Che Guevara on the Road

Speed Ride to Amritsar | August 2011

2011-09-08T18:07:00.006+05:30

Staying outside of India I miss my Motorcycling antics the most and never miss an opportunity to go for a Motorcycle Ride whenever I am on a short/long vacation to India and this time it was no different and it got even better as I combined a trip to my favourite City – Amritsar with a Bike Ride…and then the icing on the cake was that one of my best Motorcycling comrade Gyan was to be my co-rider on this ride….it couldn’t have got any better!!! Gyan being Gyan provides endless moments of fun and is one helluva amazing comrade!!! Our Ride tuning is also perfectly matched and we never shy from speed riding…be it any terrain – Desert Roads, Mountain Curves or Highways on Plains…This was going to be my 9th ride with him after Chail, Chakrata, Kurukshetra, Lansdowne, Jalori, Binsar, Bhangarh and Bikaner…that’s some 5800 kms together on the road!!! Beat that…

I had just 2 days for this ride out of my 9 days India Trip and had to traverse almost 1000 kms in this ride so one thing was crystal clear that it would have been a Speed Ride and knowing me you all would tend to agree that speed riding comes naturally to me !!! My Motorcycling comrades would vouch for this fact…

There were 2 other confirmed riders – Bhinder & Khatri but they declined at the last moment due to some strange reasons and I was kind of expecting it & it didn’t come as any surprise to me...

So the day finally arrived…The Ride dates were 30 & 31 August 2011…

The Speed Riders were:

1. Gyan on his brand new Ceeber – Honda CBR 250
2. Che on The Mighty One

The First Solo Ride

I had never rode this long just being a Solo rider but as they say there’s always a first time so I had to do it…I just could not sleep properly as I was damn fuckin excited for this ride; finally managed a sleep of barely 2 hours but shockingly woke up really fresh at 2:45 AM and rode out of my home at sharp 3:30 AM all decked up and rode till Panipat non-stop…123 kms in 115 minutes with minimal traffic and it was lots of fun just to get back on the open roads after such a long time and I didn’t mind being Solo!!! I waited for just 5 minutes and Gyan came riding on his bright-red brand new machine with his signature smile!!! We hugged each other and started the next leg of the ride…it was just about sunrise time & traffic was still very thin…perfect recipe for 2 speed riders to blast it out!!!

Parantha Time

Just after crossing Karnal we had a brief 15 minutes encounter with the rain & I knew now that this ride would be one helluva amazing ride!!! We stopped near Ambala for a Breakfast Pit-Stop….gorged on Paneer & Aloo Paranthas with some piping hot tea and gave our respective asses a much deserved break!!! Our timing till now was perfect & we were on-track to reach Amritsar by 1 PM…

Red-Bull Therapy

As some of you know I have quit Alcohol & Smoking which means minimal breaks during my Bike Rides but still needed a break just to relax for some bit & luckily I stopped in front of a Bar cum Restaurant which had a small convenience shop outside and I spotted chilled Red Bull there & just grabbed it from the mini-RB Fridge!!! After a sleepless night and almost 350 kms on the road I deserved some Red Bull Therapy to get fresh again & ward off the sleep-demons!!! Gyan got a child KF Premium beer and we did our routine Bakchodi while enjoying our drinks!!!

Speed Thrills…

After speeding for some 470 odd kms The Mighty One had a small breakdown….we had stopped for a piss break just 25 kms before Amritsar & when we started my bike just didn’t start; Checked all the vital parts of the bike & there was no apparently visible issue; tried Dhakka-Start & that didn’t work either; called-up Zaheer & his tips also didn’t help…finally Gyan went ahead to check for a Bike Mechanic & called me that it was just 1 kms ahead…so pushed my bike and reached his shop where he checked the bike and started it but he told me to get it checked at any RE Specialist at Amritsar so that there are no further challenges…and this breakdown couldn’t had come at a worse time; the temperature was a searing 40 degrees and a humidity of almost 9o% odd and I was sweating like a pig plus feeling hot like I have never done before…living in an air-conditioned environment 24X7 in Kuwait has done this to me; I poured 2 glasses of child water over my head to get some respite…and it was such a big-big relief!

Pahunch gaye Amritsar…

Reached Amritsar with The Mighty One riding slowly for a change & we headed straight towards the Railway Station area to find an RE Specialist to check my bike…found a shop after checking with locals…the owner Sardaarji checked the bike and told us that the Tappet Rods had to be replaced as they had gone Kaput after continuous speed riding of 500-odd kms!!! Didn’t surprise me either as the way we both rode it had to end like this! He asked us to wait for an hour before he could finish his work so we decided to utilize that 1 hour in the best possible manner – by having a meal at the very-very famous Kesar da Dhaba which serves the best Vegetarian Food in Amritsar; during my 4 previous trips to the city I had never eaten at this place & my parents had also highly rated this so we had to try it out!!!

Kesar Da Dhaba pe ho gaya kalyan!!!

We ordered a Chur-Chur Parantha Thali…it comprised of Maa ki Daal, Punjabi Chhole, 2 paranthas and a bowl of fresh Boondi ka Raita…in normal circumstances 2 famished riders would have gobbled up the entire thali without any trouble but when you are in Punjab nothing is normal or routine when it comes to matter of Gastronomy…flavour of the food is directly proportional to the amount of Desi Ghee used in the cooking & I believe the cooks at this place have taken this correlation very seriously and poured ghee in all the items like there was no tomorrow!!! We somehow finished the entire meal & followed it up with a bowl of cold Phirni set in a earthen bowl which was the perfect icing on the cake after such a sumptuous meal…

Hong Kong Magic…

Picked up my bike and headed straight towards a Hotel where Gyan had stayed a month back when he dhad visited Amritsar with his wife & another couple…the hotel was funnily named HOTEL HONG KONG INN…I mean why would somebody name a hotel like this tat too in the middle of Punjab, I just couldn’t fathom that!!! But all we needed that time was a cozy bed, a clean washroom, a hot shower bath and an air-conditioned sleep and our silly-named hotel provided all of that! Both of us had a shower and then decided to sleep for some time to get fresh & ready for the evening plans…and boy did we have a sound sleep or what! We slept for some 2.5 odd hours & woke up as fresh as a daisy!!!

Satnam Waaheguru…

The next & the most important part of the ride was visiting The Golden Temple…for the first time I was visiting it during a weekday & was greeted by a much less noisy & crowded Golden Temple which is a rarity; had an amazing Darshan & spent some peaceful moments at the side of the Sarovar reminiscing about the past & thanking God about all the good things he has given me in life…this place takes me somewhere else & I just cant describe what kinds feelings & emotions go through my mind…words fail me in describing the divinity of this place & I am sure all of you would agree to the state of mind I was in at that particular time!!!

Surjit da Jaadoo…

No Amritsar Trip is complete without a gorge at Surjit Food Plaza situated at Nehru Complex, Lawrence Road & we had to be there to feast on the slurping Non-Vegetarian delights….we gorged on Tandoori Chicken, Amritsari Fish Fry & Chicken Seekh Kebab with some crisp & hot Tandoori Rotis…all the while we were eating we went on endlessly with our oohs & aahs….vividly describing the sheer good taste of the food & simultaneously filling up our tummy!!! We finished our meal with Child Pista Milk at Novelty Sweets Shop which is right across the road & the Pista Milk is nothing short of being divine!!!

Bedtime Tales…

Gyan picked up a beer on the way but by the time we reached the hotel his tummy refused anything to be loaded after the sumptuous meal we had just enjoyed so both of us decided to call it a day & surrender ourselves to the sleep gods!!! It was another first; at sharp 11 PM in the night both of us were sound asleep!!!

Nayi Subah – Nayi Shuruaat…

We left our hotel at 6:30 AM & after reaching the Golden Temple I had a snaan at the Sarovar, paid our respects to the God Almighty & headed straight towards Kulwantian De Nan !!! Perfect follow-up after a divine dip!!! This place serves the most amazing Amritsari Nan- we enjoyed Paneer, Gobhi & Aloo Nan with the Chhole ki Sabzi & finished our breakfast with piping hot Special Chai!!! Went straight to the hotel, picked up our stuff, paid the bill, packed our stuff onto the bikes & left from Amritsar at sharp 8:45 AM…another 500 kms on the roads were waiting for us & we were absolutely ready to go!!!

Dumping Time!!!

As all of you know that how much I love dumping in the open during my bike rides & I had to continue this love affair during this ride as well…after creating enough pressure in my body I stopped for a much-needed open-dump & enjoyed it wholeheartedly…it was very sunny, I found some shade below a tree & provided some natural & fresh fertilizer to the soil!!!

I want Wings!!!

Luckily I stopped opposite the same Bar cum Restaurant where we enjoyed our drinks a day back…Gyan decided to enjoy his beer which he had bought in Amritsar & I picked up 2 cans of Red Bull…one for the road ahead…and Gyan’s chakna was some fresh Salad!!! No namkeen this time though…I started the next leg of the ride all refreshed & with some wings…

Puran Singh da Dhaba da Jaadoo

This Ride was all about good food & we wanted to finish the gastronomical experience with another high…last but not the least the POA was lunch @ Puran Singh da Dhaba which is another world-famous Dhaba…there are some 5-6 versions of the Dhaba & we didn’t waste any effort to find the original one as we stopped at the first one which was right next to a theka and was a Government-Approved Drinking Place to boot…ordered Keema Kaleji & Mutton Curry with Gyan enjoying child Carlsberg & me sipping on some child Slice!!! Once again the food was laced with loads of dripping Desi Ghee but we didn’t mind it one single bit & cleaned off everything which was on offer!!!

Rain Therapy…

Left PSDD full upto the brim & the next stop was a forced one…it started to rain heavily & we had to get our rain-gear out…it was a short spell of heavy rain which subsided in some 10 minutes & resulted in some reduced speed due to the wet roads…finally reached Panipat where I bid farewell Gyan & thanked him for another amazing ride alongside him….

Well-Done Che!!!

I reached home at sharp 6:30 PM after a well-spent 39 hours trip out of which I was riding for 20 hours….was on the road for almost 1000 kms….enjoyed some of the most amazing food on this Heaven Earth….visited the most divine place on the planet…dumped in the open…and some amazing memories with Gyan…I couldn’t have asked more from God!!! Another special part of this ride was that this was Gyan’s first ride with his new Ceeber & most importantly he didn’t have a single fall during this ride for which he is notoriously famous in our Motorcycling Domain!!!

My Next Ride would be in November 2011….My club BoP’s 4th Anniversary Ride to a destination in Rajasthan and that ride would be my last ride as a bachelor ads I am getting married on 18th November 2011…there’s no other way to celebrate the last few days of my bachelorhood than to ride along with my BoP Comrades on the pristine roads of Rajasthan…

Che would be back on the road again…

Till then ride safe & have safe sex…

Hasta la Victoria Siempre & Jai BoP…

The Best of The Best

2011-03-15T10:54:00.005+05:30

First things First...heres wishing The Mighty One a very Happy 3rd Birthday...

Today I complete 3 years of my relationship with The Mighty One and the roads…exactly 3 years back on 15-March-2008 I bought a Black-coloured 2005 Model Royal Enfield Electra 4S from Rana Pratap Bagh in Delhi, revamped the look and named it “The Mighty One” and the rest as they say is history…atleast for me!!!

I went for my first bike ride within few days of buying my bike on 21-Mar-08 to Bhangarh in Rajasthan & named it “The Haunted Spookies” Ride and my tryst with the Highways started on that day with a 570 kms long one-day ride, too long for a debut ride but still what a ride it was…

Since then I have been following my passion to the T and have traversed exactly 22,485 kms through 24 Motorcycle Rides and have completed almost 35,000 kms on my bike if I include the City Riding as well…I know these statistics won’t mean a lot to many people but for me they count a lot as I have worked really hard during these rides & have had tonnes of fun on the way and I hope I can keep the passion going till the time I am physically able to ride a Motorcycle…

As I look back now at these 3 memorable years sitting here in Kuwait away from my Country, Family, Comrades and “The Mighty One”, I reminisce about the glorious times I have spent with my Bulls on Parade (BoP) Comrades & my other Motorcycling Friends on the numerous Highways, Thekas, Forts, Hotels, Guesthouses, Water Bodies, Ahaatas and have made a list of my Top-5 Motorcycle Rides of my Journey out of the 24 Rides till now…

Some of you have been part of those rides with me & some of you would have read the travelogues and am sure would be able to recollect about these glory rides of my life…And believe me I don’t mean that the rest of the 19 Rides were no good, it’s just that these rides take precedence over the others in terms of the challenges thrown at me, the fun times I had and the company I enjoyed with my fellow comrades…Read on to find more…

The List is in the order of my preference…

The Mountain Tamers (6th June 2008 – 20th June 2008)
http://themountaintamers.blogspot.com/

This has to be the Numero Uno Ride not just for being a Ladakh Ride which is considered The Mecca for Indian Motorcyclists but for me it was much more than that. I went for this ride just 2.5 months after getting my bike & that was really big for me. I joined Yoga Classes in January to be physically fit for this gruelling ride; that helped me a lot & I would suggest the same to all smoking & unhealthy people like me who wish to ride to Ladakh. I went for this ride with 7 other fellow comrades , only 2 of whom I knew previously & we all had a wonderful time together, I met a Living Motorcycling Legend – Rahul MAT Chauhan who has been to Ladakh on his Bike almost 15-16 times till now!!! I met Sunder & Deepak with whom I also went for the West Coast Ride in January 2009. I witnessed the raw & pristine beauty of Ladakh which cannot be portrayed through any photograph or told through words and one has to be there to witness the sheer brilliance of that place. I conquered “KhardungLa Pass which is the World’s highest Motorable Road @ 18,380 Feet or 5602 Metres above Sea Level. I visited Kargil & Drass which were 2 of my dream destinations since the 1999 Kargil War & visiting both those cities gave me memories worth a lifetime. The Ride was relatively mishap or breakdown free for me except 1 or 2 small incidents and last but not the least I traversed 3400 kms in 17 days of this ride. All in All it was Ride which made me a true motorcyclist just for the fact that at times the terrain on which I rode was unforgivable & I needed buckets of mental & physical endurance to counter those tough moments…

The BoP Mcleodganj Mavericks (8th April 2009 – 12th April 2009)
http://cheguevaraontheroad.blogspot.com/2009/04/mcleodganj-mavericks.html

This Ride was big for the fact that BoP finally conquered Mcleodganj after 2 previous unsuccessful attempts & also for the challenging weather we had to endure enroute Mcleodganj, this ride would always stay on the top of the most memorable BoP Rides in time to come. We rode in constant heavy rains from Delhi to Ambala & that’s some 200-odd kms and that too in the night!!! I met with a horrendous accident at Shahpur & due to God’s Grace got saved after falling down on NH-1 at some 60 kmph speed right in the middle of the road in heavy rains; it surely was one of the scariest moments of my Motorcycling Career!!! We had a whale of a time trekking to Triund & witnessing fresh snow on a Mountain Top where we spent a memorable time together – Camping, Drinking, Dancing & Singing together. Mcleodganj as a place was one of the most-chilled out places I have been to. We also had a smashing BBB Session at Ambala at a shady Highway Bar where we planned our next moves & I am sure Surjit (Sunny) & Diptinder would agree with me. We traversed some 900 kms during this ride.

The West Coast Riders (11th January 2009 – 26th January 2009)
http://thewestcoastriders.blogspot.com/

The second longest ride of my life in which I rode for 3200 kms in the 16 days of this ride through one of the best Highways of our country – NH-17, we completed the entire stretch of this Highway – starting from where it begins at Panvel in Maharashtra to Edapally in Kerala where it finally ends through some amazingly pristine roads, some of which would always remain etched in my mind; specially the one through Maravanthe Beach where we rode right besides the Sea Shore for some 50-odd kms!!! This ride was ultra-special for me as I traversed the Northern-Most Roads of India & the Southern-Most Roads of India within a period of 6 months & I feel extremely proud on this achievement of mine. My Partners-in-Crime were Sunder & Deepak with whom I dream to traverse the Western-Most & Eastern-Most Roads of India someday in time to come. I just cannot describe my strange feelings which ran through my mind when I reached Kanyakumari and thought that I have reached southern-most tip of our majestic country and this is where our country finally ends & the Indian Ocean begins…The Sunset View in a Boat right in the middle of the gigantic Kumarakom Lake also stands out as one of the best moments of this ride. Before this Ride began I had to face some really tense moments due to the Fuel Companies’ & the Truck Operators Strike but due to God’s Grace this ride got over without any single mishap & breakdown…yes none whatsoever. I also attended the Annual Royal Enfield Pilgrimage named Rider Mania at Ooty & those 2 days were strikingly crazy for the amount of camaraderie shared with my fellow Bulleteers from all over India, guzzling endless bottles of beer & dancing on Music across some 7-8 Indian Languages!!! I also accepted the Participation Trophy on the behalf of my Club- BoP & that Ladies and Gentleman is one moment I am never going to forget!!! This was my first & only ride where I rode through South India & I dream to traverse the East Coast as well one day…Inshallah.

The BoP Bikaner Boomerangs (12th December 2009 – 15th December 2009)
http://cheguevaraontheroad.blogspot.com/2009/12/bop-bikaner-boomerangs.html

Riding through Rajasthan is always special on those Majestic Roads through the History-Laced state & if you have a bunch of crazy BoPians with you then one doesn’t need anything else!!! Traversing the divine NH-11 Highway was extremely pleasurable. We also camped one night in the middle of the Desert with some Traditional Music & endless supply of beer to give us company, if you think that was crazy then one had to go through the Tomar Magic in the night – one of the craziest Nights of my life with Sanket Tomar aka Kunwar Ji in full flow singing away to glory with me giving him some percussionary company!!! We also had the pleasure of relishing authentic Laal Maas- a True Blue Rajasthani gastronomical delicacy - one which leaves you in tears & a tough next early morning dump and to enjoy this treasure one has to be really brave!!! We also crossed Churu which is India’s hottest place & after being at Drass (India’s coldest inhabited town) this was a nice combo to complete. I also rode a camel for the first time & that camel race with my comrades which I finally won gave me unbelievable pleasure!!! Being at “The Indira Gandhi Canal” which changed the agricultural fortunes of this Desert State was also a memorable moment of this ride. This was the first BoP Ride where we rode for more than 1000 kms and finally finished at an odo-reading of 1125 kms in those 4 glory days!!! Riding through Rajasthan has always been tremendous & I also dream to visit Jaisalmer, Udaipur & Jodhpur one day as they are still missing from my Motorcycling Resume.

The BoP Jalori Juggernauts (19th June 2009 – 22nd June 2009)
http://cheguevaraontheroad.blogspot.com/2009/07/jalori-juggernauts.html

This was the biggest ride of BoP till date with 13 Motorcyclists – 9 BoPians & 4 of our Non-BoP Comrades. The Ride started on a high note with a BBB Session at Gyan’s place in Panipat which luckily passed off without any mishaps as we were sensible enough not to repeat our Chucklers Fiasco!!! This was also a special ride for us as we had decided to camp for 2 nights in the Himalayas & decided not to stay at any Guest House or a Hotel and had a smashingly brilliant time during both those nights. One was spent at Narkanda on a hill-top in the middle of nowhere with Bonfire, Music, Hukka, Loud Chants of “Jai BoP” and also hot food served right at our campsite. We camped at The Sutlej Riverside during the 2nd night getting high & drunk and eating Chilled Mangoes as Desserts – that was some experience for all of us. Even though our return journey was not the most pleasurable one wherein we had some 6-7 breakdowns & reached home after some 21 hours of starting early morning but still this ride had all our regular ingredients which makes BoP an integral part of my life – Beer, Bullet & Bakchodi and I can’t imagine my life without these 3 Bs!!! Another B was also added during this ride as I talked to my Fiancé Bandita for the first time during this ride & started a lifelong journey of togetherness…what else could I ask for…

Che Guevara on the Road : A Statistical Study !!!!

Life since March 2008 has been one helluva ride & I have had so many amazing moments during these 3 years none of which wouldn’t have been possible without my Royal Enfield Motorcycling Club – Bulls on Parade & all of my dearest club comrades…They have given me memories which I am going to treasure till the end of my life…Thanks to each one of them & I am sure I would enjoy their company in years to come…

I would be conquering many more destinations, traversing many more roads & making many more friends in the future while I would be on the road but these 5 rides would always take a special place in my Motorcycling Repertoire…

Jai BoP…

Che would be back on the road again…

Till the time we meet…ride safe & have safe sex…

Hasta la Victoria Siempre…

The BoP Neemrana Naags

2011-03-10T17:42:00.004+05:30

I don’t know why God plays so many Weather Games with me during my Motorcycle Rides but still he does; I kind of enjoy these games but at times they take a heavy toll as it has happened in the past and this time it was no different…if it were not the rains this times then the Fog played spoilsport & we had no answer to it this time round…

This ride planned on Sunday 27-February-2011 was supposed to be “The BoP Abhaneri Ajgars” but we were fogged and it became “The BoP Neemrana Naags”…initially it was big setback for all of us but by the end of this ride none of us minded it too much because the ride had all the BoP elements – Bakchodi, Beer, Liquor, Laughter & to top it all 190 kms. of Riding…

I badly wanted to conquer Abhaneri as it has the World’s deepest Baoli or Stepwell and the photographs on the Internet were enamouring to say the least plus I was very excited to do a long bike ride as the next one would only be in Aug/Sep 2011 but in the end we all had to settle with Neemrana…but what a time we all had…read on to find more about the Ajgars-turned-Naags…

The Naags were:

1. Vikas Garg aka “Tony Basher” on his Maroon Modified Beast
2. Diptinder Singh Chhabra aka “Maker’s Mark” on his Black Electra 4S
3. Rohan Kaushik aka “Dawaai Bataane Waalaa” on his Green Classic 500
4. Aman Maangat aka Guest as Haaji’s Pillion
5. Vihans Gupta aka “Pillion by Choice” as a Jagat Pillion
6. BK Atreya aka “Prescription Likhne Waalaa” on his Red Karizma
7. Dhruv Malik aka “Offroader” on his Silver P220
8. Deepak Chauhan aka “Kam Khaane Waalaa” on his Black P220
9. Shubham Sachdev aka Moody on his Black P220
10. Che aka “Snoring-Sleeping Motorcyclist” on The Mighty One

Hangover Start…

We had a BBB Meet in the night and I got back home drunk, slept for just 4 hours & woke up sharp at 4:30 AM to be at the LVP Start Point at 5 AM. I had a severe hangover-induced headache, wasn’t feeling too well & on the top of that couldn’t manage a dump; all ingredients for a tough start. Unexpectedly Vinamra reached the last and we finally started the ride at 5:45 AM in clear & pleasant weather.

Ajgars get fogged…

As soon as we crossed Manesar after encountering the shitty traffic enroute all hell broke lose & we were hit by extremely dense fog and almost zero visibility. I was leading the pack of riders & just could not ride with ease, it was painfully tough to ride through the fog as it’s the case with me always but somehow managed the courage to ride on – taking inspiration from The BoP Amritsar Aakramaks Ride when I led a pack of 12 riders through similar fog for almost 60 kms but this time I couldn’t repeat that act of valour & finally stopped…The Ajgars got together & we decided to finalize our next move at the next Dhaba with some much needed Hot Tea…

Ajgars turn into Naags

As Prem Chopra famously said in one of his many movies “ Mera naam ha Ajgar, main dasta nahin, nigal jaata hun”’ we tried our best to stay as Ajgars and tried to swallow the fog but it was way too much for me so we all decided to stop for an early Breakfast Pit Stop and abort our Abhaneri Mission.

The Tony Fiasco…

This is for you Vihans – “I accept my fault of stopping at “Tony Cold Drinks” which was a nightmare for all of us”….more so for Vikas who turned into a Tony-Basher at this infamous joint. I was feeling very sick & wanted to dump badly so decided to stop at this small joint on NH-8. I went straight to dump with my dear comrade – Deepak Chauhan who also wanted to dump to get ready for the upcoming breakfast & snakes…

We ordered Paranthas & to say the least they were outrageously atrocious…improperly cooked & with no flavour at all but as all of us were really hungry we somehow managed but Vikas lost his cool & it was a rare sight for all of us as nobody had seen Vikas getting furious in any of our previous rides, he was particularly aghast at the Waiter & blasted him like crazy & good on that waiter’s part as he took all that bashing with a smile & gave some witty but untimed replies which pissed Vikas even further.

Beer Stock-up

During the Tony-Bashing we all decided to head towards the Neemrana Baoli and have another BBB Session at an archaeological site & as all of you know we love getting drunk at places of historical interest; having done that previously at The Tughlaqabad Fort at New Delhi, The Tijara Fort at Tijara, Rajasthan, The Ranthambore Fort at Ranthambore, Rajasthan and a host of others…we stocked up our Beer from a Highway Theka and went towards the Baoli…

BBB @ Baoli…

Until this point we had Vikas with us but he didn’t reach the Baoli with all of us, we presumed he was beating the shit out of that Waiter & we all prayed for his well-being as that poor waiter would have had no chance of matching up to Vikas’ Mega-Size!!! Finally after losing his way 4-5 times Vikas appeared and joined the BB Session…

And then The Naags started another of our legendary BBB Sessions on the top of the Baoli & believe me it was a Vantage Point, we could see the dry fields on our right side & the Baoli on our left; there was a deep well right next to us which always looked a sureshot danger to all of us as there was no way we would have reached the top if any of us would have fallen into that deep shithole!!! But somehow we stayed safe…

Sunny was in full form during the session & never stopped blabbering & for a change I was a much less silent spectator!!! Plus as perfect hosts we were all very courteous towards our “Guest” and ensured that he was in utmost comfort at all the times…Mr. Chauhan gobbled up the Chakhna like there was no tomorrow and this after polishing all those shitty paranthas at Tony’s; man this guy has some appetite…

And then it happened….for me the funniest moment of the day…as BK is studying Psychology I started asking some inquisitive queries about “Depression” and he gave some perfectly legible replies…out of the blue Sunny asked him “BK Bhai, tu prescription likh sakta hai?” to which BK very innocently replied”Haan” and then came the bummer….pat came Sunny’s reply “Dawaaiyiaan main bataaunga!!!” & after that for well over 7-8 minutes only laughter peals were heard from all of us….I guess for people who were not there can’t get the humour out of this but believe me it was hilarious & that’s an understatement…I still laugh whenever I think of Sunny’s reply…

The Pics say it all….how much we enjoyed the BBB Magic…all over again & hopefully the good time never get over!!!

Talli Sleep…

I got so exhausted after so much of laughing & plus I got drunk as well that I decided to have a short nap at the Baoli-Top and what a blissful sleep it was, I mean how many times would I enjoy that kind of a sleep…I don’t think I would be second time lucky…I was told that I was snoring very loudly as well!!! In my defence all I have to say is that I had not slept properly for the last 3 nights & I very well deserved that nap…

Baoli Visit…

After Drinking, Bakchoding, Smoking, Eating & sleeping we decided to go down towards the Baoli, we all thought that the Baoli deserved one trip atleast!!! It was very well constructed & surprisingly well-maintained as well…I even went to the bottom of the well which was an extremely dirty place with so much of littering…another example of our thankless & uncivilized countrymen who don’t know to appreciate & preserve the historical heritage of our beautiful country…

Lunch Time…

The Laugh-Exhaustion finally took a toll on all of us & we left the Baoli to get some much-needed & deserved good food for lunch after the Tony Fiasco and this time Dhruv didn’t make a similar mistake as what I committed, he referred us to Hotel Tokas Midway which was bang opposite the Neemrana Cut…it was nice-little place & surprisingly clean for a Highway Motel…we ordered our food & it was served piping hot in literally no time & as we have experienced in the past once the food was served we all were quiet for the next 30-odd minutes gobbling up the food as some hapless Somalians would have done in UN Camp!!! The lip-smacking food was the best way to drive away the disappointment of the pathetic breakfast we all had to endure…

We all rested in the Garden for some time & resuming our Bakchodi once again & the weather was also perfect for it…not too much sunshine & a cool breeze flowing through…

Non-Stop to Gurgaon…

At last we had a long-run…some 90 odd kms where we all rode non-stop towards the Gurgaon Toll where we had decided to gather for the final goodbye…Sunny had to stop midway for a dump so he & some other riders came late…I passed my time asking for a light from people crossing us but to no avail & was kept waiting till Sunny joined us who as always had flipped my Lighter!!! I had the final Sutta of the ride and then we all bid goodbye to each other promising each other that we would meet again…Inshallah…

Another first was that we had reached way before our regular Ride-Return Time so me & Vinamra decided not to have our Final Beer Break but not before we loudly chanted “Jai BoP”…that’s one tradition which would be never ever be done away with…

Though this ride would always remain a disappointment to all of us as for the first time in BoP’s history we were unsuccessful in conquering our final destination but still the Baoli-Top Bakchodi made up for it…

The Pics from the Ride:

Dhruv’s Pics: https://picasaweb.google.com/105356869555002733917/BOPNeemranaNaags
Vikas’ Pics: https://picasaweb.google.com/gvikiv/WeekendRideToNeemrana?feat=directlink
My Pics: https://picasaweb.google.com/jha.nishant/TheBoPNeemranaNaags?feat=directlink
Shubham’s Pics: https://picasaweb.google.com/shubhs86/NeemranaNags

I would be riding next only in August or September 2011, that’s when I would be visiting India next…till then I would try my best organizing BoP Rides from here in Kuwait & keeping the Bakchodi Mails flowing…

Che would be back on the road again…

Till that time have safe sex & ride safe…

Hasta la Victoria Siempre…

Jai BoP…

2010 Oscar Awards...My Selection...

2011-02-23T21:30:00.003+05:30

Watching Movies & following them has always been a passion for me since my childhood days but since the last 5-7 years never got enough time when I was in India to watch too many, used to watch the latest Hindi Ones in Theatres but rarely watched any English Movies except for some and then in March 2010 I came to Kuwait and rest they say is History!!! I have been on a Movie-watching spree since then I have watched 130 Movies (70 Hindi & 60 English), Yes I maintain an excel sheet to keep a track!!! Kuwait gives me ample time to pursue my hobby of watching & following Movies and I am lapping it up here…

The nominees for the 83rd Academy Awards were announced on January 25th 2011 & I decided to watch all the movies nominated for the Major Award Categories (I had watched only Inception out of the list before)…and here I am almost a month later & have watched all those movies except two – Biutiful & Toy Story 3 for obvious reasons, Biutiful is a Spanish Movie & I ain’t no Spanish Expert and I haven’t watched Toy Story – 1 or 2 so making the 3rd edition wouldn’t have made much sense…

The Award Ceremony would take place on the 27th February 2011 but sadly I wont be able to watch it Live as I would be riding to Abhaneri in Rajasthan then as part of The BoP Abhaneri Ajgars Ride but as you all know Motorcycling comes first for me…always & every time so I am not too sad about that and would check the results online during the ride…

So after watching these 13 movies here’s presenting my own Oscar Awards for Cinematic Brilliance in the Year 2010 for the 6 Major Categories…I am sure all of you out there would have your own favourites as well & I am hoping for some level-headed debate after you read this post so folks…bring it on!!!

The Nominations are mentioned first & then my Winner comes later….

Enjoy Reading…

Best Film

127 Hours – Danny Boyle and Christian Colson
Black Swan – Scott Franklin, Mike Medavoy, and Brian Oliver
The Fighter – David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman, and Mark Wahlberg
Inception – Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas
The Kids Are All Right – Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, and Celine Rattray
The King's Speech – Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, and Gareth Unwin
The Social Network – Dana Brunetti, Ceán Chaffin, Michael De Luca, and Scott Rudin
Toy Story 3 – Darla K. Anderson
True Grit – Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, and Scott Rudin
Winter's Bone – Alix Madigan and Anne Rosellini

And The Award goes to “The King’s Speech”…
The way they have recreated Britain of yesteryears immaculately & for the sheer brilliance of Colin Firth the award goes to this movie…

Black Swan was my 2nd choice….

Best Director

Darren Aronofsky – Black Swan
Ethan Coen and Joel Coen – True Grit
David Fincher – The Social Network
Tom Hooper – The King's Speech
David O. Russell – The Fighter

My Award would have gone to Danny Boyle if he was nominated as he has made a brilliant movie which could have been a big bore due to its documentary-styled storyline but it never was boring and kept me glued all the time…

But sadly Boyle wasn’t nominated so my Award goes to “Tom Hooper” for The King's Speech…I had thought this movie would be a boring one due to its storyline but I was hopelessly wrong; I found this movie very very interesting & from a Direction point of view the best one from the nominated lot.

