A long time has passed since I promised the second part and it could come up only now. I hope ti was worth the wait.
Now to proceed on the Trip to the kallu story:
The kallu was not at the place where I was thinking it to be. The cousin of mine was to take me to a friends place where it would be made available. It was dark already and in places like Wayanad, once sun sets it really is dark in the absence of street lamps. So we set out through the narrow winding roads for the kallu. My cousins being locals cruised through the road with the ease of riding on a plane highway, but we (at least I) found it difficult to keep up with the pace. On the way we had to stop for getting the side dishes for the kallu. All of us being big time beefitarians, we bought some nice beef fry. This is when Pavan's bike started giving trouble again. We had to take a stop and my cousin and I along with Pavan went back to the nearest bike station to get things ready. In the meantime, guys who were waiting for us had started feeling hungry and started having some snacks from one of the road side shops. We got the bike set and got back with them. We continued on our journey.
It took us around 20 to 30 minutes to reach another cousin's place which was close to where we were to get the kallu. We spent a few minutes there before proceeding further. It was around 9 PM when we left this place. It is then that we noticed that the beef was missing. Everyone who had ever been holding the packets kept on wondering where he placed it. It finally came to Raul and the link broke there. No one had got the packet from him. After wasting a considerable amount of time wondering where it went Raul remembered that he had placed it down while having snacks earlier. Two guys rushed back to the spot to get it while the rest of us moved to the spot where we were to have kallu.
We were passing through a field and we were expecting to need to go further, but we came to a stop all of a sudden over a small bridge over a stream passing through the field. We were under the sky, with the stars and moon to give us light. We waited there while my cousin (Mejo) went to get the kallu. The rest of us were waiting there spellbound by the ambiance of our very own place under the sky to have kallu and enjoy. We did not have to wait too long for the kallu to arrive and everyone jumped immediately, many of us had only heard about it. The guys who had gone for checking the beef found it exactly where it was left and joined us almost as soon as we started. We were having a nice time drinking, eating and talking aloud with no one to worry about. with only fields surrounding us for most of the distance we could see. Unfortunately the beef got over even before I could have enough of it. [:(] All the greedy fellows finished as if they had never seen beef before. And the kallu got over a bit too soon as well. There might have been around 5 liters, but well, that's just 5 liters among 10 people. We were not satisfied. Well, what could we do, we were done. But how could we be done with the fun :D
While washing the kallu container, someone noticed that under the moonlight the water from the stream (which was a bit murky) looked exactly the color of kallu and decided to fool anyone who did not notice this. So, all of a sudden we have more kallu, actually more than the first round. Manoj who really liked the drink happened to be really greedy. To enact the exact seen:
Its announced that we have more kallu.
Manoj: Hey guys, I'll have the whole of it, the first sip..
Others: You have it man, I'm already full.
Manoj: Sure, can I directly dip and drink?
Raul: Sure man, go ahead.
Manoj: You don't mind na?
Raul: Go ahead.
Everyone: MANOJ!!!! MANOJ!!! MANOJ!!!!
Manoj takes a plunge into the container
Manoj: phrrrrrrphrrrrrrrrrrrrr.... *spit *spit phrrrrrrrrrphrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...... what was that... :O :O :O
Everyone else: ROTFLMAO..
Now that was not exactly a pleasant prank, but it was really funny at the moment. Manoj's expression kept changing with every additional detail that others added on to the quality of the water. Well, he did get over it. Now it was time to get back to our room and take rest because we had to start early the next day. The day was over, and so was most of the fun and adventure.
OR SO WE THOUGHT.
Once out of the field, we actually realized that we were left with almost no money. Not even enough to pay for our rooming. Luckily we found it out in good enough time to be able to borrow it from my cousin. We then went to the lodge where we were put up, to find the door to be locked. Out here the day ends early and it was already midnight. The guys might have given up any hope of our coming back. We had to wait for a considerable while to get them openEd the door. By the time we reached our room we were so tired, almost everyone slept off immediately. Space was not a problem because everyone was too tired and most of us woke up with some under or over them (or their legs or arms). I take no moral responsibility for anyone having fiery imaginations about the above statement
We had to wake up early in the morning as if we had to spot any wild animals on the way back to Bangalore, we had to move early. Some among us were lucky enough and awake enough to take care of their nature calls and morning chores before getting back on the road. Rest of us had to keep it for the way. We decided to take a road that was mostly abandoned as I had heard that the chances of spotting wild animals were higher around there. And from here began a second round of adventures.
As we started... na na na... you have to wait... but unlike last time, it'll happen earlier this time.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
To NoWhere At NoTime
The Wayanad Trip, Part 1
Confusions, Kanfoosans and Much More:
Well, that is how it all started. The crazy bros (or madmen or any other adjective you would like to use) Sandy and Raul came up with the idea of going on an unplanned trip. One Friday, early morning at 11:00 am (yea, thats early enough for me) when I was just out of my 3rd day in Gym (which did not last long anyways), I get a call from Sandy "Machu, come down to Barista Koramangala". So, I go there dressed in my sweaty gym wear, along with Cjo. After all its just the two bros. Who cares how I'm dressed. On arrival, I'm forced to enter Barista *GULP* and Sandy is with a girl... *GULP* *GULP*. Well, too late to make any changes. Only option is to sit there uncomfortably and wait for the guys to get done and go home. Well, these guys did get up, we went to my place. Till then, I had no plans of any trip. While at my place, the two managed to convince me into joining the Trip, which was supposed to end where the road ends. Well, once they had freshened up, they moved to their friends places and I rushed to work.
I had to finish up work as soon as possible and get going. When I started work, I was relieved because there was not too much work for me. I was glad that I will be able to sneak out early. Since I had not carried any spare cloths, it was all the more important for me to sneak out early, so that I could go home and get my stuff packed up. Well, but as things would have it, just around dinner time, I cursed Murphy for his laws. Yes, things were no longer as good as it was. Some work got piled up and I got held up. I called up Cjo to get some cloths and come to pick me up after filling petrol. Lucky for us. there was a 24-hour Petrol Bunk and so we could fill the tank. Cjo had to wait another hour or so in my office before we could start. It had already crossed midnight when we started.
While all this was happening, in another part of the city, Sandy and Raul were busy convincing more bikers to join the trip. They went to the extent of getting guys drunk and then making them accept this (yes, they can go to any extent to get people for a ride). After lots of convincing, some guys agreed to join. But the next target was to find that perfect lie to tell home. Everyone found their reasons, and started off, pretty late in the night. This gave me enough time :D.
After all the confusion got over at one part of the city, I got a call from Sandy saying they are on Mysore road and asking me to join. I still had long way to go before I completed my work. I informed him the same. After while, growing impatient, they decided to move ahead. Sandy informed me they would be waiting near the RV Dental college. Well, that one happens to be just across the road from where I work :P. So I assumed he meant the Rajarajeshwari Dental College on Mysore road. When done with work, me and Cjo speeded up desperately to catch up with the guys. We rode without any stop and pretty fast for our normal standards. While we are still speeding, we get a message saying that the gang is moving forward and will wait at some Petrol bunk since they need a fill. Now we had to speed even more as we had to catch up with the guys before they do. We crossed the said location and then started checking each petrol bunk in site, but could not spot anyone. After a while, we got doubtful and decided to give a call to Sandy.
Some brilliant guys in the group did not think that they will need enough fuel for the long ride. Middle of the night, no fuel, greaaaat. One bike got dried out. Some took it as a bad omen and returned home. Another bike dried down and people were checking all petrol bunks nearby, only to find that they had no stock either. These guys were moving here and there looking for petrol and we zipped past them without realizing. Only two guys in the group were known to me and I did not spot both, probably due to speeding. As it happened, the stop was supposed to be RV Engineering College, which was way behind the dental college we targeted.
Rendezvous Point:
We give Sandy our whereabouts and realize that we are ahead of them. Some guys return back home considering all the ill haps as bad omen. The survivers reached us. After a negligible break, we started off to our next stop, Barista near Maddur. This is where we get introduced to everyone.
While parking, Cjo noticed that there is a chick in the gang. woooohoooo. All the more excitement. Introduction with the chick me: "Hi, I'm Jash" chick: "Hi, Sunil". >>twissssssshhhhhhhhhhhhh<< heartbreak. That was the first meeting with Kancha, the slim and trim guy with long hair, making it easy for others to confuse him for a girl. Ohh well, but since the group was fun, not having a chick did not matter. After some chitter chatter and gobbling some snacks and enough coffee, we get back on our journey.
The ride went on without much happenings till Mysore. In Mysore, there was a confusion on the route further. But we managed to get on the right track. We clicked a few pics near the Palace and moved on further. We looked for tea, but could not find that late in the night. Our next target was the Cafe Coffee Day at Gundulpet. The ride was smooth, but we reached before dawn break. Going further before dawn was not a good idea because of the jungle ahead. We spent a lot of time there at the coffee day. It was already time for the Bullets to get refilled. The got it done there. We started off again at 6 am.
By this time, the Bangalore guys had already completed anywhere between 20 and 24 waking hours and the guys from Chennai had done even more. Ranjith (Hillman) had already started feeling sleepy and all he could think of was a bed and sleeping on it. But others were not to give up so easily. We moved at a normal pace hoping to see some wild animals, enjoying the view of the deers by the road side. It was nearly 9 am when we reached Sulthan Bathery. Everyone was hungry and wanted to have breakfast. We stopped at the first restaurant we saw, parked the bikes and went inside anticipating yummy food.
Chicken Sambhar and Egg Pulishery -- An experience never to forget:
Well, the general assumption of a mallu hotel is of spicy chicken curry and delicious egg curry. We ordered appams, chicken and egg curry. Everyone was waiting anxiously for the food, but all excitement died down at the first taste of it. The chicken curry tasted like sambhar and the egg curry tasted like pulishery (a curry made with curd as base). Even the appam was pathetic. We had had better appams in Pune and Bangalore.
Well, that was a disastrous breakfast experience. around. Manoj had to get his bullet fixed up at this time. We decided to take a room and keep our stuff and to get freshened up in the meantime. Hillman tried to get a nap in the meantime, with no luck because of the crazy bro duo and of course the rest of us helping in. As soon as the bike was fixed, we started off on our tour. The first target was Edakkal Caves. The excitement made us all forget our tiredness. Even Hillman forgot his sleep for some time. We reached the foothill, parked the vehicles. Had some water and started off on the climb.
Test of Strength and Agility:
Well, the climb up to Edakkal was a tough one. I was already tired by the time I reached the place where the road ends. There was a steep climb where vehicles were not allowed. The buggers who called themselves friends did not even let me have water. I somehow managed to reached the spot from where the actual climb was to begin and snatch the water bottle from them and have some. The climb initially was exiting. I was able to move around pretty easily. The only trouble was to go against gravity with my weight. Even though I could traverse the path without much trouble, I got tired soon since I had been out of physical activity for a long time. Add to that the medicines I was supposed to have those days. I saw Cjo, Kancha and Manoj climb up like monkeys followed by Ranjith, Pavan and Raul. Sandy kept me company for some time, but I was constantly giving up, dehydrated, out of breath. Sandy could not take any more and rushed ahead. I had nearly given up and thought of getting back down, but after a while could not control the urge to go up.
So, I started off all alone, asking everyone around if they had any water. The common replies were among: 'it just got over', 'we are looking for water ourselves' etc. Well, somehow I reached the cave where there was stream of water. After having water from there, with full energy I started again, only to stop in another 5 mins. The guys who had already reached the top called up. I confirmed that they had water. Gathering all the energy left in me, I made for the top. I was hardly 5 feet below the peak when everyone started coming down with the empty water bottle. So well, I missed the top and got no water either. Thus ended the climb and we started climbing down. This time, it was not as difficult. Rushed down till the cave where I had some more water.
Once down, we all had our fill of lime soda and lime water and water, which was the only thing we could think of at that time. While we were sitting there, Hillman and Shaabji (Manoj) got the idea of trying to ride the bullet up the steep road. They tried but had to come back shortly, because it was not allowed. Well, we started off soon after, because we had to cover.
The bee that ruined the day:
After the tiring climb, while we were rushing to our next location a sudden cry from Kancha and subsequent stopping of the bike in which he was riding made us stop. It was obvious that Kancha was in pain, but no one had any idea what happened. At that time, he released his sweater to let out a bee. Damn, it was a really bad sting. People worked at all possible solutions to it. Cjo suggested chuna and some people put ice on it. Any one of these would have reduced the trouble, but the combination of heat and cold made the situation worst. Thinking that the pain will subside in some time, we started off again. But Kancha could not take the pain much longer. We had to stop and look for a hospital. We asked for directions and followed it to a hospital. Only thing, with slight mistakes we got split into two groups ending up at two hospitals. Sandy and Hillman arrived at one hospital and talked to the doctor and were waiting for Raul to arrive with Kancha, while Raul had found another one and Kancha was already getting treated. Sandy tried to call Raul and was already irritated to the core.
These confusions were still going on when Pavan's bullet had a problem. The break cable broke lose. Damn. That too, his being a real classic piece, finding appropriate spare parts was added trouble. We somehow managed to find a garage and get trouble fixed temporarily with the best available fit.
Kancha had to take rest and it was getting late for the best part of the day, the kallu (toddy) session. My cousin, whom I had called up before the trip to arrange some kallu was calling me continuously and we had no clue what to do. cjo and I, who knew the roads well (since I'm the native and Cjo had been with me earlier) decided to, collect the kallu and come back. But the rest did not want to be left alone. We decided to let Kanch rest while we go ahead and come with the kallu. The mention of Kallu and Kancha's pain vanished. He was ready to leave.
