tour the country on his two-wheeler.

Fate didn’t allow them to fulfil that dream together. Josphine decided to honour her father's memory in a unique way—17 years after his passing. With her brand-new Grand Vitara, fondly named “Laadalee” (meaning darling in Hindi) and affectionately nicknamed “Laddoo,” she embarked on a solo journey across 18 states and 4 Union Territories, covering an impressive 14,277 kilometers in 75 days.

The trip was a spur-of-the-moment decision during an unexpected break when her PhD viva was postponed. “I have a habit of gifting myself an experience every year, and a Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir road trip was always on my bucket list. But this journey was entirely unplanned,” says Josephine. “I packed a few essentials, informed some cousins and friends for safety, and told my mother and sister that I was collecting data for my PhD thesis.” A psychologist practicing in Thrissur for 13 years, Josphine had left her 19-year-long corporate career in share marketing to care for her ailing mother in 2013.

Without a detailed itinerary, she often took detours and adjusted her routes as challenges arose. A self-imposed rule kept her driving only during daylight, with evenings reserved for finding homestays or hotels to rest.

While Josphine describes the experience as “crazy,” it wasn’t without its share of hurdles. In Odisha, a group of bikers staged a fake accident to rob her and later pursued her after realizing she was traveling alone. Her quick thinking led her to a village junction where locals stepped in to help. On Gujarat highways, she narrowly avoided hitting a cow, laughing as she recalled, “If I had hit it, I wouldn’t have survived the wrath of the locals” Encounters with unruly truck drivers on Himalayan roads tested her patience and resolve, but she remained undeterred.

She even managed the car’s servicing mid-journey—in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. Despite initially hiding the trip from her family, she made them part of the experience by visiting relatives on her way back to Kerala. In this way, they became unwitting participants in her heartfelt tribute to her father.