Best Actor

Javier Bardem – Biutiful as Uxbal
Jeff Bridges – True Grit as Rooster Cogburn
Jesse Eisenberg – The Social Network as Mark Zuckerberg
Colin Firth – The King's Speech as Prince Albert / King George VI
James Franco – 127 Hours as Aron Ralston

An easy choice… “Colin Firth” for The King's Speech all the way…The way he has brought realism to his character is mind-boggling…the angst, the lack of confidence…he defines both of them superbly…

James Franco was my second choice…

Best Actress

Annette Bening – The Kids Are All Right as Nic
Nicole Kidman – Rabbit Hole as Becca Corbett
Jennifer Lawrence – Winter's Bone as Ree Dolly
Natalie Portman – Black Swan as Nina Sayers
Michelle Williams – Blue Valentine as Cindy

This was the toughest choice to make for me… “Natalie Portman” for Black Swan…her performance simply blew me away…amazing is the word….but all the 5 performance were top-class this year…I choose Natalie because she was the most intoxicating!!!

Jennifer Lawrence was my second choice…

Best Supporting Actor

Christian Bale – The Fighter as Dicky Eklund
John Hawkes – Winter's Bone as Teardrop
Jeremy Renner – The Town as James "Gem" Coughlin
Mark Ruffalo – The Kids Are All Right as Paul
Geoffrey Rush – The King's Speech as Lionel Logue

The Award goes to “Christian Bale” for The Fighter…his portrayal of Dicky Eklund was damn impressive, he has put life in such a hopeless character, the way he has portrayed the look of a Drug Addict & a loser-boxer, the way he has given the TV interviews in the movie, the way he treats his younger brother…and its always tough to play a real-life character & do justice to it… I am sure there won’t be many people disagreeing on this one…

Geoffrey Rush was my second choice…and I believe that Jeremy Renner was an awful nomination...

Best Supporting Actress

Amy Adams – The Fighter as Charlene Fleming
Helena Bonham Carter – The King's Speech as Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon / Queen Elizabeth
Melissa Leo – The Fighter as Alice Ward
Hailee Steinfeld – True Grit as Mattie Ross
Jacki Weaver – Animal Kingdom as Janine "Smurf" Cody

The final award in my list goes to “Hailee Steinfeld” for True Grit…she was the protagonist of the movie and what a stellar performance…only she could have upstaged Jeff Bridges in a battle of performances& she had the talent to come out as the clear winner…

This has been an amazing year for Hollywood with some magical movies which released this year and the Academy Awards Jury ahs given the nominations to the best movies and I hope the same kind of good sense prevails when it comes to awarding the Final Winners as well…

Enjoy the Ceremony on Sunday The 27th of February 2011...

Che Guevara would back on the Road again...

Till then have safe sex & ride safe...

Hasta La Victoria Siempre...

Gunda - A Lesson in Meditation & Levitation

2011-01-23T21:30:00.003+05:30

There are three kinds of movies in this world. Good, Bad & Gunda – Ancient Chinese Proverb.

This proverb aptly defines the magic called Gunda…even the word “Magic” sounds so small…its an epic, a cult movie, sheer cinematic brilliance, a poetry of words, a musical symphony. Ohhh…words fail me…in describing this Sir Kanti Shah’s 1998 epic movie…yes Queen Elizabeth has decided to award Kanti Shah with the title of “Sir”…and for the first time The Queen would be bowing down infront of anybody and this would only done in the honour of the Maverick named Kanti Shah…Press has been banned from covering the “Knighting” ceremony as The Queen wants to share some private moments with Sir Shah and don’t want any intrusion into the best moments of her life…

I think my life was incomplete for the last 12 years till I watched Gunda yesterday and it was nothing short of an Orgasm, cinematic orgasm that is(don’t get me wrong, I get my real orgasms after all the right reasons only)…infact getting orgasm after orgasm…it is a never ending high…and I am sure I can’t get over the magic of Gunda, it has a spell over me which would stay with me for the rest of my life; infact I don’t want to come out of it because life without Gunda would be like Bullahh without his Khullaaah spirit…can you even imagine Bullahh without his poetic dialogue delivery? I am sure you can’t…that’s how I can’t live without Gunda flowing in my blood…it’s like Red Blood Cells for my body now…my life would never be the same again… its levitation & meditation rolled into one joint (Pun intended!!!)…

Gunda is not just a movie, it is much beyond that…it is a lesson about “How to make a movie” and must be taught in all Film Institutes & Acting Schools – no theoretical lessons would be good enough infront of this 2 hours of cinematic brilliance. It also talks about “Open Economy” & “Customer Satisfaction”, it even talks about promotion of Vegetarianism & Maneka Gandhi is also proud of this movie & she is often heard talking about this movie in all PETA Forums…it must be made a case study for all B-Schools & Economics Courses. And I have crisp arguments on each one of them…

When Bullahh says “Mera naam hain Bullah, rakhta hoon main khullaaaaaa” he is not pointing towards any part of Human Anatomy but to his views about Economic leanings of his mind, he has an open view towards everything he does & doesn’t hide any of his feelings & principles…

When Ibu Hatela says “Mera naam hai Ibu Hatela,Maa meri chudail ki beti, baap mera shaitan ka chela, khayega kela?” he is not talking about finding a replacement for dildos but in his own subtle way he is promoting Vegetarianism…He must be made a Brand Ambassador for PETA with immediate effect…Pamela Anderson is passé…

When Shankar’s father tells the corrupt Police Inspector Kale ““Lagta hai Bullah ka thook chaata hain tumne, peshaab piya hain uska” he is implying his angst on the hands-in-gloves relationship between criminals & police and this was many years before we have seen this Nexus coming out open through the Media…

The Movie also talks about morals & values of any civic society…this is clearly personified when “Chutiya” (played amazingly well by Shakti Kapoor) innocently asks his big brother Bullahh “Bhaiyya bhaiyya, rape karna kya buree baat hai?” and our man Bullah has simply no reply to this stark question…yes even Bullah doesn’t have answers to some questions…unbelievable but true…

Do you think that only the movie “Lage Raho Munnabhai” taught us values of Mahatma Gandhi, if you think so then you are woefully wrong…years ago Gunda taught us these lessons so subtly…there is an emotional scene in the movie when Shankar’s father pleads & tells him not to take vengeance from Bullahh & his team, one can easily spot a portrait of Gandhi Ji in the background…even without taking his name we learn so much about his ideals of Non-Violence & Brotherhood…

We have been witness to so many Brother-Sister-themed songs & scenes of Rakshabandhan being played out endlessly in the movies of 60s & 70s and then there was a lull in the 80s where such relationships were conveniently ignored till we watch the most tragic scene of the movie (I am sure all of you would agree) when Bullahh has the dead body of his sister in his lap & he says “"Munni ? Meri behan Munni ??Accha toh tu mar gayi ?? Lambu ne tujhe lambaa kar diya ?? Maachis ki teeli ko khambaa kar diya ??Arre Maine toh tere liye kitne ladke dekhe the ..Woh bhi ek se badhkar ek chikne. Jo tujhe bhaata wahin tera pati banta ... Magar tu toh katailaa gurdaa .. yaani ki .. murda ho gayi .. ??" We see so many dreams getting witnessed in just a single shot filled with tears & emotions…

Till Gunda came out we had only heard about Cow, Buffalo, Goat, Yak & Camel Milk but here’s an interesting innovative idea which comes out of this cult movie… Lambu Atta tells the Kafan Chor Neta - "Ae kafan chor neta....mere naam ki kawwali gana chhod, Kaam ki baat bata. Jis kaam ke liye tu billi ka doodh peeke dilli se aaya hai." The White Revolution of India would have taken an all-together different route if this dialogue would have been followed seriously…of domesticating & rearing cats for their milk…

Long before Viagra was invented by Pfizer, Bullahh found out “Vitamin Sex” tablets and used to source them from UK (lesson in Free Trade) and then gave them to his brother Chutiya so that he becomes a Man & come outs of his confused state of mind about his sexual leanings and when finally he becomes a man a very poignant song is sung by eunuchs “Haye haye mere bhai jawaan ho gaya, toota hua teer kamaan ho gaya“, Bullah is seen dancing like a mad man in this particular scene, so much so for brotherly love…

Homosexuality has been shown in Bollywood Movies only since the last few years but Sir Shah had such an enigmatic vision even in 1998 when he showed Homosexuality not as any cheap gimmick to garner publicity but very intellectually when Lambu Atta tells Kafanchor Neta as he mentions the name of Bullah "Bullah ka naam lekar tune mera khopadi hila diya hai, khada kar diya hai mera"…the judge who gave the famous & historic “Section 377” used this particular dialogue when announcing the verdict in the Court of Law…

The evil of AIDS would have been solved if NACO had adopted Gunda as the Theme Movie for their movement of No-AIDS…as we have rape scenes in Gunda with clothes on, when only the top of the woman’s clothes are torn so that there is no exchange of body-fluids plus in Lucky Chikna’s hanging sex garden a sex worker refuses to have sex without a condom.Applause...what a subtle way of teaching safe sex...

You would have seen umpteen number of scenes where characters have asked for forgiveness from the oppressor until you watch the scene from this movie when arch-rival Lambu Atta begs for mercy and says "Bullah, mere ko mat maar. Mere ko apna bhadwa bana de. Main ladkiyan supply karte rahoonga aur tu maze lete rahena. Tere ko AIDS se bachaane ke liye nirodh ban jaunga. Towel baanke tere kamar se lipat jaunga. Mere ko mat maar. Aur agar maarna hi hain to mujhe cheel-chaal ke chakka bana de. Main saaree lapet kar tere liye dance karoonga…Gore gore gaal gaal gore gore…" I was almost crying at the end of this scene, it captures the pleading so vividly…

Lots of us have read Philip Kotler’s lessons on “Customer Satisfaction” but all those lessons seems an outright theoretical writing & nothing practical comes out of it till you hear Lucky Chikna screaming at a sex-worker who is doing “liptam chipti chipkam lipti” with another guy instead of servicing her client who is waiting for her lying on a bed and When she laments that “Woh buddha kuch karta nahin hain,Sirf bolta hain choos choos meri ungli choos“, Lucky Chikna tells her very politely ”Dhande pe baithi hain to buddha kya, jawan kya, kya chota kya bara, kya baitha kya khada“…This surely is a moment of Cinema meeting B-School Curriculum…and you thought that only Lagaan could be made a B-School case study…

I am soon going to start a Nationwide Movement for “Dadasaheb Phalke Award for Sir Kanti Shah” and I expect everybody’s heartfelt participation, we would launch Dharnas, Hunger Strikes & even Candle Light protests at India Gate and I won’t rest until this award is given to Sir Shah who deserves it the most…

Lagaan & Mother India missed winning the “Best Foreign Language Movie Oscar” but take it from me that if we had selected Gunda as India’s official entry to the Oscars in 1999 we would have tasted the sweet victory of the Academy Award which has eluded all Filmmakers in the past…

My life has changed yesterday and I plead for God’s mercy today for not watching Gunda for so long but today I can say that my life is complete & even if I die today I would die as a satisfied Human Being…for I have watched Gunda now…

My earnest request to all who are reading this Blog & haven’t watched “Gunda”, just leave everything right away…project deadlines can wait & your boss can also take a break but you don’t leave the task of watching Gunda for tomorrow, just do it today…

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4533128454129747129 - Heres the link to the Epic...

Get enlightened…find out the true meaning of your life…watch Gunda…

In the end here are some of the legendary dialogues from the movie…to get the true meaning of all of them you got to watch this movie...

1. Pote – “Mera naam hai Pote ... Jo apne baap ke bhi nahi hote”

2. Ibu Hatela - Naam hai mera Ibu hatela.. maa meri chudail ki beti.. baap shaitaan ka chela... khaayega kela???

3. Lambu atta - Chatri hoti hai kholne ke liye.... chadar hoti hai odhne ke liye, aur chokri hoti hai chedne ke liye

4. Shankar says - "Bullah, ye teri beti hai.", Bullah then says - "ohh!! to ye hai Hasina ka Pasina."
5. Bullah on his Sister's death - "Munni ? Meri behan Munni ??Accha toh tu mar gayi ??

Lambu ne tujhe lambaa kar diya ?? Maachis ki teeli ko khambaa kar diya ??Arre Maine toh tere liye kitne ladke dekhe the ..Woh bhi ek se badhkar ek CHIKNE. Jo tujhe bhAtta wahin tera pati banta ... Magar tu toh katailaa gurdaa .. yaani ki .. murda ho gayi .. ??"

6. Lambu Atta to the neta - "Ae kafan chor neta....mere naam ki kawwali gana chodh, Kaam ki baat bata. Jis kaam ke liye tu billi ka doodh peeke dilli se aaya hai."

7. Pote to Bullah - "ab laashey aise tapkegi, jaise nanhe-munne bachche ke nunni se paishab tapakta hai..TAP...TAP!"

8. Lambu Atta before killing Bullah's sister - "arre main toh samjha tha Bullah ki bahen koi bhangaar ki dukan hogi, sab saamAan toot chuka hoga...lekin haai-haai, Face Sonali, Tangein Raveena, aur Aankhain KARISHMA!!!"

9. Bachu Bhigona to Bullah - "Bullah toone khullam khulla lambu Atta ko maut ke tave par sek diya, Uski laash ko worli ke gutter mein phenk diya!"

10. Lambu Atta on his Brother's death - "nahin mere bhai tu marna nahi, mere bhai tu marna nahin......dum ko pakad ke rakh mere bhai, dum ko pakad ke rakh..... tujhe yaad hai wo dhande waali jo kehti thi .."KUNDAN mere pyare kundan tere badan ko lagaoongi chandan.......... are tangoon ke jhoole me lita ke le jaoongi tujhe isi jahaaj me London. mere bhai tereko yaad he????............. KUNDAN............................. ARE MERA BHAI MAR GAYA RE BHAI! "

11. Chutiya says - ""main to gas ka woh cylinder hoon jo khali hai. Mere chulhe se aag kaise niklegi"

12. Pote to Lambu Atta - "aa gaye bhayya aa gaye!

tene gundagurdi mein bada naam kamaya,kabhi dushmano ko phaada, kabhi kaata,

dikhne mein to tu naata par naam hai lamboo atta"

13. Shankar says - "kisi ne sach hi kahaa hai ki...baap pe poot..pitaa pe ghodaa....kuch nahi to thodaa-thodaa..."

14. Shankar says - "do...char...che....aath...das.....BAS!!"

15. Chutiya says- "mera naam hai chutiya. achhe acchon ki khadi karta hun mai khatiya!!! bullii... kahan hai teri ungli? Bullah bhaiya, ab hoga hallagulla... police aur hukumat karegi, hay Bullah hay Bullah. sab bolenge, dhundo dhundo, kahan hai chutiya, pakdo pakdo kahan hai Bullah...."

16. Lambu Atta justifying rape of Bullah's sister - "areyyy to kaun saa bura kiya!

roti hoti hai khane ke liye.aur boti hoti hai chabane ke liye.

badshah ki behen ho, yaaa fakir ki beti.ek din mard ke neechey aati hai bajane ke liye seetee"

17. Chutiya to ibu hatela - "Mera bhai hai bohat kamina, din rat bahata hai vo hasina ka pasina."

18. Kala shetty: Kaun hai be tu? Mithun Da: Mai hun tum jaise logon se nafarat karne wala,Garibon ke liye jyoti, Gundon ke liye jwala"
Kala Shetty: "Tujhe banake maut ka niwala,Tere seene mein gaad dunga mai maut ka bhaala."

19. After killing Ibu hatela, Shankar meets Bullah and Pote in the docks - "

Bullah: Bada akad raha hai shankar. Ibu hatela ko marke tu ye sochta hai ki tu yaha ka dada ban gaya.

Mithun da: Dada baap ke baap ko kehate hai. Aisa baap jo apni harami aulado ko marne ke liye unko di huyi tarikho ka intezar karta hai.

Potey: Un tarikho ke ane se phele mai thumari zindagi ka calender phad dunga.

Bullah: Teri tarikhen ayengi shankar, magar tere marne ke baad.

Mithun da: Bullah ye crane dekh raha hai, iski halat wahi hai jo is waqt teri hai, jab iski chain toot jati hai toh ye bekar ho jati hai, aur bekar chesen bangar mai fek di jati hai.

Bullah: Mai karane(crane) nahi hu shankar, jahaz hu jahaz, jo samundar ka bhi seena faad deta haiii.

Potey: Humare aage thumari wahi aukat hai jo kenchi ke aage kapde ki hoti hai.

Mithun da: Kapda, yahi kapda akhir mai sabse bada lafda karta hai. Jab ye kafan bann jata hai toh fir admi ko upar jana hi padta hai."

20. "khote sikke ne bhi kya baat boli.... boli toh boli jaise bandook ki goli"

Plus if somebody is whacky & mad enough like me then he/she can download Gunda Ringtones at http://www.tejaswy.com/2010/02/21/gunda-ring-tone/ and set them on their Mobile Phones…I won’t be responsible for any adverse reactions though…
P.S: Thanks to Tejaswy Appalla @ http://www.tejaswy.com/

Che would be back again…

Till then ride safe & have safe sex…

Hasta la Victoria Siempre…

My 10 Best Bollywood Movies of the Decade

2011-01-18T20:39:00.006+05:30

2000-2010 was a decade of coming-of-age for Bollywood with the formula movies getting thrown out of the window & some maverick directors showcasing their art brilliantly…surely one of the most influential decades for Bollywood and would go a long way in influencing new directors in years or even decades to come…

This is purely my selection; I am sure some of you would completely disagree with this list & some of you would relate to it but am sure you would find this list engrossing enough to read through…Read on to know The List of “My 10 Best Bollywood Movies of the Decade”…(in the order of their Release Dates)

1. Lagaan (2001)

Cricket & Bollywood - the 2 things that binds our nation , now that’s an unbeatable combo and if you add Aamir Khan’s charisma then you have got a movie which surely deserves to be in this list. This was also selected in the Top 5 Foreign Language Movies of that year & even though it didn’t win the Oscar but still it’s a piece of History which would be always remembered.

2. Dil Chahta Hai (2001)

The start of a new decade on a classical note, for me this remains a very memorable movie as this was the first movie I watched in Goa during my MBA with 100 of my batchmates…and this movie was a trendsetter for years to come with its slick styling, neat music & an emotional take on friendship with enough comic moments to make you laugh…

3. Lakshya (2004)

A classic tale of Motivation & Valor, one of the best movies made on the Indian Armed Forces, Hrithik Roshan played his part amazingly well & the brilliant cinematography of this movie made it further special for me plus the Music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy was breathtaking as well especially the songs “Kandhon se milte hain Kandhe” & “The Lakshya Song”…

4. Rang de Basanti (2006)

Rarely a movie binds the entire natione together & RDB surely did match the pulse of the masses & classes equally, AR Rahman’s music made it even better and then you had Aamir Khan as well!!! Sharman Joshi was the standout performer for me in this movie. One of my all-time favourite song "Roobaroo" made this movie further special...

5. Omkara (2006)

“Langda Tyaagi” or Saif Ali Khan would never-ever get a similar role in his entire life, that’s damn sure; I actually hated his characted by the end of the movie…Vishal Bhardwaj’s classical tale of Othello would be always remembered for its legendary dialogues for me; some of them being “Bewakoof aur Chutiye ka farak” & “Haan ke Naa” plus the brilliantly shot fist-fight scene with the haunting song “Omkara” played in the background…spellbinding!!!

6. Khosla ka Ghosla (2006)

Simple yet brilliant, that’s what describes this movie for me. Debut Movie of Dibakar Banerjee and what a start to his cinematic journey. Anupam Kher, Boman Irani, Ranvir Shorey, Navin Nischol & Vinay Shukla…what performances, story of a common man told superbly and it never went over-the-top & that was the key for me.

7. Bheja Fry (2007)

This is the movie which made me laugh the most in the entire decade; the funniest movie in my all-time list after Andaz Apna Apna, sheer acting brilliance of Vinay Pathak which actually forces you to strangle him to death due to his idiocy!!! I literally fell out of my seat innumerable times through this movie…Ranvir Shorey was hilarious too!!!

8. Taare Zameen Par (2007)

This movie made me cry, I would rather say howl; I remember I watched this movie alone & I had a corner seat & I kept crying through the movie…This movie would go down in the History books as one of the most sensitive movies ever made…and yes Aamir Khan again!!!

9. Dev D (2009)

The Movie of the decade for me, no doubts regarding this…this movie revolutionized the word “Musical” with its mesmerizing music composed by Amit Trivedi. The way “Female Sexuality” was portrayed in this movie is stuff legends are made of. Plus this is a classic lesson of “How not to waste one’s life for a girl”!!!

10. Udaan (2010)

Another smashing movie with brilliant performances by the Lead Cast & great music once again by the phenomenon named “Amit Trivedi”. This movie didn’t go out of my system even after 4-5 days of watching it & some scenes just kept coming back; a haunting tale of father-son relationship…

Movies which missed making the cut :

Saathiya (2002)
Munnabhai MBBS (2003)
Swades (2004)
Maqbool (2004)
Chak de India (2007)
Johnny Gaddar (2007)
Aamir (2008)
Rock On (2008)
Gulaal (2009)
3 Idiots (2009)
Ishqiya (2010)
Love Sex aur Dhokha (2010)

Some Interesting Trends from my List:

1. Music is one of the most important feature of any Bollywood Movie and amongst these 10 movies there is an interesting trend pertaining to Music Directors :
i. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy: 3 Movies
ii. A R Rahman: 2 Movies
iii. Amit Trivedi: 2 Movies

2. Aamir Khan is the Lead Actor in 4 out of these 10 movies & he is the Director of one as well; clearly the decade belonged to him and not just for his Acting Abilities but for his Marketing Brilliance as well!!!

3. 4 out of these 10 movies were debut movies of Directors, dream start indeed!!!

4. Only 1 Director has 2 movies in this list and that is Farhan Akhtar.

Hope you liked my list & it would be great if you can comment with your “Top 10” list as well in the Comments section…

Che would be back again…

Till then ride safe & have safe sex…

Hasta la Victoria Siempre…

2010…On the Road and Off it…

2011-01-02T15:09:00.009+05:30

If 2008 was the year of “reckoning” for me & 2009 was the year of “coming of age”, then 2010 would surely go down in my life as the year of “Changes”…changes in my Place of work & stay – from India to Kuwait, big change in the number of Motorcycle Rides – 14 in 2009 to just 3 in 2010 & the biggest change being that in my Marital Status – from being single to engaged and I basked in each one of them, never did I fret about either of these changes & welcomed them with ease…I don’t know why but getting adjusted to new circumstances & environment comes naturally to me and this year was all about that…read on to know more about 2010 as it was for me…

January 2010

The New Year started with a Rooftop Grill Party on 1st January - my EOiD Friend Hemanshu’s pre-marriage bash which was full of Delhi Chill & driving through the infamous Delhi Fog, the food was amazing & the company wonderful. I enjoyed the Old Delhi food which was on the menu that night. The rest of the month was spent in Airports & Hyderabad travelling for Hiring Trips & spending endless hours at the Airports due to flight delays. Another highlight of this month was visiting the famous Salarjung Museum, Charminar & Mecca Masjid at Hyderabad & sampling the Hyderabadi Haleem…

February 2010

My 2nd International Trip happened this month when I travelled to Kuwait to give my personal interviews for the new job & had a memorable time, both in terms of the quality of interviews & visiting a new country(http://thekuwaitdiaries.blogspot.com/2010/04/kuwait-orientation.html), the big surprise was getting upgraded to Business Class while coming back; a unique experience indeed(http://thekuwaitdiaries.blogspot.com/2010/04/judgement-day.html). I got the Job Offer in the end of the month which I readily accepted with feelings of anxiety & excitement in my mind. I also went to Chennai & met Sameer – my Chaddhi Friend & his family. One of the best moments of this month was enjoying Beer right in the middle of Puraani Dilli at Hauz Qazi Chowk courtesy Mr. Vihans urf Chunnu…I got my “Jai BoP” Tattoo engraved by Jerry which also had “The Mighty One” inscription – My passion got inked to my body for life !!!. I also threw a farewell bash for my friends at Adda & that would remain as one of the most memorable parties of my life – so much camaraderie & brimming with endless supply of Alcohol…

Another memorable moment of this month was attending my first Hockey Match & it couldn’t get any better with India trouncing Pakistan by a margin of 4-1, we all danced away to glory that evening followed by celebrations in Old Delhi…(http://cheguevaraontheroad.blogspot.com/2010/03/hockey-at-its-very-best.html)

March 2010

This month was the busiest month of the year for me. I made countless trips to the Passport Office & Police Station of Gurgaon to get my Kuwait paperwork complete (http://thekuwaitdiaries.blogspot.com/2010/04/bumps-on-road.html). I went with Bandita to Surajgarh to spend a quiet & relaxed holiday for 3 days – and after a long-long time I drove to a destination rather than riding to it!!! 5th March was the Last Working Day for me at UHG where I spent 3.5 years & had some amazing memories of Team Spirit, Hard Work & friends for life. On 4th March my UHG Recruitment Team threw a Farewell Party for me at Fox- Gurgaon & I had a ball, dancing & drinking my way to glory!!! The fact that I was leaving UHG made me really emotional & I even cried!!!

12th March 2010 was my engagement day & a big-big day of my life;

After about 9 months of our relationship I & Bandita got engaged & this was start of a new chapter of life for both of us…and boy-oh-boy wasn’t I looking different that day!!! Even I could not believe my eyes, clean-shaved & dressed in a Kurta!!! And on 28th March 2010 I finally left India to join my new job in Kuwait – a big change in my life was about to happen…the decision was quite tough & thought-through, leaving my Family, Friends, Bike & the open roads was not easy at all…

April 2010

This month went by in getting acquainted to a new country & a new job, each day was a day of revelation for me & I was learning new things each day & was really enjoying Kuwait as a country. The weather was getting hotter & I was getting fatter gorging on Beef & endless tubs of Ice-Cream!!! (http://thekuwaitdiaries.blogspot.com/2010/05/kuwait-as-i-see.html)

May 2010

I attended my first Arab Wedding – My colleague Rani’s wedding & it surely was a revelation time!!!(http://thekuwaitdiaries.blogspot.com/2010/05/myth-busting-party.html) I made my first trip to India after coming to Kuwait & even though it was just a 3-days trip I still managed to have my share of fun – the way I always do…getting the most of it!!!(http://cheguevaraontheroad.blogspot.com/2010/06/3-daysmemories-of-lifetime.html) Had a fun time with my family & specially my nieces plus also went for a short Bike Ride to Tijara in Rajasthan & this ride was ultra special as this was the first time I did a rode on my Bhai’s Royal Enfield which was the first RE I rode way back in 1999…(http://cheguevaraontheroad.blogspot.com/2010/06/bop-tijara-titans.html)

June 2010

I made the first Road Trip of Kuwait to the Kuwait-Iraq Border with my friend George in his brand new Chevrolet Malibu (http://cheguevaraontheroad.blogspot.com/2010/06/abdali-road-trip.html). Apart from this high June was a dull month with not much action & the sweltering desert heat kept me indoors all weekends anyway!!!

July 2010

I explored my culinary skills all this month & this was a great experience. I cooked all sorts of delicacies – Stuffed Paranthas, Mexican Dishes, Butter Chicken, Phirni, Upma and what not!!! While I was cooking all this Bandita was getting happier each passing day seeing my talent & waiting for her time to come when she would be able to enjoy feasts cooked by me!!!

August 2010

This month passed by in anticipation of my September India Trip plus planning & shopping for it. I shopped like crazy for my family & friends and got some amazing gifts for them. Also this was the month of my first Ramadaan in Kuwait, a brand new experience for sure. Hiding in a small little corner to smoke while in Office, No public eating or drinking all markets dead till 6:30 PM in the evening & then the post-Iftaar hooplah, it was a sight indeed!!! But the best part was the curtailed work hours, from 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM!!! I love Kuwait!!!

September 2010

I came to India this month & what a trip it was…a BoP Ride to Dalhousie with my comrades (sadly Vinamra had to miss it)( http://cheguevaraontheroad.blogspot.com/2010/09/bop-dalhousie-darogaas.html), Birthday Celebrations with my family, BBB Ahaata Meet, ABC Group get-together, Mummy’s food(yummy!!!) & some much needed Beer Therapy!!! I also went to the Freeze Bar in Rajouri Garden with Arunima & had a chilled (literally!!!) time there…11 days went away in a Jiffy but had amazing fun each one of those days…

October 2010

October was another month of anticipation & shopping for my next India Trip in November!!! The Punchline was this month was Chunnu’s…when I told him that I am coming to India in November he said “Aap gaye hi kab the!!!”…I shopped a lot; the best of the lot was the Omega Seamaster Watch I got for my Bhai…his dream watch & a big surprise gift for him…also got loads of stuff for my nieces & Bandita…this month passed away very quickly in waiting!!!

November 2010

Another month….another India Trip & this time 16-days long packed with loads of Action, Beer, Open Roads & Travel…the big event was spending Diwali with my family; all of us were together on Diwali after 15 years that’s when Bhai left to join NDA & it was an amazing night…I went for an Old Delhi Trip after so long & enjoyed my favourites – Moinuddin Miyaan ke Kebab, Kure Mal ki Kulfi, Chicken Point’s Grilled Chicken and Chat at Ashok…

Went for BoP’s 3rd Anniversary Ride to Chittorgarh on 12th November & had an amazing time with my comrades & getting back to the open roads was a feeling which can’t be described in words, only a real Motorcyclist can empathize!!! I also fulfilled my childhood dream of seeing the “Victory Tower” or “Vijay Stambh” at Chittorgarh. (http://cheguevaraontheroad.blogspot.com/2010/12/bop-chittorgarh-cavaliers.html) I came back on 14th & then the very next day left for Sikkim to meet Bandita & have a chillaxed 5 days trip. Visited the Tsomgo Lake & the Nathula Pass which was freezing & laden with Snow, I really had a ball in Sikkim & would definitely go back on a Bike Ride someday…

December 2010

December started with a high – I got “The Mighty Two” (http://thekuwaitdiaries.blogspot.com/2010/12/mighty-two.html), my red beast…and the next few days passed in anticipation of getting my Driving License which I got within the next few days & then I experienced the raw rush of life @ 200+ kmph speed!!! Saying that it was an awesome feeling would be a gross understatement…The Wafrah Trip was simply too good & I had a wonderful time (http://thekuwaitdiaries.blogspot.com/2010/12/meri-christmas-weekend.html)…The rest of the month passed doing TP with my Kuwait friends here & getting ready for 2011!!! The 31st December night was well spent – started with “Jalebi on the Beach” followed by drinks over “Andaz Apna Apna” & then a high-induced sleep…

2011 would also bring a huge change to my life as I would get married this year & then would start a new chapter of my life – one for which I am anxious & excited, lets see what the future has in store for me but as always I am ready to face any challenge thrown at me – so what the challenge’s name is Bandita (don’t kill me for this baby!!!)