The ride they almost missed:
We embarked on our journey to Kalpetta (the district capital) where I was to meet my cousin. The road there has greenery on both sides and has really nice curves. Me being used to that road never thought so great of it, but the guys along (specially Sandy) started cursing Cjo and me for planning to leave them behind and take this route. This went on for quite some time. By the time I met my cousin, it was getting pretty late. Someone wanted a beer since he was not sure about Kallu. So, we queued up in front of the 'shaap' (as the liquor stores are called in Kerala) to get some beer. Well the queues are pretty long in Kerala. We spent a lot of time there. The proceeded to buy some snacks. In the meantime, Pavan's bike was again giving some trouble. We got that fixed and moved on to my cousins home.
The kallu session and the return journey in the second part... keep waiting.. :D
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
The Gokarna Trip
Gokarna (24-27 Jan 09)
One lazy sunday afternoon after a heavy lunch, I headed back to my room to surf the net when I happened to find an old friend, online on gtalk. We ended up drawing comparisons of the carefree lifestyles we had, not that long ago in college and the monotonous lifestyle one has at work. We chatted for a while after which he left as he had to go some place. This small chat got me re-visiting the video clippings and pictures I had taken in the past. One video clip of mine had opened just as my brother entered the room. The video clip was taken on the shores of Calangute Beach, Goa on Jan (27-29) 2008 where both of us brothers were in a state of euphoria as we did something we had never done before. As my brother approached, we got completely engrossed in the video that we couldn't hear mom calling aloud, from the living room. As soon as the video clipping ended, I looked at my bro and gave him that signature smile of mine flashing my teeth just the way the cow does in an Orbit chewing gum ad and he gave me a nod to show he was game to whatever I had on my mind.
There were friends of mine who had already been to Gokarna and said the place was not like any other tourist spot, not a place where you have scores of holidayers littering and loitering around. So I went ahead and zeroed in on this place after a bit of googling and calculating how much we would have to shell out for the trip. We called up all the bikers we knew in Bangalore, some couldn't make it as they said Gandhi would never stay with them. Well that was the case with us too. Thank the Holy Lord for who ever made Plastic cards to help you when Gandhi bhai is at bay!
We planned it in such a way that our trip would start on the 24th jan(Sat) and wind up on the 26th Jan(mon). But it was hard to follow these timelines as we met with obstacles one after the other. I left from my work place early on Friday, and the only thing that was running on my mind was the thought of me, riding on my baby in that never ending road to nowhere. I had my dinner. Mom was in no mood to send her sons away for the weekend. I could see that clearly written on her face. Though equally as supportive as Dad, she has to be comforted by both her boys. A little bit of Jaadu ka jhapi and pappi(Bear hug and kiss) does the trick. After taking her blessings, both of us brothers started our trip at 3 a.m in the morning. We filled our tanks at the nearby gas station and were then off to the Bangalore Highway (NH-4). While I rode on the smooth 6 lane tarmac, I thanked the Vajpayeeji govt for making the Golden Quadralateral! Both of us were enjoying every bit of the ride towards B'lore.
We kept a steady pace and were able to reach the outskirts of B'lore by 8am. After crossing the Electronic city at a snail's pace, bro's avenger bike started facing problems. Stopping at Bhansankhari to leave the bike for service, we went to a kerala hotel we normally go to for breakfast whenever we come for rides via B'lore. Manoj and his other pals had started from their homes to Tumkur and had called me up to enquire as to where we had reached. I told them about the issue we had with Sandy's bike, and asked them to wait at Mahendra Dhaba, opp. to Cafe Coffee Day for the next 2 hours. They reached the spot at 10 a.m, and eventually had to wait till 4 in the evening. As the time kept ticking and the work hadn't started on Avy baby, I asked Sandy, at noon, to go ahead, pick Niki on my One eyed Jack (Pulsar 180) , and leave for Tumkur.
By around 1.30 p.m, the Avy Baby was ready to rock and roll. I had actually received loads of calls by that time from the fellas who were waiting for us in Tumkur. I told them that Sandy would be reaching them soon and we could hit Tumkur at exactly 3 p.m. Just after speaking to Manoj however, I got a call from my Bro (Sandy) saying that he hadn't got a clue as to how to reach Tumkur from where he was. I asked him to somehow find his way to Forum and wait for me. It felt as if luck wasn't favoring us at all. Then half way down to Forum, Avy baby stops all of a sudden. What more could you ask for huh? If I had a gun at that point of time, I would have literally become an insane bloke going on a Killing spree, just like Kasab did! Thank god! My parents had sent me for the yoga classes when I had no idea what I could gain out of it. Trust me, Meditation does come to use.
I then pushed the bike to the nearby mechanic shop, and guess what! The mechanic had just gone out for lunch. This is more than enough for a sane person to go insane. I was glad that atleast I made a good decision by asking the guys to wait for us at a Dhaba and not on an open highway. I must really say, these guys were very cooperative and did not talk about it when we reached the spot and thus prevented us from having a spoilt trip. Lucky for me, Sandy came to the spot along with Niki when I was enquiring as to when the mechanic would reach. Sandy insisted that we go back to Bhanshankari and I would say, as I believed then, that would only eat up on our time. I had no more strength in me to clarify the difference in opinion and started walking down the street in search of mechanic shop on a sunny afternoon. I was thoroughly exhausted and so were Niki and Sandy who were hoping against hope to see the mechanic turn up from Lunch as soon as possible. When I almost gave up hope of finding a mechanic, I happened to turn towards my right to see The CASTROL BIKEZONE. I called them up and soon the mechanic was inspecting the Avy. He found that there was a short circuit on the wires and got the bike roaring in a jiffy. We thanked the mechanic profusely as i thought they were slight chances of us going downto Gokarna, if this is how things continued! The next problem we were yet to face was the Bangalore traffic. We took a short cut and reached the spot when the guys in Tumkur were about to leave.
From there, we took off to Gokarna. Since a lot of time was lost we rode for hours together. We got lost midway and we couldn't see few of the other bikers on the rear view mirror. We called them up to give them our location as we stopped at a nearby tea shop for biscuit and tea. That's where we actually got to know the new bikers. From the Bangalore side, we had Manoj(Regular) Adi(Regular) and the rest were newbies. Their first trip with the Bikers Fraternity! They are Ritu, Shayek, Tyagi and a dude who's name I dont recollect now. These guys were on a Hero Honda Karishma and 2 pulsars. In total, we had 5 bikes and 9 bikers.We started again, and told the new the basic rules they would have to adhere to in order to ensure track on every other rider, making sure not to lose anyone. 10 minutes after we left the tea shop, we faced another obstacle.This time being a puncture on Shayek's pulsar 150. Lucky for us, this happened right in front of a puncture shop. We knew that things were not going to work the way we wanted it to, so we decided not to worry much on the timelines. After 30 odd minutes, we started again from that village.We kept riding for another 4 odd hours and decided to halt at a dhaba somewhere near Shimoga.Thats when Sandy, Niki and I had something after our breakfast. It did recharge our batteries and off we were again having another 250 odd kms more to cover. It was a very chilly night, so that again the journey was delayed due to our regular stops. Shayek was at his very best, cracking jokes when everyone else's lips were cracked up (thanks to the weather)! We seriously needed some laughter and Shayek did what he is best at.
At around 3 a.m or so, we halted at an isolated place and everyone wanted to lie down for a while. I went straight to a stone slab and laid down like a dead body for the next 20 mins. This was good enough. We saw a Chai wallah (a guy who sells tea) on his bicycle the sight of which gave us the energy to get moving. I had been riding my bike all the way from chennai and thought I could touch the west coastline. But then, at around 20 odd kms fromGokarna, I gave the bike to another biker pal and I sat pillion on sandy's avenger allowing myself a catnapwhile he rode closer towards our destination. 30 mins later, around 6.30 a.m we found ourselves in the front of the OM beach. We went down to Namaste Cafe only to hear that they didn't have rooms. Well I guess that's what happens on a Sunday. We went aroundasking the localites who directed us to Kudle Beach. This place, I must say is paradise. There are very few people on this beach, 90% of them being foreigners. It's a pleasant thing to watch the ladies in their bikinis having fun in the sun. We finally got a shack, few yards away from the beach. The place we stayed in was Dragons Cafe. Although rooms were not available, we told them we would wait for one. I directly hit the sack and slept away to glory along side Sandy while the others went to the beach for a swim with the firangs. Waking up at around 11 a.m, I headed for a swim.
By the time I got back, I was so hungry, I could have eaten a roast turkey all by myself. I ordered the mix sizzlers and some Iranian specialities which are very common over there. Adi and I went on a boat ride to Paradise beach at around 4.30 p.m and we ended up meeting his colleague over there. The boat ride was awesome and we saw many dolphins having fun inthe mighty arabian sea. There were some friendly Germans too, with whom we chatted for a while. On our return to Kudle beach, we could see the other bikers huddled up at one corner where they were watching a Hippy (Foreigner) performing magic tricks. Later on in the night, after a sumptuous Iranian dinner, we had a bonfire near the seashore. As our group members started singingsongs one after the other, many firangis began joining us. It was really a night to remember. I liked the songs sung by this "hippy turned Hindu sadhus" couple singing the bhajans; certainly makes one get into a psychedelic trance. We wound up at around 2am and slept soon after. On the 26th Jan 2009 at around 7.30 a.m, Sandy, Niki and I left Kudle beach while the others planned to stay for an extra day. We wanted to ride on the Western coast road, as I had heard we could pass through a famous Shiv temple at Murdeshwar, and then a stretch of road where one would get to see the lake on the right and the sea facing the left side ( a must see) and further down would be the Udipi known for the the Dosas and Idlis. After taking blessings from Lord Shiv and having our breakfast there, the next stop was at Manipal where I was to meet a school friend ofmine. I had promised her a year earlier when we were on our Goa trip that we would visit her,but unfortunately we couldn't make it for varied reasons.
At around 5 p.m we met her near Kasturba Medical College, went to the nearby hotel with her and had a good time talking about the things we used to do in school while we gobbled down what ever came to the table. Sandy and I liked the place so much that we told her we would return again soon. On our way to Mangalore, I missed Sandy on one of those crowded streets at Udipi. I asked Niki to call him and find out where he was. We got him on the line and asked for his location. He told us that he was near the Highway. Since we were not familiar with the place, and neither were there any shops or boards indicating the location, it was a safer bet to ask him to proceed and stop at a signboard which showed that it was 40kms from Mangalore.
We met sandy at the planned spot and left for Mangalore. 20 kms from Mangalore, I saw a Volvo bus from the opposite direction almost blocking me at high speeds. The driver could see me coming, but did not bother to slow down at all. I'm sure it would have been a head on collision if I assumed that he would retract to his side of the road. Not losing my concentration, I applied both the brakes and movedtowards the edge of the tar road. My heart was in my mouth and that Killer Bus just brushed the right hand rear view mirror and that sure did give a tremor to the whole bike. As i was desperately trying to handle my bike preventing it from falling off, I saw a goods carriage Van a stones throw away parked on my side of the road. It was a sure crash as it was very difficult to tame the bike that too on the gravel road. I had only two choices, either to bang the vehicle ahead and get severly injured or jump off the vehicle. I did the latter and survived the accident without a scratch! I thought the bike would face the brunt, but lucky as I was my baby escaped without much damage. The crash guard took the hit and the left side rear view mirror cracked up a bit. By the time I could get my baby started, Sandy and Niki just stopped to see if I was alright. Sandy just couldn't control his anger and wanted to chase the bus driver and give him a sound thrashing. I had to pacify the angry young man and that took quite some time to calm him down. I told him that we would only waste time & energy by chasing him. It would only make matters worse, considering the fact we had 350 odd kms to travel that night.
We started from the point and reached Mangalore by around 7 p.m. We had to skip the Fish fry which Niki wanted so badly, as we were losing time. Still 340 odd kms to travel, we had to skip on all the short breaks we wereto take. The ride from Mangalore to Hassan was the most challenging route we had ever done at night. We got a feel as to how it would be, if one rode his bike on the moon. There were big pot holes everywhere, and to top itall, the dust and the mist combined made one lethal weapon. And for company, we had the Big truckers who covered us with dust as they passed by. We were riding our bikes as slow as we could, to avoid any hit on our bikes.
Sooner than we thought, we had landed ourselves with yet another problem. Sandy's bike took a hit in one of those majorpot-holes. His gear lever bent and he couldn't change his gears. We didnt want to stop in the middle of no where. We decided to move on. He was riding on first gear for 10 odd minutes till we found some shop on the way.We eventually stopped at a Petrol bunk, asked the attendants there if they could help us and so they called in for a mechanic friend of theirs who ended up meeting us an hour later. I knew for sure there was no way we could reach chennai if we faced such obstacles every other hour. I called home and told them the situation. They told us to ride home safely. Sandy was figuring out whether he could do something about it, taking out his tool kit and getting into action. Niki was completely exhausted, would have been wondering how her dream 1st ride with the Bikers Fraternity was turning out to be. I could see the frustration written right on her face, and knew she would blow up any minute.
Right next to the petrol bunk, we had a resto-bar. I went there and got a fosters to chill us. And boy did it calm the Angry young woman. The mechanic turned at the spot while I was having the last sip of Fosters. I had only very little to drink. Damn! The mechanic did what he is best at, and within 10 odd minutes, the Avy baby was roaring back again! We paid him 100 bucks as we left the spot by 9 p.m after filling fuel on both the bikes. Didnt want to take a chance of running out of fuel. The road was horrible for the next 50-60 kms and it took us 3 hours get through. By 12 a.m we stopped near a hotel. It was a chilly night! We had some Chai and good day biscuits to keep us warm. The initial plan was to ride the whole night, but it was quite a daunting task and seemed nearly impossible, the Chilly weather breaking our determination.
We checked into a hotel at 3 a.m and booked a room for us. We crashed into our beds,set the alarms for 6.45 a.m and got ourselves checking out at 7.15 a.m after settling out the room's payment. We started from Hassan and were riding for the next 3 hours without stopping anywhere. The roads were relatively better, and we wanted to cover as much distance as we could. By 11 a.m we reached Mahindra Dhaba at Tumkur where we had started the trip. Here Niki, Sandy and I were ended up lying down for about an hour from 11.00 to 11.45 a.m. After that small break, 'a road nap', I rode to Bangalore which was about a 50 km ride from the Mahindra dhaba, while Sandy decided to stay in Bangalore and get his bike fixed. I was in a hurry because I had to work the same day in Chennai. My log-in time was at 2.30 p.m. Since I was already running late, I decided, 'why not meet my friends from Accenture, Bangalore, while I still was at Bangalore'. And so I called them up, and I took the express highway, reaching Banalghata at 1.00 p.m. Here I met up with my friends and after a good chit chat, hit the highway again, at 1.45 p.m. I rode on, stopping only at a place near Krishnagiri to quench my thirst and I bought some chicken too, relished it, and then headed straight for Chennai. Maintaining a constant speed 0f 80-100 kmph, I managed to reach Chennai around 6.15 p.m. As I was full of grime and soot, I took a quick shower, refreshened and rushed back to office, so as not to miss atleast my half day's work.
It was a great trip, and even though we did face difficulties, all the fun we had made up for everything. There was always a joke to laugh at and a challenge to face and that was what made this trip whole.
One lazy sunday afternoon after a heavy lunch, I headed back to my room to surf the net when I happened to find an old friend, online on gtalk. We ended up drawing comparisons of the carefree lifestyles we had, not that long ago in college and the monotonous lifestyle one has at work. We chatted for a while after which he left as he had to go some place. This small chat got me re-visiting the video clippings and pictures I had taken in the past. One video clip of mine had opened just as my brother entered the room. The video clip was taken on the shores of Calangute Beach, Goa on Jan (27-29) 2008 where both of us brothers were in a state of euphoria as we did something we had never done before. As my brother approached, we got completely engrossed in the video that we couldn't hear mom calling aloud, from the living room. As soon as the video clipping ended, I looked at my bro and gave him that signature smile of mine flashing my teeth just the way the cow does in an Orbit chewing gum ad and he gave me a nod to show he was game to whatever I had on my mind.
There were friends of mine who had already been to Gokarna and said the place was not like any other tourist spot, not a place where you have scores of holidayers littering and loitering around. So I went ahead and zeroed in on this place after a bit of googling and calculating how much we would have to shell out for the trip. We called up all the bikers we knew in Bangalore, some couldn't make it as they said Gandhi would never stay with them. Well that was the case with us too. Thank the Holy Lord for who ever made Plastic cards to help you when Gandhi bhai is at bay!
We planned it in such a way that our trip would start on the 24th jan(Sat) and wind up on the 26th Jan(mon). But it was hard to follow these timelines as we met with obstacles one after the other. I left from my work place early on Friday, and the only thing that was running on my mind was the thought of me, riding on my baby in that never ending road to nowhere. I had my dinner. Mom was in no mood to send her sons away for the weekend. I could see that clearly written on her face. Though equally as supportive as Dad, she has to be comforted by both her boys. A little bit of Jaadu ka jhapi and pappi(Bear hug and kiss) does the trick. After taking her blessings, both of us brothers started our trip at 3 a.m in the morning. We filled our tanks at the nearby gas station and were then off to the Bangalore Highway (NH-4). While I rode on the smooth 6 lane tarmac, I thanked the Vajpayeeji govt for making the Golden Quadralateral! Both of us were enjoying every bit of the ride towards B'lore.
We kept a steady pace and were able to reach the outskirts of B'lore by 8am. After crossing the Electronic city at a snail's pace, bro's avenger bike started facing problems. Stopping at Bhansankhari to leave the bike for service, we went to a kerala hotel we normally go to for breakfast whenever we come for rides via B'lore. Manoj and his other pals had started from their homes to Tumkur and had called me up to enquire as to where we had reached. I told them about the issue we had with Sandy's bike, and asked them to wait at Mahendra Dhaba, opp. to Cafe Coffee Day for the next 2 hours. They reached the spot at 10 a.m, and eventually had to wait till 4 in the evening. As the time kept ticking and the work hadn't started on Avy baby, I asked Sandy, at noon, to go ahead, pick Niki on my One eyed Jack (Pulsar 180) , and leave for Tumkur.
By around 1.30 p.m, the Avy Baby was ready to rock and roll. I had actually received loads of calls by that time from the fellas who were waiting for us in Tumkur. I told them that Sandy would be reaching them soon and we could hit Tumkur at exactly 3 p.m. Just after speaking to Manoj however, I got a call from my Bro (Sandy) saying that he hadn't got a clue as to how to reach Tumkur from where he was. I asked him to somehow find his way to Forum and wait for me. It felt as if luck wasn't favoring us at all. Then half way down to Forum, Avy baby stops all of a sudden. What more could you ask for huh? If I had a gun at that point of time, I would have literally become an insane bloke going on a Killing spree, just like Kasab did! Thank god! My parents had sent me for the yoga classes when I had no idea what I could gain out of it. Trust me, Meditation does come to use.
I then pushed the bike to the nearby mechanic shop, and guess what! The mechanic had just gone out for lunch. This is more than enough for a sane person to go insane. I was glad that atleast I made a good decision by asking the guys to wait for us at a Dhaba and not on an open highway. I must really say, these guys were very cooperative and did not talk about it when we reached the spot and thus prevented us from having a spoilt trip. Lucky for me, Sandy came to the spot along with Niki when I was enquiring as to when the mechanic would reach. Sandy insisted that we go back to Bhanshankari and I would say, as I believed then, that would only eat up on our time. I had no more strength in me to clarify the difference in opinion and started walking down the street in search of mechanic shop on a sunny afternoon. I was thoroughly exhausted and so were Niki and Sandy who were hoping against hope to see the mechanic turn up from Lunch as soon as possible. When I almost gave up hope of finding a mechanic, I happened to turn towards my right to see The CASTROL BIKEZONE. I called them up and soon the mechanic was inspecting the Avy. He found that there was a short circuit on the wires and got the bike roaring in a jiffy. We thanked the mechanic profusely as i thought they were slight chances of us going downto Gokarna, if this is how things continued! The next problem we were yet to face was the Bangalore traffic. We took a short cut and reached the spot when the guys in Tumkur were about to leave.
From there, we took off to Gokarna. Since a lot of time was lost we rode for hours together. We got lost midway and we couldn't see few of the other bikers on the rear view mirror. We called them up to give them our location as we stopped at a nearby tea shop for biscuit and tea. That's where we actually got to know the new bikers. From the Bangalore side, we had Manoj(Regular) Adi(Regular) and the rest were newbies. Their first trip with the Bikers Fraternity! They are Ritu, Shayek, Tyagi and a dude who's name I dont recollect now. These guys were on a Hero Honda Karishma and 2 pulsars. In total, we had 5 bikes and 9 bikers.We started again, and told the new the basic rules they would have to adhere to in order to ensure track on every other rider, making sure not to lose anyone. 10 minutes after we left the tea shop, we faced another obstacle.This time being a puncture on Shayek's pulsar 150. Lucky for us, this happened right in front of a puncture shop. We knew that things were not going to work the way we wanted it to, so we decided not to worry much on the timelines. After 30 odd minutes, we started again from that village.We kept riding for another 4 odd hours and decided to halt at a dhaba somewhere near Shimoga.Thats when Sandy, Niki and I had something after our breakfast. It did recharge our batteries and off we were again having another 250 odd kms more to cover. It was a very chilly night, so that again the journey was delayed due to our regular stops. Shayek was at his very best, cracking jokes when everyone else's lips were cracked up (thanks to the weather)! We seriously needed some laughter and Shayek did what he is best at.
At around 3 a.m or so, we halted at an isolated place and everyone wanted to lie down for a while. I went straight to a stone slab and laid down like a dead body for the next 20 mins. This was good enough. We saw a Chai wallah (a guy who sells tea) on his bicycle the sight of which gave us the energy to get moving. I had been riding my bike all the way from chennai and thought I could touch the west coastline. But then, at around 20 odd kms fromGokarna, I gave the bike to another biker pal and I sat pillion on sandy's avenger allowing myself a catnapwhile he rode closer towards our destination. 30 mins later, around 6.30 a.m we found ourselves in the front of the OM beach. We went down to Namaste Cafe only to hear that they didn't have rooms. Well I guess that's what happens on a Sunday. We went aroundasking the localites who directed us to Kudle Beach. This place, I must say is paradise. There are very few people on this beach, 90% of them being foreigners. It's a pleasant thing to watch the ladies in their bikinis having fun in the sun. We finally got a shack, few yards away from the beach. The place we stayed in was Dragons Cafe. Although rooms were not available, we told them we would wait for one. I directly hit the sack and slept away to glory along side Sandy while the others went to the beach for a swim with the firangs. Waking up at around 11 a.m, I headed for a swim.
By the time I got back, I was so hungry, I could have eaten a roast turkey all by myself. I ordered the mix sizzlers and some Iranian specialities which are very common over there. Adi and I went on a boat ride to Paradise beach at around 4.30 p.m and we ended up meeting his colleague over there. The boat ride was awesome and we saw many dolphins having fun inthe mighty arabian sea. There were some friendly Germans too, with whom we chatted for a while. On our return to Kudle beach, we could see the other bikers huddled up at one corner where they were watching a Hippy (Foreigner) performing magic tricks. Later on in the night, after a sumptuous Iranian dinner, we had a bonfire near the seashore. As our group members started singingsongs one after the other, many firangis began joining us. It was really a night to remember. I liked the songs sung by this "hippy turned Hindu sadhus" couple singing the bhajans; certainly makes one get into a psychedelic trance. We wound up at around 2am and slept soon after. On the 26th Jan 2009 at around 7.30 a.m, Sandy, Niki and I left Kudle beach while the others planned to stay for an extra day. We wanted to ride on the Western coast road, as I had heard we could pass through a famous Shiv temple at Murdeshwar, and then a stretch of road where one would get to see the lake on the right and the sea facing the left side ( a must see) and further down would be the Udipi known for the the Dosas and Idlis. After taking blessings from Lord Shiv and having our breakfast there, the next stop was at Manipal where I was to meet a school friend ofmine. I had promised her a year earlier when we were on our Goa trip that we would visit her,but unfortunately we couldn't make it for varied reasons.
At around 5 p.m we met her near Kasturba Medical College, went to the nearby hotel with her and had a good time talking about the things we used to do in school while we gobbled down what ever came to the table. Sandy and I liked the place so much that we told her we would return again soon. On our way to Mangalore, I missed Sandy on one of those crowded streets at Udipi. I asked Niki to call him and find out where he was. We got him on the line and asked for his location. He told us that he was near the Highway. Since we were not familiar with the place, and neither were there any shops or boards indicating the location, it was a safer bet to ask him to proceed and stop at a signboard which showed that it was 40kms from Mangalore.
We met sandy at the planned spot and left for Mangalore. 20 kms from Mangalore, I saw a Volvo bus from the opposite direction almost blocking me at high speeds. The driver could see me coming, but did not bother to slow down at all. I'm sure it would have been a head on collision if I assumed that he would retract to his side of the road. Not losing my concentration, I applied both the brakes and movedtowards the edge of the tar road. My heart was in my mouth and that Killer Bus just brushed the right hand rear view mirror and that sure did give a tremor to the whole bike. As i was desperately trying to handle my bike preventing it from falling off, I saw a goods carriage Van a stones throw away parked on my side of the road. It was a sure crash as it was very difficult to tame the bike that too on the gravel road. I had only two choices, either to bang the vehicle ahead and get severly injured or jump off the vehicle. I did the latter and survived the accident without a scratch! I thought the bike would face the brunt, but lucky as I was my baby escaped without much damage. The crash guard took the hit and the left side rear view mirror cracked up a bit. By the time I could get my baby started, Sandy and Niki just stopped to see if I was alright. Sandy just couldn't control his anger and wanted to chase the bus driver and give him a sound thrashing. I had to pacify the angry young man and that took quite some time to calm him down. I told him that we would only waste time & energy by chasing him. It would only make matters worse, considering the fact we had 350 odd kms to travel that night.
We started from the point and reached Mangalore by around 7 p.m. We had to skip the Fish fry which Niki wanted so badly, as we were losing time. Still 340 odd kms to travel, we had to skip on all the short breaks we wereto take. The ride from Mangalore to Hassan was the most challenging route we had ever done at night. We got a feel as to how it would be, if one rode his bike on the moon. There were big pot holes everywhere, and to top itall, the dust and the mist combined made one lethal weapon. And for company, we had the Big truckers who covered us with dust as they passed by. We were riding our bikes as slow as we could, to avoid any hit on our bikes.
Sooner than we thought, we had landed ourselves with yet another problem. Sandy's bike took a hit in one of those majorpot-holes. His gear lever bent and he couldn't change his gears. We didnt want to stop in the middle of no where. We decided to move on. He was riding on first gear for 10 odd minutes till we found some shop on the way.We eventually stopped at a Petrol bunk, asked the attendants there if they could help us and so they called in for a mechanic friend of theirs who ended up meeting us an hour later. I knew for sure there was no way we could reach chennai if we faced such obstacles every other hour. I called home and told them the situation. They told us to ride home safely. Sandy was figuring out whether he could do something about it, taking out his tool kit and getting into action. Niki was completely exhausted, would have been wondering how her dream 1st ride with the Bikers Fraternity was turning out to be. I could see the frustration written right on her face, and knew she would blow up any minute.
Right next to the petrol bunk, we had a resto-bar. I went there and got a fosters to chill us. And boy did it calm the Angry young woman. The mechanic turned at the spot while I was having the last sip of Fosters. I had only very little to drink. Damn! The mechanic did what he is best at, and within 10 odd minutes, the Avy baby was roaring back again! We paid him 100 bucks as we left the spot by 9 p.m after filling fuel on both the bikes. Didnt want to take a chance of running out of fuel. The road was horrible for the next 50-60 kms and it took us 3 hours get through. By 12 a.m we stopped near a hotel. It was a chilly night! We had some Chai and good day biscuits to keep us warm. The initial plan was to ride the whole night, but it was quite a daunting task and seemed nearly impossible, the Chilly weather breaking our determination.