Che would be back on the road again…

Till that time…Ride safe & have safe sex…

Hasta la Victoria Siempre…

The BoP Chittorgarh Cavaliers

2010-12-05T21:06:00.018+05:30

BoP always does things in style & with grandeur and our 3rd Anniversary Celebrations were no different, Dips & I had decided on the destination quite early but kept it as a surprise till I sent the official Ride Invite in September and a surprise it surely was…our destination was Chittorgarh, a quaint little town in Rajasthan with a rich history of Pride, Valor & Bravery, our comrades were expecting Jodhpur or Udaipur but our choice blew them away…since my childhood I had a dream to see the Victory Tower or Vijay Stambh and what better way to achieve my dream with a Bike Ride and that too BoP’s 3rd Anniversary Ride…

We have been to Pushkar & Ranthambore on our previous 2 Anniversaries as is the tradition of our club that we would celebrate our Anniversary with a Ride to a Destination in Rajasthan. We had some avoidable & unfortunate incidents in both those rides & this time I was hoping for a smooth & trouble-free ride and boy-oh-boy God heard me right!!! The ride was as expected full of fun & drama but no tragedy!!! The only sad part was that we couldn’t have any of our non-BoP Comrades in this ride as this is a BoP-special Ride and only BoPians are allowed…

We kept this ride as a 3-days ride to ensure maximum participation but sadly in the end we had only 9 confirmed participants as we were expecting a minimum count of 15, we booked the hotel at Chittorgarh, I got the route & travel maps ready and also did the pre-ride celebration party at Adda in Gurgaon which was also the Farewell Party for Fagu who was leaving for Bengaluru to take up a new job there. So things were hot & ready for the Anniversary Celebrations…and we had a ball…

Read on to find out the story of The BoP Chittorgarh Cavaliers…

The Cavaliers were:
1. Dips on his Black Electra
2. Doegar on his Black TB
3. Asok on his Red Electra
4. Zaheer as Asok’s Pillion
5. Fagu on his Chrome 500 Machismo
6. Khanna on his Silver Electra (with Brand New Alloys!!!)
7. Vikas on his Maroon Modified Beast
8. Topgun on his Red Electra
9. Che on The Mighty One

A delayed start…

The plan was to start by 5:15 AM but we could only start at 5:45 AM as some of the riders were late and we waited for Khattri & Topgun to appear, and as expected when we called up Topgun he was still sleeping & we asked him to catch-up but there was no news of Khattri & sadly we didn’t have his number as well so we started without any whereabouts of him. With loud chants of “Jai BoP” we started our 3rd Anniversary Ride on a big high; me & Dips have attended all 3 of them and for us it is a big achievement…3 years, 30 rides, 23,645 kms & countless memories of fun, camaraderie and so many fellow comrades; some have stayed on & some have been kicked out but the spirit of BoP remains fresh as ever the way it was on a cold winter morning in November 2007 when the first meet of “Gurgaon Cruisers” (our club was known by this name then) was held at the same place- Leisure Valley Park from where we started this ride…hope our spirit & passion can stay the same and we would celebrate our 10th Anniversary in 2017…Inshallah…

Breakfast Tradition…

We rode at an amazing pace and within an hour had traversed 80 odd kms, our first pit-stop was the same Highway Dhaba where we ate during our 2009 Anniversary Ride to Ranthambore, the weather was quite chilly so hot tea & Paranthas were gobbled up like there was no tomorrow, after an hour-long break we started with heavy tummies and our next target in mind which was to stop only after covering 100 kms…this was to be the trend throughout the ride for the Cavaliers…

Meeting a Friend…

Me & Dips stopped enroute to meet a Dhaba Owner on NH-8 who helped us last year when Rishi Maurya had met with a horrific accident, he had parked Dips’ Bike at his Dhaba and for 3 days kept it under his security, meeting him was just to show our gratitude for what he did to us and he was also very delighted to see us and I would never forget his lines when he saw me, when I asked him “Yaad aaya main kaun hoon?” he replied “Sir, aapko kaise bhool sakta hoon, aap bhoolne waale bande nahin ho”, I shared a sutta with him and we bid him Goodbye promising him to meet him again one day when we would be on a NH-8 Ride again…

A Smoke with Strangers…

I blasted my way through NH-8 & then NH-79 and finally took a break after some 100 kms and there was a big gap between me & the rest of the comrades, once again I stopped at the same spot where I had stopped during our 1st Anniversary Ride to Pushkar ; see I am a man of traditions!!! Atleast Motorcycling Traditions…there was a very interesting incident here, 2 guys stopped when they saw me and told me “Chittorgarh ja rahe ho naa?”, and I was shocked, I mean how could they guess our destination & when I asked him one of the guys replied – “Sir, hum gaadi ki sadak pe pakad dekh ke bata dete hain ki kaun kahan ja raha hai”…we shared a Sutta together and then came another killer statement – “Sir aaj dekh liya ki Dilli dilwaalon ka sheher hai – aapne humein imported cigarette pilaayi, mazaa aa gaya”. The fact is when you offer & share a cigarette with any stranger a special bond is made and the reason is you just don’t share a smoke but you share your own stories as well, these 2 guys told us the correct route as well and when they left they said “Sir, aise hi ghoomte raho, bahut accha laga aapse mil ke”. While lounging at the Dhaba when we were waiting for Vinamra to join us I just browsed through the newspaper & the cover page provided us with the news of heavy rains & hailstorms in many areas of Rajasthan, we hoped the worst was over but we were to experience rains all over again…that too in November & in the desert state of Rajasthan…

And then it rained…

Soon the rest of the comrades joined & we had a tea break but all of us were getting jittery on seeing the grey skies, heavy rain clouds were building up so we got our rain gear ready and started the next leg, some 10 kms into it heavy rains lashed us and there were no signs of it abating even a single bit so kept tugging along in the heavy rains which lasted for some 35 odd kms & all of us were drenched but there was no point of waiting for the rains to stop as the clouds were getting darker every minute, finally the rains ended & there were clear skies again & some amazing sunshine, we got dried up as well but then the rains started again & lasted for another 20-odd kms, I was talking to God and pleading him to stop the rains and asking for his mercy as I find riding in rains very difficult due to my specks, finally he heard me and the rains stopped…I know he screws us hard but in the end shows us the way…always!!!

A bad-bad lunch…

It was already 4 PM & all of us badly needed a Lunch break, after stopping & enquiring at 4 Dhabas I finally stopped at the fifth one unable to control my hunger anymore but bad food was in store for us…to thwart the rain demons away I went ahead to do my ritual….yes you got it right…an open-air DUMP!!! After relieving myself I reached the lunch table and was disappointed to the core, the food was awful, had no taste, no spices and the rotis were not cooked properly. But all of us were quite tired, wet & hungry to go to another place so all we did was to complain & still eat!!!

Beer Pit Stop…

We rode for some 100 more kms till we reached the outskirts of Chittorgarh & while we were waiting for Fagu & Topgun to join us Dips spotted a Theka and then we had no other options left than to enjoy some Child Bear before we hit our hotel, it was our first beer break since starting from Gurgaon so was well-deserved!!! And the time was 6:00 PM, we could not believe our eyes, in 12 hours we had covered 540 odd kms and that too with 3-4 breaks & riding through rains for some 45 kms & this was a big feat for us as rarely we had reached our destination so early with so many riders…BoP is now setting some new distance records & that too in large groups so we have decided to up the ante now, in the future we are planning to cover 750 kms in a day especially if we are covering Rajasthan or NH-1. The NH-79 roads were amazing to ride on but I loved to ride on NH-11(enroute Bikaner) than this one…

Royal Welcome…

We reached Hotel Pratap Palace after riding through the city roads of Chittorgarh & vrooming our way to glory, Chittorgarh took notice of the Cavaliers & everybody’s eyes were stuck on us, and once we reached the hotel we blasted our signature thumps once again and shouted loud chants of “Jai BoP” & the best part was that the Hotel Staff joined the chorus!!! Our rooms were decorated with Rose Petals & Marigolds, not the kind of welcome decorations we are used to as we have stayed in Hotels with stained bedsheets, leaking roofs & smelly curtains but we were delighted to see our spacious rooms & basked in the glory!!!
The next agenda was plain & simple, a BBB Session in the Hotel Lawns and the ammunition was ready too, I had got Glenfiddich – 12 years matured from the Qatar Duty-Free for the Anniversary BBB Celebrations and it was the perfect drink we deserved in the royal land of Rajasthan celebrating our 3rd Anniversary…there was one exception though, Fagu didn’t like the taste of Glenfiddich and left his drink incomplete & Vinamra was furious at him for wasting the Scotch…

Laal-Maas…

After the 3-hours long fun-filled BBB Session we were ready for the Big Supper…Laal Maas…The Rajasthani Delicacy, we had previously enjoyed it during our Mt. Abu Trip & The Bikaner Boomerangs Ride & we were ready for an encore, it was laid out for us in the Dining Hall and once we started eating there were no noises whatsoever, just the slurping sounds were audible for the next 20 minutes, we were that focused!!! We finished our wholesome dinner and ended the night early at 11:30 PM…another first for us…we were ready for the Chittorgarh Fiesta for the next day…

Chillaxed Breakfast…

All of us went for the breakfast at 8:30 AM and were treated to some Poori-Aloo & Poha and this was part of our Bed & Breakfast Tariff Plan and it tasted yum…but our Metrosexual Fagu had other plans, he ordered a customized breakfast as he didn’t enjoy the stuff part of the Buffet…he had Vegetable Sandwich, Omelette & Orange Juice & as expected all of us dug into his share and he was left fuming so he ordered some more and we once again took his share, I am sure he was abusing us inside his mind!!! But we are now immune to any sort of abuses thrown at us especially for food…when we were leaving the Breakfast Lwan we saw a tortoise moving around & the next half hour was focused on him & his buddy…we clicked pics posing at him, fed them tomatoes & what not…since Childhood I have been mesmerized by Tortoises & Turtles, I even had a Pet Turtle once way back in 1993 when I was in Class 8th…his name was Tipsy…and my memories came alive after these many years…

Doing nothing…well…

I wasted the next 2 hours at a Cyber Café as my Sikkim Flight’ schedule was turned topsy-turvy by Kingfisher Airlines, I had to re-book my Bagdogra-Delhi Ticket & the slow internet speed made matters slow & painful but I had no other choice, time was at a premium for that trip & I had to plan it well…Khanna was my partner-in-crime & waited me all the while…we got back to the hotel after finishing the task & ensued our Bakchodi…

Misnavigation…all over again…

While we waited for the Fort Trip we all decided to visit Neelya Mahadev – a Lord Shiva Mandir with some beautiful scenery as suggested by one of the Hotel Attendants, all of us took our bikes along except Khanna who was my pillion & the official photographer for this short ride…we went through some rustic Village Roads & were treated with shocked looks of the villagers, the ones we are now used to!!! Some villager told me the wrong way & we ended up reaching Keldhar Mahadev Temple instead…but we were not disappointed as this one also looked gorgeous…we missed visiting the temple & went uphill instead at a beautiful spot through some Hill Trekking, one won’t be able to tell that this was Rajasthan or Himachal but Rajasthan this was, one magical state which never ceases to surprise…we discussed Zoology & discussed on the “Skating Insect” we saw, as always all of us had our opinions on this species…Fagu was the most vocal here with his NatGeo knowledge, Maurya has a competitor now!!! Vinamra deliberated about having the Glenfiddich here but Khanna was in no mood to have it considering we were in a Temple Zone, left disappointed Vinamra kept it back in the Bag & we all left that surreal place to get back to the Hotel…

Fagu – The Foodie…

When we got back all of us were hungry but didn’t have enough time to have a full-blown meal so our self-proclaimed foodie Fagu went towards the market to find some local delicacy & he came back with some Bread Pakodas, Samosas & Bhujia, it tasted quite well & Fagu’s pride was well-visible!!!

Ford to the Fort…

We went to the Fort in an open-top 1949 Model Vintage Ford & the 6 hours trip was only for 1500 bucks, surely worth the pleasure…Khanna has to be thanked for this as he was the one who enquired about it & struck the deal…we chanted “Jai BoP” & off we went…Glenfiddich was duly brought out for some swigs & Fagu’s snakes proved the perfect foil…it surely was a royal time for all of us…Vintage Car, 15-years Old Scotch, local snakes & that majestic Fort Entry…royal tourists we were…fellow visitors at the Fort were left in awe looking at us, all of us identically dressed in our BoP Tees & Caps…we were a sight for all!!! We also hired a Guide – Trilok who was unlike the Guides you find at Forts, to the point & no bullshitting at all…

History Lessons…

Kumbhal Fort was the first stop for us, made by Rana Kumbha & Trilok probided us with a crisp history of the fort filled with some anecdotes…Next stop were 2 temples…Meerabai Temple & the Tridev Temple…both unique in their own ways…Meerabai Temple is the only temple where the Krishna Idol is without the idol of Radha & the Tridev Temple is unique because it has the idols of Brahma, Vishnu & Mahesh – The Creator, Preserver & Desroyer carved out of one big rock…I normally don’t visit temples but these 2 were special so I went inside to take a look… Next stop was the biggest extravaganza – The Victory Tower or Vijay Stambh…finally all the NCERT History Books came alive…I was always captivated by the pics of the Tower & finally I was in front of it, I just looked at it with awe & excitement, we all clicked pics & went inside through the curvy steps & reached the top…the stairs only reach the 8th Storey & one has to climb to the 9th or the top floor’ Vikas, Asok & Vinamra were the brave ones to take that leap & in the process Mr. Vikas lost his dear cargoes, they were torn at the perfect possible place, yes the crotch area!!! But I guess the view from the top storey was worth the tear!!!

We went towards the “Gaumukh Kund”, this is the place where Rani Padmini used to take a bath & what a smashing view it had overlooking the valley & the Chittorgarh City, all of us imagined about the bath scenes in our minds & also discussed them vividly!!!

The next stop was the Rani Padmini Palace, the one about we have heard so many stories…it is the place where Allauddin Khilji saw her reflection in the mirror & decided to storm the fort to capture her…you can find more about the Chittorgarh Fort @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chittorgarh_Fort

Now something about the asshole named Khilji…after he plundered the fort he still could not capture Rani Padmini as she performed “Johar” together with thousands of other females & kids to protect her dignity & honour so that Khilji decided to desecrate all the idols & statues of the fort, what a shame…its sad to see all, yes all the idols ruined, all of them have either the hands, legs, faces or the breasts shaved off…

The final stop was the Main Entrance Gate of the Fort which is now closed & this overlooks the grand Valley…me & Khanna enjoyed a quiet smoke at the extreme end of the Cliff…the striking feature of the gate were the Iron Barbs to stop the elephants from hitting the gate & breaking it to make an entry…

After some 3 hours of History Lessons our trip was over but not without taking a look at the grand history of the Chittorgarh Fort & hearing stories of Valor, Sacrifice & the rich traditions of the Rajputs who warded off their enemies with so much bravery & determination…after visiting each fort my mind just imagines the times people had during those golden days of our History…what a country we have…and I am lucky to visit some parts of it & hope to continue travelling through our Magical India…Incredible it surely is!!!

The Light, Sound & Rain Show…

Trilok recommended us to see the Light & Sound show which takes place in the lush-green Fort Lawns & at 7 PM we were there, as soon as we got seated in our chairs the rain clouds started to rumble & we knew rain was hitting us soon, the show started on time & it was very well organized; half way through the show it started to drizzle, as it was quite light we didn’t leave but soon it moved from a light drizzle to a steady shower & as our Ford was an open-top we had no other option than to rush towards it & leave for the hotel, enroute we had to pick up Alcohol & Beer which made us wetter!!! Once again The Rain Gods appeared from nowhere and graced us, I am sure God had plans to enlighten us by showering us in the Anniversary Ride, maybe 2011 is a Dry Year for our rides though I am hoping against hope !!!

Short & Sweet…

As it was raining the open-air BBB Session plans were laid to rest & we decided to have it in the cozy luxury of one of our rooms; snakes, alcohol, beer & Bakchodi was in full flow…uninhibited & unending…at 10:30 PM we finally left for dinner & we were surprised to find that our individual order of Authentic Vegetarian Rajasthani food had turned into a Buffet Meal for all in-house guests. Another example of BoP being trendsetters, the meal we order becomes a common order for all!!! I gorged on Dal-Bati-Choorma, Gatte ki Sabzi, Sev Tamatar, Kair-Saangri ka Saag & Kadhi Pakoda. The food was mildly spiced & was quite authentic in its taste…this time the focus was less than the one last night so we were quite boisterous as a group!!!

Early to Bed…

As we had to ride the full day ahead we decided to sleep early after packing our stuff & as per the plans we all slept at 12 Midnight with our alarms set for 5:30 AM in the morning…we are surely becoming more disciplined as a riding club, that’s for sure…and that augurs well for the future of our club…The last night of the ride is always a sad one & specially in a 3-days ride, I was more sad as I knew my next ride was atleast 4-5 months away…sadly I slept thinking about setting the roads on fire the next day!!!

On-Time…

All of us were ready to go after packing our stuff on the bikes at sharp 6 AM & after tanking up the bikes we started at 6:30 AM on a chilly morning through the glorious roads of Rajasthan…and the plan was crystal clear; 100-kms riding stretches and we stuck to this rule for the entire journey…the weather was quite foggy & misty so our visors had to wiped clean every 10 kms or so but we were enjoying riding through this weather…we stooped only after riding for 125 kms as I could not find a good enough Dhaba to have our breakfast at & the one where we stopped also didn’t have ready breakfast, he took his own sweet time in preparing the Fried Aloo Paranthas, another first for us, the Paranthas were quite unique & delicious & we all enjoyed them with an endless supply of Special Chai…one special feature of this pit-stop was that Vinamra suddenly got up & decided to take some pics using an SLR, we all laughed him off very well knowing his vibration skills but when the pics came out the results were amazing…he had clicked some damn neat pics…one hidden skill he has got!!! Also Tsering forgot the 100 kms rule the same way he forgets most of the BoP Rules & didn’t stop; when we called him he was some 30 kms ahead of us & decided to have his breakfast there only…

Horrors of NH-8…

Its not that NH-8 is always a treat to ride on, whenever we are going back towards Gurgaon we come face-to-face with the horrors of terrible Traffic Jams at Kotputli, Behror & Gurgaon borders, but as were on our bikes we found it much easier twisting & turning towards our destination through some madass traffic…I can very well empathize with the car tourists who suffer this pain reaching Gurgaon after a relaxing trip somewhere in Rajasthan, I am sure the Desert Rejuvenation becomes a Road Nightmare for all of them & I speak this from personal experience after our painful journey from Mt. Abu to Gurgaon, its another thing that Nilu made matters worse for us with his love for sticking to the right side of the road!!!

Maggi Time…

After victoriously countering the jams I decided to take a break after Dharuhera for a Maggi & Chai Break at a Highway Dhaba…and all of us deserved a break plus we were much before time as the sun had still not set & we were less than 100 kms from Gurgaon, once again the 100-kms break formula was successful!!!

Final Hoorah…

We rode on till the Gurgaon Border to regroup one final time before all of us left for various parts of NCR…with loud chants of “Jai BoP” we bid farewell to each other with a promise that we would be back on the roads again…some customary pics were clicked as well…

Cheers…

As per BoP Traditions we all stopped at a Theka for the final Beer Pit-Stop, we have been following this tradition since 2007 & I am sure this is one tradition which would be never dispensed with…I called up my Mummy to get the dinner ready when I reached home & even she was surprised to know that I was in Gurgaon already as even she is used to seeing me past midnight whenever we come back from a ride!!!

So the 3rd Anniversary was celebrated or I would say very well celebrated & fortunately with no breakdowns, the customary Rain Therapy was gifted to us by the Rain Gods, we came face-to-face with the Rich History of Chittorgarhn, enjoyed riding on the ripping Rajasthan Roads, gorged on some amazing authentic Rajasthani Cuisine, enjoyed “Bullet” Beer once again, treated my comrades to Glenfiddich and most importantly reveled in the rich traditions of BoP Camaraderie…I hope to be there in the 2011 BoP 4th Anniversary Ride which looks quite tough as of now as I plan to get married around November 2011 but I would give it my best shot…really want to be there…

In the end all I can say are 2 words…Jai BoP…

Pics, Blog & Videos’ Links:

Dips' Blog: http://butcheredsoul.blogspot.com/2010/11/bulls-on-parade-to-chittorgarh.html

Rana's Pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/asok.rana/Chhitorgarh#

Fagu's Videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/phalgunr?feature=mhum#p/u

Che's Pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/cheguevaraontheroad/TheBoPChittorgarhCavaliers?authkey=Gv1sRgCK_Uw7j_q8Cs-AE&feat=directlink

Che's Videos: http://www.4shared.com/dir/o1X27Sfo/CC_Videos.html

Doegar's Pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/varun.doegar/BOP3rdAniversaryRideChittorgarhCavaliers?authkey=Gv1sRgCP_P76WS2IXv0QE&feat=directlink

Vikas' Pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/gvikiv/JPEG?feat=directlink

Information on Chittorgarh:

1. Gurgaon to Chittorgarh Distance: 550 kms
2. Route: Gurgaon - Dharuhera - Bawal - Shajahanpur - Behror - Pragpura - Chandwaji(Detour from NH-8) - Bilonchi - Daulatpura - Bagru - Mokhampura - Padasoli - Kishangarh - (Detour to NH 79 A) - Silora - Shrinager – Nasirabad Bypass - (Detour to NH 79) - Jharwasa - Bandanwara - Lamba - Surajpura - Bhilwara Bypass - Soniyana - Putholi - Chanderiya - Chittorgarh
3. WikiTravel Link: http://wikitravel.org/en/Chittorgarh
4. Hotel where we stayed: http://hotelpratappalacechittaurgarh.com/contact-us.html

Che would be back on the Road again…

Till then ride safe & have safe sex…

Hasta la Victoria Siempre…

What got you Started?

2010-10-22T00:38:00.007+05:30

The idea of this Blog Post is courtesy Mr. Devesh Uba and I thought of compiling all ur stories and preserving them in one single place...

There is always a reason behind every passion and as you read through this post you would find the myriad reasons behind why each one of us got hooked onto this passion of motorcycling and hope to keep the flame burning the same way it is today...Amen to that...some of them are awe-inspiring & some of them are plain & simple yet interesting...read on to find more...

Devesh Uba

I used to live in Vikas Nagar, 40 Kms from Dehradun (I am sure you recall it from Chakrata ride) when I was a kid. That time my dad used to ride a scooter (LML Vespa) and my dad's best friend was a Bulleteer. We were a typical middle class family back then, where my dad was in a government job and everyone was content. There however came a dent in the content part, sometime in 1993-1994. I was in 5th standard and we were going for a trip to Kalesar (Haryana). My dad and myself on LML Vespa and Uncle and his daughter on his Bullet (RJP 7800). I can never forget that day, dad admitted that he always wanted to ride a Bullet and someday he will. As a kid I was already celebrating and it was registered in my mind that Bullet is a superior machine. And I got a few rides with uncle and I felt the respect it got from wherever it went.

That day never came (when my dad would buy a bullet) and we soon shifted to Jaipur where dad started his own business. I was still in love with Bullet. Once I finished schooling in the year 2000, I demanded a Bike. I asked for an Electra and everyone laughed. I was thin, 5'4 and I was not made to ride a RE. So I got a Hero Honda Splendor (ok, no one laughs here). So my college got over with 65 KMPL and it went well.

I joined Genpact after college (2003-04) and made an awesome friend at work - Navneet Singh. Navneet was a very unconventional Sardaar. He was almost the same built as mine but looked strong due to the Pagdi and beard. He used to ride a Machismo (the one before AVL engines, basically the iron cast engine), and I had a few rides as his pillion. Once I asked him "Navneet, sab tere ko bolte hain ki tu Bullet chala raha hai ki Bullet tujhe chalaa rahi hai". Navneet laughed and said "Behenchod Bullet chalaane ke liye jigar chahiye, height nahi". It got stuck with me. He taught me how to ride; I got at ease with the right side gear shift.

Then in 2009, after I got a job and saved money for bullet.... I bought myself a RE Bullet 350. 20th August 2009 was when this childhood dream was realized. And since then I have clocked 23 K KMS in 13 Months. I have tried Hero Honda Splendor and CBZ. I liked CBZ for the power it had, but I was always sold over Bullet's thump so I knew what i wanted ... I guess it was just a matter of time.

Che

I had an elder cousin brother...he had an RX-100 Bike and he used to give me rides as a pillion which were nothing short of scary...and I loved them holding him tightly and praying to God while he used to rip away to glory...

Sadly my brother died in a car accident in Brisbane, Australia on 28 June 1993...Speed got him finally one day...may his soul rest in peace...

He had a Sardaar friend named Moni with whom he used to go to the Akhaada and exercise (yes he never went to a gym) and his friend Moni had a standard bullet and he was a gunda of our locality so I was always scared of him...those days anybody with a bullet was a gunda for me due to the child like perception I had...

When I shifted out of North Delhi in 2004 Moni still used to ride his bullet and it was going strong...wonder where he is these days...

February 2000 was the time when I rode my Bhai's Bullet Machismo 350 for the first time and that ride was one helluva ride, I rode to the Kamla Nagar Market to have a Sutta at my regular Panwaadi, it stopped atleast 5-6 times before I reached and I had to kick-start it all over again and you can imagine how tough it is to deal with the Pressure & Ammeter tactics for the first time...infact that was the first motorcycle I rode in my life...could not have been better than that!!!

Bhai bought the Bullet in July 1999 straight after passing out from IMA and took it to Mhow where he was doing his young officers course and had an amazing time there, after that he got the bike back to Delhi and he went to Manipur where his unit was posted and his bike was in my safe hands after that till July 2001!!! He purposefully left it with me so that I could enjoy my College Days riding the Bullet and not my Dad’s Scooter…thanks to Bhai for that!!!

I used to pride myself in cleaning & polishing his bike and the chrome used to be spotless!!! I made perfect use of that bike roaming around in the North Campus of DU and I used to be very heavy then...almost 85 odd Kgs and the bullet suited my body structure perfectly!!!

To be honest I used to hate the bullet then as it was not in the best condition and I used to sweat profusely while starting it every morning...everyday some 25-30 kicks used to drain me out...and 5-6 times it got punctured and as all of you know pushing a punctured bullet is no mean task...it used to break down without any rhyme or reason and that’s why I never liked the reliability part of it...

Made countless trips with my then girlfriend around Delhi but never ever thought that I would become a serious Motorcyclist some 8 years later...

I went to give all my MBA Entrance Tests and MBA Interviews on the Machismo only...and I vividly remember going all the way to MDI Gurgaon from my home in North Delhi on my bullet and it seemed an endless journey...sadly I couldn’t get thru MDI but that ride would be always fresh in my mind...some 100 odd kms...my longest ride in a day till March 2008!!!

Once I got to Goa in July 2001 for my MBA the bullet was gone and I had my father's 1989 Model Bajaj Chetak with me for 2 years at Goa!!!

My Bhai’s bullet was parked at my home in Gurgaon from February 2005 till August 2007 but I never ever thought of riding it...I was happy with my Pulsar and didn’t even start the bike ever, it was duly covered and waiting for its owner(Bhai) to come back and collect it !!! So much so for the bad times I had earlier...

Inshallah my Bhai would be joining the Anniversary Ride to Chittorgarh in November 2010 if his leaves get approved and I would be so proud to ride with him...let’s hope he can come...

I dream of the day when my Nieces/Daughter(s)/Son(s) would ride The Mighty One...

Vikas Garg

My family never believe in bikes, papa always thought that jo bike chalaatey hain wo Badmaash hote hain Lafangey type and infact jin bhi mere cousins ke paas bike thi wo Lafangey hi they. So first when I sat on bullet I don't remember. One of my cousins had a bullet always and still he has got one. He use to be a dada in his college and I was studying in school a small kid. So whenever he comes to our house that was a treat for me as I always went for a ride with him and the sound of bike always pumped my heart beats as it does it now.

So after college got my first job and planned to by a bike. And the choice could not be diff. I somehow manage to convince my papa and he even financed some part for me which I would never be able to return him. I ride the bike only for commuting to office and back and always wanted to ride it for long but could only manage 100 km. I did only two rides with one of my friend (same on both) to Jaipur and Mathura that's it. After that I bought a car and parked my bullet at home for odd 4 years.

I always wanted to do long rides but didn't find like minded people or I never tried before. 2 years back I took it for repairing as family was pushing for selling the same. Which I could never do in my life.
So I thought lets make it run otherwise it would be sold and took the same for servicing to Pappu Bhai in Mahipalpur. There I even got it modified and did the design my self and still trying to complete it.

There I met other enthusiasts who were going for ride and did my first ride after 10 years of buying my bullet. I also find the BoP on Royal Enfield site and contacted Nishant Bhai and met the group at Offisial Attyachar.

After that rides are on and trying to go as time and job allows.

Aashish Francis

I must be one of the very fortunate few in this group to have been 'born and brought up' on the Bullet, and even more amazingly, the very same Bullet...

My dad came from a family with an inclination towards automobiles and workshops, and he spent much of his youth on a Bullet which he finally sold...so post-marriage, my mother put aside money every month and three years later, my father was able to purchase a Bullet. I still have the bill from a now-defunct Keviaar Agencies in Visakhapatnam for the March '83 purchase of Standard 350, ATV 5324, black, for the princely sum of around Rs.16000...

I was manufactured around the same time and saw the light of day in July '84 and the love story began soon after. As a toddler, I would cry non-stop until my parents put me on the Bullet and took me for a spin...and my poor mother must've cursed me then coz I would insist on suckling while we were riding...

My first vivid memories of the bike are of when I used to be around 3-4...when we used to go out, my place was on the fuel-tank with my feet up on the crash-guard...my job was to put the light on high or low as instructed by my father, and every now and then my attention would wander to the tiny bugs that carried out their kamikaze straight into the headlight as the bike pulled along, carrying my mum, my elder sis, dad and me...

Then from the tank, I graduated to the rear seat...I used to clamber onto the bike from either side and once, I even stepped onto the hot silencer barefoot while climbing on...that was not so memorable an episode...

By the time I reached 10th, I was still tiny (those of you who've met me will find it hard to believe I was 4'11" at that age) but I wanted to learn how to ride the Bullet...so in the interest of my safety (and more importantly the safety of the Bullet :D ) my dad told me to learn how to ride another lighter bike first...so I made my bones on a TVS, followed by a Kinetic, and geared bike on Suzuki Samurai...thankfully, by this time my hormones had also kicked in and I put on around half a foot of height...steeling my resolve with my new-found height and experience, I returned to my dad, at the ripe age of 16...

He now told me that before I learn to ride a Bullet, I should learn to clean one...and so I took up the cloth and bucket...and about a month later, I was ready for Bullet 102 - starting the beast...'You should stroke it like a cat...not kick it like a bucket'...armed with this wisdom, I surpassed that hurdle too...

And then it was time for my initiation...every morning I'd wake up dad at 6 and we'd head out on a beach road that ran for a good 25kms outside of Visakhapatnam...I learnt the basics of smooth acceleration, braking, banking, overtaking and anticipation...that was a rite of passage for me...I finally felt like a man.

Soon after, my dad left for a job abroad and I left for my engineering...I was banned from taking the bike with as I still didn't have a license...but as soon as I turned 18, I got my license and in my first term-break, rushed back to Vizag to claim the Bullet...she had lain idle for a year, but I pushed her started and she was roaring like she'd never stopped at all...I put her on a lorry to Kerala and unleashed her at my engineering college there...

No turning back since then...

The bike has done more than 3 lakh kilometres and is 27 yrs and many engine-overhauls old...frame, body and engine-casing are still the same...and the soul is still very much the same...just yesterday, I washed and polished her and she was shining like the grand old lady that she is...I would never think of selling her, and even now, sometimes my dad asks me to return him to her...she may be with me, but she will always remain my dad's bike...but, no...she won't change hands...she is still the best part of me.

I thank God and my dad for the good fortune of having lived and loved on ATV 5324...

Vibhor Bhardwaj

Okay so my story is like this … my father bought a standard way back in 1985… still remember the number DBE 7494. Dad drove it till 1991 December when he had a major accident but with gods grace he just had few bruises on his legs. My mother never allowed him to ride the bike again eventually the bike was sold. Ab jab mera time aaya toh my mother never allowed me to buy a bike so I was gifted with a LML Select in XII grade whereas all my friends rode bikes. After years of riding the scooter I somehow convinced my dad to buy me a Yamaha Rx100, the day was decided 26th Feb 2000 { My Birthday }. 2 days before my dad asked mom to call up Pandit & ask for a suitable day to buy the bike, now the story takes twist with my mother crying n convincing dad not buy me a bike rather buy him a car. After lots of argument it was decided that the bikes speed would be controlled not over 40. D day I love my dad for this instead of going to Yamaha showroom he took me to RE showroom in Yusuf Sarai where he had already booked a red Machismo 350 a week back. I love you dad. Now with butterflies in my stomach I had no clue how to kick the machine to my help my father did start the bike & drove behind me to home . After weeks training from him I mastered starting the bullet. Happy days I use to go for small rides to Sohna road, Delhi, to my factory in Bhiwadi day by day loved riding the beast. Rode the bike everyday to office n factory where in year 2004 my wedding year my mother sold the bike without my knowledge to the painter who took it without the papers. Didn’t spoke to my mom for 3 months till my engagement day when she apologized. Now the wedding & wife brings a lot of change in your life which I was enjoying in full swing till the day I saw my friend’s album of Leh. This brought all the dead Keedas alive in my body and there I go with one month of waiting bought 500 machismo in Jan 2009. Clocked 28000 kms in one year going strong & I am loving it.