We checked into a hotel at 3 a.m and booked a room for us. We crashed into our beds,set the alarms for 6.45 a.m and got ourselves checking out at 7.15 a.m after settling out the room's payment. We started from Hassan and were riding for the next 3 hours without stopping anywhere. The roads were relatively better, and we wanted to cover as much distance as we could. By 11 a.m we reached Mahindra Dhaba at Tumkur where we had started the trip. Here Niki, Sandy and I were ended up lying down for about an hour from 11.00 to 11.45 a.m. After that small break, 'a road nap', I rode to Bangalore which was about a 50 km ride from the Mahindra dhaba, while Sandy decided to stay in Bangalore and get his bike fixed. I was in a hurry because I had to work the same day in Chennai. My log-in time was at 2.30 p.m. Since I was already running late, I decided, 'why not meet my friends from Accenture, Bangalore, while I still was at Bangalore'. And so I called them up, and I took the express highway, reaching Banalghata at 1.00 p.m. Here I met up with my friends and after a good chit chat, hit the highway again, at 1.45 p.m. I rode on, stopping only at a place near Krishnagiri to quench my thirst and I bought some chicken too, relished it, and then headed straight for Chennai. Maintaining a constant speed 0f 80-100 kmph, I managed to reach Chennai around 6.15 p.m. As I was full of grime and soot, I took a quick shower, refreshened and rushed back to office, so as not to miss atleast my half day's work.
It was a great trip, and even though we did face difficulties, all the fun we had made up for everything. There was always a joke to laugh at and a challenge to face and that was what made this trip whole.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
The Maiden Trip to Goa - Part 2
Part 2
We had a sound brief sleep and woke up by 7am. Refreshed ourselves, had breakfast and moved on to hit the beach. We were delighted to see the typical Goan Aunties with their cute daughters. The traffic was pretty smooth. The architecture of a Goan house were similar to the ones that we find in Kerala. I could feel the Portuguese culture in the air. We had to meet a Sailor, Nihal whom we knew from a community called the Fraud Mallus. Met him at Temptations, Vasco da Gama and it was the First Fraud Mallu Meet in Goa!
Raul was enjoying riding his babe and I did wonder why Raul should have all the fun riding his P180 in Goa. Damn! I missed my babe so much at that I hired my babes sista(A Black Avy) for the ride in Goa! We later went to the entrance of Calangute beach. The beach was crowded with lots of tourist from the west of the world and there were plenty of shacks around.
We relaxed at Cheers Shack and just didn't feel like moving out from there. We were delighted by the sight of the chicks in bikinis, waterbikes and paragliding. God! I could only wish we had some extra dough in our hand! With limited resource in hand, we decided to freak out the maximum. Raul ordered two cold Budweisers and I tasted it for the first time and God! I must confess it is the king of all beers! It was smooth and tasted too good.The babes around were awesome and we felt that we were in some kind of paradise. The chicks in bikinis were sheer pleasure to watch. Man oh Man what abs they had! Babes were abundant and that happiness could be seen on our face. We were literally drooling there as if we have never seen chicks before! We discussed seriously, why should we spend a fortune to go to the Miami beach when we can find such a place which fits our bill. We could see the tourist queing up for a ride on the waterbike and God! it was so tempting that we decided to blow up our limited resource but luckily the waterbike ride costed us INR 200/- per head. Raul took the ride first and he was going so fast that he definitely beat the snail! I was under the impression that there was some technical fault with the waterbike. I realised later when I was on the waterbike that it has a clutch kind of thing which acts like the accelerator. I could feel my adrenaline rush up when this Yamaha waterbabe was flying on the sea. Oh Man! I did feel like owning a waterbike for myself! The ride was one of a kind and it was breathtaking. I just didn't want to come back to the shore. Damn! I felt like a sea cowboy when I had that ride on the Yamaha waterbabe! The paragliding was also tempting but we had to restrain ourselves from being bankrupt and beg at the streets of Goa!
Amidst all this fun, something was creeping up in our mind and we wanted to see the location where Dil Chahte Hai was shot. I don't remember how we managed to get back to our senses from the maya world and we moved on to the Chapora fort. We reached the spot and it was like we had to climb up. It was fun walking up all the way to the fort. As we climb up, the scenary around gets beautiful and amazing. As we walked inside the fort, we saw some couple having fun and the lady was in state of nirvana. That place was too cool. We were bowled over by the beautiful scenery. We could see the beautiful Arabian Sea and the Lagoon. We had good photo session. We were happy and proud of ourselves. Sang songs from Dil Chahte Hai and ran around like kids.
It was about 4pm and it was getting too late for us and it was high time we started moving back to Bangalore. I had to give the bike back and so we decided to do so and leave Goa. I was in a hurry to give back the bike and I was happily cruising around the roads of Goa. Raul was ahead of me and I was following him. I got held up in the traffic and had some problem starting the bike. Just before I could start off to my ride, A bear chest foreigner in a rented Honda Activa stops right in front of me blocking my way. I thought I was in trouble and this chap is here to fleece money out of me. I was quickly trying to recall where I messed up with this chap and trying to correlate why me! He started asking me questions as if he was some cop and I was reluctant in giving away any information to him. He asked me whether I have a mobile and I was cautious thinking that he was a over smart tourist and wants to make a ISD call from my mobile! lol. He asked me "Do you have a mobile" I said, "Yes!" What mobile do you have? I said Sony Ericsson, then he asked me whether its a camera phone, I said yes and then asked him a question as to why on earth is he asking me all these questions and then explains that he found a mobile phone on the road and saw that falling off from my jacket! I was stunned and I had no words to thank him. I did feel so dumb and felt embarrassed of thinking otherwise about this gem of a gentleman! Some how I managed to thank him and appreciate his gesture. I thanked good God that there still exists such good men. I should admit that I was in a hurry as time was ticking by and all I wanted to do was to give back the bike to its owner and in this process I did not even realise that my Sony Ericsson K550i fell off my denim jack!
I then caught up with Raul who was waiting for me ahead and we moved on to give the rented bike back to its owner. I told Raul about this incident and he was asking me to be careful with my mobile and suggested me to keep it in the bag we were carrying. We then were charting out on the route we had to take back to Bangalore and wanted to check the road map which was in the bag. We were just about to realise the biggest blunder we ever did in this trip. We lost the bag while taking the snaps in the fort! The bike papers were in the bag and we were clueless as to where we kept the bag. Damn! We rushed back to the fort and we were keeping our fingers crossed to get the bag back and I was praying to God for another gentleman to appear and give us our bag. We checked every place around the fort and all those places where we took the snaps. We realised we were in deep shit with no bike papers and so we decided to register a FIR at the Anjuna police station. We lost our cool and we searched around for a police station and circling around the same area over and over again. Finally we found the Police station and after an hour and a half of waiting in the police station, we got the FIR copy which stated that we lost the Bike documents and the that the investigation is going on. I was fretting and fuming with anger. This incident irritated me to the core and spoiled my fun of being in Goa. Raul was calm and composed and probably he was bitten by "Chill Maadi" bug, staying in Bangalore for a while. We had lost a lot of our valuable time and energy running behind this unseen hindrance.
Time was running out and our plans were in a complete mess. According to the actual plan we were supposed to be half way down on the Golden Quadrilateral Road. We had to re-plan and most of all I had to control my anger and calm down. Went to the most popular shack and thought we would chill there by gazing some hot chicks but unfortunately, the restaurant just opened up and we were the first customers there. Raul could sense me feeling irritated and we decided to move out from there. We had skipped the lunch and fatigue was showing upon us. We had dinner at some typical Goan restaurant. Then we did little bit of shopping and purchased a Goan dress for mom and a scarf for covering my face.
We hit the highway and we took a new route. We had to go through a forest again and we had to cross a hilly region. This stretch of road is something which we both wouldn't forget in our entire life time. The temperature started dipping and we could feel the warmth we had in us going away slowly and steadily. I Was enjoying the ride as the road we chose had sharp turns. I was controlling myself from the cold when after some time I just couldn't handle the cold blowing wind that was making my spine shiver. It was foggy and I was not accustomed riding on a P180 with its dim light. I could not see any pothole ahead and was wondering how Raul goes for night rides on her. I switched over and chose to be the pillion rider for this stretch of road because of poor visibility. We were not able to go at a good pace because of the fog, dust, potholes and the sharp turns. Luckily a tipper truck passed by us which was setting the pace for us. We followed this tipper which was going at a good speed. We could feel a bit warmer by following the tipper. Wonder whether it was the tipper lorry's warm engine or the exhaust. We covered a good distance with the help of this tipper. We stopped after overtaking the truckers at a dark place, we were shivering and I could feel my bones chilled. Raul's feet was numb despite wearing on a Woodlands. We realised that once we halt to warm up, it becomes very difficult for us to cope up with the cold weather that follows on! We exchanged the jackets and gloves as Raul is known as Polar Bear and he boasts of withstanding cold weather.
Little did I realise that fatigue had caught up on me and I was dozing off as a pillion rider. Told Raul to have some tea or something warm at the next available tea shop and after a long chilling ride we found a tea shop and had tea. This hot tea was a life giver, at that point of time my elixir of life! Damn! I could feel the tea go right inside my stomach. We just didn't like time running ahead of us. Our only concern was to catch the earliest bus/train to Chennai in order to be with Dad on his B'day. After each tea break I couldn't tolerate the cold at all and I felt as I were in the Arctic Circle. One might understand my plight as I was used and comfortable with the Chennai heat unlike Raul who is used to Bangalore's cool weather. I tried riding the bike, but my elbow was aching and so was my shoulder. This was the result of riding Raul's P180 which I'm not accustomed with. Got so used to riding my Avenger that other bikes could just not suit my riding. Despite wearing a Studd Bikers leather gloves, my fingers went numb and I could hardly fold my fingers to change the gear. I did put myself to the extreme limit and I could feel the point where I could not carry forward. I was torturing myself by continuing to ride. I was in no position to take on the cold wind directly on me. I decided not to ride until the sun sets in. We had major argument to end the ride and take up a room and start in the morning. Raul would not give in and confidently said that he would ride as much as he can in the night and cover as much distance as possible. Luckily for me, on the way we came across a town where we had some coffee. Raul lost his Polaroid Fastrack Shades at the push cart coffee shop. The coffee was of no help to me. I was literally frozen. On the way, I saw a man burning up an old tyre and I forced Raul to stop there, the warmth from this tyre pyre was so cozy, felt as if I were in front of a bonfire in the Himalayas. I just didn't want to come from there. But as and when I see my watch, I felt the urge to reach home as soon as possible. We were close by to the Quadrilateral and Raul assured me of the warmth we could get from the highway road. I made up my mind and felt not to think about the chillness. We were one determined lot. We pepped ourselves up and charged our brains up. POSITIVE THINKING!
We reached the Quadrilateral and I thought now I could feel better but to my dismay, I could not feel any better. I decided to take it on until dawn. The dawn was nearing and I could sense some pride that I survived that harsh weather. I was controlling myself from sleeping and asked Raul to halt at the nearest Dhaba. It was almost 5.10am when we halted on the highway for some tea. There happened to be plenty of charpoy and we thought of taking rest. We ordered for some tea and it was so relaxing that I kept ordering it for more than an hour. Raul was stiff and he could hardly bend his knee. He crashed on the charpoy and it was pretty funny to see Raul sleeping as if he is still riding the bike! I had to massage his leg as he caught cramp. Raul had pushed himself to the core, his eyes were red and he definitely required sleep. I don't like to smoke and hate smokers but the thought of puffing in warm hot air, made me have more than one pack of cigarettes! I was stunned by the amount of cigarettes and tea I was having. Raul was tired and he fell off to a short nap. I could not sleep as I was completely frozen. To defrost I had ordered 12 tea and 15 cigarettes and also tried doing some push ups and sit ups! Kept puffing the cigarette and the tea and kept walking to and fro inside the dhaba.
I could feel myself re-energised and we moved on to reach Bangalore. We decided not to stop anywhere and kept moving. I thought its going to be easy from now on but worst of all I had my brother behind me dozing off and slipping off the bike. I had to be very careful especially when I overtake. The quadrilateral was beautiful and when the sun was bright and shinning I felt as if I were superman who gets revitalised with the power of the sun's rays! We reached Bangalore by 12pm but the traffic in the city was so horrible that we felt so difficult to inch ahead. Our hope was to take the last train which leaves to Chennai in the morning but to reach the station after reaching Raul's room was highly impractical and so we could not reach Chennai as decided. We took it easy and knew how tired we were. We relaxed at Raul's room and we took a ride on Raul's friend's Yezdi.
Our friends who heard our small adventure trip were envying us and they told us that they would love to join us for the ride when we go next time and so they accompanied us each time we make a plan and this was the beginning of the BIKERS FRATERNITY!
We had a sound brief sleep and woke up by 7am. Refreshed ourselves, had breakfast and moved on to hit the beach. We were delighted to see the typical Goan Aunties with their cute daughters. The traffic was pretty smooth. The architecture of a Goan house were similar to the ones that we find in Kerala. I could feel the Portuguese culture in the air. We had to meet a Sailor, Nihal whom we knew from a community called the Fraud Mallus. Met him at Temptations, Vasco da Gama and it was the First Fraud Mallu Meet in Goa!
Raul was enjoying riding his babe and I did wonder why Raul should have all the fun riding his P180 in Goa. Damn! I missed my babe so much at that I hired my babes sista(A Black Avy) for the ride in Goa! We later went to the entrance of Calangute beach. The beach was crowded with lots of tourist from the west of the world and there were plenty of shacks around.
We relaxed at Cheers Shack and just didn't feel like moving out from there. We were delighted by the sight of the chicks in bikinis, waterbikes and paragliding. God! I could only wish we had some extra dough in our hand! With limited resource in hand, we decided to freak out the maximum. Raul ordered two cold Budweisers and I tasted it for the first time and God! I must confess it is the king of all beers! It was smooth and tasted too good.The babes around were awesome and we felt that we were in some kind of paradise. The chicks in bikinis were sheer pleasure to watch. Man oh Man what abs they had! Babes were abundant and that happiness could be seen on our face. We were literally drooling there as if we have never seen chicks before! We discussed seriously, why should we spend a fortune to go to the Miami beach when we can find such a place which fits our bill. We could see the tourist queing up for a ride on the waterbike and God! it was so tempting that we decided to blow up our limited resource but luckily the waterbike ride costed us INR 200/- per head. Raul took the ride first and he was going so fast that he definitely beat the snail! I was under the impression that there was some technical fault with the waterbike. I realised later when I was on the waterbike that it has a clutch kind of thing which acts like the accelerator. I could feel my adrenaline rush up when this Yamaha waterbabe was flying on the sea. Oh Man! I did feel like owning a waterbike for myself! The ride was one of a kind and it was breathtaking. I just didn't want to come back to the shore. Damn! I felt like a sea cowboy when I had that ride on the Yamaha waterbabe! The paragliding was also tempting but we had to restrain ourselves from being bankrupt and beg at the streets of Goa!
Amidst all this fun, something was creeping up in our mind and we wanted to see the location where Dil Chahte Hai was shot. I don't remember how we managed to get back to our senses from the maya world and we moved on to the Chapora fort. We reached the spot and it was like we had to climb up. It was fun walking up all the way to the fort. As we climb up, the scenary around gets beautiful and amazing. As we walked inside the fort, we saw some couple having fun and the lady was in state of nirvana. That place was too cool. We were bowled over by the beautiful scenery. We could see the beautiful Arabian Sea and the Lagoon. We had good photo session. We were happy and proud of ourselves. Sang songs from Dil Chahte Hai and ran around like kids.
It was about 4pm and it was getting too late for us and it was high time we started moving back to Bangalore. I had to give the bike back and so we decided to do so and leave Goa. I was in a hurry to give back the bike and I was happily cruising around the roads of Goa. Raul was ahead of me and I was following him. I got held up in the traffic and had some problem starting the bike. Just before I could start off to my ride, A bear chest foreigner in a rented Honda Activa stops right in front of me blocking my way. I thought I was in trouble and this chap is here to fleece money out of me. I was quickly trying to recall where I messed up with this chap and trying to correlate why me! He started asking me questions as if he was some cop and I was reluctant in giving away any information to him. He asked me whether I have a mobile and I was cautious thinking that he was a over smart tourist and wants to make a ISD call from my mobile! lol. He asked me "Do you have a mobile" I said, "Yes!" What mobile do you have? I said Sony Ericsson, then he asked me whether its a camera phone, I said yes and then asked him a question as to why on earth is he asking me all these questions and then explains that he found a mobile phone on the road and saw that falling off from my jacket! I was stunned and I had no words to thank him. I did feel so dumb and felt embarrassed of thinking otherwise about this gem of a gentleman! Some how I managed to thank him and appreciate his gesture. I thanked good God that there still exists such good men. I should admit that I was in a hurry as time was ticking by and all I wanted to do was to give back the bike to its owner and in this process I did not even realise that my Sony Ericsson K550i fell off my denim jack!
I then caught up with Raul who was waiting for me ahead and we moved on to give the rented bike back to its owner. I told Raul about this incident and he was asking me to be careful with my mobile and suggested me to keep it in the bag we were carrying. We then were charting out on the route we had to take back to Bangalore and wanted to check the road map which was in the bag. We were just about to realise the biggest blunder we ever did in this trip. We lost the bag while taking the snaps in the fort! The bike papers were in the bag and we were clueless as to where we kept the bag. Damn! We rushed back to the fort and we were keeping our fingers crossed to get the bag back and I was praying to God for another gentleman to appear and give us our bag. We checked every place around the fort and all those places where we took the snaps. We realised we were in deep shit with no bike papers and so we decided to register a FIR at the Anjuna police station. We lost our cool and we searched around for a police station and circling around the same area over and over again. Finally we found the Police station and after an hour and a half of waiting in the police station, we got the FIR copy which stated that we lost the Bike documents and the that the investigation is going on. I was fretting and fuming with anger. This incident irritated me to the core and spoiled my fun of being in Goa. Raul was calm and composed and probably he was bitten by "Chill Maadi" bug, staying in Bangalore for a while. We had lost a lot of our valuable time and energy running behind this unseen hindrance.
Time was running out and our plans were in a complete mess. According to the actual plan we were supposed to be half way down on the Golden Quadrilateral Road. We had to re-plan and most of all I had to control my anger and calm down. Went to the most popular shack and thought we would chill there by gazing some hot chicks but unfortunately, the restaurant just opened up and we were the first customers there. Raul could sense me feeling irritated and we decided to move out from there. We had skipped the lunch and fatigue was showing upon us. We had dinner at some typical Goan restaurant. Then we did little bit of shopping and purchased a Goan dress for mom and a scarf for covering my face.
We hit the highway and we took a new route. We had to go through a forest again and we had to cross a hilly region. This stretch of road is something which we both wouldn't forget in our entire life time. The temperature started dipping and we could feel the warmth we had in us going away slowly and steadily. I Was enjoying the ride as the road we chose had sharp turns. I was controlling myself from the cold when after some time I just couldn't handle the cold blowing wind that was making my spine shiver. It was foggy and I was not accustomed riding on a P180 with its dim light. I could not see any pothole ahead and was wondering how Raul goes for night rides on her. I switched over and chose to be the pillion rider for this stretch of road because of poor visibility. We were not able to go at a good pace because of the fog, dust, potholes and the sharp turns. Luckily a tipper truck passed by us which was setting the pace for us. We followed this tipper which was going at a good speed. We could feel a bit warmer by following the tipper. Wonder whether it was the tipper lorry's warm engine or the exhaust. We covered a good distance with the help of this tipper. We stopped after overtaking the truckers at a dark place, we were shivering and I could feel my bones chilled. Raul's feet was numb despite wearing on a Woodlands. We realised that once we halt to warm up, it becomes very difficult for us to cope up with the cold weather that follows on! We exchanged the jackets and gloves as Raul is known as Polar Bear and he boasts of withstanding cold weather.
Little did I realise that fatigue had caught up on me and I was dozing off as a pillion rider. Told Raul to have some tea or something warm at the next available tea shop and after a long chilling ride we found a tea shop and had tea. This hot tea was a life giver, at that point of time my elixir of life! Damn! I could feel the tea go right inside my stomach. We just didn't like time running ahead of us. Our only concern was to catch the earliest bus/train to Chennai in order to be with Dad on his B'day. After each tea break I couldn't tolerate the cold at all and I felt as I were in the Arctic Circle. One might understand my plight as I was used and comfortable with the Chennai heat unlike Raul who is used to Bangalore's cool weather. I tried riding the bike, but my elbow was aching and so was my shoulder. This was the result of riding Raul's P180 which I'm not accustomed with. Got so used to riding my Avenger that other bikes could just not suit my riding. Despite wearing a Studd Bikers leather gloves, my fingers went numb and I could hardly fold my fingers to change the gear. I did put myself to the extreme limit and I could feel the point where I could not carry forward. I was torturing myself by continuing to ride. I was in no position to take on the cold wind directly on me. I decided not to ride until the sun sets in. We had major argument to end the ride and take up a room and start in the morning. Raul would not give in and confidently said that he would ride as much as he can in the night and cover as much distance as possible. Luckily for me, on the way we came across a town where we had some coffee. Raul lost his Polaroid Fastrack Shades at the push cart coffee shop. The coffee was of no help to me. I was literally frozen. On the way, I saw a man burning up an old tyre and I forced Raul to stop there, the warmth from this tyre pyre was so cozy, felt as if I were in front of a bonfire in the Himalayas. I just didn't want to come from there. But as and when I see my watch, I felt the urge to reach home as soon as possible. We were close by to the Quadrilateral and Raul assured me of the warmth we could get from the highway road. I made up my mind and felt not to think about the chillness. We were one determined lot. We pepped ourselves up and charged our brains up. POSITIVE THINKING!
We reached the Quadrilateral and I thought now I could feel better but to my dismay, I could not feel any better. I decided to take it on until dawn. The dawn was nearing and I could sense some pride that I survived that harsh weather. I was controlling myself from sleeping and asked Raul to halt at the nearest Dhaba. It was almost 5.10am when we halted on the highway for some tea. There happened to be plenty of charpoy and we thought of taking rest. We ordered for some tea and it was so relaxing that I kept ordering it for more than an hour. Raul was stiff and he could hardly bend his knee. He crashed on the charpoy and it was pretty funny to see Raul sleeping as if he is still riding the bike! I had to massage his leg as he caught cramp. Raul had pushed himself to the core, his eyes were red and he definitely required sleep. I don't like to smoke and hate smokers but the thought of puffing in warm hot air, made me have more than one pack of cigarettes! I was stunned by the amount of cigarettes and tea I was having. Raul was tired and he fell off to a short nap. I could not sleep as I was completely frozen. To defrost I had ordered 12 tea and 15 cigarettes and also tried doing some push ups and sit ups! Kept puffing the cigarette and the tea and kept walking to and fro inside the dhaba.
I could feel myself re-energised and we moved on to reach Bangalore. We decided not to stop anywhere and kept moving. I thought its going to be easy from now on but worst of all I had my brother behind me dozing off and slipping off the bike. I had to be very careful especially when I overtake. The quadrilateral was beautiful and when the sun was bright and shinning I felt as if I were superman who gets revitalised with the power of the sun's rays! We reached Bangalore by 12pm but the traffic in the city was so horrible that we felt so difficult to inch ahead. Our hope was to take the last train which leaves to Chennai in the morning but to reach the station after reaching Raul's room was highly impractical and so we could not reach Chennai as decided. We took it easy and knew how tired we were. We relaxed at Raul's room and we took a ride on Raul's friend's Yezdi.
Our friends who heard our small adventure trip were envying us and they told us that they would love to join us for the ride when we go next time and so they accompanied us each time we make a plan and this was the beginning of the BIKERS FRATERNITY!
Nomadic bikers charging for Valparai
Travel is like being in a different world in a different sense, apart from the literal meaning. Travel by bike through the most scenic of places, through roads that could transform from smooth to rough, weathers that can be penetratingly hot or chillingly cold, and through days of not knowing what is to come next, is nothing like anything you could imagine if you’ve not done it before. There is, in each of the members of the Biker’s Fraternity a big rage to break free and live that life that the earth has to offer. And trust me; it’s got a lot to offer.
This time around, Valparai was the target. The goal as usual was to ride through day, through night, to ride through all weathers and all obstacles. Initiated by Renjith, then taken up by the brothers and with inputs from the group, the final plan was out. The trip was to begin May 1, 3.00 a.m. and end May 4, morning. A wonderfully planned out 3 day trip with routes figured out, costs perfectly calculated, and obstacles anticipated, was ready. The bikers were geared up, as always, and so it was onward to Valparai!!!
Route and distance
The proposed plan was to ride from Bangalore - Krishnagiri - Dharmapuri - Polachi - Valparai back to Coimbatore - Ooty - Bangalore and finally Chennai. This would result in an expected distance of approximately over 1200 km for bikers from Bangalore and 1700 km for bikers from Chennai.
The plan and the anti-plan *wink*
The warm up (Boxing session)
Raul and I were to start on the 30th April, (Thursday), at 3.00 a.m, in order to be able to purchase a jacket he’d been hoping to get and then join the rest. Sandy and the others from Chennai (3 bikers) were to start on Friday morning 3.00 a.m. That meant we should have been in Bangalore before 10a.m Friday. However, being prone to set backs is something we have to learn to live with. Here’s why : On the eve of Raul’s and my proposed departure from Chennai, Raul had been riding his bike with Sandy as pillion rider. They were just touching the hundred feet road, when all of a sudden, a random bloke happened to clumsily walk right into the line of advance of Raul’s bike. Since it was completely unexpected, taking Raul’s by surprise, he had to jam on the breaks. The bloke who was so careless as to not even bother looking where he was going, almost got hit and immediately did what blokes like him do…. raised himself and started arguing, blaming it all on our innocent Raul. The bloke was the miscreant who had to apologize, but instead, went on complaining, eventually thrusting forth his hand offensively toward Raul. Sandy, being the bigger brother, with his brotherly protective genes working at full swing, immediately took the lead, jumped out of his bike and warned the clumsy chap to keep it decent, mind his actions and walk away. But after that reproach, the chap began a physical fight which, by the way Sandy had related, must have been absolutely brutal. The man who was trying to act like the victim, was on his feet, trying to fist fight with Sandy and Raul. While the fight went on, another lad from a nearby Tasmac, came over and started a fight with the two brothers, while the careless bloke I mentioned earlier, vanished from sight. The Tasmac chap called three more of his people. Out of the three men, one was pretty old yet ferocious. They fought furiously, with the bad guys grabbing Sandy and Raul’s helmets and actually trying to hit the owners of the helmets with them!! Our boys were enormously gallant young men. Lol. They fought like brave heroes. The unfair part was that they were only two against a continual inflow of three to four men coming in groups, group after group. So when one group got tired of fighting, they called another group and the vicious cycle went on, while Sandy and Raul remained players in the fight from start to end. As time went on, and our boys were struggling hard to get the bad guys out of the way, whilst trying even harder to protect each other, a new group came in with one man looking like a real, real goonda. Ouch!! He and the others charged towards Raul, when Sandy shouted out to him to “be a man and fight it one on one!” Even the street ladies jumped into the fight and began screaming at our guys like witches. Meanwhile, our Raul was busy doing his verbal stunts, shouting out at the men at large “Do you know who I am?” (Naan yaaran therima), which, we may be proud to say, actually helped scare the men a little. While the wrestling and ‘boxing session’ went on, the bros managed to tell a few random onlookers to call the cops, and although they did call the police, another group of cops arrived at the scene sooner! This is the sudden incident that pushed our trip to hours later than the initial plan.. and hence our anti plan. Lol. Sandy came out of the scuffle with a painful knuckle and hand in general, Raul, with a punched eye.