Dhruv Malik

Mine was a bit different as I got my first feel of two wheels on my cousin bro's CBZ(old one) at that time it felt as if I rode(pillion) to something right out of this world as the only thing I knew was a scooter that my dad had and after that never got to feel the air blowing through my hair experience as we got a Maruti 800.

Back to that experience of CBZ my brother took me to sports complex to make me learn swimming, rather than swimming least he knew he made me taste a like for bikes. Soon i was in search for known people with bikes and struck my first chance in 9th grade to ride a Yamaha Enticer. Twisting the throttle was great fun with improper gear changes. Now coming to Bullet, I somehow considered it uncle type bike, I mean never heard about hard-core Bulleteers back then.

I got attracted towards a Bhaiya who lived just nearby and drove a Karizma and believed no bike can beat it, that is how I had my head down to search for a bike that beats his Karizma which mind you is always in top-notch even if he himself isn’t driving the service guy picks the bike from his place washes it and brings it back!! So came in the release of Pulsar 220 a red colored pic of the bike was released on the web and sales were to take place by July'07. Had my eyes fixed on it to buy it and bring it down to beat him on jail road where he usually goes for a fun round doing 130kmph just before the start of first flyover.(Yes, I did overtake him at the same place for which he took me to Karol Bagh to buy me a new helmet as he felt this bike could go fast)

Next came in my home scenario who till now are absolutely not in support of bikes but convincing them took long and finally approval came in at a condition of being legal age. So merrily took dad to Pro-biking at PVR Priya where it had their sole outlet for P200/220 and fish is what I could have said as I did not knew how to ride...next pleaded dad to just test drive to let me know his reviews, here the words from his mouth came in as soon as he sat on it "Where is the kick" the sales person said it is all battery operated, having no requirement for a kick!!....REACTION: immediately dad got down from the bike saying "feminine it is!".. Till date it is the same :-(

Asked me to purchase a bullet rather to which I said it is for me, as if I am going to buy a Bullet it would become your commuting vehicle for sure so please make the down payment and book the bike!! After some reluctance he did to my surprise. But there was more in store as even at delivery I did not know how to ride properly and had to plead dad to ride a feminine bike.

That was my story before buying the bike after that another 365 days wait and convincing parents before my streak of numerous rides began!

Saurabh Seth

My Grand Father used to ride Enfield Sherpa and after that bought a bullet in 1968. My dad continued the tradition and rode it till 1985. There are encounters of some serious accidents, in one of which my Grand Father had multiple fractures as well and was bed ridden for months. However, my family never discouraged me from riding. My Grand Father and Dad used to ride to Bharatpur from Delhi twice a week, they would still tell me the stories and I can see the spark in their eyes every time.

My first serious encounter with Bullet was when I was 3 yrs. My parents tell me that I would keep bullet keys with me always and would sleep with them. I was trying to kick the bullet / fiddle with it when I was 3 and probably because of loose stand or my sheer power J, bullet fell on me. I got few stitches near my eyes and still have those marks. My dad shifted to Ludhiana from Delhi and sold his bullet.

I came back to Delhi for my graduation in 2004 and used to stay in Noida. I always wanted to buy a Bullet but was discouraged by comments from my college friends who used to say “You will look like a fluttering Dupatta tied to bike’s handle” J Bought my first bike – Pulsar 150 in June 2005. My longest rides used to be to Gurgaon for a cup of Coffee or Maggi, visiting India Gate for Chuski or to Central Delhi. I still love to ride on the empty and green roads in Central Delhi @ night.

Enjoyed my time with Pulsar. Took it to Pune with me and enjoyed rides to Goa, Murud Kashid, Pune to Leh. I still have my pulsar with me. I remember, I was the only one in Leh trip whose bike would start in single kick even in freezing Pang and was the most fuel efficient amongst Karizma, FZ and Bullet. I got inspired from someone and created a list of 10 things to do before I die. Ride to Leh and buying the best bullet available were 2 on them and am happy to have done both.

After joining UHG in 2009 and getting a better package than expected, I decided to go for Bullet, Nishant suggested me to wait for Classic 500. I went with my dad to Bullet showroom to book the classic and chose red instead of blue per his suggestion. Smile on face of my dad and Grand Pa when they saw my bike says a lot about their love for the machine. I am happy to own one. Looking forward to more rides on this beast.

And thanks to B0P for the bringing keeping the passion alive. All these mail chains ensure I don’t lose the focus. This is something I wanted to do and am happy to be part of the group. My work commitments at times don’t allow me to be part of these rides.... but I am trying to improve.
Jai B0P!!

Diptinder Singh Chhabra

I never liked Bullet as a kid. I didn't like its thump, I didn’t like its shape. It looked ugly to me. Whenever my family used to visit our grandparents place in Karnal, we used to play on the Standard of my Mamaji. I can remember trying in vain to stretch the kick to its full length. Those were the childhood years. Then time passed. I had my Papa's Bajaj Chetak. Learnt to ride a two-wheeler on it. I still used to witness the military Bullets frequently, but it still didn't strike my charm. When the time came for a motorcycle, parents bought me Splendor. I chose it for mileage and comfort. Then to Karnataka College and still I wasn't fascinated by Bullet. Only one college mate used to own one and I feared the machine. thought it would be too heavy for me and too cumbersome to maintain.

After college, shifted to Mumbai and used only public transport. Parents had sold off the Splendor. two years later, shifted to Noida. By chance, my cousin in Delhi had his Bullet lying idle. It was the old Machismo model and in my opinion, the best looking till date. The thigh pads on the fuel tank add a lot of character. I needed some commuting means and brought it over. The test drive that day completely changed my perception of the Bullet, and my attitude as collateral damage. Had a tough time with it as it required lots of repairs. But the more I spent on it, the more I began to feel attached to it. It was getting personalized now. The thump had synched with the heartbeat.

Still it wasn't mine. I had to return it sometime later. But by now I was affixed. It had to be a Bullet only. When I shifted to Gurgaon and had enough money saved, I bought the 2005 Electra. Mind you, it was still being used for commuting, but I used to travel a lot within NCR on it. Then in July 2007, Nilu and Himanchhu came up with plan to visit Ladakh, which we did in Sept. An unknown rider instinct awakened inside me. And now, the instinct has completely taken over.

Rohit Saini

bahut puarana yaarana hai bullet se sabka…

mere chacha ke pass bullet hai , jabse mere ko yaad hai, and he is hero of me. main itna obsessed tha ki koi two wheeler hai toh bas Bullet, scooter etc .are for female and for male there is only bullet. but mere mom- dad simply says NO, kayi dino ke mere chutiyapoh ke baad ghar walon ne RX 100 la di, maine 2 saal usko nahi chalaya, as i said mardo ke liye sirf bullet,
SORRY bhaiyo, aaissa kuch nahi hai, sab chutiyapa hai, phir jab college me D.C. lagi tab jake yamaha uthayi, phir kuch yamaha ragdi, phir suzuki fierro, main chala toh raha tha inko but dil me bullet ka hi chutiyapa tha,

2008 me aake mere haalat aur dimag theek hua, aur papa se puch ke bullet le li, ussme bhi jayada dimag laga diya, nakli engineering wala, ki 5 gear means more , more.... aur kuch din chaley ke baad mujhe dikkat ho gayi, LHS gear shift se, phir doondhnaa shuru ki kaise gear right me karoon, Zaheer se mil ke gear box change kiya nayi bullet ka, bahut dil gabhra raha tha, but sab theek ho gaya,

baki abhi main aur meri bullet ke barey me aapko pata hi hai, par ek baat hardam lagi rahti hai :- " KI TERI BULLET MERI SE JYADA SAFFED(Thump, shining,BADIYA) KAISE "
But above all ye riding wala chhota sa keeda BoP me aane ke baad hi kata hai.
luv u all

Krishnatreya Brindavanam

ab hamari baari...i ride a 2005 Karizma...it's my bro's, but i have been using it regularly for past 4 years. my family has no culture or practice of biking....it is me and my bro who got into it first (m the only one with a passion for touring).....I started big, on the Karizma directly...bro had bought a Caliber when I was in 8th, and he wanted to teach me but I was least interested! 2 years later, he upgraded to Karizma, and I was all for learning it! I learnt to drive in 10th, but only got to drive alone in 11th, that too for barely half-n-hour....that half n hour was pure bliss for me...would take it to an empty stretch nearby, rip it (no more than 90, though) and come back....always yearning for more.....the road is such, u cant cross 90....there are two crossings, and then, the road ends...one fine day, I was in full mood to cross 90...I did, zipped thru crossing no. 1, spotted a speeding Innova, didn’t slow down, and CRASH! 7 months and 13k Rs. later, I was back, riving thru traffic now, a trifle saner than my earlier
version.....evenings were when I learnt the real knack of driving, zipping thru traffic with a bunch of friends (Ambition, Platina, etc)...it continues till this day, only the bikes are upgraded! touring i started last year only, though I had gone on rides with a club called RODS earlier....first tour was to Shimla with a Karizma club called DK2...the next was the Redstone Rockets...3rd was with another friend to Mussoorie (4-5 months ago)....very far from any of the riders here, but m sure I’ll catch up soon. I have a long way to go, and my passion for touring will never diminish…

Ajit Singh Bhullar

My father owned a standard and i still remember my burning my foot with its silencer and my cousin getting injured because it fell on him. It was always something else, something that stood apart from all others....

Then some incidents happened and the Bullet was sold…

I came to Noida, and my flatmate had a Thunderbird... I was totally in love with the bike ...Would take it out even more than he did himself…Then he moved to U.S and sold his bike.

As soon as I started working, I knew what I had to do... I scouted around for a Blue thunderbird and luckily found one in good condition, bought it and fell in love with it. And the love is increasing every day…

Then one fine evening I came across a group of bikers Bull rodeo who were having their meet at Film City Noida…
They welcomed me with open arms and taught me all that I know about riding.

You know the first time I went to Rishikesh, I actually stopped as soon as the hills started as I was just too scared to ride on the hills…
Slowly and steadily I started gaining confidence and doing more long rides and it came to a point where I actually started feeling something amiss if a month went by without a ride…

Got in touch with Dips thru RE website and met you guys at the Offisial Atyachaar event and rode with you the next morning to Renukaji...Have tried to attend every ride except for maybe a few since then and those too I had to cancel because of some other commitments...

So have been riding almost regularly since 2007…A little bit discovered ....a lot more left…

Saurabh Katar

After going through this long chain ail of inspiring stories, finally thought to get out of my cozy blanket (Yes, in Bangalore that’s the trend) and share about my part of teh story.

The story starts in 2003 when I was in class 11th. I came back from School at around 2 pm and saw one maroon Colored Thunderbird standing outside my home. Now before you all jump in to conclusions, that hey was that for u?,I would like to clearly say ,NO.

The machine was bought by my elder brother Chetan, who is six years elder to me.
It was his childhood dream to buy a Royal Enfield.
Some how he felt Thunderbird was more appealing, he neglected every other model. Yes, even he missed the 500CC limited edition Thunderbird.

I was happy to see his machine, hence I asked him for a ride and he gave me a short ride too.
But gradually, his passion started building towards the machine and he asked me not to touch his bike.
Today, I can understand his emotions. But at that time I used to even spit on this very same Thunderbird the moment I see that. Yes, I was very mean.

But then after a year, he decided to buy a car and gave the Thunderbird to me. Now that was the start of the journey.

Today, though I have not done so many rides, I can proudly say that I have rider friends all across this country. All because of this machine and the brotherhood that we all share.

One more thing, That made me come closer to my Sans Mcqueen (Name is changed now) ,is that in the year 2008 when i started my own business of dealing in RE spares and particularly the exhaust systems. gradually the business started flourishing and so is the love.

Phalgun Reddy

Ever since I was a kid, I had this Keeda in me ki I'm going to buy a Bullet. No logical or even an emotional reason, I just wanted to buy one. My parents never ever let me near ANY vehicle with an internal-combustion engine; as a result, I used public transport till I reached Delhi.

I do remember the desire for owning a Bullet got stronger in the second half of my year at MICA. I remember very clearly. I would keep telling myself, that I was gonna buy a Bullet. I would keep dreaming about riding my Bull sitting in my room there. A close friend reminds me how I told her as well once.

Only when I reached Gurgaon did I realize that buying a Bullet is a very expensive affair! It took me 5 months to buy it, after borrowing 10K from one friend, and 10K from the other. This was after my dad gave me 50K to buy the bike, and refused to take back the money! So in many ways, it’s my dad's gift to me.

My parents initially went hyper when I told them about my plans. They first threatened to disown me if I bought a bike itself. This was upgraded to a Bullet, and after a bit of sulking, they actually gave me half the cash for a Bull Mach!

My membership in BOP came at a very depressing time. I had the bike for about 6 months then, and was depressed 'cause I never went out and rode the bike to the hills and all that. I would keep bumping into some rider called Dips on the RE website but somehow could never contact him. Out of sheer depression, I drove to Lansdowne one weekend, and that was the time I had my first hill-ride, and the night I came back was my first BBB session, all thanks to KORA Bhai…

All I dreamt about was riding to the Himalayas on the Bullet. I’m really glad I've freaked out on that front quite a few times now.
Thanks to my kung-fu classes, I got acquainted with Arunima, and that’s how I met KORA, and that’s how I’m part of BOP!

Adit Sharda

My first stint with two wheelers started with a Bajaj Caliber in Bharthana (Etawah) which is my native village... I was probably 14 around then... However like any small kid reading auto magazines I always wanted to own an overpowered sports bike...

My cousin from Kanpur bought a CBZ(the first one) when he came to DU for studies and I rode pillion to Nayi Sadak to purchase books with him, however we reached its parallel road by mistake... That's where I took over to guide us to the right destination. So my first ride of a powerful bike of those times was on the fabled GB road where I heard women ready to sell themselves to us at a meager Rs 200 and I remember the road to home since then...

Mom had a problem with bikes so it was pretty understood I would never get to buy one but dad agreed to get me a bike if I scored a 90 in tenth standard... Studied hard but managed an 88.6, so the pulsar that I would have bought then was also cancelled... Fought a lot that I managed even this much without tuitions and I did the effort, but nobody heard my cries... So finally after a 2 year wait and completing school I decided to wait for Pulsar 220, rumors of which carried on for months... However, unable to wait, I chose to settle for the Pulsar 180 in December 2006... Did a solo ride to Manali after saving some 5000 rupees and stealing an equal amount from home, and nobody knows that I did it till date...

That’s when RODS was formed with Ankit leading the show... However the touring was temporary then as office life took over at the age of 18, thanks to the CA requirement of Articleship and biking again became small trips to Manesar and Noida on Sundays...

My first group ride was Corbett with Rods members and thats when I decided I needed a better group for touring, more responsible and with a broader thinking..,

That’s how I met Nishant sir at a meet of RODS where I saw him staying all the way till the end for the LCC guy we didn't even know and started having a liking for him...
And here I am, riding with BoP...

Have big plans for travelling places especially after all the inspiring stories we have amongst us... Dhruv specially, being a fellow Pulsarian... Bought a 220 after seeing him and Ankur, coz I found my 180 under powered for touring and also a bike I saved for over 10 months... That’s what makes my story...

The BoP Dalhousie Darogaas

2010-09-26T21:21:00.010+05:30

Everybody knows my passion for Motorcycling and how much I miss my Club & Motorcyclist Friends back home since moving to Kuwait but the determined asshole I am, I made it a point to do a Bike Ride whenever I am back to India on a vacation till I can manage, my 1st vacation which was really brief – just 3 days had a short 160 kms Ride to Tijara in Rajasthan but my September 2010 Vacation was much longer – 11 days and I planned to do a 4-days Bike Ride somewhere to the Himalayas…and boy my dreams & plans came true!!!

I closed the destination with Vinamra and floated the Ride Invite Mail to my group on 1st of August and then the regular Bakchodi mails started & after some 300 odd mails the final count was 12 Riders. The saddest part was that my best riding buddy Diptinder aka Vinamra aka Dips aka Ken Slayer pulled out of the ride just a night before due to some family commitments and I felt really sad about it as riding with him is so much fun and we have had some amazing times riding together, received more blows when Vikas, Ajit & Rohan also pulled out…my family was also against me as they feared that it won’t be safe to ride in the mountains with rains around but inside their mind they very well knew that they wouldn’t be able to stop me, my non-biking friends also called me crazy that in a 11 days vacation I had kept 4 days for a ride and no normal person would do that but I guess they forgot that I am abnormal indeed!!! I was determined to ride, come what may; inspite of the fact that the Rain Gods had been playing havoc all July & August and the worst was expected – we were watching news of a possible flood situation near Yamuna Nagar & Ambala but my plans were not to change, I had my doubts but my BoP brothers did their best not to change my plans and as planned we rode to Dalhousie…a colonial town in Himachal Pradesh nestled in the hills and one place about which I had heard a lot…the Darogaas went & conquered!!!

The Darogaas were:
1. Vibhor Bhardwaj aka Destiny on his 500 Machismo
2. Ankit Sheoran aka Shera on his 535 Lightning
3. Saurabh Khanna aka NDTV Khanna on his 350 Electra
4. Rishi Maurya aka Chutia on his 350 Standard
5. Divakaran Babu aka Bhaaya on his 350 Thunderbird
6. Anand Srivastava aka Vinod on his Electra TS 350
7. Vihans Gupta aka Jaanu on his Yamaha FZ 16
8. Dhruv Malik aka Kaancha Boy on his Pulsar 220
9. Deepak Chauhan aka Formal Rider on his Pulsar 220
10. Adit Sharda aka CA on his Pulsar 220
11. Virendra Singh aka Veeru on his Pulsar 220
12. Che on The Mighty One

The Start…

Vibhor, Deepak, Maurya & me were to meet at the Toll Meeting Point and all of us were on time except Mr. Maurya as expected and this after I gave him a wake-up call as well; Kora came to see us off and that was a really nice gesture from him considering he took out time from his office hours to wish us luck and to celebrate this Vibhor had a Beer with him so early in the morning which made me furious as we were getting late while he was sipping away to glory, once he finished we finally started towards the place where legendary rides have started for us – The fragrant Landfill Point. When we reached the entire group except Veeru was there whom I called and asked to catch up at the breakfast pit stop. One thing was clear in everybody’s mind that the rains would start anytime- the term used was “Baarish hogi yeh to pata hi hai, sawaal yeh hai ki kab aur kitni hogi?!!! …with these thoughts in our mind and with loud chants of Jai BoP we started the ride, my mind was feeling victorious at that time as I was waiting for that very moment for so long, thanked God and then zipped ahead on NH-1!!!

Zoooooooom…

The Pack of 11 Motorcyclists traversed 84 kms in 1 hour & 5 minutes before stopping for our breakfast pit-stop and I guess this is the fastest we have ever rode in a ride and this set the speed benchmark for the rest of the ride, we set records which would be tough to beat but not impossible and that too with a large group of 12 riders…

Pet-Pooja…

All of us were awake since 3 in the morning and all we wanted was a heavy breakfast and the needful was done, Paranthas, Tea and Butter were ordered and the entire stuff was gobbled up in a matter on minutes. Midway Veeru also joined us and the Darogaas were complete now and ready to roar again, as expected the Gujjar Boy came dressed in full gear with a inner Body Armor but sadly his Bandhani styled Headgear had been replaced by a small bandanna and I was disappointed…there were still some 500 kms remaining in the ride and we all decided to cut down the frequent breaks and the plan was to reach Jallandhar at Lunch Time, and we were pretty serious about it…

Dump Break – 1

With my tummy full I knew a dump break was a sure-shot certainty and I didn’t disappoint either, our next stop was due to my dumping extravaganza!!! By now all of you know how much I love dumping in the open and that feeling is unparalleled…during this break we also met an uncle who was riding all the way from Haridwar and was going to Amritsar, he was riding a Bajaj Discover 135 but giving tough fight to all of us, we rode together as well for some 15-20 kms and he was constantly bugged by his wife calling him frantically, the morale of the story was come what may wives would keep nagging and the only solution is to ignore them!!! Plus his raincoat was his white towel and he had no qualms about it…we were in mood for some Bakchodi so he didn’t wait with us for too long and left…

Maurya Fiasco - 1

The entire pack was going on great guns, leaving Haryana behind & entering into the rich & green Punjab & finding our way through city Traffic, just before Khanna the Fall Guy Maurya met with an accident, some passerby drivers informed the riders ahead and we went back to find Maurya having hit a Localite on his bike coming wrong-way, I just could not understand how the hell he was not able to control his bike as the traffic was quite thick and he still managed find a way to hit him…he had a minor injury to his nose as his Aviators got stuck into it when he fell down and his shitty helmet didn’t help either, I was enraged to see his helmet as I thought after his major accident in November 2009 during our Anniversary Ride to Ranthambore he must have got some sense to his mind and should have got a decent helmet and protective gear and when I asked him why he hadn’t any he coolly replied “Mere bas ki nahin hai shopping yaar, Kora ne bola tha ki ek baar chalega, I called him and he didn’t pick up so I didn’t go” I just lost it and thought to give him back when we reach Dalhousie and it wasn’t over; he was carrying 3 bottles of Teacher’s Whiskey which he had picked up from Ambala and one of the bottles broke and was leaking from his shoulder bag, we quickly removed his bag from the accident scene to avoid any further damage, saala ek ke baad ek panga!!! His front forks were damaged and had to be replaced, I went towards the town ahead and found a Bullet Mechanic and got his bike repaired. We met a 13 years old kid named Kuldeep who shocked us all, he opened the 2 front shockers, removed the springs and cleaned the inside of the forks in a matter of few 5-6 minutes and then sat back waiting for his boss to get the new forks and all this while we were looking at him with big-wide eyes and I was clearly thinking here is another Zaheer in making but I felt sad for him as well, at his age he must be in the school, playing with his friends and doing what normal 13-year old kids do but he was forced to work…soon Maurya’s bike was ready and raring to go again…

Anand screws up…

All this while, while Kuldeep was showing his magic, there was another story unfolding at the accident spot where Mr. Anand Srivastava was trying to best to screw up things for us by acting smart with the traffic cop and showing him off that he had contacts in the Delhi Police but knowing Punjab Police they had nothing of it & then they gave it back to us & asked Maurya to come back & submit his address details in case of any future ramifications…plus don’t forget Anand had a Tooth-Pin (more details later) in his mouth and talked with the normal swagger you see in Delhi’s 21-23 year olds!!! Good sense prevailed when he was pulled away from the scene and then all of us started the ride again hoping things would not screw up again…

Ludhiana Mess…

We missed the Ludhiana Bypass road and had to enter the main city to cross it and to say it was in deep mess would be a gross understatement, there was water logging – knee deep across the city and the local residents had no civic sense whatsoever and were speeding their vehicles through the water and splashing water left, right & centre…Vinamra also does the same in Gurgaon, no wonder his family is now settled in Ludhiana, now I know where this lack of civic sense comes from…we somehow crossed the city and then reached the outskirts where we stopped at a Dhaba referred by Vibhor for a late lunch…

Maurya Fiasco - 2

When we reached the Dhaba Maurya told us that eh was suffering from Heavy Fever and his body was shivering and his face had gone red as he had taken Paracetamol on an empty stomach which had made matters worse, we advised him to have his lunch and then have a short 30-45 minutes nap which surprisingly he agreed to as he think he’s the bravest of them all and on the top of that knows it all as well, he slept off and we bided our time doing our Bakchodi and cursing Maurya for screwing another ride and wasting almost 2-3 hours off our planned schedule but as co-riders we had to help him and had no other option, so what I hate him buts till thought to give him one last chance, he woke up at 2:45 PM and at sharp 3 PM we started our final leg…

Angrez Singh...

We stopped at a Dhaba for a short Tea & Snakes break & also wanted to have a beer session but our plans were thwarted when we saw a Police Gypsy also stopping at the Dhaba and 4-5 Policemen & some civilians emerging out of it, but we used that opportunity & checked the route with their driver & then the conversation veered towards our club & rides and their group got really interested. We resumed our Bakchodi & then out of the blue I was called by the seniormost guy - I got little anxious but the Inspector whose name was Angrez Singh was really happy with our Bike Rides & camaradrie and told me "Aaapka chai-naashta Punjab Police ki taraf se"...I tried refusing it but as expected he had nothing of it & told me "Aap log aaraam se Dalhousie pahuncho, paise ki chinta mat karo" and then I just could not say anything. The big relief was that Inspector Angrez Singh actually paid money to the Dhaba Owner & he did not suffer due to us. He also told me that he was from the Crime Branch of PP & his jurusdiction stretched from Jallandhar to Pathankot & if we are in any trouble we can call him for any help required. It was indeed a nice gesture from his side...

All we Need…

We reached Banikhet at 6:15 PM from where the Mountain Riding begins and as expected I stopped at a Theka right next to a very busy roundabout and there was a Dhaba close by serving Fried Fish & Chicken, we couldn’t have asked for more, got the beer and ordered the snakes and started another BBB Session and that too at a legally approved Drinking Place, yes even Himachal has them and we experienced it!!! Sadly the herbivores amongst us got a raw deal as when they asked the Dhaba owner about the availability of a vegetarian dish his curt reply was “Raita hi hai veg. mein, dun kya?” The Chicken Fry was amazing & it tasted superb with the Haywards 5000 beer!!!

Some people might call me crazy but believe me after having a beer I ride on the mountain roads much smoothly & safely, have done that in the past during our Mcleodganj, Chakrata, Ladakh & Binsar rides and this time it was no different. And then I lost it again, out of the blue Maurya came and asked me for a beer; I shouted at him and told him very sternly “No Beer for you till we reach Dalhousie”, I mean this guy was suffering from fever and still wanted some beer and that too after an accident, what an asshole…
After the BBB Session we started the Hill Ride and boy didn’t I was enjoying the time, pitch darkness & the curvy roads, it’s all I need for a kick, just gets me going and then I transform…speeding up the curvy roads with The Mighty One as my trusted Partner…

Finally…

We reached Dalhousie at 10 PM in the night and was pissed to know that half of the riders had already reached an hour back and hadn’;t even bothered to call us and check our whereabouts, I had Shera, Jaanu, Khanna, Vibhor & Anand with me & we were always riding as a group, stopping at various places through the 70-odd kms and the rest were already relaxing at the hotel, when I asked them why didn’t they call us the reply was even more obnoxious “We thought you were in front of us”, I mean what kind of group riding is that & that too on the mountain roads, I never expected Dhruv to do that but don’t know why that happened. I tried to cool my nerves with some chilled beer & Chakhna and started a long BBB Session which was to go late into the night as expected…Maurya was at his idiotic best here as well, he was so nagging that Jaanu of all the people lost his cool & shouted at him to shut up but as Maurya didn’t bother to shut up and kept talking hiding in a blanket, I mean how moronic is that, to make matters worse, Deepak & Bhaaya were talking to him endlessly, finally I had to intervene & gave him the final warning that if he doesn’t stop then he would be kicked out of the room and then only he abated!!!

Veeru Special…

Veeru Bhai was slowly coming in to his groove and showed first of his magic when he called Vihans as “Chunnu”; badly playing with his nick-name “Cheenu” but surely it sounded funny & cute. When Khanna was re-enacting Anand’s Police Story at the Accident Spot Veeru called Tooth Pick as “Tooth Pin”, I am sure only Veeru can do it and we were all literally on the floor laughing, we infact needed more alcohol as too much of laughing had resulting in the intoxication mellowing down!!!
But he wasn’t finished, at the Dinner Table he very coolly asked “ yeh Vinod ki maarni nahin hai?”, me & Jaanu asked him “Who is Vinod?” and he pointed towards Anand and said “Yeh Vinod, aur kaun chutiyon?”…I wonder why & how somebody can confuse between Anand & Vinod but our Veeru is capable of anything and it shows!!! Since that very moment nobody calls Anand by his real name but as Vinod and I am sure till he is in BoP he would be called Vinod only. Shera added some more magic; he called him “Agent Vinod”!!!
Veeru also named Rishi Maurya as DHARAM MAURYA…now start raking your brains…as Rishi & Dharam are as different as chalk & cheese but for Veeru its tough differentiating between chalk & cheese as well!!!

Post-Dinner Analysis…

The 1st day of the ride was well & truly over, I was exhausted after riding for some 600 kms but the best part was that God had shown mercy on us and we faced literally no rains except some minor drizzling after Ludhiana, all our fears of rain riding never came true and I would always thank God for this big favour…I had the customary open-dump, had my beer & snakes before the mountain riding, experienced no rains, the hotel booked by me was extremely cozy, my bike traversed the 600 kms without any breakdown & I reached 100 kmph+ speeds many a times ripping it on NH-1 and had some delicious food right through the day…everything went as per plan, my 1st ride after a long gap of 9 months was sailing smooth!!! And boy I was happy!!! Thinking all this I finally slept off with Veeru as my bed-partner, yes Jaanu had ditched me for Vibhor, so much so for the long distance between me & him due to me moving to Kuwait, he slept with Vibhor and not with me, I felt betrayed!!!

Early Morning Bliss…

We all woke up to some gorgeous scenes from our Hotel Balcony looking straight at the Himalayas in the midst of heavy clouds, the scene was straight out of a dream and I felt staying at Kuwait how much I was missing but thanks to God I was there soaking it up & just living through the blissful moments. The POA was to have breakfast at the hotel which was Paranthas & Omelets, get ready and then leave for the Kalatop Trek which we had read about earlier…Vinod had specially ordered 6 Boiled Eggs for him and when he finished we saw the remnants of his breakfast, he has just eaten the Egg Whites & thrown away the Yolks…some crazy liking patterns!!!