DAY 1
The trip - a shaky cat on the wall
Well, we got delayed even more because the police kept calling Raul and Sandy for inquiry, and postponed the inquiry so often that in the end, Raul actually called up saying the trip was cancelled. But hey, it’s the BIKER’S FRATERNITY we’re talking about. Even in the midst of such a horrible event, the mind cannot be let to allow a trip such as this to be cancelled. And the biker that he was, he called back immediately, telling me to hold on a few more minutes. I waited a few minutes, until Raul called yet again saying THE TRIP WAS ON! And I was delighted.
Hitting the roads!!!
Although Sandy was to ride the next day with the others, plans had changed by then. The other three bikers dropped out, so he decided to join us on the 30th itself. Sandy, Raul and I started from Chennai on the 30th of April around 3.30 p.m. For us, this would be a 4 day trip, although for Sandy and Raul it became a 5 day trip. Our rides were Sandy’s Avenger and Raul’s Pulsar. We had an initial hunt for shades for Raul and Sandy, (because during the fight, the goondas had somehow grabbed and escaped with their former shades) Finally when the Ray Bans, Bandanas, helmets and Jackets were pulled on, we hit the road around 5.00 p.m! The excitement began just there. We were heading first to Bangalore, where we’d be joined by our other bikers. When we reached Ambur; the sun slowly setting as we rode, it was close to 8.30p.m. When you’re mind tells you to buckle up and just relax, you listen. For me, when we hit the Poonamalle High Road, I’d already forgotten about the trivial commitments that I was leaving behind and that seem to mean so much while one is living them. We halted at a little restaurant called the Taj restaurant where we hogged chicken and mutton biriyani, not to mention the goat hoof for Sandy. Ewe! Lol. He seemed to have liked it though! *wide mouth stare* Once we got ourselves refreshed, we were back on the bikes heading for Bangalore, through Hosur and Krishnagiri. Just as we reached Bangalore, we stopped at a Ganesha temple, spent about 5 minutes there and headed on.
It was exactly midnight when we arrived at Bangalore covering a distance of close to 340 Km from Chennai. Our meet up point was Empire Koramangla where Niki, Ranji and Senthil arrived first and we had a small snack of Shawarmas and tea. Cjo and Jash arrived next, had dinner, cracked jokes till about 2.30 a.m after which we left for a few hours of sleep.
Our trip was just beginning. We knew there was so much to look forward to, but decided to get some sleep before setting out again, so we stopped by at Ranji’s place for the night.
DAY 2
Our meet up and start off
After about 2 hours of sleep, we awoke at something like 4.30 a.m, ready to get back on those bikes. Raul and Cjo had left to pick up the remaining biker pals who were to meet us in the morning. The rest of us gulped down some black coffee and packed ourselves and our bags to meet the rest of the gang, which was finally completed by Roy, Varun and Nipin. The other riders were Ranji’s and Roy's Enfields, Senthil’s Enticer, Nipin’s Avenger, Jash's Pulsar. So on the whole; we had two Pulsars, two Avengers, two Enfields and an Enticer.
The AIDS awareness, condoms and a weighty box of pamphlets
A mission to serve, change and protect
We chatted a while and then made our way for breakfast (at a restaurant called the Tamil Nadu restaurant) in Krishnagiri and a meet up with a member from the TNSACS (which is an organisation dealing with spreading awareness on AIDS). Our objective in meeting with them was to find out what we could do to help them, during our rides, in acting as a mobilisation team that carries the information for them to the various nooks and corners that we touch as we journey. The gentleman (Mr. Anand) was very friendly and gave us as much information as possible about what they are and how they go about spreading awareness on not only AIDS but also other concerns of society such as deforestation, child infanticide, usage of iodine salt etc. He then took us to the office where we were briefed on how they operate and the kind of funds given to them by the government. Here, an inauguration program for their AIDS awareness was being held, and we were treated as Chief guests. That was very unexpected. They took photos of us as well as videoed us and these would have been published in newspapers and broadcast on local news channels in Krishnagiri. We were introduced to every other member of the TNSACS organisation. Our interest was to share as much as we could with the truckers because they are the men that we usually meet or talk to during our riding breaks or when we need to find our way to our destination points. Sandy had a lot of questions to ask, and to which the gentleman answered precisely and clearly. After about 30 minute briefing, our member, Senthil gave a short introduction about who we are (The biker’s fraternity) and how we’d like to help out. The organisation was very pleased and gave us a big box of condoms and pamphlets to distribute to truckers on our way. When all was done and said, and we'd promised to get back in touch in near future as well as do all we can to distribute the pamphlets and condoms, we shook hands with them, bid goodbye and left. We distributed most of the pamphlets at Krishnagiri, and preserved some to distribute to other truckers on our way.
We rode on, 7 bikes in all, with Niki and Cjo dancing happily, and the rest of us chatting, teasing and taking photos of each other and the lovely roads.The road we took leading from Bangalore to Krishnagiri made a total of about 90 Km.
The spectacle through Krishnagiri
I cannot forget the vista of the route that led us to Dharmapuri. Through Shoolagari and Krishnagiri, the sight was spectacular. There’s something mystical about the colours of nature when they hit you just there and you’re looking at them with absolute lucidity. There were such brilliant hills, big and small, some clear and some hazy in the mid morning, there were hills covered in grey stone every side we turned, there were also hills that seemed to support large white stones. This was just absolutely magnificent in the morning hours, the view being held against a clear blue sky, at a time when the sun was not too scorching hot, and yet still emitted that essence of itself in which the right touch of warmth would wash our faces and our very being. Apart from the natural beauty of what has been left untouched by man, was also the impressive decoration of what IS touched by man. As we rode, we saw man’s breathtaking skill in setting up the roads. Right through the centre of the long road through Shoolagiri and Krishnagiri, were a series of flowering plants that ranged in colours from orange to pink to purple to red to yellow. That sight is still so clearly refreshing in my mind. The beauty is added by the feeling one gets when he’s riding through such magnificence, while on a bike. It feels as if you’re connected to nature, not just because you’re in it, but because all that holds you is a seat, and the rest of you is just flying through it. But wait, all that beautiful talk and I shouldn’t hide the fact that it was on that very road, while I was riding with Jash, and we were way past the others, that we lost them. We came to a small halt, where I removed my spectacles to wipe the minute grime off and realised I’d lost my left lens and the frame was broken. I’d been riding like that for ‘who knows how long,’ completely ignorant of that comical looking sight of myself.
At Hogenekkal falls
When all that had passed and we reached the Hogenekkal falls (after traversing a distance of about 90 Km again), we hadn’t had lunch as yet. It was mid afternoon, while the heat of the sun was scorching and we were already getting dehydrated. Since we were in Hogenekkal falls, it meant boating. We were already feeling the heat get to us, and boating would mean putting ourselves in direct attack of the sun. Half of us still decided to go boating. Who could have thought it would turn out to be as wonderfully refreshing as it did? So there it was, Sandy, Niki, Senthil, C jo and I walked our way down the rocks and toward the boat. While the rest of the guys lay back in the shade and just relaxed themselves completely, enjoying the sounds of water splashes and rehydrating themselves, we sat on that boat in the hot sun, wondering “Do we know what we’re doing?” The boat ride was 3 Km. Three kilometres in the mid-afternoon sun. It turned out to be great!! While we were steered slowly we just talked and joked and splashed water on each other, the sun had set and by that time the boatsman had already begun splashing water on us till we were completely drenched, Cjo, Senthil and Niki had taken a dive into the water, allowing themselves a short swim. They got back into the boat satisfied with the decision to dive into that very water that made my bandana stink! It was a wonderful laugh. The relief we got when the water splashed upon our backs and through our hair was like heaven. All in all, it was a lovely boat ride and worth the initial heat of the sun provided we had our sunscreen with us. :P
Toward Polachi
Hungry as we were after our long afternoon, we sat down to a late laid – back lunch. Once our stomachs were filled, we headed for Polachi but Roy took leave from here as he had to head back for some work. So when we left from Hogennekal, we were 10 of us. On our way there, late in the evening, we stopped at a petrol station for a break and a refuel for the bikes. Here we met a few truckers, distributed condoms and pamphlets and of course cleared a few doubts that they had.
Ranji’s trick
Ranji, earlier that day, played a little trick back at the others when he was given a dare on one of our stops for a drink. The boys dared him to give a condom to a cop that we happened to bump into, just a random cop. Wonder how a cop would respond to that. Lol. Ranji boldly accepted to take up the dare, which surprised everyone else. They all watched quietly as he walked confidently towards the police officer, handed out a condom and then began a friendly conversation with him. What a joke on everyone else, because the cop was apparently someone Ranji already knew well enough. In our faces :P.
DAY 3
Senthil’s birthday
From the petrol station, we hopped back on our bikes and were on our way, like real wayfarers. We rode for hours on end taking the Salem bipass toward Erode (we wanted to go through Yercaud but due to time constraint, we decided Salem would be a better option), and by midnight, reached Erode, stopping in front of a lodge, hoping to get accommodation for the night. Being completely exhausted, our ability to ride any further, seemed a big question mark. Now for a place like Erode, getting a room?? Not as easy as one would like to believe. It was Senthil’s birthday, May 2. We surprised him with a cake, smothered cream on his face and made him make his wish. A cigarette stood as his candle. Lol. Well we lost half the cake that fell off the bike, but I guess a surprise like that at that time of night, when we’re in the middle of some place looking for a lodge and tired to wits end, is a surprise that counts. Dinner that night was at a Dhaba, before we reached Erode, where we ordered more food than we could eat and you’ll find a picture of Niki trying to hog it all. Hehe. We had rotis, dhal and chicken masala, gulped down some thumbs up and sprite.
The lodge fiasco
Looking for a lodge at Erode
And now, as some of us waited for a room, Raul, Sandy, Varun, and Cjo were out on a hunt for rooms. And yes they visited a couple of lodges. They came back saying that either the room was not snug or not comfy or that it was just below standards and bleak. And so they kept searching until finally we came to a point where we just needed to get a room, comfy or not. One place seemed alright, especially for our 'NEED' at that moment. We all went to take a look at the place. An old man stood at the reception desk. It was past 12.30. A group of bikers arriving at that time of night, looking for a room, aroused his curiosity. As Varun and Senthil sat at the lobby area, the old man started talking to them. Rahul had left to search for other rooms, because frankly on second thought, we didn't like the dingy place. The old man asked Varun who we were, what we were doing, and why we were at Polachi. He nagged Varun (who at that moment was too tired to make an attempt to use up any renmant of energy, to reply to the old man). Varun tried to answer a few questions, but the old man shot question after question, tirelessly, while Varun answered slowly tiring to such an extent that he called Raul and told him to get back immediately and save him from the old man's torture. The elderly guy then got frustrated and impatient because we were still wandering around the lobby, looking around, deciding whether to take up the rooms. He charged us a total of 1100 for 4 rooms (each room costing Rs. 250 + and extra charge of Rs.100 for two mats). We finally concluded that this wasn't worth it, and hence slowly walked out, as the elderly man showed his irritation asking 'are you coming are you coming in a duck's quack'. Varun who was really tired, and fed up too, shouted back ....finally! lol, and then we all stomped out, fretting and fuming. Yet when we decided so, even when another room was available, it just WASN’T available to US. We were 8 guys and 2 girls and that is just not good when you’re in a village and the times don’t favour a mixed population of friends. When we arrived at this other lodge, the receptionist immediately took one look at Niki and I and that was it. He had fumes pouring out his ears and nostrils. He said to us that he would not permit girls to stay there because we’d come along with the guys. :O And then we told him that we were looking for a separate room for the girls (Niki and I) and he still didn’t consent. He seemed so stubborn. We tried to show him ID cards, tell him about the fact that we’re trying to promote awareness but nothing worked. The guy acted like a child, slammed the gate shut on our faces and told us to leave. How weird! And so we decided this would just not work. Our next option was to just ride on! After a small stop for tea at a restaurant, (where Nipin was almost being hit on by a guy who claimed to be an actor), outside of which, Rauls and Ranji were trying to catch up on some much needed sleep, (sleeping on their bikes after snapping on the cente stand) Jash falling flat on the ground, and after distributing more pamphlets and condoms, we headed on.
The call for sleep..
We rode, we rode and we rode. All heads were bobbing. We realised that we were too sleepy to go on. It was like a virus had caught onto us. Slowly, one by one we were all knocked into a state of complete sleepiness. I tried to shake my head awake. Sandy asked me to keep talking, but I just fell asleep now and then, with my helmet knocking Sandy at regular intervals. And then, it was just over limits. There are many things to be sure of before you hit the road. A few would be: Don't drink and drive, don't sleep and ride. Don't give the bumpers the duty of waking you up. Make sure you've had enough of sleep and make sure you take enough rest between long rides. Well, Raul’s eye started aching terribly because of the punch he had gotten earlier, a punch he did not deserve. He had a rough time riding at night. And this time his eye ached terribly, more than ever. We took the Coimbatore bypass towards Polachi. About 10 - 15 Km beyond the Check post, we stopped.
Nearly a road camp – No where to sleep
Firstly, Raul just couldn’t take it that he got off his bike, and just fell flat on the roadside! He just lay there asleep for about 15 minutes after Sandy poured him some eye drops. After that, he awoke. We rode on till a tea shop, just there beside the roadway. Raul found a charpoy in a small area on the opposite side of the road to where we had halted. Cjo and Niki were about 7 km ahead of us. We couldn’t call them back. Niki was extremely sleepy and found a place to sleep at the petrol bunk. The rest of us caught up on about an hour or less of sleep, just there, outside in the open, with our bags as pillows and the sky above us. It was very important for us to get some sleep. I completely enjoyed the feel of that hour of sleep. It was like heaven when I awoke at about 4 in the morning. It was beautiful to wake up in the outside, to see myself surrounded by bikes just parked there ready to take us through newer roads, to see the dark sky slowly showing signs of welcoming the sun for another pristine day, to watch the others leisurely gear themselves although still exhausted from the continual riding. It’s a wonderful feeling to be on the roads, ride on the roads, sleep on the roads and eat on the roads. It gives you a sense of reality. Anyhow, we then had some more tea and gave the shop owner some condoms and pamphlets and were back to riding, directed straight for Polachi.
Traffic lights and Raul’s eye
Raul was still unable to take the glare of the traffic lights. They seemed to irritate his eye very much, that we had to blindfold him with a cloth and since we were all still a little sleepy, blindfolding him would mean he’d be prone to sleep. Therefore, for safety sake we had to tie him up with Jash who was riding, with Raul as pillion rider. The guys used jackets to tie Raul to Jash and when all was set, and Raul held on to Jash, we directed ourselves toward Polachi. Jash took such excellent care of Raul. That is what is even lovelier about us riding in a group. We always rode making sure every other biker was within certain kilometre distances of each other. We paired ourselves when it seemed necessary making sure, always, that the bikes with least fuel rode in front and those that could last longer, remained at back. This was essential to ensure that all bikers were safe and we could keep track of each person, also making our contact with the other bikers easier if we happen to lose sight of them.
Polachi at last
Hunger vs Sleep
Around 7.00 in the morning, Polachi took us into its midst. A little town, it was just the place we were to refresh and get some shuteye. But wait, our stomachs were empty! We were both exceedingly sleepy, and yet awfully hungry. It was like a gamble… sleep while we felt sleepy, or eat and risk the idea of losing the blissful daze we were all completely engulfed in. Varun, I believe was the sleepiest. He was the one who set in us the idea that if we waited for breakfast (which was another 30 minute wait), we might feel awakened by the wait and sleep might not come in that easy. However, I suppose our stomachs growled louder than our pineal glands. We gobbled down breakfast at the Sakthi restaurant and by around 8.30 we were ready to get to our rooms, a 2 minute ride away from the restaurant. Niki and I had a room on the ground floor, while the guys split themselves for two rooms one on the first floor and one on the second. Two seconds, and we were fast asleep. Two hours later we awoke.
Riding up to Valparai
We got some biscuit and juice, had a bath which was rejuvenating and as soon as everyone was ready, we made for Valparai! I don’t have to explain the intense heat of the sun that struck harshly upon us and how our jackets were both a protection as well as a terrible incubator of heat. Yet that was us, riding through the afternoon, joyfully as if nothing else mattered, as if all we cared about was the roads and Valparai, as if we knew that getting roasted in the sun would certainly pay off, pay off in more than enough ways. And yeah it certainly did! It’s all completely worth it in the end, completely worth it because when we reached Valparai, I tell you, I’ll give you a two syllabled ‘damn’!! (The way a random guy says it to Lilly in the TV series ‘How I met your mother’). When the clock was close to striking 5, we reached Valparai. One usually never has words to describe a hill station. I am going to make an attempt, but be sure to know that it is just not enough to get the real picture. We had a brief halt for a snack of bananas, banana rolls and tea, as our eyes relished the sight of the beautiful shades of green and blue, shades that only the natural magnificence of earth can portray.
The journey up
I fell in love during this trip. Fine, yeah, I did sort of have my head bobbing on and off during the ride uphill because clearly I was still dazed from the lack of sleep for the past 48 hours, but after the little catnaps, my mind felt energized again. Having parked the bike at a lovely spot en route uphill, we lingered there, whilst the others were still arriving. As Sandy, Cjo and Jash were trying to climb a small elevated portion of land that looked like a miniature hill and ended up with the picture of three men lined one after the other, Sandy holding Jash's leg and Cjo holding Sandy’s butt (hehehehe), Varun, Senthil, Niki and I went down the side of a plantation area and stood there few minutes immersed in a plethora of green. A small snap session, and then the others joined us. Cjo had his modelling session too. :P
The Sholayar Dam
Time was running out, so we rushed up yet again and rode up till we spotted one of the most beautiful topographies I could have ever believed I would see during this trip. It was B-E-A-U-TIFUL!! There was a dam, called the SHOLAYAR dam that was led to, following a trail of rock and stone. From the road and across the pavement, one could not see the edge of the water body. It was steep to look at from where we stood. The hill on the other side was complete in green. It looked more like a valley, with a body of water at its centre. There was something so numinous about that place, something that caught me while I looked at it till I went completely blank. You keep looking, expecting something from the scenic terrain, yet knowing that you’ve already been given the best you could have at the first look of the image. Images like that are exceedingly luring. As I watched over the wall which was an unspoken warning not to cross beyond it, my bandana flew off my head and fell onto the other side. Now, I like that bandana, but I won’t pretend that the bandana was the reason I jumped over the wall. As I clambered over the wall and leapt down to the other side, I picked up my bandana, and turned toward the landscape, not allowing that wall to be a restriction. The air was so pure, the wind was soft, and the water at the foot was calling me. I walked slowly, crawling over rock and carefully taking each step down giving myself the time to take in the exquisiteness of a place that one doesn’t see everyday. As I reached halfway, and the others screamed out to me to place stones in my pockets (so that it would add to my weight), lest I be carried away by the winds, I turned around to see that the others had followed. That vastness was being pervaded by just the 10 of us. It felt like we owned it for that half an hour we spent in it. Steep as it was, we had to be careful with our step. Eventually, we reached the foot, and stood there, some of us bemused some of us preoccupied and some of us washing our feet in the water. As we allowed ourselves to unwind to the maximum, we heard calls from the opposite side that sounded like unseen tribal men chanting cries across the hills. The sun was slowly crouching out of sight, a mark of wanting time. We hurdled our way back up, hoping to be able to ride up to the peak before the night had set in. Sometimes you’re lucky, sometimes you’re not and yet again, sometimes experience has a way of making what comes to pass more important than the plan itself.
The drunken cop awaiting us
Before we reached the top of the dam, we started suspecting the arrival of cops at the scene. Duh! What else could we have wished to expect? A red carpet welcome for a brave and fearless group of 10 who set out toward a rock-strewn incline and confidently walked out of it naively expecting anything as dignified as just that…a red carpet? but did I say cops??? No, it was just one cop, and no, he didn’t really strike as a cop except for his uniform. Sandy had already tried to frighten me saying if the cops asked us anything he was going to place all blame on me, because I was the one who started our wander downwards. I was one of the last ones to reach the top and the cop was already questioning the others. He talked and talked for about half an hour. No, it wasn’t so much of advice. It was more of him blowing his trumpet. He claimed to be an NSG who'd had the opportunity to meet Indira Gandhi once in the past. One would know clearly the motive of such cops. They try to become friendly, delay us by nattering on and on until we have to pull out the bucks from our pockets and be done with it! You should have seen Raul and Sandy. They knew just how to handle the guy. Butter him up so much he gets all emotional. Haha. And then we gave him a choice of bikes and asked him if he’d like to pose for a photo while he sat on the bike. He chose Ranji’s bullet. Donned in a police outfit and cap, he felt magnanimous. You could sense it in the air, the way he was curling his moustache to the maximum. Lol. And even whilst he was sitting on the bike just for a photo, he talked and talked and talked and we were delayed and delayed and delayed and we frowned and fretted and fumed! Finally, the bucks were in his pocket, and we ran for it. Speeding up the hill till we knew he would not find us no more! Lol. We did a total of about 41 hair pin bends there. Although we couldn’t make it to Top Slip or visit the Athirapalli falls, because it was late, the ride back was INCREDIBLE! We had a few minutes of contemplation, deciding whether to go into the jungle area when it was around 7.00p.m. The votes however were not in favour of going, because it was late, and very dangerous that time of the day. Besides we were happy with Ranji’s (the Hillman) judgement because he was in many ways a guide when it came to the hills. So it was an ‘about turn’.
Lights off and lights on, dense mist and a dark winding narrow road
We were riding down a winding road, with hair pin bends, cruising so smoothly and cautiously downhill; the wind was chilly, biting against our jackets and skin. Sandy, Senthil, Niki and I were ahead of the others. We weren't sure where they were so we decided to wait a while at a small level area from which we could see the long winding roads ahead, swallowed in a pool of mist. The look of it at that moment, when it was dark was so splendid that for a moment I held my breath as I saw beyond the endless twisting roads that were lit by the bikes headlights which so far were the only source of light that focused the narrow roads. I held on to the thought that those headlights were the only reason I could see the road ahead. And all of a sudden, as the darkness seems darker, and the cold gets colder, and the mist sets in, the bikers turn off the headlights and we stood there watching the beauty of a road, built by man, upon a hill whose magnificence was beyond description. For a moment, we were suspended in awe…. Not the jaw-dropping awe, there’s another kind more intensive than that. It is the kind of awe that paralyses you, preventing you from jaw dropping. The splendour of those few seconds of impulsive desire to see the world as it would have been seen ages ago, was tremendous. Everything was dark; we could only see few metres ahead of us. The mist was swishing and swirling around us, somewhere in the distance we could spot another biker’s tail light. A moment never ever to be forgotten. The splendour of it is indescribable!
Raul, Ranji, Nipin and the wrong diversion
Anyway, after that experience, we were rolling backward to Polachi. We hit the Kerala border (Check post) on our return. This is part of the Thirussur district. Round about 7.15 p.m that day, we were in this area, when Raul, Ranji and Nipin were way behind us. Sometimes we get misled by numbers and lights. Apparently, the three guys saw three other headlights somewhere in the distance. As they rode on, they came to a diversion and not knowing which one to take, they looked ahead for the three headlights they imagined to be ours. Raul, Ranji and Nipin then took that road which happened to be the wrong turn. It took a while later for them to realise something was not right, and then they asked directions and headed back and towards us. We had been waiting for them over 20 minutes not knowing what was taking them long. Finally, however, they'd gotten to the right turn, and reached us.
Back at Polachi, for a grander dinner and drinks
Around 10.00 p.m. we were back at the Sakthy hotel, where we had had breakfast earlier. The place had an A/C bar and the guys decided to take up a room, get some drinks, smoke off to bliss and hog some good meal. And so we got ourselves a lovely big room for rent, a room very opposite in looks, to our room at the hotel where we were to spend the night. A nice large bed and a T.V, we just relaxed like we deserved it. We bought Rotis and Chicken curries, Veg curries, Fried rice etc. It was more than we could have asked for. Most of the drinks were readily stacked in the fridge and so the guys helped themselves out while the remaining came in a little later. We spent a couple of hours there, chit chatting merrily. Cjo was dancing away quite enthusiastically. That was wonderful. We ate well and chattered until we became heavy eyed. Sandy and Niki were making plans for the next day. We were to start early morning in the direction leading back home. It was a Saturday night. Most of us had to get back home by Sunday evening. The original plan by now had changed so at that moment, the next step was not yet clear. We wanted to stick together for as long as we could. There was a discord of ideas but we put all that behind and decided to sleep on it, which cured the confusion and cleared our minds. Nipin took up the A/C room for the night, which was really a good decision. The rest of us slept in our original rooms at the BVG hotel that we checked in, earlier that day. It was around 1.30 a.m. when we entered the hotel. The gate was locked and we had to wake the receptionist who opened the gate for us and we all swayed and swaggered off to our rooms and those comforting beds. Snap! And we were already sound asleep.
DAY 4
I woke up around 6.45 that morning. I have no idea how. Niki was next and once we were ready, we tried calling the others, but couldn’t reach them over our mobiles. Later Raul called up and I thought he was calling from his room, but brat! He had sneaked out a ride to Palaghat even before we had awoken. Apparently he told the others that he’d be back in 5 minutes. Yeah right! Nipin called up too, saying he’d gotten two complimentary coupons for breakfast and since Niki and I couldn’t stay in our stuffy room any longer, we decided to walk up to Nipin’s, where we had a nice morning chat as we sipped some hot tea. The others were ready by this time. We got back to our room at the BVG and checked out.
The confusion regarding our return route
We hopped onto our bikes, rode back to Sakthy hotel, sat at breakfast and there continued our un-ended confusion that was on pause since our sleep the previous night. Again, we still wanted to stick together, but we all had commitments, duties waiting to be completed back home. We had to either split into separate groups, from Polachi, heading back in our own directions, with Sandy, Raul and I toward Chennai, the others toward Bangalore and Ranji through Ooty. We wondered whether we could all take the Ooty route, but we’d be very delayed if we did. There was a lot of confusion that morning, with all of us saying this, saying that. Deep down, I guess we didn’t want to have to split up yet. We wanted more excitement, more fun and more entertainment. When we finally came up with a decision, it turned out to be the perfect decision. We decided that all of us would ride through Sathyamangalam, Mysore, Bangalore and then make the split, so once a good breakfast of dhosas and tea was tossed down and we all laughed together at the confusion we originally had and the joy we had in our new decision, we picked up our bags and helmets and readied ourselves for the next route. The box of remaining pamphlets in hand, I got onto the back seat of Sandy’s Avenger and onwards to Sathyamangalam we all rode. We spotted a small tender coconut cart just a few kilometres further from Polachi where, although full from the heavy breakfast, we swigged down coconut water.
On the road ahead, we halted at a temple where there was a round conference of cops and whom we talked to discussing routes and while Niki went into the temple, Nipin was clicking away photos. We stayed there about ten minutes and then were back on our way.