The Trek which never was…

We reached the Kalatop Trek Start point and got the information that we could reach the place on our bikes only without requiring to trek and the unfit people we are we jumped on this option, we also found a local Government guide - Suraj who for a small charge was willing to show us a place in the middle of nowhere where we could have our BBB Session without somebody catching us so we packed up 12 bottles of beer and also some chakhna, he was a very helpful guy and took us to a simply amazing place where we had a fun time; jumping & drinking away to glory…and the best part was that to reach this place we trekked exactly for half a km and it wasn’t painful at all…we also visited Kalatop as well where we had a Maggi session, must tell you that Kalatop is one amazing place and I would love to go back there and spend a relaxed holiday sometime in the future, its so calm & serene…just like Binsar…

Now something about this guy Suraj, a 23 years old guy and had an indomitable spirit, he used to walk for 15 kms from his village every morning to reach Kalatop, do some 4-5 10-12 kms treks to Chamba & back and then late evening walk another 15 kms to his home, he gets no salary from the Tourism Dept. and is just dependent on the fees (regulated by the Government) and the tips he get. Makes me wonder how hard some people have to work to earn such meager salary, we gave him a handsome tip as he showed us 2 beautiful places and also sat as a pillion with me and shot an amazing road video!!!
We also went to another view point which was overlooking the Himalayas and an Air Force surveillance Base and witnessed the natural beauty once again, here the Darogaas Group Pic was taken and myriad global topics were discussed…

Maurya was at his blabbering best and was going on & on without stopping even for a second, I folded my hands and requested him to shut up for 5 minutes so that I could soak in the peace but he was not in a mood to stop and kept going…I somehow controlled myself not to hit him & decided to leave the place and reach Dalhousie plus it was about to get dark as well so we all decided to leave…

Maurya Fiasco - 3

Everybody knows what Mr. Maurya is capable of & this time as well he did the unthinkable, while we all left towards Dalhousie this guy found another chance for an accident & this time he made it the most dramatic & crazy and fell down a 50-feet high cliff and landed straight down, he just got lucky as while he was rolling down he hit a tree and was somehow stopped in his free-fall & luckily had no injuries whatsoever but his poor bike bore all the brunt, his front forks, handle, headlight and the rim all was badly damaged and there was no way it could be rode to Delhi in that condition. He was rescued by Air Force folks who got to know of his fall through an alert sentry who saw him falling down, he & his bike was brought up using big-heavy ropes, in the process he also lost his dear aviators as well.
While he was falling & getting rescued we were oblivious of his condition and were enjoying ourselves at the Mall Road, I played the Mario Brothers Video Game after some 20 years & went nostalgic, also had some Golgappas & roasted Bhutta, and then I got a call on my mobile from an Air Force Official who told me about Maurya and asked us to come & pick him up, as per him he wouldn’t have allowed him to leave on his own as he was badly drunk!!! Now you must be wondering how this guy got drunk & I would tell you how, remember we had bought 12 beers, 1 each for each person but this guy drank 4 beers & using up the share of Dhruv, Deepak & Bhaaya who don’t drink…he even drank my KF Premium beer which I had bought for me even after telling him not to have it but I don’t know in which zone was Maurya in, he was in no mood to listen to anybody…
I was in no mood to help him out after what he had made us go through and decided not to go & pick him up; Vibhor & Jaanu went to fetch him and the others waited at the Mall, I know that was rude & cruel but really I wanted to be like that at that moment, because if I would have seen him then I would have gone uncontrollable & probably would have hit him hard…Vibhor somehow managed to ride his bike back in that condition & hats off to him & his spirit…Suraj was constantly in touch with me to check Maurya’s condition as he came back running towards the accident spot the moment he heard that some biker had fallen into the cliff, no wonder Himachalis are one of the best people I have met in India after travelling through so many states. Selfless, determined and ever so helpful…

Another night…another BBB Session…

Alcohol stocks were laid for the night plus the bucket as well this time and the session started, initial discussions revolved around Maurya but soon the discussions drifted to the geo-political global conditions & how we can provide solutions to them as a group, some amazing concepts came out but as expected they were soon drowned in peals of laughter & whirls of smoke!!! The Bucket show is worth mentioning here…

Innocent bears my brunt…

I was in a bad mood due to Maurya & even beer was unable to bring it to normal, I lost my cool when we received such small quantities of food we had ordered & just lost it; started shouting at our waiter for no fault of his & the worst mistake was that I held his collar & tried getting physical with him, I am even now ashamed on what I did that night. The next day I apologized to him that it was not his fault at all & was my mistake all the way. The best part about that waiter was that even after my outburst he didn’t change his style and served us the same courteous way, really nice & mature of him… I slept after having my dinner but some of us weren’t finished as yet. Khanna, Shera & Vibhor had another 2-hour long session in Dhruv & Bhaaya’s (The Dalhousie Couple) Room and finally slept when their bodies refused any further alcohol.

Poori-Chhole in the Hills…

We thought of having a late breakfast & what better option than having Piping Hot Pooris with some spicy Chhole!!! We enjoyed our breakfast sitting at a vantage point, overlooking the entire Mall Road & with the view came the bonus of spotting some Kacchi Kalis, Vibhor even captured them with his camera, though he wanted to physically capture them but the nice human being I am, I scuttled his plans and kept him under the leash!!!

Maurya Leaves for good…

Maurya got his bike in a Tempo and then left for Pathankot to get it repaired and then leave for Delhi…just to mention he lost his Mobile Phone as well so he had no way to contact us as well so we gave him our mobile numbers in case of any emergency, but his mobile phone was found under his pillow the next day by Vinod & as per Maurya he had searched his entire room for it, his eyes are also defective as is his brain!!! Another of his blatant lie was caught that moment, he was not carrying his bike’s registration papers & had very conveniently forgotten them, and this after we have made it very clear that everybody must carry all the relevant documents with them for a ride. His ride started with high fever & ended in deep losses & pain for him as well for us; 2 accidents, lots of money spent on the repairs & the tempo cost plus his aviators lost as well. And his biggest loss was that he has been ousted from BoP & would never be a part of our rides ever again…he has been part of 4 rides with us. During his 1st ride to Chakrata we somehow tolerated him as that was his debut ride, his 2nd ride to Jalori Pass also ended in a mess, his 3rd ride ended with a severe accident and this one you have read it all about. And throwing him out was a collective decision & not my impulsive decision.

Lake Kinaare…

The plan for the day was to visit the Chamera Lake which is actually the Chamera Dam reservoir & was highly recommended by Suraj as that was another spot for a beer therapy & that too lakeside which we very much enjoy. Enroute we got Beer packed plus some snakes (Read: Maggi for the herbivores & Chicken Tawa for the carnivores), the perfect combo for a lakeside BBB Session and I am sure every one of you would agree!!! Here Vinod was at his hungry best and gobbled up almost the entire chicken & was pretty focused in his devouring!!! Once again myriad topics were discussed which I might not like to disclose in the public domain as they are BoP Copyrighted!!! You need to attend one of our rides to experience them for yourself…

To each his own…

I was really tired & wanted to go back to the hotel & catch a nap, The Dalhousie Couple wanted to get some repairs for their bikes and the rest of the group wanted to visit Khajjiar so it was decided that all of us would meet at the hotel by 8 PM to start the last BBB Session of the ride…though after watching Khajjiar Pics later I regret my decision as that’s one helluva beautiful place but what I experienced in place of Khajjiar was nothing short of magical!!!

The Water Therapy…

Some of you very well know that how much I love water and taking a dip in the rivers & the lakes of this world. I had spotted a similar place while going towards the Chamera Lake and while coming back decided to stop & enjoy some peaceful time…Khanna, Deepak, Shera & Vinod were with me and we went to the riverside to play!!! Vinod made the best first move & ordered some tea & rusk for the group, this guy surely became sensible in the course of this ride & am sure would be a very good co-rider in rides to come…we quickly got into the bathing gear (Read: our Undies) and enjoyed Hot Tea with Rusks & believe me I haven’t experienced any better tea in my life till date, but don’t worry the beers were also opened later so don’t get nervous, our club’s philosophy is still intact!!! We had the time of our life in the water & had great fun bathing in the chilled waters of River Ravi. Sadly I dropped my Phone in the river & it conked off, but no sweat at all…I lost that phone but became a proud owner of “LePhone”, a Chinese phone @ just Rs. 2000 and has almost all the features I need & I am in love with that phone!!! After the magical watery time we finally forced ourselves out of the river & left for the hotel. But for all 5 of us these were the best moments of the ride…

Rain finally makes its presence felt…

When we reached the Mall Road we stopped for some Hot Coffee & Pakodas, the perfect snake for a rainy evening …soon the entire group got together, I bought the Beer Stock for the night & we all reached the hotel, this was going to be the last night of the ride so we had planned to keep the BBB Session short & sweet and sleep early, all this while it was raining heavily and the rains was splattering on the tin roof & was making some strange sounds…also it got very chilly later in the night and all our fears were coming true of having a rainy ride the next day…when we finally slept it was still raining heavily but we were not afraid at all, we knew that God can’t be so kind to us & we were mentally prepared for a rainy 600 kms long ride!!!

Rainy Morning…

We got up at 5:30 AM the next day & it was still raining heavily plus it was very foggy as well so we all decided to sleep again and check the condition at 9 AM & then to take a call. When we woke up the rains had stopped & the sky had also got clear, so we packed up quickly & left after clearing the bills at 9:30 AM…

Baba ki badi daya hai…

Another first for us…we had our breakfast at a Bhandara organized by Mani Mahesh Devotees which is a Lord Shiva Temple while going downhill towards Pathankot, freshly cooked Poori-Aloo & Dal-Rice!!! Unbelievable is the word really for the taste of that breakfast, hot pooris straight from the Kadhaai, sadly we missed the dessert as it was too early for the cooks to prepare & the best part was that we finished the breakfast in 20 minutes flat as normally whenever we reach a Dhaba it takes 15 minutes to decide the Menu, 20-30 minutes for the food to be served & another 30-45 minutes to finish it but this time it was ultra quick!!! Veeru Bhai even spotted a wild eagle with his camera & that pic came out superb…I don’t know why I got angry on Jaanu & shouted at him, infact I was angry at him for the reason that he didn’t ride with the group during our local Dalhousie Excursions & was always riding with Vibhor without saying anything & not being a part of the group decisions, but in the evening we talked it out & sorted our issues…Sorry Jaanu & love you loads…

Dump Break – 2

As expected I had to make a critical break next to Dump again, the pooris had made sure that I don’t miss the last open dump of the ride amidst some lush greenery & I accordingly obliged!!! The entire group also stopped for a well-deserved break before starting the boring plains ride back home…I saw the board which read Delhi: 500 kms and knew it was going to be a long & boring ride back & that too all through the plains…

Shera has a small breakdown…

Just after lunch at Jallandhar Shera’s bike had some minor issue but luckily we found the Royal Enfield Service Station at Jallandhar where it was solved within few minutes & I made perfect use of that opportunity and I dumped there as well, this time in the confines of an enclosed washroom!!! My motto is: Never miss an opportunity to dump & leave your imprints everywhere…

Speed Ride…

After the heavy lunch we were transformed into speedy motorcyclists & kept going & going without making frequent breaks…we actually covered some 200 odd kms non-stop to Ambala in some 3.5 hours & that is incredible considering we had a large group of 11 riders riding together & this speed hasn’t been seen in any our previous rides till date. Me & The Dalhousie Couple stopped at McDonalds somewhere in Punjab to grab a quick bite & that was the only break we had till Ambala…

Decisions…

We waited for a bit just after Ambala for the group to get together but some of us had already reached Karnal so we all decided to meet at The Karnal Haveli, at around 7 PM we were all there, some of us wanted to have an early dinner there but the consensus decision was to have a beer session near Panipat & dinner at Murthal…we reached the Theka but there was a slight scare as there was some policemen there & out of the blue they picked up Vinod for some questioning’ there is a deep-rooted relationship between the Men in Khaki & this guy, after the intervention of the Theka Owner the Police left & we started our Council Meeting just behind the Theka…during the course of the heavy-duty discussions we decided to skip dinner as all of us had a heavy bout of Chakhna & re-group at the Landfill Site for the final farewell…luckily it stopped drizzling as well when we were leaving & we experienced a dry ride during the last leg as well…

The Last Hoorah…

We all reached the Landfill Site at 10:45 PM and bid each other farewell till we would meet again for the next ride, for me personally this ride was a big high as even after moving to Kuwait I was able to manage this ride & also manage to ride with a large group of co-riders; I lost my temper a number of times during this ride but overall it was a great ride…some 1300 kms together in record times as we never expected to reach home atleast before 2-3 in the night. We had no mishaps/ major breakdowns except for the Maurya Fiascos and had some amazing times together doing our BBB sessions plus God also showered his mercy on us by convincing his Rain counterparts to let us ride dry!!!

Now I would wait till November as that’s when I ride again…and that ride is going to be ultra-special as that would be BoP’s 3rd Anniversary Ride and continuing with our traditions we would be riding to Rajasthan this time as well…The BoP Chittorgarh Cavaliers (12-13-14 November)…and I just can’t wait for that ride…

But I would always be sad for Vinamra missing this ride & not being able to make it as I always thought he would…saala dhokha de gaya…

At the Jai BoP Point or the Bristol Chowk where me & Dips have always shouted the farewell Jai BoP Chant I shouted this time all alone & felt really lonely doing that, hope during my next rider we both can shout !!! that gives such a high & a sense of belonging...

Some words about my Co-Riders during this ride…

1. Vibhor – He ensured that Jaanu ditched me for him but he is a great rider to ride along with & ever so helpful. Riding with him gives me confidence…
2. Jaanu – Ab Jaanu ke bare mein kya likhun…jitna likhunga utna kam hoga!!!
3. Dhruv – A great rider & I hope he joins BoP very soon…
4. Deepak - He would always be remembered for riding in his formal trousers as he came straight from office & was to go to his office straight from the ride…imagine a rider in his formal black trousers!!!
5. Khanna & Shera – My first ride with both of them & are great additions to the club, are great bakchods & have a good sense of humour…I had read about their tough ride to Lahual & after that I wanted to ride with them badly…Hope they can manage the Anniversary Ride as well…
6. Adit – Future CA & current Loverboy…period…
7. Vinod – Rider accha banega agar apni chutiapanti chhod de, he needs to improve his riding style a bit & get Rear Indicators, Number Plate & Rear View Mirrors in place else he is not riding with us ever…
8. Veeru – Gujjar Boy rules…
9. Bhaaya – Quiet Guy & a nice co-rider…
10. Maurya – CHUTIA…period…

The Ride Details:

Gurgaon – Dalhousie Distance: 575 kms

Route: Gurgaon > Delhi > Ambala > Ludhiana > Jalandhar > Pathankot > Banikhet > Dalhousie
http://www.oktatabyebye.com/travel-directions/driving-directions-from-New_Delhi-to-Dalhousie.html

Things to Do around Dalhousie: http://www.ghumakkar.com/2009/05/21/dalhousie-khajjiar-chamba-excursion-apr-12-15-2007/

Hotel we stayed at Dalhousie: http://www.hptdc.nic.in/cir0303.htm#hgeet

Details about the Kalatop Trek: http://www.pandeyji.com/dalhousie/kalatop.cfm & http://full2faltu.wordpress.com/2009/02/05/chalte-chalte7-kalatop/

The Pics & Videos Links:

Adit - http://picasaweb.google.com/aditsharda/TheDalhousieDarogaas#

Bhaaya - http://picasaweb.google.co.in/divakaran.babu/DalhousieDarogaas#

Vibhor: http://picasaweb.google.com/destinyvb/Dalhousie?feat=directlink

Che: http://picasaweb.google.co.in/jha.nishant/TheBoPDalhousieDarogaas?feat=directlink

Dhruv: http://picasaweb.google.co.in/108982735100052807575/BOPDalhousieDarogaas#

Veeru: http://picasaweb.google.co.in/virendra22/DalhousieDarogaasSep10132010Ride#

Deepak: http://picasaweb.google.co.in/cs.deepak.chauhan/DalhousieTrip?locked=true#

Videos: http://www.4shared.com/dir/obMFYo3R/DD_Videos.html

Che would be back on the Road again…

Till then ride safe & have safe sex…

Hasta la Victoria Siempre…

Jai BoP...

Night & Day

2010-08-31T20:51:00.002+05:30

We own the night; we own the day,
If you can’t stand up for yourself then better stay away...

At times we are good & at times we are bad,
But we are here to stay; we are no fad...

Life is short so you better pull up your socks,
Else you would end up being always on the rocks...

We got no solutions; we got no magic,
All we got is a machine which is damn fuckin boombastic...

We would be with you always by your side,
In your life & in your ride...

People call us nomads; they call us maniacs,
Our passion is much more than following tracks…

Grow up; leave blaming things on God,
Its time you move your ass away from that rod...

Money would come & money would go,
So theres no point in always staying low...

Silence is our enemy; we always keep it at bay...
We blabber in the night & we blabber in the day...

White Balloon

2010-08-29T19:36:00.002+05:30

I saw some light through the door,
I went out as staying inside was such a bore…

All I had was loads of wind & sunshine,
And then the entire world was fuckin mine...

I learnt so much, I unlearnt so much,
I did it all - see, feel & touch...

The mountains, the deserts, the sea,
I had so much fun in the open to dump & pee…

I wanted to fly, BoP gave me wings,
Since then we are the fuckin road kings...

Unlimited banter & unlimited fun,
It’s all about Beer, Bullet, Bakchodi & some pun...

It’s about bonhomie, it’s about brotherhood,
We are no Social Activists; we are no Robin Hood…

The Mighty One was always my partner in rhyme,
Riding & drinking is after all not such a big crime...

Miles to go before I take some rest,
There’s so much out there for me to test...

I wanna get back to where I belong,
And believe me it won’t take too long...

I would be out there on the roads very soon,
Till then have safe sex with that white balloon.

The Abdali Road Trip

2010-06-19T14:44:00.005+05:30

The relationship between me & the wide-open roads is a romantic one and since I have relocated to Kuwait this romance has halted for a bit and I was itching to go back on the roads albeit this time not as a rider but as a co-passenger in a Car!!! And I didn’t mind it a single bit as at times enjoying the roads while sitting is also a great experience and I did the same during my July 2009 Mt. Abu “Abu AlphaMales Trip”…

My partner-in-rhyme this time was George, my friend here in Kuwait with whom I share a Motorcycling connection, he also owns 2 bullets back home and has been on Bike Rides down South. He recently bought a 2400 CC & 170 BHP strong Chevrolet Malibu car and we had thought of going for a road trip the day he bought the car…many weekends passed with the plan not materializing but this time we had nothing of it and come what may we were going on one and I was all excited to resume my romance!!!

After completing all the weekend chores (Read: cleaning my room & washing my clothes) we started the trip…don’t get surprised, I am a reformed man now!!! All on my own here and learning new tricks of the trade & loving each one of them…

But the big hoggers we are our first pit stop had to be a Lunch Break and we decided to have it in the Avenues Mall – the biggest shopping mall here and the one with the biggest food court as well, its humongous in size and on weekends is humming with people blabbering & eating away to glory, one can find literally all kinds of cuisines here & all major International food chain outlets here. I had my eyes set on a Hardees Grilled Chicken burger since last week only and my menu was set!!! George ordered a Butter Chicken meal and it was a sumptuous one for sure, I also had amazing Mango Juice with my Burger…we followed up the meal with a sutta each but then I saw the Häagen-Dazs Ice-cream Outlet and no power in this world could have stopped me from trying a new flavour there!!! I just loved the Cappuccino Crème Caramel Ice-cream I had…it was simply heavenly to say the least…

With our tummies full & heavy we finally started the 125-kms odd drive to the Iraqi Border known as Abdali…the roads were as expected smooth as silk and no wonder George was soon zipping at 120-130 kmph…I sat back and just started to enjoy the open roads with some nice music & my mind playing memory-games about the rides I have been to…Nostalgia had hit me hard!!!…I call them my own and this romance would surely continue till I die…

George’s car has the Cruise-Control feature and this time he had all plans to test it on the big-wide open roads…he started first with 120 kmph and then moved to 140 before hitting the 160 kmph mark and boy it was quick…but the car being such a nice & heavy machine we never felt we were speeding at 160 kmph and with no cabin noise whatsoever were enjoying immensely…but then I told him not to go overboard and come back to the 120 kmph speed…we were not in any sort of hurry and kept the Bakchodi flowing…

I must say that I would just love to get The Mighty One on those roads and zip it up to the maximum limit…literally no traffic…arid land on both the sides and great tarmac quality…but as we all know it would just remain a wish & I can just dream about it…

I badly needed a sutta-piss break & we stopped at a roadside Highway restaurant…sadly no Indian-style Dhabas here…this place was operated by an Indian who was so happy to see 2 Indians at his joint & chatted with us but had nothing great to eat so we decided just to have a lemonade each…and this was one life-changing experience for me…on a road trip & having a lemonade…things change rapidly…don’t they!!! Here I was drinking a bottle of Lemonade…a far cry from the Bike Ride days where Pit Stops meant only Child Beer to me & my comrades…full of sadness in our minds we clicked some pics and then decided to move forward…

After stopping here I thought about one thing...all of us talk about Job Satisfaction and the way we have to be continuously kept motivated by our employers and here were 2 Indians operating a small eatery literally in the middle of nowhere in such crazy climate & terrain and were still so happy to see us & chat to us...talks volumes about their level of motivations in life...chuck that bugger Arindam Choudhary and I would suggest people like these to some give motivational talks to the corporates & B-Schools out there!!!

We finally reached the Iraqi Border Post and from here we had to take a U-Turn and we did that and started the trip back home…the road on the other side had much fewer Traffic Cameras which made life easier for George and he was consistently driving over the permissible 120 kmph speed limit…

I was hungry again!!! Yes I was…so the next pit stop was a Burger King Restaurant…I decided to have a Hamour Fish Burger with a cup of cappuccino…Hamour is a type of fish exclusively found in the Gulf and is of an exotic variety and tastes amazingly well…I have had the grilled Italian version before which was simply delicious and the burger was also superb…the weather outside was getting very humid which made the Coffee-Sutta combo quite a sweaty one…I hurriedly finished it and straight went inside the car to get some AC relief…

And then finally our short Road Trip ended…some 170 kms long and had some real good fun…we promised each other that whenever my Kuwait Residency is stamped we would plan a Road Trip to Bahrain together…it would take some 5 hours to reach there and we would pass through Saudi Arabia to reach Bahrain…Inshallah our plan materializes fast…

Che would be back on the road again…

Till then ride safe & have safe sex…

Hasta la Victoria Siempre…

The Che Connection

2010-06-13T21:27:00.011+05:30

This one is for you Adit Bhai…

Adit has been asking me about when & how the “Che Influence” came to my life and I haven’t been to tell him about that…well…the main reason has been “Beer”…he has always asked me this before a BBB Session and I have always got drunk and forgotten to tell him…but this time I have decided to pen down my thoughts once & for all…

I first read about Che quite accidently way back in January 2005 when I was surfing the internet in Office…I used to work at ABC Consultants in those days…read about him and left it at that & didn’t research further but just saved the link in my Favourites…2 months later once again accidently watched the 2nd half of the famous cult movie “The Motorcycle Diaries” on Zee Studio and my interest grew further…back at office the next day I went to my online friend – Wikipedia and researched further…the Che Guevara page there was quite lengthy but I still went through it entirely…and then my interest knew no limits...started to vociferously browse through innumerable links about Che and knowing more about his charismatic personality & his amazing adventures and achievements…also read through some of the sites talking about his follies & ruthless side…as always is the case even he had his follies and wasn’t always right…but for me I knew this would be one long relationship with a man who died way back in 1967…but left his legacy for generations to come…

Coincidently today is his 83rd Birth Anniversary as you read this…Che was born in a small town of Rosario at Argentina on 14th June 1928…I won’t write a biography here and you can know more about him at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Che_guevara - this Wikipedia page would tell you almost everything about the enigma called Che…

Che - 5 years old

The reason of my fascination was the fact that here was this man born in Argentina, grew up in Argentina, was educated as a Doctor, had severe Asthma since his childhood and fought against the mighty capitalist powers in Cuba, Guatemala, Congo & Bolivia where he had no personal interests to fight for the people but still had an undying urge to fight for the welfare & upliftment of the poverty-struck people & exploited by the Dictator regimes of these countries…yes he made mistakes mainly in Bolivia & Congo but still was victorious in defeating the CIA-backed dictator regime of Batista in Cuba with a handful of revolutionaries but wholeheartedly supported by the local population…and till date it has been one of the rare few victories where a small army has defeated the mighty Americans after their power grew post-independence…

Another reason for his influence on me was his famous 9-months & 8000 kms long Motorcycle Expedition through South America with his doctor friend Alberto Granada when he travelled through Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Panama, and to Miami, before returning home to Buenos Aires and he got his calling during this journey when he saw the peasants being exploited by the Capitalist might without any way out…after coming back he had decided that he would do something for those people come what may…even if it meant loss of blood & lives…

The Motorcycle Diaries' Route Map

Che with La Poderosa

And this is how Che introduced this book called “The Motorcycle Diaries”…

"This isn't a tale of daring-do, nor is it merely some kind of 'cynical account'; it isn't meant to be, at least. It's a chunk of two lives running parallel for a while, with common aspirations and similar dreams. In nine months a man can think a lot of thoughts, from the height of philosophical conjecture to the most abject longing for a bowl of soup – in perfect harmony with the state of his stomach. And if, at the same time, he's a bit of an adventurer, he could have experiences which might interest other people and his random account would read something like this diary."

When I read this book I was moved after reading a specific chapter…Che & Alberto visited a Leper colony in Peru resided by Leprosy Patients and it was divided by a river with the healthy doctors, nurses & staff living on the other side…on the last night of their stay there was a birthday party thrown by the staff for Che and after dancing, drinking & having a great time Che felt an urge to visit the lepers across the river and celebrate with them as well but it was late in the night & no boat was available so he decided to swim through the river but the ice-cold water & his asthma made the swim a helluva tough task but as a true fighter he was determined to swim through and boy he was successful…he went and celebrated with the lepers and all of the patients were touched by his kind & mad gesture!!! This showed how brave & non-judgmental Che was…those were the times when lepers with seen & treated with ignominy and nobody wanted to even look at them but Che & Alberto spent time with them, played football with them and gave them memories of a lifetime…

I travelled to Thailand in May 2005 on a trip sponsored by ABC and in Bangkok I bought my first Che Tee just priced at 85 Bahts which at that time were almost Rs. 90 and I didn’t bargain for the price as I just wanted that tee for me…and till date that is one of my most prized possessions…that tee doesn’t fit me properly as I have gained quite a lot of weight since my post Pancreatitis Operation days but one thing is for sure that tee would always remain with me…always…

As of today I have a collection of 22 Che Tees and this count would surely continue to grow…I have bought my Che Tees from various cities - Delhi, Gurgaon, Bengaluru & Chennai plus got one customized tee with Che Embroidery from Leh as well…have got some as gifts from my friends…in fact my ex-boss Kshitij also gifted me one!!! My Fiancé Bandita also gifted me one awesome Che Tee which she bought from Gangtok, Sikkim and I loved her gesture!!!

I sincerely hope that youngsters out there just doesn’t blindly wear Che Tees without knowing anything about him and just being a part of the Pop-Culture related to Che which is so sad & tragic…one incident comes to my mind…I met one of this young yankee type of 22-23 years wearing a superb Che Tee which I didn’t have and nonchalantly asked him from where he bought the tee and does he know about Che…he indifferently replied “Boss, I don’t know who this guy is but liked the design so bought it!!!” I really despise such people and hope some good sense prevails!!!

I got my 2nd Tattoo on 22nd April 2007 and no wonder it was a Che Guevara tattoo and I got a Che caricature engraved by my Tattoo Artiste Buddy Hendry…this tattoo would always have a special place in my heart out of the 8 tattoos I have!!!

I also ordered official & authentic Che Memorabilia from the official Che Memorial website named www.che-lives.com and the items I ordered were 2 Che Shirts, one Che Wallet, 1 Che Jacket & 1 Che Beanie Cap…really awesome stuff…little expensive but worth every rupee spent!!! Thanks to Anirudh Verma for helping me with this collection…

My ex-UHG Colleague and a very good friend of mine Neesha Roy got an awesome Che Backpack from her Dubai Trip and I just love it…its really exclusive and I haven’t seen anybody else using it yet!! Thanks Neesha…

One of the most endearing & popular images on Che Tees is the one in which he is gazing and his look is of anguish & pain as he was attending a memorial service for victims of an explosion which took place in Cuba. This photograph was clicked on March 5, 1960 by a photographer named Alberto Korda at Havana in Cuba. The picture which you see on the tees is a modified one and has been cropped…

Korda with his treasure

The Original Pic

The Cropped "Che" Cult Pic

The camera which Korda used was a Leica M2 and coincidently I have clicked almost all my pics till date using a Panasonic Lumix camera which has a Leica Lens!!! Talk of coincidences!!!

This photograph was named as "the most famous photograph in the world." by The Maryland Institute of Art on May 26, 2001.

But my favourite Photograph of Che is this one…as they say a picture speaks a thousand words…this photograph was clicked by Elliott Erwitt in 1964…

I have had some amazing conversations with complete strangers here and they have been really incredible. Whenever I have worn a Che Tee and went to a Shopping Mall Arab Males have stopped me & asked me from where did I buy the Tee as they are not available here in Kuwait, couple of them have even given me tee orders to get the same tee from India for them!!! Nice to see some Che enthusiasts here as well and that has been the only reason for them to strike conversations with me as rarely one finds Arabs talking to Indians if they don’t know them!!!

I also started to buy lots of books either written by or on Che Guevara…out of them the books written by Che in my collection are:

1. The Motorcycle Diaries: A Journey around South America
2. Guerilla Warfare
3. The Bolivian Diary of Ernesto Che Guevara
4. Reminiscences of the Cuban Revolutionary War

And the ones written by others about or on him in my collection are:

1. Che Guevara by David Sandison
2. Traveling with Che Guevara: The Making of a Revolutionary by Alberto Granado
3. Tania: Undercover With Che Guevara in Bolivia by Ulises Estrada

And even after this fondness I was not able to watch the complete movie but then my friend got me the original DVD of “The Motorcycle Diaries” and finally I was able to watch it in 2007…since then I have also watched/bought a number of Video Films/Documentaries about/on him…

1. The Motorcycle Diaries (film), Directed by Walter Salles(DVD gifted by my friend)
2. Che (Part 1 & Part 2), Directed by Steven Soderbergh(Jatt Jagga gave me this movie after downloading from the Internet)
3. The True Story of Che Guevara, The History Channel, Directed by Maria Wye Berry (DVD gifted by my friend)
4. The Hands of Che Guevara, Directed by Peter De Kock.(Dips & me watched this movie together at Epicentre, Gurgaon)
5. El Che and Tracing Che, Castle Home Video, Directed by Lawrence Elman(Bought this DVD from Landmark, Gurgaon)
6. Che Guevara – A Documentary (Watched it online @ http://listenrecovery.wordpress.com/2010/03/22/che-guevara-documentary-6-part-film/ )

The full collection of Art works related to Che can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_works_related_to_Che_Guevara

Inspired by Che & his legendary Motorcycle Journey I bought a 2nd Hand Royal Enfield Electra in March 2008, re-designed it and named it “The Mighty One”, this was also the name of the Norton 500 bike of Alberto Granado on which they rode through South America…and since then have been riding through India on my bike to various locations on an endless journey of adventure & challenges…

The "Original" Mighty One

The Mighty One at Murthal

The Mighty One enroute Chail

Till date I have been on 20 Motorcycle Rides and have traversed a little more than 20,000 kms on these journeys and hope to conquer some more roads whenever I am back to India…

And my favourite & toughest ride was “The Mountain Tamers” Ride to Ladakh in June 2008 and as all of you I am one crazy freak and I followed those words by taking a Haircut at Drass enroute from Srinagar to Leh and it was one whacky cut I got!!! I got Che engraved on the back of my head and it looked uber cool to me at least…don’t know about the others though…my fellow motorcyclists were too shocked to see my haircut and didn’t say any words!!!

One of the most important contributions of Che apart from his more famous revolutionary image was that he worked for the development of the people who needed it the most…and inspired by his deeds I started teaching poor kids who were students at an NGO named “Shree Guru Nanak Dev Society” in Gurgaon from July 2008 and followed it till February 2010 when I moved to here in Kuwait and I badly miss those kids…so much of talent & energy but lack of resources mean that they can’t study at more systematic schools but I am sure with Khurana Sir’s(he runs this NGO) dedication all the kids there would get admitted to good schools where they can study and hopefully become self-sustained in time to come…

Whenever I am back in India for good I would love to re-start the relationship with that school and start teaching again as it gave me immense satisfaction and so much of pride when students from our school go admitted to some of the most prestigious schools in Gurgaon and that was a proud moment for me & the other teachers…

I also ordered Che Posters from allposters.com and got them delivered to India from the US and then got them framed…these 5 amazing posters adorn my room’s walls in Gurgaon!!!

Some of Che’s quotes which have inspired me and make perfect sense to me are:

1. Hasta La Victoria Siempre. (Until victory always)
2. Eat, Drink & be Merry, for tomorrow we die.
3. It is better to die on one’s feet than to live on one’s knees.
4. Let me say at the risk of seeming ridiculous but a true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of Love.
5. I am not a liberator. Liberators do not exist. The people liberate themselves.
6. One must harden without ever losing tenderness.
7. If you tremble with indignation at every injustice, then you are a comrade of mine.
8. The revolution is not an apple that falls when it is ripe. You have to make it fall.
9. The desire to sacrifice an entire lifetime to the noblest of ideals serves no purpose if one works alone.
10. Democracy cannot consist solely of elections that are nearly always fictitious and managed by rich landowners and professional politicians.
11. In a revolution one wins or dies, if it is a real one.
12. We cannot be sure of having something to live for unless we are willing to die for it.
13. He vivido días magníficos(I have lived magnificent days) – In his last letter to Fidel Castro
14. Many will call me an adventurer, and that I am... only one of a different sort: one who risks his skin to prove his truths. – In his last letter to his parents
15. Your father has been a man who acted according to his beliefs and certainly has been faithful to his convictions. – In his last letter to his children

And last but not the least…his last words to the assassin who was sent to shoot him to Death after getting captured by CIA-backed Bolivian Army on 9th October 1967…

“I know you are here to kill me. Shoot, coward, you are only going to kill a man.”

Mind-numbing this line is…

One of my biggest dream is to visit Cuba & Argentina one day and visit Rosario where Che grew up & visit the Che Museum where all his memorabilia is displayed & the Che Mausoleum where his remains were buried…hope this wish comes true in the near future…Amen to that…

Some cynics might call this "Che Connection" as Idol Worship and going overboard with it but for me its a passion & inspiration and I get a strange feeling of strength & determination stemming from it...

And Che surely has been one of the strongest influences on my life & my philosophy towards life…though I have not embraced his violent philosophy but really respect his revolutionary, adventurous & developmental views and hopefully would continue to follow them in the future as well…

This has been one blog-post I always wanted to write but don’t know why never wrote it!!! Thanks to Adit I wrote this one and feel really good about it…so many thoughts came to my mind while writing it…

Special Thanks to Jatt Jagga – Jagmeet Singh Virdee for making the photo collages for me…

Che would be back on the road again…

Till then ride safe & have safe sex…

Hasta la Victoria Siempre…

3 Days...Memories of a Lifetime...

2010-06-05T04:42:00.005+05:30

Life always has pit-loads of surprises in store for me and I love meeting them head-on & give them my best shot…and as I write this, last week at this very time I was drinking away to glory in Gurgaon with my best buddies just having fun knowing that it was all possible due to some divine intervention!!!

Yes, I travelled to India for a very short trip of 3 days and had fun worth 300 days…

The Reason…

Some of you might have thought that I had planned this trip well in advance but well quite contrary to that this trip took its shape in almost an hour!!! I was in office oblivious of the fact that my visit-visa renewal application had been rejected by the Ministry here in Kuwait, the Government Services told me at 4 PM about this and I was completely taken aback, a frantic process then started to book my tickets for Dubai as I had to fly out of Kuwait before 12 Midnight on 26th May 2010 to avoid any Government action, the tickets were blocked but then I asked them what about my Dubai Visa and nobody had an idea about that!!! What a revelation!!! I was given an idea to go to India for which obviously I needed no Visa and I just pounced on that idea; I mean who would say no to going back home on a company-paid trip!!! And the best was yet to come, due to paucity of time only the Business Class tickets were available, inside I just laughed out loud, Gulf Air Business Class is one of the world’s best, I had to go via Bahrain & left office at sharp 5:30 PM to begin a journey about which nobody knew back home…and to say that I was excited would be an understatement!!!

Kuwait –Bahrain – Delhi

I reached home, just picked up a bag and then reached the Airport at 7 PM for a 10 PM Flight…and travelling by Business Class has its own special advantages, you have a different counter to check-in and relax in the Business Class Lounge at the Airport with some hot coffee!!! I indulged in all of this and just passed my time roaming around in the Duty-Free shops & just could not wait to get on the flight and have some chilled beer!!! And the best part was that I was travelling in my Che Tee, Jeans and Slippers and I am sure I would be one of the first to travel in such an attire on Business Class, people gave me weird looks and must have been wondering "iske paas itne paise kahan se aa gaye!!!". With Kuwait being a dry country the flight back home is always ultra-special…had a nice snack of Chicken & Prawns with Amstel Light Beer and within some 40 odd minutes was in Bahrain, quickly bought 2 bottles of Liquer for my collection back home; this time it was a South African Cream Liquer and Italian Peach-flavoured Vodka…also picked some Bahrain Memorabilia for home…then got on to the flight from Bahrain-Delhi, the plan was clear, enjoy my sumptuous dinner with another round of chilled beer(this time Carlsberg) and then slept through the 3.5 hours flight, the seats were really comfortable with a relaxing back-massage feature; with this sleep came in no time and I woke up finally at 6:15 AM moments before we were about to land, saw Delhi from the top and my excitement was simply uncontrollable. As I was carrying no check-in luggage I exited in no time, booked a cab for Gurgaon and was up & away for another trip of a lifetime!!!

The Homecoming…

The heat & humidity was omnipresent but I didn’t mind it at all. All I wanted was to see my parents’ shocking expression on their faces when I would reach home and meet them without any prior notice…as I reached home went inside without making any sound and tapped my mummy on her back while she was reading newspaper without any wildest idea that I was just behind her!!! The moment she saw me tears started to trickle from her eyes and I went numb…hadn’t see my mother crying since ages and I got really emotional and hugged her lightly & soon it changed to a happy mood and she just could not control her happiness, papa also came out to the garden and said “abe tu kaise aa gaya?” I hugged him so tightly; wish that moment never passed by!!! And then mummy cooked one of my favourite breakfast snacks – Poha for me and I just lounged at home!!! Enjoying every moment of it…dumped in my washroom and re-lived the good-old days!!!

The Next Surprise…

The next POA was to go to my Bhai’s home and give them another big shock…when we reached Bhabhi opened the door and then another shocking look welcomed me!!! Bhai shouted like mad and hugged me and then the best moment of the trip came when I saw my nieces…Chunni came running towards me and said “Chachuuuuuuuuuuuu”; Guggi was cautious in her approach as she was trying to locate me in her system!!! But slowly she also started playing merrily with me and talking in her own gibberish style which I am simply crazy for…Bhai had cooked some amazing Chicken Biryani and mummy had brought another of my favorites – Baingan ka Bharta!!! After indulging in some much-needed home cooked food I just lounged around with the kids and playing with them as if there was no tomorrow!!!

The Lazy Evening…

All of us reached Gurgaon for another big family bash and the plan was clear in my mind…I had decided that I would have all 9 meals of this trip at home and no outside food, I have had enough of them here at Kuwait and mummy was too excited to hear this…all of us had dinner together and then me & Bhai went to Machaan for a round of beer…this time my favourite – Tuborg…the official beer of BOP!!! After having such a heavy dinner just had 1 beer but Bhai was in no mood to stop and had Corona after Corona…finally an ugly dust storm made him budge and we literally had to run to our car to stay away from the dust…Gurgaon is in such a construction mess that there is no dearth of dust here and the storm made the matters worse…reached home at some 1 AM and then finally slept…sadly the 1st day of my 3-days trip was over and I was really sad…

The Bullet day…

Woke up late and had my breakfast…then me 7 Bhai went o pick up my Bhai’s bullet to get it repaired at Zaheer’s…let me tell you Bhai’s Bullet Machismo 1999 is the first Bullet I ever rode and it has some really special memories for me…I roamed around on it in my college days and some wonderful moments of my life riding it!!! And when I started the Bullet Thump never sounded better…it was symphony for my ears and then I rode it till Zaheer’s…had rode The Mighty One in March 2010 and these 2 months of separation felt like 2 years!!! And when Zaheer saw me he just could not react for some 2-3 minutes, after that it was another tight hug and then our legendary Bakchodi!!!

Che goes to UHG again…

I had to go to my old office and see my office friends and more importantly meet Arunima and have tea at the Cyber Park Food Court(FC as me & Dips call it)…I met Arunima and was so happy to see her…though have been in constant touch with her through calls, SMS & chats but still meeting her after 2 months was really special…I reached my bay and then there was commotion all over the place…my entire team simply could not believe their eyes and made wild sounds of oohs & aahs!!! Me & Arunima then went for a sutta together and relived our good-old days together…then I went to see my HR Head Riyaz whom I am really fond of and I was simply elated to see him…then me & Dips went to enjoy our Tea Session at the FC and also enjoyed Baadaam Milk together…

The Promise…

I had promised my niece Chunni that I would take her out for her favourite activity – Bungee Jumping at one of the Malls in Gurgaon and as promised I took her and she had a ball…did it twice and also had her favourite chicken hot-dog…seeing the smile on her face makes my life really worthwhile and I can do anything possible to see her smiling…she is the one I love the most in this world…

Vedaant ki Dhaani re-loaded!!!

I had another heavy dinner and then went to the Vedaant ki Dhaani…a Govermnet-approved drinking place where BOP have had some legendary BBB sessions…Sunny, Rohan, Dips & Vihans Paaji also joined in…the weather was getting better and am sure God was also getting generous in his mood and must have thought that this guy has come for just 3 days, let me make the weather better and give everybody some relief!!! We had a long Bakchodi session with loud laughter, the newly launched Tuborg Strong Beer and pit-loads of chicken!!! Called it quits at 12 midnight as the next day had an ultra-special plan and had to wake up early…I was dead drunk while riding back home and the moment we reached home I puked!!! Was so good to puke after such a long time!!!

The BOP Tijara Titans…

http://cheguevaraontheroad.blogspot.com/2010/06/bop-tijara-titans.html

And then it rained...

Everybody knows about the heat in India this year and it has been particulary bad in North India but as some of you very well know by now that the relationship between me & the rains is a very special one...they never miss an opportunity to treat me when I am around...I brought rains & good weather to Kuwait and this time as well the rains blessed us...at around 4 PM on 29th May 2010 it rained...even though just for 15-20 minutes but stil it brought much-needed respite to the parched people...hope this lovely relationship blossoms further in the future!!!

The last evening at home…

I came back at 12 PM and mummy had cooked Rajma-Chawal, another of my all-time favourite, I gorged on it and then played with Chunni-Guggi and just talking to my parents about my Kuwait experiences, how I spent my time there and how life is different there…they were all ears and heard my stories excitedly…inside me I knew the time was ticking away and I just had few hours remaining at home…completed all my shopping tasks in the evening and came back home for dinner…then Guggi took over as she was in a hyper-active mood and was a bundle of energy till midnight…never stopped and kept playing with me…I finally slept at 1 AM and had to wake up at 4:30 AM to get to the airport for my flight back to Kuwait at 6:45 AM…

The Mishaps…

Both the flights were relatively any special incident free and I didn’t have any beer as had to join office straight from the airport…but when I landed in Kuwait the troubles started again…it was actually God’s way of bringing me back to the ground after the 3 fun-filled days…first my Kuwait SIM Card was not functioning and to make matters worse my check-in baggage never reached Kuwait, after searching frantically for it I logged a complaint at the helpdesk and they tracked my luggage to Bahrain…it was shocking because I was flying Business Class and in spite of that fact my baggage was not transferred at Bahrain…but I was told that it would be surely arriving in Kuwait the same day and was told not to worry…I was extremely tense as I had some really important stuff in that baggage…with these 2 miseries I reached office where tones of work was waiting for me as I am handling some critical hiring projects and I knew the upcoming week was not going to be too easy…

Luckily I received my baggage with everything intact and I heaved a big sigh of relief…once again got lucky as I heard some horror stories of mishandled baggage at Bahrain from my colleagues…they had never ever received their baggage once it got lost at Bahrain!!!

Finally the frantic trip came to end; filled with so much emotions of all kinds…exhilaration on the road, reunion with the Bullet, Beer with my Bhai, seeing so many shocked faces, yummy food cooked by my mummy, the gala time with my nieces, the chilled beer, Bakchodi with BOP buddies, going back to UHG, the tea at FC, the business class experience and the mishandled baggage misery!!!

Could not have asked God for more and just can’t thank him enough for these 3 days…wish I can make more such trips back home and have the same amount of fun!!!

Che would be back on the road again…

Till then ride safe & have safe sex…

Hasta la Victoria Siempre…

The BOP Tijara Titans

2010-06-05T04:23:00.009+05:30

The relationship between a Motorcycle & a motorcyclist is an extremely special one and when the opportunity for a rendezvous after a separation becomes available the relationship grows even stronger...my relationship with Bullet & the roads became stronger when I travelled to India for a surprise 3-days trip and also got an opportunity to do a short ride!!! I was part of the destination planning in Kuwait but never ever thought in the wildest of my dreams that I would make it to the ride but God has his own ways of making things possible for me and this time it was no different!!!

I reached India on Thursday 27th May 2010 and didn’t tell any of my biking buddies about it, but the next day called up Dips & Vihans and told me, it was quite funny as they first thought that either of my parents were calling from my India and when they heard my voice were pleasantly surprised…then I sent a mail to the Tijara Mail Chain announcing my grand arrival and my confirmation for the ride…soon the 2 confirmed members swelled to 11 and the ride was becoming bigger & better!!! In spite of the fact that when I am around I am the one who speaks the most people still want to ride along with me and hear my loud voice blaring all the way!!! It’s nice to know this actually!!! It was also to be Sunny’s last ride with BOP before shifting to Chennai and when Zaheer also confirmed I was extremely happy…he has his own Bakchodi style and it’s real fun!!! My Pulsar 220 buddies – Dhruv & Adit also joined in and I had a feeling this ride would be special!!!

The destination was Tijara – some 80 odd kms from Gurgaon…it’s an abandoned fort near Alwar nestled in a sleepy village of Tijara and built on a hilltop…me & Dips had planned to conquer this fort since long and finally our plans came through this time…within an year this fort would be converted into a Heritage Hotel Property by the Neemrana Group of Hotels and would have some exorbitant entry fees so it was the best time to visit it before it becomes out of bound for us poor motorcyclists!!!

And this fort has a history of love & deceit…

The king of Alwar Bakhtawar Singh fell in love with a Muslim girl from a nearby village. Her mother allowed him to marry her under one condition that their son would become the next king. The King accepted the offer and married the woman even though he already had a son that was in line to be crowned. They resided together in Alwar, 50 kilometres away from this fort in Tijara. When the son became old enough to become king, they started building this fort in Tijara. The king was dishonest and still had plans for his eldest son to become the king. He told his half Muslim son that he must experience war before he could become King. He suited up to fight and was murdered by a couple of the King’s servants. Shortly after, his mother had died too and the construction of the fort was never completed. It also houses Rani Moosi ka Mehal, who was queen of the King and committed sati on his death.

This YouTube Video quite vividly describes this fort…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6pplr9B-Gs

The Tijara Titans were:

Sunny on his RE Standard
Zaheer on his “Udhaar ki” RE self-modified 535
Asok on his RE Electra 4S
Rishi on his RE Standard
Bantu on his RE Electra 5S
Vihans on his FZ-16
Rohan Kaushik on his Pulsar 180
Adit on his Pulsar 220
Dhruv on his Pulsar 220
Dips on his RE Electra 4S
Che Guevara on his old companion RE Machismo

The Early Start…

Surprisingly I, Vihans & Rohan reached well on time in spite of the fact that we slept at 1 AM all drunk & high and even with a long power cut we could manage some sleep!!! Bantu had already reached and he looked as if he never slept in the night!!! I called up Dhruv as he was the only one missing & he is not the one not to come after his confirmation, he missed his alarm but promised that he would “catch up” and with his age & P220 bike I was sure he would be with us very soon!!! We started the ride at 5:20 AM after some customary pics and our BOP style early-morning Bakchodi…

Traffic @ 6 AM…

NH-8 was as always full of traffic even this early and we even hit a bad traffic jam and I was on my Bhai’s bike which has a handle-bar with which I am not the most comfortable with, it was a pain wriggling my way out of the jam but somehow we all managed and were soon zipping away on the breezy NH-8. For a change I was not riding very quickly and was in the middle of the pack just soaking in the fun & thrill of being back on the roads after a 5-months long hiatus from a bike ride (my last long-distance ride was my 1000 kms long Amritsar Aakraamaks Ride in December 2009). We stopped at the Dharuhera cut to have some water & sutta and also to wait for Dips who was riding slowly due to the piston change on his bike; Ashok was providing him company…The weather was quite pleasant and there was still no signs of the dreary heat & sunshine…phew!!!

Recipe for Disaster…

Whenever Dips tries his hands at Map-Reading we know we are up for a disaster…this time also he was carrying a map and the moment he opened it and TRIED reading it we stopped him then & there as nobody was in a mood to follow the route told by him but still Dips tried his best to convince us that he knew the rout…a nice try but didn’t succeed!!!

Tea-Time…

We made our first pit-stop for a tea break filled with a longish BBB session with some fake soft drinks giving us company and the Bhujiya giving us the snaky feeling!!! Here a special mention goes to Vihans Paaji who mixed the namkeen into his tea…quite innovative I must say!!! We bid farewell to the Dhaba and started the final leg towards the Tijara Fort. And rode on some amazing village roads, this is one special part about Rajasthan that even the interior village roads are in some pristine conditions…

“Abe Beer kahan hai???”

Me & Sunny reached the fort first after riding through some thick vegetation and finding our way through a the broken sandy uphill road…the final climb was quite exciting and gave us a great off-roading opportunity…the moment we reached 2 caretakers of the property came and told us to go back as this place was out-of-bounds…I encountered him by asking for some papers and as expected he had none, he tried his best but we were in no mood to listen…soon all 11 motorcyclists were together and he lost any chance of convincing us…size does matter!!! And then the legendary dialogue of the ride was blurted out by Vihans - “Abe Beer kahan hai???” with this those 2 losers retreated hastily as they knew we would be here for a long time…

Discovery Time…

Dips was the first to start the fort-discovery trip armed with his titanium knee and wandered his way through to find the perfect spot for the BOP BBB Session and in no time we all followed him…the designated spot had some much needed shade and a nice view of the valley below…Rohan started building a bridge with small pebbles – quite industrious to say the least; me & Vihans identified a hill on the other side and bought it hastily so that nobody else could stake a claim over it, we even decided to build a small little home there and also the kind of vegetation which would be grown!!! Both to keep us intoxicated and to provide a business opportunity!!! What business acumen we have got!!! The beer bottles were opend and the Bakchodi was flowing in the air…History tells us that nothing can stop us when we are in a fort with beer in our hands…BOP has a strong affinity to forts and we keep conquering new ones quite frequently…

And the shirt I was wearing that day surely matched the mood of fun & frolic that day...it was a shocker to some as I rarely wear such shirts always sticking to my black Che tees but I was in a gala mood and the shirt just proved the point !!! check it out for yourself...the Jury is already out!!!

The back door entry

The beer soon finished and we were left high & dry so we decided to sneak our way into the fort which was completely abandoned, we jumped inside through the back door and were greeted by thousands of bats making irritating screeching sounds and shitting away to glory…it’s a nauseating feeling I must say…when we reached inside our imagination ran wild…Queens, Bathing & Massage sessions, night romps and what not was discussed…we went up through the stairs and witnessed some amazing views of the valley and our motorcycles below…

Pics, pics & some more pics…

Sunny Paaji was in a special mood that day and wanted himself to be clicked at every possible opportunity…no wonder he is looking frantically for girls and would send them pics of this fort conquest…atleast the girls would fall for his adventurous streak as there is nothing else to fall for!!! In fact this time surprisingly even Dips asked for some solo shots and shockingly looking straight at the camera…Dhruv clicked some amazing pics of the BOP Logo Tees as well…

Maurya’s moment of glory…

We always click one customary group pic using the Auto Click feature and my camera was to do the honours but as always Maurya Bhai tried to cash in but sadly his camera skills are as bad as his oratory skills and he miserably failed but his failure provided us with one of the best-ever BOP Group Shots I must say…so many teeth visible in one single pic are quite rare!!! Whatever said & done Maurya with his histrionics was the reason for this amazing shot…

The Descent…

Riding downhill is always tricky and I love this challenge & all of us rode downhill like true champions…Sunny & I also stopped for a bit and clicked some nice shots of the fort…we even stopped to enjoy some cold water from the hand pump which is always fun…old memories come running to my mind during this time…and as always we caught the fancy of the villagers shocked to see us in this sleepy village in the heat of the day!!!

Ganne ka Juice Time…

Ganne ka Juice or Sugarcane juice (for the uninitiated) is the best thirst-quencher on a hot & humid day and it was lapped-up by all of us plus it provides some much-needed glucose energy…

Ride back home…

I wanted to reach home early for 2 reasons…A – the heat was becoming unbearable and B – Wanted to spend the last few hours left in my trip with my family so I zipped back and reached home at 12 PM…mummy welcomed with her normal dialogue “ Kapde badal lo aur jaldi se naha lo, khaana tayyar hai”…She is most worried about my clothes more than me!!! I don’t know why though!!!

A special mention for Maurya & Dips…Rishi successfully completed his first ride after his horrific accident during The Ranthambore Rapiers Ride and for Dips as this was the 1st ride of his comeback-with-a-vengeance riding journey after his knee operation…

A special thanks to my Bhai who gave me his 1999 RE Bullet Machismo for this ride, I have special memories attached with this bike as this was the first Bullet I ever rode and went for some really memorable city rides during my college days…

Finally the 170 kms & 7 hours long ride ended…till date my shortest ride…made memorable by my Motorcycling Buddies…thanks to all of them who made it to the ride…could not have asked for more…even in a 3 days trip I could manage a ride!!! Unbelievable but true!!!

JAI BOP…

It’s so good to be back on my cheguevaraontheroad blog after 5 months and hope I can be back here in another 5 months time…Inshallah…

Che would be back on the road again…

Till then ride safe & have safe sex…

Hasta la Victoria Siempre…

Pics of the Ride:
My Camera: http://picasaweb.google.com/jha.nishant/TheBOPTijaraTitans?feat=directlink
Dhruv’s Camera: http://picasaweb.google.co.in/manurules07/BOPTijaraTitans
Maurya’s Camera: http://picasaweb.google.com/technowizzz/TijaraTitans02?authkey=Gv1sRgCKO1uon0v92_Fg#
Adit’s Camera: http://picasaweb.google.com/aditsharda/TijaraTitans#

The Chakrata Chucklers

2010-04-03T21:22:00.006+05:30

My sincere apologies for not writing this ride blog earlier, don’t know why or how I had missed this but as they say better late than never…here I am sitting in my Kuwait Apartment completing this blog some 1 year and 1 month after finishing this ride…hope you enjoy reading…cheers…

We were always fascinated with Chakrata as a destination for the simple reason that our fellow BOP Rider Gaurav Soni had been to Chakrata 8 times and each month there were new pics in his Orkut Profile…There had to be something special in a place where somebody can go 8 times inspite of so many options available in & around Delhi…

So me & Dips decided to go to Chakrata for our March Bike Ride and started to get the information about the places to see & the places to stay at…at every step Soni was there to help us in taking our final decisions considering his vast knowledge about the place…

This ride was going to be a big occasion for me as during the course of the ride I was supposed to cross 20,000 kms mark since I bought my Bike on 15th March 2008…my dream was to reach the 20K mark within 1 year and here I was !!! All thanks to God and BOP for making my dream come true exactly the way I planned it…

I also decided a name for the ride…Chakrata Chucklers…as you all know we are the biggest chucklers around…smiling & laughing for no reason whatsoever…

The Comrades:

1. Dips on his Black 4S Electra
2. Rohit on his Red 5S Electra
3. Dhruv on his Silver P220 (special invitee from Torque-o-Logy)
4. Vihans on his Orange FZ-16
5. Chadha on his Vintage Black Standard
6. Rishi on his 1981 Standard
7. Gyan on his Red Karizma
8. Che on The Mighty One

What follows is a day-to-day account of the Chucklers Ride…enjoy…

Day 1 – 6th March 2009 – Friday (Gurgaon – Delhi Border – Panipat)

We were supposed to start the ride at 5:30 PM and I got free from Office at 5 PM only but Dips had some urgent work the way he always has on every Riding Friday and he could not leave before 8 atleast…so I waited and waited endlessly…believe me those 3 hours were one of the longest of my life…I mean I was all set & excited but had to stay back at home for some 3 hours, believe me not funny…at 8:15 PM Dhruv called up and said that he was starting from his home and would reach in another 15 mins, I was like what the fuck, the distance is atleast some good 30 kms and reaching in 15 mins must be impossible but this guy Dhruv is simply unbelievable and as promised he was the BOP Ride Starting Point – The Leisure Valley Park at 8:30 PM, Dips also arrived in another 20 mins and then we met Rishi Maurya(another debutant, more about him later as believe me there is so much to tell) at the Toll Plaza Point and started the ride, the moment we hit Naraina all hell broke lose, the traffic was as expected like crazy shit and we finally reached the Landfill Site at 10:15 PM where another debutant Vihans was waiting for the last 1.5 hours and soaking in the fragrances of that place but he was not at all pissed at our delay, I had heard a lot about him from Dips about his gala nature during the BOP Corbett Ride and we struck the right chord the moment we greeted each other, somewhere in my heart I knew I would completely gel with this guy…

And then the arduous NH-1 riding…its not that the road is bad but it is very boring, by now I even know the placements of the potholes on that road but to reach Panipat – The Mecca of BOP BBB Sessions one has to transverse this 100 odd kms road…the first stop was expected, by now you can easily guess…yes a Theka, and surprisingly the first one to stop was a teetotaler Dhruv as he had heard enough about our reputation by now from me and our blogs.

We stocked up for Gyan’s place and moved on without wasting any further time as Gyan was waiting anxiously for us to arrive so that we could start the party…Rohit Sir(another debutant) joined us on NH-1 itself coming straight from office and hats off to him, this was his first ever ride and he did a solo from Delhi till almost Panipat…doesn’t speak much but is an extremely sensible person and a very safe rider and a tea & Navy Cut addict, give him regular doses of these two and he won’t complain about anything, not even Mayawati’s governance or non-governance you might say…

We finally reached our BBB Mecca at 12:30 in the night and without any further adieu got down to the basics, opened up the alcohol and started a long-long Bakchodi session which was legendary to say the least…laughter was flowing like River Amazon in South America and there was no end to it just like the legendary river…the pics taken by Dhruv from my camera proved every bit of it, the expressions said it all…here we were a bunch of crazy motorcyclists meeting for the first time(save some) but the camaraderie was unbeatable, nothing could stop us that night…nothing could…Gyan had cooked Gahori(Pork) and also ordered some Chicken & Dal and it was vanishing at knot’s speed along with the Hercules Rum and Foster’s beer, and this rum is bloody potent, Dips had got this from Jammu and reserved it for this occasion and it surely was making all tizzy…

But we were in no mood to stop, the session went on till 5:30 PM when we made a senseless decision to go for a short night ride…

We thought that we had to start the Panipat-Chakrata ride early morning at 8:30 so there was no pint sleeping but never realized that after some 10 beers and 1 bottle of rum down our senses were not in their intended place and the only awake non-drunk rider amongst us named Dhruv was the one who was all gung-ho for this and we made this near-fatal decision, fortunately Rohit Sir & Rishi were asleep both due to altogether different reasons though, Rohit was tired and Rishi was dead drunk…

Gyan was leading the ride and as expected it had a tragic end…Gyan took us to a road whose exit was blocked inspite of being a local and me & Vihans were following him at full blast 70 kmph, he saw a road blocking pole and veered away but I saw it at the very last moment and in panic braked and due to the sandy road slipped and luckily came to a halt after some 50 odd metres, just behind me was Vihans who also slipped and his bike finally stopped some 5 inches away from me, in the end just some minor bruises on our elbows and knees and the idiot I am, I was not wearing any helmet or gloves…big mistake…we got lucky…that’s it…but the drama wasn’t over…Dhruv & Dips reached and told us that when we were slipping away to glory and tasting the sand Dips had also fell down and here also no major injuries to the man or the machine, just some minor bruises…we all heaved a sigh of relief, thanked God and laughed it out and then sanely decided to go back and sleep like normal human beings, the last decision of the day was the most sensible one we made!!! See even we get sensible at times, you might think that we are all insane but at times the good part of our brain takes over!!!

Day 2 – 7th March 2009 – Saturday (Panipat – Yamunanagar – Vikasnagar – Kalsi - Chakrata)

The Plan was that Chadha Paaji would reach at Panipat at 8 AM and we would start the onward ride in another 30 minutes, but I was so dead drunk and in so much pain that like an idiot I had switched off my phone and when he was calling me I had no fuckin idea and royally kept on sleeping, luckily he had Gyan’s number and luckily he picked up, the poor guy Gyan to go to the main road to pick him up, when he reached he saw a bunch of tired and very drunk people sleeping and he joined the fun…he also slept, we finally woke up at 10:30 AM and very gingerly left Panipat IOC Township at 11 AM…the weather was getting painfully hot, the first stop was the Yamaha Service Centre at Karnal where Vihans had to get some running repairs on his bike, the aftermath of the last night’s mayhem, it was taking quite a long time to get the bike ride-ready, me & Dips also got some minor repairs and finally at some 2 PM I started our ride to Chakrata with Chadha, Rohit & Dhruv and the rest started later after getting everything done…as they say better late than never…

When I reached Yamunanagar I made my first stop at a clinic to get an anti-tetanus shot and then smsed Dips & Vihans to get the same, just to be on the safe side, as always I was riding in the front of others and checking the route from the people so that we don’t get lost, though our Navigator par-excellence Tomar Bhai had made an amazing route map but knowing my map-reading abilities(or none) I was not going to take any chances plus we already had lost so much of time…we kept tugging along through innumerable dusty UP villages before we reached Haripur when the real fun started…the mountains…yes finally we were in the hills…the moment we were waiting for…this was also the place where the entire group was to get together and start the final spojourn…

And when we all finally met it was a re-union of sorts and was a great feeling, it was already dark by now and me & Dips decided to visit a theka before starting the Mountain Ride, yes beer makes us more cautious, believe me our physiology is completely different from normal & boring people back in the big cities and we utilize it to the T!!! THE Theka had an amazing painting which read “if you can dream it, you can do it”, now you would think that the picture accompanying this would be of a fighter or something like that, but surprise-surprise it was nowhere close to it…see it to believe it and then get SHOCKED!!! Only our amazing country can throw such surprises and don’t I love India…I simply adore it!!!

The last 42 kms towards Chakrata were going to be damn fucking tough as we had no idea of the road and it was pitch dark with only our headlights being the night saviours but the brave bunch of motorcyclists we are, we were all gung-ho about this new challenge, believe me tough roads bring the best out of us and all of us got ready to face this big challenge.

The Plan was that I would lead the pack of 8 Bikes and ensuring that all 8 of us always stay in one line and nobody would overtake and continuously seeing the rear-view mirror for added safety…but as you all know I am one crazy rider when I am riding in the mountains…I rode till 60 kmph and was simply enjoying the thrill of it…Gyan was just behind me and with the shitty headlight his Karizma has he also made the mistake of speeding and not seeing the cut in the front skidded off the track, good sense prevailed and he let Vihans overtake him!!! It was an amazing sight…8 bikes in one line cutting the roads with the headlights…simply surreal…the time was ripe for the BOP Ride Video and I didn’t disappoint…I stopped and made the first night-riding video in BOP’s short history and it came out amazingly well…after that I stayed at the rear and rode slowly till we reached Chakrata…

Now to tell you one interesting fact, Chakrata is one of the rare towns in India where strictly no foreign nationals are allowed, my Bhai told me the reason but I won’t disclose it in a public forum and we had to get our papers checked, Soni who had reached Chakrata had notified the Army Folks about us coming our papers were not checked.

We finally reached our Hotel Snow View in Chakrata at 10:30 PM some 26 hours after we started this ride and then all hell broke loose!!! There was one happy family who had come to the same hotel to enjoy some peaceful moments, the girls were out talking on the phone, the doors of their rooms were open and they were enjoying some tranquil moments together, the moment our 8 bikes entered the compound we vroomed our RE Engines and announced our arrival in pure BOP style and after that moment the family was not seen!!! Nothing intentional though, we never wanted to disturb them, its just that the emotions got the better of us!!!

The first thing I indulged in when I reached was to dump and boy-oh-boy wasn’t I satisfied after that dump!!! But the others were not as the loo was not used for some 3-4 hours after that…the fragrance was in the air for that long!!!

Another BBB Session started after that, it was getting very chilly and a bonfire was set up amidst the peals of laughter and another alcohol therapy session!!! Then Dhruv took over, he had an innovative idea of writing BOP in flames and he set out for his task using petrol and the final result was out of this world…a big thanks to Dhruv…

Vihans was at his very best, cracking one joke after another, Soni blurting out his useless gyan quotes, Dips as always laughing away to glory without saying much, Gyan trying his best to stay afloat, Dhruv using the camera endlessly, Rohit Sir having his silent sips of Tea and Rishi…Mr. Rishi Maurya speaking as if there was no tomorrow, his Discovery & Nat Geo Gyan was senseless but it was his first ride so we were trying our best not to be rude and we let him speak up…but the special moment came from Chadha Paaji…nonchalantly and out of the blue he got his Mobile Phone out and showed us a Cartoon Video…a mix of Raavan, April Fool, Sita and Rakhi Sawant…what a combo and after we all watched it the laughter sounds were heard till Delhi which was some 350 kms away!!! You have to see the video to check for yourself the voracity of the laughter sounds or should I say howls!!! At 11 PM Chadha Paaji gave another shocker to us, very calmly he got up and said “Let me have a night Walk”…I mean we were in the middle of nowhere and having the time of our lives but here was this man Chadha Paaji…the legend of BOP taking a stroll in the compound…believe me, beat this man at logic and I would be your slave for life…his respect & stature is unparalleled and can be countered by a rare few and I am yet to meet his contemporary till now…

Then a plan for a very late Night Walk was hurrilly made after certification from Soni who said it would be amazing to walk through the scary hills in pitch darkness, I started but had to retreat as my foot was hurting after last night’s accident and came back…Dips, Dhruv, Rohit Sir and Rishi continued their tryst with the night though…

I finally called it a day at 2 AM after we were completely exhausted after laughing uncontrollably and also exhausted after a very long & arduous day but victorious in our minds…we had reached Chakrata after so many delays & the mishaps…we had done it…

Day 3 – 8th March 2009 – Sunday (A relaxed day in & around Chakrata)

The day started on a easy note with all of us coming out of our beds gingerly and ordering Breakfast, I opened up a can of Carlsberg to gargle away to glory.