Nipin and his lost camera
Everything seemed to be going alright when suddenly, as Varun, Raul, Sandy and I were ahead of the others; we got a call from Nipin saying he’d lost his camera. That was terrible news. He’d gone back to the temple to see if he’d left it there. Apparently none of us were sure where he might have lost it, whether he forgot it at the temple or whether he’d dropped it on the way. Since we were already way ahead, we stopped at a lake, hoping that we’d hear from Nipin with good news, but Nipin called back saying he’d not found the camera and that he was riding back toward us. It was upsetting, but we figured we had no choice and looking for the camera was not going to be fruitful. Just as we started the bikes, and the others (except for Nipin) had reached us, we got a call from Nipin again… this time with partial good news! A man in a car had seen the camera drop out of Nipin’s jacket somewhere after the temple, so Nipin had ridden back again for the second time to look for the camera along the route, and VOILA! He found it! Woo hoo! We were filled with happiness and relief and Rauls strongly believes that it was because of the prayers at the Ganesha temple, back at Bangalore during the start of the trip, that Gods blessings were with us and we were lucky. Nipin was still way behind us, we had decided first to wait for him at the Siruveni falls. We took the turning into Siruveni falls but a few metres in and we decided that since it was a diversion from Sathymangalam, it would take time for us to get back en route there, so we turned back and took the road straight to Sathyamangalam itself, informing Nipin to join us there. The road to Sathyamangalam was a lovely slightly winding road. It was beautiful. Since we had a halt just a few kilometres before Sathyamangalam, Nipin caught up with us, and we rode together thereafter.
Deforestation awareness - Chat with another gentleman
Here at Sathyamangalam, we were to meet another gentleman regarding the awareness program. Sandy had apparently talked to the gentleman earlier a propos our interest in helping share and spread awareness concerning the ill effects of deforestation. We were to call him and discuss matters, but since the signal was bad, Sandy was unable to talk to him. In the end, the man himself decided to come up to meet us face to face. He was concerned with planting more saplings, in order to make a point. We had already been given seedlings which unfortunately, in our alacrity and rush (that we were put into due to the discouraging act by the goondas back in Chennai, that put the bros held for question by the cops), we forgot the saplings back there. Also, because we were already delayed, and time was running out of our hands, we didn’t have enough time at this point to make a start with the saplings program, so we greeted the man and Sandy talked to him for a while, regarding how we could continue the deforestation awareness procedure during the next ride, and hence bringing the program to action the quickest as possible. Assuring him that we’d be in touch for more deforestation prevention programs, and asking him to keep us updated, we left.
The Panorama through Sathyamangalam
The highway we took was that connecting Coimbatore to Bangalore through Sathyamangalam. Some roads were not laid well and there were about 27 hairpin bends. Although the roads seemed worn out and some patched, the view was exclusive! My!!! I don’t know how many of us knew that was coming, but if I had fallen in love at Valparai, then Sathyamangalam was something more. We were mesmerized. As we rode higher and higher through yet another hair pin bend we could see the hills at different angles. There was something like an island at the centre of the valley that had a water body stretch around it. The hills around it looked slick and sophisticated. The sky was a lovely shade of blue with several hazy clouds lingering about. Right at the bottom the different hues of the brilliant waters and landscapes shot back at us with striking magnificence that for a moment, each biker stopped his bike on his own accord, marvelling at the serenity and wonder for a few silent moments of amazement. As we zoomed by, slowing down at the hairpin bends and gaining momentum thereafter, my mind was running on par with the pace of the bike wheels. There was no discontinuity in thought, just clarity. It was the knowledge that I was on one of the most beautiful places at that very moment, and that places like this exist out there to be explored, that got me realising how much we are actually missing when we’re not out there and how much more there is to explore.
We gave ourselves a lovely period of relaxation halfway up where Raul got busy making movies with Cjo and Varun as models for a Condom ad. The punch line was “Don’t be a fool, protect your tool!”. Varun, the witty one came up with that one, which was just perfect. So as Cjo and Varun modelled, and later Niki and I, we laughed, joked and jumped around. We took snaps there, savoured the beauty around us and then headed on.
My admirer
Although lunch was late again, we had an entertaining time at the Bull and Bush resort where we had Egg dhosas served by a very enthusiastic young boy of around 15 years. As he came around taking orders and shouting them to the men in the kitchen, smiling at us again and again, he specifically came toward me and called me (chellon, chellon or papa)!!! hehe. Well, initially I just laughed it out, and while I heard the others talk about how I should make his day by winking back at him or patting his cheek, I noticed him looking at me, for almost a whole minute. When I jokingly told the others that he was looking at me, Varun immediately changed the words from 'Make his day' to 'Make his LIFE!!! Anyway, before we left, I guess I did make his day, if not his life, lol. I girlishly tried to pat him on the cheek and said 'ina ma kanne'. hahhaha. I would have left this section out if it weren't for Raul. *pout* 'Well so that's the story of my little admirer. Anyway, back to the main point. The Sathyamangalam forest is part of the Nilgiris biosphere reserve and is well known for elephant population. Little were we prepared for the event that followed.
The elephant (part 1)
As we zoomed through the Sathyamangalam forest, we were suddenly all bolted to a stop. There were oncoming trucks that pulled to a stop opposite us and we had to pull the breaks on our bikes a distance away from the huge mass of an object we were all looking at, with heart beats racing. An elephant was feeding right there on the road, preventing us from riding past it. We might have tried, but when dealing with an elephant(and one like this one, although not too huge), taking chances is really not that much of an option. We all waited, even trucks frightfully waiting for the elephant to leave. Senthil was in front of us which means he was closer to the elephant. He seemed to try to make an attempt to cross the elephant, but we cried out to him telling him not to take chances. For a moment, the elephant turned around and looked as if it would charge at us. A second there, we were all terrified, because Senthil was in front and the elephant seemed almost to head his way. Turning the bike would take a bit of an effort and time, especially with jittery hands. Somehow Senthil managed to turn back and ride away from the elephant. It was a rush, with us trying to take snaps of the elephant, yet hurriedly putting it away and watching the scene waiting for more action or movement. A few minutes later, the elephant silently made its way into the trees.
Well, by now our eventful journey was gradually ending, but not yet uneventful. If things went well so far, now we faced a bit of hardship. We rode passed thereafter, calmly after a long ride in which Sandy was out of reach and we heard that he might be on reserve.This happened as we rode along a beautiful tarmac, a beautiful road with trees that elegantly flashed a tinge of soft reddness, enveloping the road, and standing as a lovely arch above us. The news that his bike might be on reserve worried us because we weren’t sure where exactly Sandy was. However, within a few minutes we got word that all was fine and Sandy had found a petrol station to refuel and was waiting for us.
Jash n Cjo's Prank with niki's help
As we rode from the Sathyamangalam forset to Mysore, passing through Chamaraj Nagar, Sandy had been the second biker with Niki as pillion rider. C jo had been the first biker with Jash as pillion. The rest of us were way behind. C jo had apparently stopped at a petrol station. He and Jash planned a trick on Sandy, a trick that worked out with Niki's help. According to the real plan, Jash and Cjo were supposed to play the trick at the start of the trip, but it turned out to be at the end of it. Cjo was incharge of the finaces.. so all the money went to him and he'd manage it. Their plan was to pretend to run away with the money. Due to the pairing rule we had, Sandy's bike was supposed to be within visible distance of Cjo's bike. This made it difficult for Cjo and Jash to carry out the trick. Smart as they were, they then decided to hide at a petrol bunk as soon as they could got Sandy out of sight. Niki, sly ally in the crime, pushed Sandy to catch up with Cjo and Jash who seemed to be way ahead. She knew they were hiding somewhere way behind, but she told Sandy that they must be somewhere far ahead and they had to reach them. And so Sandy and Niki rode on, oblivious of the truth. It was here, as they rode ahead of us, that the incident with Niki and the elephant occured.
The elephant (part 2)Niki's close encounter with an elephant
Our Niki was riding with Sandy, when all of a sudden they stood at a distance as they spotted a whole herd of elephants. Just diagnolly opposite them however, an elephant was busy feeding on leaves about 30 feet away, across the road. I suppose Niki was trying to click a photo when the camera case fell off and onto the road. Niki, stepped out of the bike, walked up to the case, looked up at the elephant which by now was heading toward her. She walked casually back toward the bike, undaunted I’d say. Lol. However, this is something one must be very careful about in forests such as this. Animals will attack if they sense danger. It is not strange to see an animal charge at the sight of movement. Elephants especially must not be provoked. Movement can cause them to sense danger and charge at you, so as much as possible, if one comes across such situations, it is essential to stay absolutely still, doing one's best to stop as far away as possible from the animal. With a whole herd of elephants in the distance and one just a few yards away, hearts must have thumped!!
When we had crossed Charmaraj Nagar and reached the Karnataka district targeting for Mysore we stopped for drinks and I got to ask Niki whether she did not see the elephant. Her reply to me was “See the elephant!!! I was chased by the elephant!!”
Bikes on reserve
As Sandy was being tricked by Cjo and Jash, and Niki faced by a charging elephant, the rest of us rode with Raul and Ranji way behind us, not knowing that Ranji's bike had gone into reserve. A few moments later, Rauls bike also went into reserve. There were three petrol bunks along that road after the Bush and Bull resort. There was a Hindustan Petroleum, an Indian Oil and a Bharat Petroleum. Since Rauls and Ranji had been riding behind us, we watched out for them and when they had arrived, the arrangement was for Rauls and Ranji to ride ahead of the rest of us until we got to a petrol station. This is one way to keep further problems in check and ensuring that we minimize any difficulties that could be faced. Since Raul and Ranji were on reserve, keeping them ahead of us would work out right, as it would enable the latter riders to be available or catch up on them to help them out. The good thing was that we finally and did reach a petrol station, refueled and rode on. Also, we called Sandy to inform him that he had been tricked and had overtaken Cjo and so he waited for us at a Paan shop, down that road.
Coffee day and dinner at dhaba
We were riding closer and closer to home now, farther and farther away from the beautiful hills and views of Valpararai and the Sathyamangalam forest. As we rode to Mysore road from Charmaraj Nagar (approx of 80 Km), it was about 9.30 p.m and we stopped at a café coffee day. We spotted three coffee days along that road. There was one across the road, and since we had planned to stop at any cafe coffee day along that route, for a break, Rauls, Nipin and Cjo took a u-turn toward the Mandiya coffee day. The rest of us noticed that coffee day but waited for word from Raul, Cjo and Nipin. Raul called back saying that that coffee day was closing and we wouldn't be able to refresh so we rode to the Maddur coffee day which is supposedly the only coffee day on that road that is open till midnight. It wasn’t the place to have dinner, so we just snacked on some cookies and refreshed. Our inclination was to have a proper dinner at a dhaba, so we rode on to the nearest one from there. It was just a little way further down, a lovely place to have dinner during the end of our trip. We had dinner at a perfectly sized table (for the 10 of us) that lay outside just below the dark sky. It was late, close to 11.00p.m. We ordered rotis as usual with our chicken curries, paneer masala and the drinks of course. It was a lovely night. We were tired, but we didn’t feel it. We looked through the snaps, talked about our trip, kidded around and had a great time with a lovely group of absolutely wonderful, laid back, fun loving people with whom beautiful memories were made.
Synchronisation - A commemoration
When we were ready to leave, with Varun and Nipin having to take a different route, we got the bikes arranged one beside the other, and took a few snaps, bikes, riders and pillion riders. We synchronised bike horns, and then indicators directed left towards our route. A mark of the end of this trip.
Jash and C jo switch seats! :O
From Mysore to Bangalore, we travelled about 130 Km. Our first split came there, when Varun and Nipin headed homeward toward North of Bangalore. The rest of us rode on till Ranji took off in a different direction, while we turned towards Jash’s place in Bangalore. As we rode down, Jash and C jo apparently were still lively with energy and were still stuntsman at full swing. It was during this time that C jo was riding and Jash was sitting pillion. The stunt here : C jo was riding! They were on their bikes, on the move, while Jash from the back switched seats with C jo, and before you know it, C jo is pillion and Jash is biker!! Sandy, who had missed it, wanted to see this! and hence they did the stunt once again, bringing Jash back to the pillion seat and C jo back to being biker! So there you have it, the fun didn't have to stop so soon! However, as a word of warning, this is not something to be tried or experimented just like that. Jash and C jo are experienced biker's and hence were able to do this stunt with caution.
Homecoming
We spent a night at Jash's place. I slept pleasantly without moving a bit. I awoke the way I slept. Lol. I know Sandy and Cjo were awake for a while, that night, still making jokes and laughing away. I awoke first because I was to wake Raul so we could make it to Chennai before noon. Cjo and Niki had left with Cjo dropping Niki at her place, while Jash, Sandy, Senthil, Raul and I went down for some tea. Since our friend Jason was also nearing Bangalore from Mysore, arriving from a journey he’d gone on with his colleagues, I was to join him so I could get back to Chennai as soon as possible. While I went from there to Chennai in Jason’s car (reaching home at 4.00p.m.), Sandy and Raul took towards Chennai through a different route, with Raul first getting himself an awesome rider’s jacket right in Bangalore. Since he couldn’t get it during the start of our journey, he got it during the end of it. Lol, that one’s going to come in handy for him from now on. On their way back, as they rode through Kolar and reached Ranipet, they enjoyed a beautiful ride in the rain on a lovely road where Raul had to remove his shoes, tie it up on Sandy’s Avenger, and ride barefoot for a while.. They stopped for a small interval at a cafe coffee day on the Old Madras road, reaching home that night, around 10 p.m.
A trip to remember
A trip that went from 3 days to 4 days to 5. As a group we had the best of times. What added to our enthusiasm and sense of integrity was the fact that this time around, we made an attempt to start on an ongoing journey to help our society in whatever way possible to us. To be one of those who want to help those who need it, the people who are isolated in a world of absolute ignorance, to spread word on how to protect our earth gives one a feeling of purpose and definitely, a happiness that is explained only in terms of the change we believe we can make. Those few days flew away in a flash, and it now feels as if a large bag of memories was condensed into a single point in time. The trip might not have gone as had been planned, we might not have visited every place we had proposed to, but that’s what made it priceless; the fact that we went through it, all smiles, and were together as a single group with a single desire: to travel, to give ourselves the luxury of another new landscape, new challenges, new roads and new memories! The feeling to travel is nurtured again and again every single time we suspend our thoughts, allowing them no constraint and no compulsion, but one - the compulsion to surrender to the sounds of the road's calls.
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