Dhruv & Gyan warmed up their 220 + CC engines, only God knows why they do it but still they love doing it and its their unique way of taking care of their machines, Rohit Sir had endless cups of Tea before we all got ready for the customary bike line-up pics, hundreds were clicked and then off we went to the Tiger Falls – Asia’s 2nd highest falls and another record-conquer for BOP…the list continues…

The 20 kms-odd ride was simply amazing, through the barren mountains and some tough mountain curvy roads we finally reached the point where we had to park our bikes and trek downhill for some 2 kms, Chadha was as always extra cautious with the harmful UV rays affecting his body and he prepared a very odd looking protection gear using his Rajasthani Bandhni style Bandana & his Riding Visor…innovative and very effective!!!

Reached the falls and once again fell in love with the sheer beauty of nature, the falls were monumental and very-very beautiful, in the middle of nowhere the water was falling down vigorously from a height…we got ready to get soaked in the water, the first few steps were a bit tricky as due to the pebbles the surface was very slippery and water bone-chilling cols, all of us held our hands together and reached the foot of the falls where the water was falling on us like crazy, spine-chilling but great fun…we didn’t stay under the water for long but Dhruv being the exuberant youngster amongst us was in the water for quite some time…

We reached the mountain top after a tough uphill trek and panting endlessly…there was a small shop right at the place where we had parked our bikes and Vihans got to his act preparing Maggi & Omelettes for the group, all of us were damn hungry and devoured all the food in a matter of seconds, the next plan was to visit another place recommended by Soni named Kanesar but due to paucity of time we skipped that, maybe in the future I would be able to visit that place…

Off we went to the Chakrata Market where some of us shopped for Military Gear, stocked up Alcohol for the night session but once again the killer blow was made by Chadha Paaji…he was looking for Lassi & Jalebis and his wish was duly granted by God…we all had a bout of the Jalebis but only Chadha Paaji had lassi and that too with a straw, yes he is one of the rare breed of Sardaars who enjoys his Lassi with a Straw and not straight from the gut…after all he is a legend and he is allowed to do anything which is humanly impossible…stand up and say…HAIL CHADHA PAAJI…

We reached our hotel at 7 PM and a long BBB Session ensued all over again, loaded with Rishi’s gyan and Fish which was specially ordered for the last night in Chakrata, Alcohol was guzzled up and a bonfire was lit as the night was even chillier than the one before…

A special mention for Vihans Paaji who actually fell down at the feet of Rishi’s for his unlimited display of factual knowledge but Rishi bhai being the indomitable man he is didn’t take the hint of stopping and continued unabashed!!! What a scene it was…

We slept a little early at midnight as the next day we had to ride non-stop towards Delhi…this day was extremely relaxed but the next one was going to be tough, with some 400 kms of riding involved…

Day 4 – 9 th March 2009 – Monday (Chakrata – Kalsi – Yamunanagar – Panipat – Delhi - Gurgaon)

We started the ride back home at 10:30 AM and then got a shock of our life, the 42 kms ride which we had done 2 nights ago was really scary, never did we realize in the darkness of the night what big risk we had taken, the road was really bad and the inclines extremely steep, we thanked God for showing mercy on us and reached Kalsi where we had planned to see the 14th Century Rock Edict of King Ashoka which has been displayed in a park, it was a history lesson for all of us but as expected Rishi Bhai tried to tell us that he knew all about it’s history and obviously we were not going to believe him…

Another of Chadha Paaji special was reserved for the next break, I started felling a bit hungry and stopped at a Roadside joint which was operated by a middle-aged village female serving just Dal & Rice, I enjoyed the short meal and Chadha also tried some but then he felt thirsty and blurted out one of his legendary quote and innocently asked the aunty “ Madam, Mineral Water milega?”, the harried-looking aunty gave him a nasty look and banged a Bathroom Mug filled with Water towards him, obviously Chadha being the hygienic guy he is didn’t take any risk and decided to skip her kind offer but I didn’t disappoint her and drank half the mug!!! Chadha Paaji ke liye ek aur tribute… “Jab tak suraj-chaand rahega, Chadha Paaji aapka naam rahega”…just can’t stop myself being in awe with this nice Sardaar from GK in Delhi….I know him since my GIM days as he was my junior then and we have also rode to Ladakh & a host of other rides together and always have had an amazing time in his company…

We reached Yamunanagar and stopped for Lunch at 2 PM and enjoyed an amazing meal of Dal, Paneer and what not…Chadha orderd his favourite meal of LAAAACCHA Prantha with Dal Makhani and quietly enjoyed his meal…the meal was very satisfying but the roads ahead were not the same…filled with potholes and trucks all the way…

I then saw the biggest flag of India I had ever seen…it was truly gigantic…one sight I would never forget…saluted the Tricolour, clicked some pics and move on…Jai Hind…

We finally hit NH-1 and made a Theka Pit-Stop at Pipli but only Rishi, Gyan & Dips had a beer each; the rest of us just relaxed a bit and expectedly Rohit Sir enjoyed another 2 cups of Tea…

Moments before we were to start the final leg towards Delhi Chadha Paaji angrily shouted at us “Agar kisi ne ab bike ke upar se gaand uthaayi…to uski gaand tod dunga”…little did he realize that the first person to stop next would be him!!! Strange are the ways of God to teach everybody a lesson…unfortunately the electricals of his bike had given way and then the suggestions session started, all of his tried using his extremely limited knowledge and tried everything but to no aavail…finallyw e made a sensible decision and then towed his bike to Kurukshetra and get it repaired…luckily we found a decent mechanic and that too a Paaji who used his jugaads to set the system right in some 20 odd minutes…Chadha Paaji was smiling again after some agonizing moments of anxiety!!! And finally we started the ride back home after this unexpected hiccup…

We stopped for dinner at our favourite Murthal and enjoyed another bout of Butter-infested paranthas which we thoroughly enjoy and reached the Landfill site at 11:30 PM, surprisingly not too late…

Reached home at 12:15 in the night and just dozed off....exhausted & excited to say the least…

Another awesome ride had finally come to an end…some 750 odd kms of mad riding filled with million moments of crazy fun…the camaraderie was unbelievable and the debutants duly played their part…

Che would be back on the road again…

Till then ride safe & have safe sex…

Hasta la Victoria Siempre…

The Pics of the Ride:

Dhruv’s Camera: http://picasaweb.google.com/manurules07/ChakrataChucklersRyd#
My Camera: http://picasaweb.google.co.in/jha.nishant/TheChakrataChucklersRide?feat=directlink
Chadha’s Camera: http://picasaweb.google.co.in/sandeepschadha/200903RideToChakarata#

The Ride Videos: http://www.4shared.com/dir/13726047/c5926631/Chakrata_Chucklers_Videos.html

Dips’ Blog: http://butcheredsoul.blogspot.com/2009/03/chakrata-chucklers-06-to-09-march-2009.html

Final Thanks to Dips as its due to his continuous pushing I have finally completed this blog, this was the only blog which I had missed from all my rides till date…plus his blog provided me with all the details which I had forgotten after over an year of completing this ride…cheers to life Dips Bhai…

2009…On the Road and off it…

2010-03-01T22:37:00.013+05:30

Seldom comes an year in one’s life when God grants all the wishes and the year goes the exact way one planned it before starting it…2009 was such an year for me…professionally & personally I have been able to achieve all the targets I had decided and it won’t have been possible without the support of my Motorcycling Buddies, my parents & most importantly God…

This is a Blog-Post of just some random thoughts about 2009…12 months…more than 20,000 kms on the road…14 Bike Rides…24 new places visited for the first time…that’s a very healthy average of 1.16 rides every month and 2 new places visited every month!!!(I love throwing Statistics-so what as a subject it SUCKED during my MBA!!!)…visiting Gujarat & Hyderabad for the first time…good memories...the awesome times on the road…and the amazing ones off the road...the highs…the non-existent lows…the drunken parties…the high-on-ganja times…riding at manic speeds on the open roads…the open dumping spectacles…travelling & exploring through the most beautiful country of the World…trekking on the snow-laden peaks of Triund…riding through the fiery roads of Jalori…camping on the hill-top at Hatu, the ride through The Western Ghats & The Sutlej river side…dancing on the Desert Sands of Bikaner…exploring the forgotten history of Rakhigarhi…spotting a Tiger at Ranthambore…standing at The Indira Point at Kanyakumari-The southern-most point of India…the crazy times at Rider Mania 2009 at Ooty…going back to my Alumnus-GIM on my Bike-The Mighty One…spending Diwali with my Bhai after 12 years…Masti times spent with my 2 adorable nieces…eating authentic Hyderabadi Biryani for the first time…the 3 scary motorcycling accidents of 2009…the bath in the spine-chilling waters of the Sarovar at The Golden Temple-the only place which gets me spiritual…finding my soul-mate or Life Partner…

I made a promise to myself that I would make a pleasure-travel trip once every month and visit a new location and boy-oh-boy didn’t I stay true to my promise…

2009 has been one crazy journey and I have lived every moment of it to the fullest…the way I always do…not worrying about my past or the future ahead…I pray to God to give me many more such years and I promise I would do 100% justice to each one of them…so read on and be part of the journey of 2009-On the Road & off it…

January 2009

The Year couldn’t have started on a better note…a 17 days & 3180 kms ride…I called it the West Coast Ride…2 Bikes…3 buddies…5 States…1 UT…unlimited fun…pit-loads of Sambhar-Vada-Dosa & Idlis…breathtaking views…friends for life…riding on roads next to the sea…attending my first Rider Mania- the annual congregation of Royal Enfield Motorcyclists…camping for the first time in Maharashtra & Tamil Nadu…watching the achieving my dream of being at Kanyakumari & Ladakh in the same year…no breakdowns and what a time!!! It was simply a dream come true…thanks to Sunder & Deepak this ride was one of the most memorable ones of my life…
(http://thewestcoastriders.blogspot.com/)

February 2009

I am not that kind of a person who can be satisfied with just one long ride in an year and the moment I came back from WCR I started scouting for a totally off-the-shelf kind destination and my search ended with Rakhigarhi-A dusty village in Haryana near Hissar which has so much history buried under the soil; in recent excavations artifacts have been found which are some 5000 years older than the ones found at Harappa & Mohenjodaro!!! Man that’s really old!!!…me, Tomar & Dips visited this place and came back as 3 educated motorcyclists…Sattu at Hansi gave us some amazing lessons in General Knowledge and we loved the KAALA-TEETAR beer!!!
(http://cheguevaraontheroad.blogspot.com/2009/02/bop-historic-explorers.html)

March 2009

The month started with a grand BOP Ride to Chakrata, a beautiful place near Dehradun. The ride started with 2 accidents and fortunately none of us was badly hurt and the BBB Session at Gyan’s home was unparalleled in the history of BOP!!! The final 42-kms long crazy night ride through the Chakrata Heights was simply amazing and I loved the challenge thrown at me…BOP achieved another milestone when we visited the Tiger Falls-the 2nd highest waterfall in Asia and had another bath session!!! Chakrata was special in another way because it is one of the very few destinations where no foreigners are allowed…

We went for our 2nd ride of the month to Kurukshetra continuing our Historic Exploration Theme!!! and what a lesson we got…I finally found out that Sheikh-Chilli was not just a mythical character but a real human being…the ride ended with me going to Old Delhi for another of my EOiD club meets and hogged like crazy…for a change some delicious Vegetarian delights…The memorable March could not have ended on a better note!!!
(http://cheguevaraontheroad.blogspot.com/2009/03/kurukshetra-krunchies.html)

April 2009

The month started with Raid De Nepal Ride and ended with The Mcleodganj Mavericks Ride…what diversity!!! and the Mcleod Ride happened after 2 previous aborthed attempts…finally only 5 of us made the ride but for me this was the most memorable ride of 2009…it started on a rain-drenched & blood-spoiled road but at the end of it we came out victorious…I did a real trek for the first time through the snow-clad peaks of Triund and spent the nights camping in the middle of snow and away from the urban mayhem…the sweet taste of victory was complete when we rode for some 500 kms straight from Dharamshala to Delhi without any mishaps whatsoever…
(http://cheguevaraontheroad.blogspot.com/2009/04/mcleodganj-mavericks.html)

May 2009

Lansdowne was another destination BOP wanted to conquer and we made it true in May…for the uninitiated it is the closest Hill Station to Delhi, just 230 odd kms away and a beautiful & quiet little place tucked away in the mountains of UK…we were a huge group and had a ball during the ride…be it while eating away to glory at Hotel Mayur or dancing like crazy at the Mall Road…the sweltering heat couldn’t do any damage to our spirit while coming back and the LionHearts stood true to their name…
(http://cheguevaraontheroad.blogspot.com/2009/05/lansdowne-lionhearts.html)

June 2009

Jalori Pass came out as a destination after the endless research me & Dips keep doing to find new places to ride to and we had a different plan this time for the ride…we decided to camp out during the nights and no hotel stays!!! truly adventurous and nomad like spirit…the first camping night would always stay on the top in the annals of BOP for the mad singing or should we say shouting session at the Hilltop in Hatu and in the chilling night…the next day saw us conquering another milestone…we were at the top of the Jalori Pass after a tough ride and that night we camped at the Sutlej River Side amidst tones of Bakchodi and some child mangoes…the return ride was a sad one with innumerable breakdowns and 1 minor accident but as always it was us who were victorious and not the elements…
(http://cheguevaraontheroad.blogspot.com/2009/07/jalori-juggernauts.html)

July 2009

This was the month BOP decided to take a break from riding but the traveler inside me was not going to stay dormant…I made 2 other trips…the Abu AlphaMales went to Mt. Abu in Sinha Sahab’s brand new Ford Fiesta in the rain-infested lands of Rajasthan…the weather was simply amazing and Rajasthan stayed true to its magical fervour…
(http://cheguevaraontheroad.blogspot.com/2009/08/i-had-taken-break-from-biking-for-july.html)

I made the 2nd trip of the month to Bharuch to meet my fiancée Bandita Thakur and there as well rain didn’t spare me…both of us made an auto rickshaw trip to the Narmada River Side and had an amazing time...the 3 days spent with her surely opened up a life full of memories for the both of us and I am sure we would make a good couple…though she is not that rugged & crazy like me but truly understands that streak in me!!!

August 2009

August saw BOP getting back to the open roads and Binsar was the chosen destination…another place which was on my radar for quite some time…sadly Dips could not make it to this ride due to some office work and I was really sad at the start of this ride but the weather & challenges made this ride another memorable one…Gyan & Tomar bhai were at their very best all during the ride with Tomar’s bike giving us quite a tough time…we finally made it to Binsar at the 3rd day of the ride and the beautiful scenes straight out of a dream made up for the delay…we came out triumphant after overcoming all the challenges that came our way the BOP tradition continued…
(http://cheguevaraontheroad.blogspot.com/2009/08/binsar-bazookas.html)

BOP made its second ride of the month to the haunted ruins of Bhangarh in Rajasthan and once again was battered by heavy rain while coming back…it was my 2nd ride to Bhangarh after my 1st ever ride in March 2008 and a ride which had a huge group of rider population…
(http://cheguevaraontheroad.blogspot.com/2009/08/bhangarh-berettas.html)

September 2009

This was the month when we rode to Tomar Bhai’s birthplace…Nahan is another quaint little hill station in Himachal away from the hustles-bustle of Shimla…Ajit Bhai made his debut into BOP and started a long affair with us!!! The lion show at the Renuka Ji zoo provided us another opportunity of getting up-close and personal with the king of the jungle even though he was inside a cage but his roar truly shook us up…Tomar’s mother treated us to one of the most amazing meals of our life and we would be always thankful to her for that treat…so what she called me Naalaayak…I am used to that now!!!
(http://cheguevaraontheroad.blogspot.com/2009/09/nahan-nunchuks.html)

October 2009

We partnered with Zice Holidays for this month’s ride and rode to their camp-site near Dehradun called Camp Redstone...but for the pool side revelry and Topgun’s histrionics this was not one of those rides I really enjoyed…the rainy time at Mussoorie worsened things for us and then my bad-bad accident near Panipat was an icing on the cake…it was a scary accident and I am thankful to God for saving me once again…but still it was a new experience for BOP partnering with another group but I don’t think it would be repeated…
(http://cheguevaraontheroad.blogspot.com/2009/11/redstone-rockets.html)

November 2009

As some of you already know November is the Anniversary month for BOP and we reserve this particular ride only for BOPians…which means no non-bullets allowed…the destination this time was another Rajasthani one-Ranthambore and we were looking forward to an encounter with the royal tiger…we saw him in the wild but not the best of the spottings…this ride is dedicated to the spirit of one of our fellow BOPian – Rishi Singh Maurya who met a near-death type accident and recovered from it and is now back on the road on his bike…a true fighter he is and I am proud of his spirit…and the change in this ride was that for a change we stayed in a luxury type accommodation just for the fact that the Anniversary Ride comes once in an year and BOP has a tradition to make big things even bigger!!! I pray to God that BOP celebrates many more anniversaries and our camaraderie always stay the same…Jai BOP…
(http://cheguevaraontheroad.blogspot.com/2009/11/ranthambore-rapiers.html)

December 2009

I was all set to end 2009 with a big bang…2 1000 kms plus rides and I came out with flying colours…another big thanks to God to making my dream happen…I rode to 2 beautiful locations…the 1st one was Bikaner which would be always remembered for the Tomar Show…no photographs or videos of his histrionics but its great because our hearts & minds would always playback the memories over & over again…we also did a Camel-Desert safari and the tinge of Laal-Maas would always stay…rain made its appearance once again during this ride and even the arid lands of Rajasthan witnessed this relationship between Rain & BOP…
(http://cheguevaraontheroad.blogspot.com/2009/12/bop-bikaner-boomerangs.html)

The last ride of 2009 was also a smashing one…this time I went to Amritsar with another Bullet Club named Bull Rodeos and had 2 BOPians-Vikas & Ajit for company…the first night spent at Chandigarh was another amazing night in 2009 when I danced like there was no tomorrow intoxicated with Beer and the chilled weather…the dip in the bone-chilling Sarovar at the Golden Temple made me feel even closer to Ride and the heavenly food at Amritsar as always stayed true to its name…I had a wonderful time riding along with the Rodeos and I wish I can ride with them another time…they are one crazy bunch of motorcyclists for sure…
(http://cheguevaraontheroad.blogspot.com/2009/12/bop-amritsar-aakramaks.html)

So finally the amazing year came to a glorious end…a year in which I travelled through the North-West & South of our country and enjoyed every bit of it… India is one magical place and I am lucky enough to explore the way I have done till now…hope the good times continue and never ever end both for me and BOP…Amen to that…

Some moments which stood out for me in 2009…

1. Standing on the southern most tip of India at the Indira Point in Kanyakumari
2. The Kaala-Teetar show at Rakhigarhi with Sattu Bhai
3. The bath session at The Tiger Falls in Chakrata
4. The trek to Triund
5. The 2 Camping Nights during the Jalori Ride
6. The Laal Maas enroute to Gurgaon from Mt. Abu
7. The Narmada River Side with Bandita at Ankleshwar
8. The very tough Final Ride to Binsar
9. The Chhole-Chawal Breakfast in Dadaahu
10. The Pool Session at Camp Redstone
11. Tiger Spotting at Ranthambore
12. The Tomar Show at Bikaner
13. The Sarovar Snaan at Amritsar

Thanks to all the members of my Motorcycling Club Bulls on Parade (BOP) for being partners in all my bike rides of 2009 and for always being there for me…be it a bike ride, a mail chain or a BBB Party!!!

2010 has started on a completely different note for me…due to crazy office travelling I have not been able to do a Bike Ride in the first two months…I have taken up a job in Kuwait and am moving there soon and I really wish I can do one final ride before I leave…fingers crossed for that…plus I am getting engaged on 12th March and that would surely get some more opportunities to travel with my Life-Partner Bandita in the future…

I am ready for the new challenges which would come my way in 2011 and beyond and as always I would meet them head-on and give it my best shot…be it the new job in Kuwait, living a life without friends & family there or new locations to conquer in the Middle East…

In the end just 4 words…Thanks God & Jai BOP…

Che would be back on the road again…

Till then ride safe & have safe sex…

Hasta la Victoria Siempre…

Hockey at its very Best

2010-03-01T19:13:00.005+05:30

It is true that Hockey no more holds the Number 1 Sport status in India due to various reasons…A-just for the plain and simple fact that there isn’t any huge money in Hockey to inspire kids to start playing Hockey seriously…B-our Team hasn’t performed the way it should have to get the crowds cheering for them consistently and lastly & most importantly C-the apathy of our successive Governments who have not paid enough attention to the glorious sport of Hockey…

Inspite of that just the fact that the FIH Hockey World Cup is being played out in New Delhi’s new & swanky Major Dhyanchand National Stadium and the inaugural day had the legendary match of India-Pakistan being played out, I just could not stop myself from attending the big day…28th February-one day after my crazy farewell party night and one day before the mad Holi celebrations our Hockey players gave Indians another reason to celebrate like there was no tomorrow and I can proudly say that I was witness to watching Pakistanis getting mauled by a much superior Indian team and all 16,000 fans getting much more than their money worth…

We reached while the Australia-England match was on and that too has a history of rivalries behind them but sadly the match was not worthy enough of their competitive rivalry, surprisingly England won and it took them almost 20 years to defeat the Aussies…we had 2 English supporters sitting right next to us and one of them was quite consistent in his support-chant…a very warm & affectionate “Come on England” which I found very tame to cheer anybody…but still they won and he was extremely elated and we joined his celebrations…we knew what he was about to witness…the chants he won’t have even dreamt of hearing!!! The big one was about to start…

In between the match a batch of some 50-odd Pakistani Fans entered the stadium and were treated to some really loud chants of “Bharat Mata ki Jai” and “Hindustan Zindabad”…the Security men started to get helter-skelter to ensure that there was no untoward incident which might had marred the revelry on offer…Jingo-Nationalism at it’s very best and one thing I really don’t like…it’s so easy to shout like mad and not do a thing to really make our country the best…this discussion some other time…lets get back to Hockey!!!

So what I was tired after a drunk night and exhausted after back-t0-back BOP Parties but I had a ball during the match…the initial few minutes were really tense for me and I held back my emotions as I wanted our team to take the lead first and not play catch-up and was praying for our team…

And then in the 27th minute Shivendra Singh scored the first goal through a Penalty Corner and all hell broke loose after that…all 16,000 of us were up on our feet and chanting what-not!!! I am sure you don’t really want the details…I became hysteric after that and nothing was going to stop me now…I was helped again by a penalty corner conversion by our PC expert Sandeep Singh in the 35th minute and then a field goal by Prabhjot Singh in the 37th minute…a 3-0 lead was the best we had hoped for at the end of the 1st half…the 10 minutes break was perfectly utilized by me and I danced away to glory…the neighbor Britisher asked me gently…”What transformed you?” and I replied fervently…”Nothing to match seeing my country do well!!!”…it was great on his part as well as he joined me in each goal-celebration like a kid and I am sure he was enjoying this match more than the previous match!!!

The second half started just the way everybody was hoping for…some tight plays later in the 56th minute Sandeep Singh again converted a penalty corner and then everybody knew that we won’t lose from this point save for some really bad luck…5 goals in 14 minutes for any team was too tough a challenge to meet…

And then the bantering started…The Pakistani Goalkeeper Salman Akbar was facing our portion of the crowd and we started chanting “Andar ki baat hai…Salman hamaare saath hai” which when translated into the Queen’s Language meant “Salman is with us and it’s classified information!!!” and he started to respond back to us by shaking his head and showing his displeasure by waving his hockey stick at us but we were not stopping, I kept chanting Salman-Salman like crazy till the very end and I am damn sure he must have had nightmares of the chants!!!

The legend Sohail Abbasi brought some consolation to his fans by converting one penalty corner into a goal but that was all too late…I had given him a nice nickname “Pole-Dancer” as he had hit the pole twice during his last 2 drag-flick attempts at the goal…he looked hassled after that and was a failure through the entire match, even the great Rehan Butt was not playing to his best…Indians were playing at their very best and the Pakis had no answer to our counter-attacks and defensive plays and the mid-fielders were simply superb in getting the ball to the right places and providing the perfect opportunities to our attacking forwards…\

And when the final hooter sounded off the noise reached its highest levels and I removed my shirt and waved my flag endlessly till Dips told me that it was getting late…with a heavy heart I had to stop my celebrations and leave the stadium but not before my body was completely exhausted and my throat used to its limits!!!
On the way out Sunny Paaji told me that the famous Punjabi Singer Jassi of “Dil le gayi Gujarat ki” fame was safely leaving the stadium in the garb of the big crowd and I dodn’t let that opportunity passed by…I attacked him from the behind and hugged him and started singing or shouting his most famous song, he was clearly embarrassed and left in a hush!!!

All-in-all a great day for our National Sport and the perfect Holi Celebrations for our country…India played like true champions and should take this momentum forward to play similarly and reach the semi-finals…yes the next few matches are really tough and we would be playing much better teams than the Pakis but if we play the same way then nothing would stop us from the all-elusive World Cup Title…
Amen to that…

Thanks a lot to Ajit Bhai...my BOP Buddy who started the Hockey mail chain and booked my ticket for the match and to Dips, Pravin, Sunny, Durgesh & Arunima for being my co-spectators...

The Goal Sheet…
Pakistan vs India 1:4
• IND 27mn Shivendra SINGH (PC) 0:1
• IND 35+mn Sandeep SINGH (PC) 0:2
• IND 37mn Prabhjot SINGH (FG) 0:3
• IND 56mn Sandeep SINGH (PC) 0:4
• PAK 59mn Sohail ABBAS (PC) 1:4

India’s schedule in the FIH World Cup…
• Tuesday, March 2 - India vs Australia
• Thursday, March 4 - India vs Spain
• Saturday, March 6 - India vs England
• Monday, March 8 - India vs South Africa

Che would be back on the road again…

Till then ride safe & have safe sex…

Hasta la Victoria Siempre…

The BOP Amritsar Aakramaks

2009-12-31T23:43:00.002+05:30

Amritsar is my favorite travel destination specifically due to 2 reasons…A: Golden Temple & B: Gastronomy Reasons!!! And I just love going to the city of big-hearted people…before this ride had been to Amritsar 3 times and each visit has been memorable in it’s own unique way…and I never knew that this ride would also turn out to be one special ride in many ways than one…as it was the first time I was to ride with another RE Club named Bull Rodeos plus for the first time I was travelling to Amritsar on The Mighty One and that too in extreme cold conditions…Most importantly this ride was to be the last & final Bike Ride of 2009…and my 20th Bike Ride!!! Enough of statistics…

Read on to find what the BOP Amritsar Aaakraamaks were upto…

The BOP Amritsar Aaakraamaks were:
1. Vikas on his Modified Standard 350 CC
2. Ajit on his Blue TB
3. Che on The Mighty One

The Endless Wait…
Another unique thing about this ride was that after March 2008(my 1st Bike Ride to Bhangarh), we were just 2 bikes starting from the start point and the partner-in-rhyme was Ajit who was supposed to meet me at 8 AM at the Landfill Point and I kept on waiting for him endlessly; I was lucky that I was carrying 2 newspapers with me so I kept chiseling at the time and then Mr. Ajit arrived…finally at 10 AM…not the perfect start but for a change I didn’t abuse him much as I was desperate for the ride plus I was damn freaking hungry!!!

Hungry Motorcyclists…
2 Hungry Motorcyclists reaching Murthal…rest is History…need not write anything more…

Ek-Thikaana- THEKA!!!

A heavy breakfast, some 170 kms into the ride and a cold morning to boot…all this conspired together and forced me to stop at a Highway Theka for a much-deserved Beer Pit-Stop…and I don’t shy away from such conspiracies anyway…soon Ajit joined me and we enjoyed Chilled Beer under the friendly sun…beer never tasted better!!!

NH-1…The boring highway...

I have rode through NH-1 so many times that I just closed my eyes and rode through easily…well am just joking…didn’t even think of trying this stunt…but all said and done NH-1 is surely not the most enjoyable road for any motorcyclist…plain & drab…nothing to challenge…we kept trudging along…and it was more painful for me as due to a recent Piston Change in Ajit’s bike he had been advised not to go beyond 60 kmph and as we were just 2 of us I kept pace with him and rode slowly which is not my cup of tea but I had to manage somehow…some 20 kms before Chandigarh we stopped for a late lunch at 4 PM at a Highway Dhaba and the meal was delicious and brought me back on track…plus the fact that I was supposed to reach Chandigarh and more importantly I had the Sector-17 Market in my mind and this made the lunch even better!!!
Chandigarh - The City Beautiful & more…

The moment you hit Chandigarh, you start getting jittery as the Traffic Police here is painfully strict and one can be fined for any offence under the Sun and the loud sound of my Goldstar Silencer was one of the sunny things so I kept my bike on low vroom and reached Ajit’s cousin Rahul’s flat…Rahul works as a Software Developer in one of the IT Majors in Chandigarh and his roommates were on a vacation to their hometowns so the 3 of us had the entire flat to us…we removed our heavy riding gear and relaxed for a bit before receiving a call from our fellow BOPian Vikas Garg who was riding solo till Chandigarh, he could not join us as he had his daughter’s PTM to attend…hats off to Vikas’ spirit as this was his first BOP Ride and he had no qualms in riding solo on his modified beast…unfortunately his accelerator cable snapped the moment he entered Chandigarh but luckily he could find a RE Service Centre nearby, he knew the place where we were staying so we were not worried about his whereabouts…but the time kept ticking and he didn’t come so finally we 3 decided to join him and then go to the Sec-17 Market…but as always we could not locate him…and after visiting 2 RE Showrooms & 2 RE Service Centres we finally met and had a re-union of sorts!!! As we 3 were meeting after the Offisial Atyachaar Event…

Sector Sataarah…
The Sector-17 of Chandigarh is the most wanted markets of the country though personally I prefer the Delhi’s GK-1 M-Block Market more for more maturity in the beauty segment!!! We roamed around like free birds and covered entirely every inch of the market scouting for some beauties around…Red colour was omnipresent considering it was the Christmas-Eve…we had a ball and started the planning for the next POA!!!

Lounge Party to the Dance Arena…MOOD CHANGE…

We reached the flat after doing some heavy-duty shopping…snakes, beer & alcohol was duly stocked up for the BBB Session ahead…and then the night began…the crazy & unexpected night…the balcony was our Lounge Bar, it was dimly lit and had everything one needs for a long BBB Night. The Music was playing in the room next to us and Rahul’s collection is simply amazing, he has got almost every genre of Music I like…we kept enjoying the Bakchodi, Alcohol & the Music whole-heartedly before Ajit started to feel sleepy and went to the Music Room to sleep…he is an idiot for sure, how could he even remotely think that we would have let him sleep so easily!!!

And then I started dancing…and some of you have already seen me dance…its wild, crazy & never-ending…nothing was different this time as well…Rahul also joined in with his incoherent style of dance!!! we started pulling Ajit’s quilt and forcing him to join us and he kept on begging us to sleep but we never relented…finally he gave in and joined us…I was also the in-house DJ that night and my favourite quote was Mood-Change which was lapped up by Rahul as well!!! The music kept on changing continuously from Bhangra to Rock to Kishore Kumar to Euphoria to Jagjit Singh to what not…Vikas was the in-house videographer and shot some memorable videos…it was surely a crazy night and one which won’t be forgotten in some time to come!!! We finally slept when we were more than 100% high!!!

Child Weather…

The early-morning Chill on 25-Dec morning was bone-chilling and it was great fun riding through it and we kept riding through Chandigarh & Mohali before we hit the amazing Punjab highways brimming with innumerable Toll-Plazas…we stopped for breakfast and had amazing paranthas with hot tea…the perfect foil for a cold morning…

Inquilaab Zindaabaad…

I was riding freely on the open & wide Punjab Roads when suddenly on the left side of a the road in a completely non-descript village I read a Board “Shaheed-e-Aazam S Bhagat Singh Museum” and I screeched my bike to a halt…complete feeling of dé-jàvu as had never even heard about this museum inspite of my enough knowledge about Bhagat Singh and I felt ashamed & excited at the same time but to my bad luck it being Christmas the museum was closed, for some solace we clicked some pics and consoled our heart & brain that we would back here…very soon. The Guard told us that the ancestral home of Bhagat Singh was some 50 metres away and it might be open so all-excited and in anticipation we reached but sadly even it was closed, I was left heart-broken and completely shattered but I made a promise to myself that come what may within the next 6 months I would visit this place…

Dumping Time…
With a heavy heart we started our final leg of the journey towards Amritsar and the next break was as expected a dumping stop which is a routine in all my rides and brings me a quaint satisfaction which is simply out of this world!!! With an empty tummy we kept riding through the smooth roads of Punjab through Jallandhar and finally stopped for another late lunch some 40 kms. before Amritsar, the meal was average and the service below-average as nobody wanted to serve 3 rugged looking motorcyclists and by now we are quite used to it and ignore it completely…our destination was very close and that was the most exciting thing about a cold, sad & a dull day and we started again…

The Hotel Hunt…
We reached Amritsar at 4:30 PM and stopped our bikes very close to the Jallianwala Bagh and started looking for a decent place to stay but it being a long weekend the entire Punjab and literally all of North India was visible and jostling for space, luckily one Traffic Police Constable helped us as he saw us in some distress and helped us finding a decent, clean, cozy & an economical hotel named Hotel Novelty Inn where we booked 2 rooms for the 3 of us & 8 riders from Bull Rodeos, it was a relatively new property and was quite well constructed and the best part was that it was at just a 5 minutes walking distance from the Golden Temple.

Back to Basics…

We called up the Bull Rodeos’ Riders and found out that due to continuous breakdowns they would get late and would reach only by 11 PM so we decided to visit atleast the nearby attractions. Went to the Jallianwala Bagh where Vikas clicked some amazing pics, it was my 4th trip to Amritsar and each time I come here I am excited as if I am coming for the first time, this city never fails to excite me and this is my favourite city by far…post that we had some pet-pooja and enjoyed some hot tikkis and then went to a Theka to get the booze for the night, after which we went back to our hotel and emptied ourselves of all kind of intoxicants and went to visit the most divine place on this Earth…The Golden Temple…

Satnam Waahe Guru…

I just cannot describe my state of mind when I enter this sacred place and I transform into a different human being, taken over by the almighty divinity…after gaining back my senses got myself clicked…the regular Golden Temple Pics though didn’t go inside the main complex as we wanted to come the next day with the entire group.

The Bull Rodeos arrive…

Finally at 11:30 the group of 7 bikes & 8 riders arrived after going through a harrowing time of endless breakdowns and making the journey of 480 odd kms in some 15 hours, I hit out with the group just instantly and soon the expletives were flowing in the air and these guys got ready for the main attraction of the evening, the Daaru Party, we brought out the Antiquity Blue Whiskey for them which we had bought specially for them from Chandigarh at a mind-boggling price of 425 bucks…yes that cheap!!! Chandigarh is not just the city beautiful for its landscaping & hot girls but also for cheap liquor!!!some of the guys started to sleep through the Bakchodi session and some of us remaining-the brave ones decided to head out for a very very late dinner at 2 AM in the night!!! Luckily we found a very helpful tempo driver who took us to the Bus Stand where there was a solitary Parantha Vendor whose life was soon to become a never-ending nightmare of making paranths for a hungry…very hungry group of motorcyclists who were very drunk as well…we ate countless number of Paranthas with delicious chhole and literally emptied his stock…all for a paltry sum of 280 bucks…man Amritsar is the city divine, it can surely fill empty stomachs of one & all!! !at 3 AM we finally called it a day and then the snoring session started…9 tired guys making the weirdest of the noises, I could not handle it anymore and stuffed my ears with some much-needed cotton wool and then only could finally sleep…for a change this musical symphony was simply unbearable!!!

What a day…what a start…

We all got ready by 9 AM and went to The Golden Temple to take a dip in the very chilled waters of the Holy Sarovar and it was simply out-of-this-world, other fellow pilgrims were shocked to see us take a dip in such chilly weather but we thoroughly enjoyed it and believe me the water was not actually that cold…then we stood in the line and after some 20 odd minutes of wait entered the holy sanctorum of the Darbaar Saahib, the crowds are so well managed at this place that we must take a bow just to the management of the temple…see I am not a very religious person but whenever I am at this place and as I have already written I transform and its actually unbelievable but I don’t mind it all and just love getting soaked in this divine place…after the Darshan the next POA was some heavy-duty breakfast which was extremely well-deserved & much needed at the same time…

When Motorcyclists are hungry…anything can happen…

We went to the famous Kulwantiyan de Naan Restaurant to enjoy the famous Amritsari Naan but due to the crowds no seats were available and we decided to sit on the footpath and start eating without waiting for the seats to get vacant and it was a decision worth making as it was one crazy time we all had…all together the 11 of us had 38 Naans in total and believe me one naan is very heavy and I am sure the people who already have eaten them would surely agree with me!!! We tried every category…Aloo, Paneer, Pithi, Gobhi & Mix…nothing was spared!!!

Bharat Mata ki Jai!!!

We went back to our hotel physically, emotionally and spiritually satisfied and then got ready to go to the Wagah Border which is one place which no Indian worth his/her salt should miss in their lifetime…and the ride was great fun…10 bikes riding in formation and finally when we reached we created quite a ruckus with our Bullet Engines roaring like monsters in a quite synchronized fashion!!!, the whole place became standstill for a while and it was simply crazy…The place was the most crowded I had ever seen in my 4 trips and we were about to see the kind of crowds which we had never ever seen, it was like a mini country in itself, we barely found some place to stand…well actually it was not actually standing as all of us were barely stable on our feet!!! it was that crowded but the scenes were quite regular…people dancing, shouting slogans and the regular India rhetoric which I found at times absurd…people love chanting “Hindustaan Zindaabaad” but in reality how many of us actually fulfill our duties of being a true Indian, things like keeping our country clean which I feel is one thing which we completely give a miss, there are millions of other duties which we don’t perform to make our country the best in the world but thousands of people there were at their loudest best in shouting the slogans!!! Quite weird for me atleast…I don’t know how many of you would agree to my viewpoint but I believe in this 1000%...

The Bullet Magic…

The ceremony ended and we were soon up & running through an endless stream of cars, trucks, jeeps & what not but as always being on bikes helped and we were soon out of the mad traffic and were ruling the roads once again and when we reached the main city, I started sounding my horn in a musical way and soon all 10 bikes joined in the fun and we made quite a statement (some of the BOPians would relate to this especially The Jalori Juggernauts)!!! I am sure Amritsar has thousands of Royal Enfields but none of the residents had seen these kinds of scenes!!!

The Robbie Show…

Robin aka Robbie from The Bull Rodeos was on his first bike ride and he wanted to make this the most special trip of his life and I could completely relate to his emotions as some 2 years back I also went through the same…we stopped at a spot where there was ample space to park our 10 bikes and click some pics of the Bikes-in-Formation and boy-oh-boy Robbie came alive…he ensured that all the bikes were parked perfectly and came up with some of the most brilliant ideas for the ever happy photographer duo-Ajit & Vikas who are just like Vodafone---Happy to CLICK!!! all of us were really getting hungry and what was waiting for us was out of this world…

The Art of Gastronomy…

Only a few restaurants in our country perfect the art of Gastronomy and The Surjit Food Plaza situated in The Nehru Complex on the Lawrence Road of Amritsar is one of those few places, believe me no other place as per me serves better non-vegetarian food than Surjit and it has to be eaten to be believed…so go there and enjoy…no words can explain the gastronomical magic of this place…we kept on eating & eating before our helpless tummies surrendered to the delights…fish, mutton, chicken…nothing was spared…so guys the next time you are even remotely close to Amritsar or in there don’t even think of giving this place a miss…

Motorcyclists and the sweet tooth…

Next in our POA was the famous Pista Milk & Fruit Cream at Novelty and the hot jalebis & gulaab-jaamuns at Sharma Sweets Shop…we kept on hogging as if there was no tomorrow and the dooms day was minutes away…our tummies were begging for some mercy but we were not in any benevolent mood!!! Now you surely why Amritsar is my favourite place!!! No doubts left…right?

The worst part of a ride…

As all motorcyclists would agree, the saddest part of any bike ride is the last night where one has to start the return ride the next morning, nobody wants to sleep or go back home but you can’t help it…and we had to ride for some 500 odd kms the next day and nobody even faintly knew how the next day would shape up…things were about to get very interesting & gloomy!!!

A new challenge…

Every ride throws up a new challenge at me of a totally different kind and this time it was riding through dense fog & almost zero visibility…we started at 7 AM from Amritsar and the exit from the city was quite smooth and the moment we reached the open highway things got very scary and foggy…as expected I was leading the group and could not see a thing infront of me & this was the first time for me when I was riding in Fog…I took it up as a challenge and kept fighting the elements like a fighter!!! after some tough moments and very chilly moments they were we finally stopped at a Dhaba which was only some metres away from the road but was barely visible through the fog…all we wanted was some hot tea and for our 3 friends to join us as they started late after visiting another Gurudwara in Amritsar, I was very worried for them as we were riding in a bigger group and things were relatively easier for us due to that but them being just 3 was worrisome for me…finally we heard the legendary thump and heaved a sigh of relief…in that weather tea never tasted better!!! That’s quite a rhyming sentence I just came up with…thanks for the compliments…we waited for the fog to clear but to no avail, we were only some 70 kms into the ride and already we had spent some 3.5 hours so we all decided to start again and wait for the fog to clear up as we rode forward…and this was quite a wise decision as the weather cleared in another 15 odd minutes and we were riding through clear weather and no fog whatsoever!!! It was hard to believe and very satisfying!!! Riding through fog in a very chilly morning is not much fun believe me…though it is challenging but is very risky at the same time…

Clarity of Weather & Body!!!
The clear weather forced my body to clear itself again and that too out in the open…yes you got it right…the next stop was a dumping stop and it was extremely satisfying and I loved it to bits…

The Mystery solved…finally…

All through the ride on the NH-1, I had seen roadside-sellers with a heap of some orange Citrus Fruit on the road selling it’s juice and all this while I thought the fruit to be Malta-the one from which the famous Country Liquor or Desi Daru is made but when I actually stopped to have some juice I found out it was actually Kinnoo and it was extremely delicious, I had 2 glasses of it and got 2 glasses packed for the ride ahead…

I am loving it…

Rarely do we stop at the luxurious places to eat during a ride like McDonalds but this time it was different as all of us had decided to meet at this point only because we were not riding in a formation…I enjoyed a really heavy meal as just before stopping I had made another Dump-Stop and Ajit was simply numbed & he was shocked to see somebody’s Digestive System being so active & responsive!!! I had 2 Filet Fish Burgers, 2 Chicken McGrill Burgers and one Cold Coffee to gulp them down!!! all because I was really hungry and was eating at McDonalds after a very long time…STATUTORY WARNING…Please don’t get surprised at the relationship between my physique & heavy diet…it is a long story, would tell you whenever we meet!!!

Another NH-1 BBB Break…

The moronic NHAI had stopped one part of the road for its construction…how idiotic is that…on a Sunday when half of Delhi was returning back from the Christmas Break they made used of their non-existent brains to block one part of the Highway!!! Being on our bikes helped our cause immensely and we were not frustrated like the thousands of car drivers stuck on that road… Me & Ajit after coming through these Jams reached Karnal and stopped for a beer break with some hot Chicken Fry which was thoroughly enjoyed by both of us…the weather was getting colder and the taste of the fresh chicken was becoming delicious by the minute…

The Aakraamaks get back…

We reached the Landfill Site at 10 PM and it was painfully chilly…much colder than Amritsar and I was all excited for the ride till Gurgaon back home…luckily no breakdowns on the way and all of reached back safe, hale & hearty…and the best part was that I zipped through the 480 kms throughout…this tiem Ajit was not as slow as he was while reaching Amritsar and I made the most of it. I roared till 120 kmph speeds and thoroughly enjoyed!!!

The Bull Rodeos…

Now some special words for a special motorcycling Club…all of the 8 people were simply amazing and it was a pleasure riding with each one of them…

Rajwardhan Purohit aka Raj Sir: He works at a Leadership Position at a Leading IT Services Orgn at Noida and is one amazing person, talks very less but whenever speaks he makes perfect sense, our riding camaraderie on the Amritsar-Wagah road was tremendous and at the end of that leg his words were quite appropriate!!! He told me – “You ride really fast!!!”

Tajinder Singh Matharu aka TJ: Another great person and a I hit off with him very well…he wants to ride much more than he has been able to due to his professional & personal commitments but he makes the most of it everytime, he even started a Motorcycling Club at his Orgn!!!

Harman Singh aka Harry: Another person who speaks less but was nonetheless good at heart, I had minimal interaction with him but surely enjoyed with him.

Himesh aka Jignes: For the first time I rode along with a Gujarati and had a ball with him, he speaks at the same rate like me and was great fun in the unending Bakchodi sessions with him!!! And he hates being a Gujarati!!!

Rahul Manchanda: Decent, Sober, Calm & Collected…as per me these 4 words describe him perfectly…The handwritten note on his bike made perfect sense: “There are 2 types of riders: one who ride to impress their Girlfriends and second who ride for themselves…Q- Which one are you???”

Tushar aka The Perpetual Sleeper: Didn’t quite gel with him as he was always sleeping though a good guy nonetheless…

Faiz Bhai: A very good human being and an equally great motorcyclist, he is the backbone of BR and he plays that role with 100% zeal & passion just like me…loved riding along with him…the discussions I had with him were very meaningful & fun…

Robin Singh aka Robbie: He personifies what a true Sardaar is for me…unbashed, fun-loving and good-spirited, this was his first ride and he wanted to enjoy literally every second of it, he came up with some brilliant photography ideas about which I have already mentioned and I would surely soon meet him for a longish Beer Session!!!

Important Details of the Ride:
Dates of the Ride: 24-25-26-27 December 2009
Total Distance Covered: 1080 kms
Gurgaon to Amritsar Route: Gurgaon – Murthal – Chandigarh – Banga – Jallandhar – Amritsar
Amritsar to Gurgaon Route: Amritsar – Jallandhar – Rajpura - Karnal – Gurgaon
Name of the Hotel: Novelty Inn, Near Jallianwala Bagh
The List of Travel Maps I have compiled: http://www.4shared.com/dir/18393763/2c1e01e0/Travel_Maps.html

Pics & Videos of the Ride:

Vikas: http://picasaweb.google.com/gvikiv/AmritsarAaakramaks
Che: http://picasaweb.google.com/jha.nishant/TheBOPAmritsarAakraamaks?feat=directlink
Harman: http://picasaweb.google.com/harmanpreets/Amritsar09?authkey=Gv1sRgCKLCu-LVtICHTw&feat=directlink
TJ: http://picasaweb.google.co.in/matharu.jasminder/AMRISARRIDEDEC2009?feat=directlink&fgl=true&pli=1# - TJ
Video 1:http://www.4shared.com/file/184088105/60587663/20091225_4468.html
Video 2: http://www.4shared.com/file/184070624/67c28dcc/20091225_4478.htm
Statutory Warning::: Please don't try copying the dance moves & vocals in these videos...I hold the patents!!!

I know this blog post has been really lengthy but as always it has come straight out of my heart…no artificial words…no hidden feelings…and this was the last ride of 2010 and I enjoyed every bit of it…

2010 won’t be as hectic wrt motorcycling as was 2009 but am sure I would be ruling the roads as always!!!

Che would be back on the road again…

Till then ride safe & have safe sex…

Hasta la Victoria Siempre…

The BOP Bikaner Boomerangs

2009-12-31T23:42:00.001+05:30

Rajasthan is one of the most magical regions in this world and it has been my long dream to visit each and every part of it, I started in the right earnest with a ride to Pushkar in Nov 2008, followed it with a Car Trip to Mt. Abu in July 2009 and then another ride to Ranthambore in Nov 2009…one part was still missing in the chain; and that was a big ride to the Desert…once again me & Dips came up with the destination and it was Bikaner!!! The closest place to Delhi where one can experience the desert magic of Rajasthan…and then I followed the BOP Customs…ride introductory mails were sent out, stay options were scouted, route maps were decided and the itinerary of the ride frozen upon…I knew this ride would be big but I had no freaking idea that it would be one of the craziest rides I would ever do!!! So read on for the BOP Bikaner Boomerangs Magic!!! JAI BOP…

The Bikaner Boomerangs were:
1. Ajit on his Blue Thunderbird
2. Dips on his Black Electra
3. Tomar on his Red Electra
4. Vibhor on his 500 Machismo(debut BOP Rider)
5. Amit Mukherjee on his Blue Standard(debut BOP Rider)
6. Vihans on his Orange FZ-16
7. Gyan on his Red Karizma
8. Doley on his Red Avenger
9. Sunny on his Black Pulsar 180(debut Rider)
10. Che on The Mighty One

The Chilled Beginning
The 10 Boomerangs gathered at the Leisure Valley Park and started the ride with a big aplomb…zipping our engines and leaving behind the mundane city life and starting on the open highway roads- the place where we all really belong to…it was extremely cold considering the December Winter was starting to set in and we were all ready with our Winter Riding Gear…

The (MIS)navigation
I always try my best to go through the accurate route but as they “Man proposes but God disposes”…I can not agree more…I had my trusted map from the Eicher Road Atlas with me but somewhere in the middle it all went wrong and we didn’t take the correct turn towards Narnaul and after passing through the Haryana Village roads and witnessing a gorgeous sunrise through the Mustard Fields we hit the NH-8 again…luckily it all ended in a laugh as I was expecting loads of abuses flying my way…maybe the early morning chill didn’t let the mouths open up…what we all really wanted after the big miss & the laughs was some much-needed hot tea & paranthas dripping with butter…and our wish was granted as a Dhaba was right across the road and we had a really heavy breakfast…after all God is never always harsh on me!!!

The Decorative Motorcyclist
Who says that motorcyclists are harsh & ruthless human beings as even we have some emotions and also some creative juices flowing in us apart from the endless beer running through us…we stopped for our first Theka Pit-Stop, enjoyed some Child Beer and I gorged on some unexpected snakes to go with us- The amazing pink Sugar Candy Floss!!! I just love the flavour…my childhood days just come running back to me whenever I eat it. And the best part was that the vendor was also selling some balloons…one magnificent idea struck my golden mind and I decided to embellish The Mighty One with some coloured balloons!!! To give it a decorative look…

The Love Affair continues…
With our tummies & throats satisfied our heart was also looking for some satisfaction of its own and what better way than to ride through some amazing roads and as always the heart got its wish…we were soon riding through the smoothest tarmac roads of the country…the NH-11…believe me some of the most amazing roads you would ever find…it’s a rider’s dream…no vehicles on the road, just you, your bike & your buddies…we had the desert on both sides & the beautiful sky for company which was changing it’s colours every five minutes…just could not stop myself from raving about our Country and thanking God for giving me the opportunity to explore it as well… and as always I didn’t let the golden opportunity pass me by…I had never dumped in the Desert Terrain so off I went behind the bushes and this time Tomar & Vibhor also accompanied me…with no tissue papers with us we found an indigenous idea…I tore my handkerchief into 3 pieces and it was duly used as the tissue paper!!! What a discovery…I am soon going to get it patented…I hate cheap imitations…

The Breakdown Stop
With some 30 odd kms left for Bikaner, I got a call from Dips that his bike had stalled…I rushed back to him and found out that he had some trouble with his new big tank which he had recently installed…the primer coat on the inside was coming off and was reaching the engine which had resulted in a clogged carburetor and the engine stopping finally…I got my torch & Leatherman knife out and opened it up, cleaned it and fitted it back again and soon we were up & running…all this while Zaheer Bhai was a great help as he guided us through…the bike started again but sadly after some 10 kms the same trouble happened again and the same corrective measures were followed…luckily we reached Bikaner & our Guest House without any further stops…how can a BOP Ride be complete without some breakdowns…they are like what Chutney & Pyaaz is to Tandoori Chicken…have to go together!!!

The Camel Man
We reached our Guest House quite funnily named “The Camel Man Guest House”…you can find more about it at their website http://www.camelman.com/ , the rooms were extremely cozy and we got a rousing welcome to boot…the next POA was plain & simple…a long BBB Session…we had been waiting for it for the last 500 odd kms!!! and it was expectedly a fun-filled one…believe you have to attend one to find the heights of Bakchodi we attain during these sessions…they get as high as the Mt. Everest itself…and that’s 8848 metres high!!!

Laal Maas beckons…
After the long ride & the ever enjoyable BBB session all we wanted was a very heavy dinner and here also I had planned well in advance…I had pre-ordered the native Rajasthani Dish simply named Laal Maas…cooked with just Pungent(very pungent) red chillies, Mutton & Salt and with lots of love thrown in for some good measure!!! believe me it was the spiciest delicacy which I had ever eaten in my entire life but at the same time the most delicious as well…Mutton never tasted this good…and the best part was the moment we started our dinner there was a thick blanket of silence which engulfed us…see we have priorities in the right place…we enjoy what we do and focus on it whole-heartedly…

Fire in our souls and around us...
What would one need after Meat, Beer & a long ride on a cold winter night…yes the answer is a Bonfire…it was duly set up by the hotel staff and then another dance session started with me blurting out my signature pelvic & body thrusts !!! our newly christened Tauji was also in a festive mood---yes you got it right…the ever lovable Vihans…he also danced merrily with me with gay abandon…the memorable day was coming to a glorious end and we called it a day at 1 am finally after a fun-filled day of revelry & brotherhood…

Another Day…Another Fort…
BOP & History go hand in hand and we continued our illustrious stint of visiting forts with a visit to the historic & magnificent Junagarh Fort. And the best part about this fort is that unlike the numerous other forts which are dying a slow 7 painful death due to ASI’s apathy, the Bikaner Royal family has not donated their fort to the Indian Government and they still maintain it like their own baby which has ensured there are no ugly scribbling on the walls and no paan-stains as well plus we also got a free guide with our group at just a paltry entry fees of 10 rs per person…surely the Royal Family deserves a pat on its back…the interiors of the fort are beautiful and the history abundant with stories of adultery & royal revelry…we had a great experience and wish ASI spend some more time in managing our rich history rather than just ignoring it completely…I vouch for Capital Punishment for every a$$hole who scribble on any heritage wall…and yes I mean it…Capital Punishment…

BOP rides a new beast…
Another of my wish was soon to get granted…after a hurried lunch at a small dhaba which was not small when it came to the taste we rushed towards the starting point of our much-expected Camel Safari…all of us were excited to the core at the thought of riding a different kind of beast-The Camel…each one of us selected our camel from the lot and I went for one named “Kalu”-my home nickname, the name by which I am called by my Parents…and what a handsome beast it was…4 years old and very strong…it was a 8 kms camel ride which felt like a 80 kms one as the experience of riding a camel over such a distance is not a very happy one for the lower-rear of the Human Anatomy…and then the race began…the non-BOP riders had gone much ahead from the BOP Lot and they were raving about it and you very well know the competitive streak of me…I took it up as a challenge, took Kalu’s charge from it’s shepherd and zipped ahead and as expected beat the Non-Bullet Riders and reached the destination first!!! It was surely a sweet victory…

Sand Dunes & the Kings…
We reached our camp site and had a tea-pakoras breakfast…it was like an appetizer for the long evening & night which was in store for us…the tea gave way to some child beer & McDowells No. 1 Dark Rum!!! a Bonfire was set up again to keep us warm & safe from the very chilly night-out in the desert and the traditional Rajasthani Music session started…one vocalist & 2 kids playing the instruments…man they were simply out of this world and took us all to a totally different world-the one which exists in every mind but we travel to it only rarely due to some sheer brilliance we experience…after the musical brilliance we wanted our share as well and we left for a high sand dune and started our very own long-very long singing session…one can safely call it shouting as a singer would have died hearing our kind of music…each one of us was in his zone…but there was one partnership which was getting groomed…Che & Tomar Bhai…the real magic was just getting started…the clear favourite of this session was “Yeh Lal Rang” the famous Kishore Kumar song from the movie “Prem Nagar” picturised on the original superstar Rajesh Khanna and this time sung by the superstars of BOP!!! We kept on repeating this song till we were exhausted…and then another dumping session for me in the desert atop a sand-dune…wow!!! What a feeling it was…and when my tummy gets empty soon after it yearns for a meal…and this time it was the Laal Maas again…yes we wanted more of it inspite of its chilly properties…the silence was shattered by the song “Yeh Laal Rang” which was blurted out repeatedly with full fervour!!! We kept hogging till the last piece of the meat was over and after a tiring camel ride, a vocal chords checking session and a long bout of BBB we went inside our cozy & very comfortable tents to enjoy a well-earned long sleep…

The Tomar Show…
With sleep on everybody’s minds, Tomar Bhai had some plans of his own and I became his partner-in-crime…he had got the Dholak of the Rajasthani Musicians and also another instrument and came up with an idea to wake everybody up and not let anybody sleep through the night…the mischief streaks of my body also woke up and we started going to every other tent with Tomar blurting out his vocals and me backing him up my share of percussion brilliance!!! Sunny played the Lightman and used my torch for some very intelligently coordinated light moves of his own…it was time of 1000% fun and one which cannot be described as it had to be experienced to be believed and the best part was that Tomar Bhai was the brain behind it…he normally speaks on an average some 2.5 sentences in 24 hours but he shook all of us with his mastery and a time we would never ever forget…Tomar Bhai this one is for you…Jai Kunwar Ji!!!

Another Musical Magic…
We woke up after a deep slumber and with shock & awe in our minds after the Tomar Show and he was back to his silent superstar ways…we had another heavy breakfast and soon were up & running on our 2 camel carts…another new mode of transport experienced by us…we reached a village where a jeep had to take us back to our Guest House, it got delayed and luckily we could experience another musical mastery…an old Rajasthani Couple were begging through the streets and were playing an authentic Rajasthani home-made instrument on the lines of a Sarangi and both of them were singing some Rajasthani Folk Songs…for the next 20 minutes nobody moved or spoke a single word…we were all stunned by the music…Surely Rajasthan has a very big bag of magic tricks up its sleeve and the state just keep pulling out one magic after another…

BOP prioritizes…
Some of us wanted to go to the famous Deshnok Rat Temple and some of us to the Indira Gandhi Canal…and off we went…Sunny, Ajit & Vihans went to the temple and the rest of us went towards the canal, I had wanted to visit this canal as this has transformed the barren desert lands of Rajasthan to a land which is green & very fertile…and en route we also experienced the Rajasthani Road Magic…even the local village roads are superb…and this road to the canal was straight out of every Biker’s Dream Book…the big-wide desert on both the sides made me go crazy and I zipped till the speed of 126 kmph…man that’s fast & scary but I enjoyed every piece of it…We did a long Desert-Style Photo Shoot and came back to Bikaner to do some Namkeen Shopping for our homes…see even we have our soft side which the world completely ignores…

Dance BOP Dance…
We went to the Suraj Restaurant for dinner where the Thali is the specialty and it was recommended specially by out GH Owner…but before the dinner we got to experience a new high…there was a marriage procession passing by and we all started to dance on the high-bass beats of the Brass Band…danced like there was no tomorrow and the girls in the procession gave us some thirsty looks-how much they wanted to join our jig but sadly the ugly traditions stopped them for becoming amorous!!! We wished the groom good luck and went inside the restaurant for our dinner…

BOP & Rain – The never-ending love affair…
We woke up to a rainy morning but luckily a very light drizzle and started our return ride in pitch-darkness with rain keeping us company for some 80-odd kms…Rain has been part of 3 of our 2009 rides- Mcleodganj, Binsar & Bhangarh and all of them had seriously heavy downpours but luckily this time God showed some mercy and spared us the troubles of riding in the rain which I personally don’t relish much…

My Calculation Error…
This is mistake-admission time…I am sure the Boomerangs would forgive me for my mistake…My bike reached the fuel-reserve point and I simply forgot, soon my bike just stalled due to lack of fuel but luckily Vibhor Bhai with his experience & the raw power of his Machismo 500 pushed my bike for some 30 kms and took me to the next petrol pump…I didn’t admit my fault there as I was really feeling very bad but I thought would own up when I write this blog post…sorry guys…

Another Milestone Achieved…
I have rode through Drass which is the coldest inhabited place in India and I always wanted to ride through Churu as well which is the hottest place in India and the opportunity came through in this ride…I felt proud on achieving another Riding Milestone and we all celebrated it with a Breakfast at a Dhaba just opposite the Churu Railway Station….had a satisfying one and started the ride again…

Regressive is the Word…
We reached Jhunjhunu where Vihans wanted to visit a Sati Temple made in the honour of a woman who became a Sati by willingly getting herself burnt to death by sitting on her dead husband’s pyre…it’s a shame that such a temple was made and it’s a bigger shame that people keep flocking such temples…I find it completely ridiculous and shameful…nonetheless India is a land of such shameless traditions and we can just play our part by not being a part of them and educating people not to repeat & respect such horrors…

The Final Breakdown…
We reached NH-8 after a long ride and then Ajit’s Clutch Cable snapped…I got a call and then me, Amit, Dips & Tomar rushed to his bike and tried repairing his bike and once again with Zaheer’s help were somewhat successful…he atleast could manage to ride his bike at 50-60 kmph till his home…once again a small breakdown solved in no time. All this while the rest of us were waiting for us at the Gurgaon Toll=Plaza to bid each other the final goodbye of the ride before leaving for our respective homes…another prime example of the rider bonhomie!!!

The Final Cheers…
As is BOP’s tradition we always end our rides with a final pint of beer at a new Gurgaon Theka each time and this time also it was no different; me, Vibhor & Dips enjoyed a Pint of Tuborg and wished each other for another successful ride completed and this ride was ultra special as this was the first 1000+ kms BOP Ride!!! yes we have rode together umpteen times but this was the first time we were together for more than 1000 kms and I am not counting my WCR or Ladakh Ride as they were non-BOP Ride…me & Dips shouted our War-Cry Jai BOP at the BOP Point as is our ritual and reached our home tired, happy & very dirty !!!

Important Details of the Ride:
Dates of the Ride: 12-13-14-15 December 2009
Total Distance Covered: 1120 kms
Gurgaon to Bikaner Route: Gurgaon – Rewari – Neem ka Thana – Sikar – Fatehpur – Bikaner
Bikaner to Gurgaon Route: Bikaner – Churu – Jhunjhunu – Narnaul – Rewari – Gurgaon
GH Website: http://www.camelman.com/
Owner(Mr. Vijay Singh Rathore)’s Contact No.: +919829217331
Maps: http://www.4shared.com/dir/18393763/2c1e01e0/Travel_Maps.html

Pics of the Ride:
Vibhor - http://picasaweb.google.com/destinyvb/Picture?feat=directlink
Ajit – http://picasaweb.google.com/ajitsingh208/Bikaner#
Che -http://picasaweb.google.co.in/bullsonparadeMC/TheBikanerBoomerangsCheSAlbum?feat=directlink

Special Thanks to Doley, Sunny, Amit & Vibhor who rode with BOP for the first time and were great riding partners…Vibhor with his never-say-die spirit, Doley with the cutest-of-them-all smile, Sunny with his fun-filled bakchodi and I would reserve my comments for Amit (better remain silent for a change!!!)

And wishing a speedy recovery to Dips who has recently undergone an Operation for a ligament tear…he would be out of the riding circuit foe some time to come and I am sure once he is back there would be no looking back….Dips Bhai we have to ride to Ladakh together in 2010…come what may…best of luck to you…

Che would be back on the road again…

Till then ride safe & have safe sex…

Hasta la Victoria Siempre…