Section 2: The Journey > Chapter 11: Dunes of Doom

May 31, 2010

And so the miles fly by as an angry sun turns its wrath onto us. We've bid adieu to NH-76 at Chittorgarh and made our acquaintance with NH-79 as we forge forward.

Facebook update: @gangrar: 140km today, 922km total
31 May at 16:01 via Text message

Veeral Joshi
carry on.... :)
31 May at 16:02

Satnam Singh Vohra
awesum bro-- but rem njoi the ride iand not just the destination
31 May at 16:19 

The 79 competes with the 76 in offering up a platter of visual treats.

It's almost 9pm and we have yet to reach Ajmer. The sun has since abandoned us, choosing instead to focus on other longitudes as dark swoops in to present its company. The 79 will abandon us too as we reacquaint ourselves with the tarmac of the 8 once more.

Facebook update: Paneer parathas outside Ajmer. 341km dne so far. Slow boring travelling today.

31 May at 20:50 via Text message

Siddhesh Kulkarni
tasty parathas... yummy!!! hv 1 xtra on my behalf... when r u gonna rch delhi...?
31 May at 21:54

Dinesh Samtani
wow.....parathas.....awesome!!
31 May at 23:05

Facebook update: 200km more to get to Jaipur.
31 May at 17:13 via Text message

Gopinath Venugopal
‎140??? Why?
31 May at 17:28

Dinesh Samtani
cool!!!!!
31 May at 17:41

Facebook update: Jjjjjaipur! 415km today. 1197km total.

31 May at 22:19 via Text message
Satnam Singh Vohra and Satyen Makhija like this.

Dinesh Samtani
Awesome....Good going man!!!!
31 May at 23:06

The above update will have to find its way through a pitch dark ether towards a lone server dedicated to Facebook. It will hit its mark. Its 11pm and we are trying to connect with Indradeep Singh. Indradeep aka Inder has shuttled his steed from Pune to Agra via rails from where he would ride to Delhi and beyond. Our desire, or as some would say, compulsion was to catch up with him somewhere along the way if it were possible. The possibility dissolves on account of his phone being unavailable.

While we break, Spiderweb convinces us to try kulfi from a road side stall. I'm all set to regret my decision to go along for I'm sure I'll hate it. My pre-conceived notions bite dust as I take a second helping. We break longer than we should; for the gentleman manning the stall is fabulously drunk and in a mood for some friendly banter. I study him. Late 50s perhaps with a face that exudes an uncanny innocence - a boy trapped in an aging body. He displays pride in the notion that Jaipur denizens are one of the friendliest, most helpful and most honest denizens on the planet. I suspect his notion is not unjustified. He offers us ice for our warm bottles of water. "No charge", he says. I thank him as he beams with pride. He inquires about our journey, our health and expresses concern over our safety. I assure him we are safe and will continue being safe, if not for anything else, to keep our promise to him.

As we ride off into the darkness, he steps in front of my bike at the risk of being run over, waves both his hands and says "Bye bye, bye bye".  "Goodbye dear friend; and thank you for being you." is all I can think. Wave my hand hastily as I try to navigate the steed away from his body is all I can do.

And while the mind captures his face, his mannerisms, his humanity, the camera manages a solitary unassuming click. I regret little, but I regret not capturing him on film to share with you his gentleness, his kindness. But I do share with you his spirit and thoughts.

Sleep is catching up with us again. We've slept a fair bit the night prior, but riding from Mumbai to Rajasthan isn't a practice; the physicality of the effort demeans every bone in your body - impressing on it that there is a limitation to the limitless. But it gets worse - which should come as no surprise to all. For the highway becomes our worst nightmare as potholes loosen our grip on the throttle; heavy cross winds toy with our metal, pushing and pressing us against the edges of the tarmac, threatening to throw us off or to throw us onto a goods-laden motor monster; several diversions that lead into a one lane pile of gravel make us reconsider calling our movement progress. For we seem to be running into harsher conditions. Our vision is now completely impaired. The high pitch of darkness is deafening, the glare of high-beams from oncoming traffic blinding and bursts of sand and grime from the surrounding desert carried forth by the cross-winds are mortifying for they threaten to bully you and bury you where you ride. And ride we must for several hours surrounded by the hostile.

And it is under these conditions that the mighty Karizma begins to falter. For its headlights dim down, its master unable to decipher road from rock. We break, considering possibilities. Signs of civilization are bleak a competent mechanic is a distant dream.


Motorbreath whispers, "Pulsar rocks".

June 1, 2010

Facebook update: Spiders headlight dim (bettery issue). Me leading the night ride. Wish I had HDI!
01 June at 00:12 via Text message

Sagar Raikar
HID?
01 June at 20:00

Sagar Raikar
you might have borrowed from satyen
01 June at 20:01


Facebook update: ... I mean "battery" n I mean HID (prev stat) :-)
01 June at 00:14 via Text message



Spiderweb commands me to ride ahead; as he visually navigates his steed under the illumination of the R-15s lamps. I firmly believe the R-15s lamps leave much to be desired for the illumination is less than ordinary. But as traffic picks up, he finds enough illumination from the headlamps of the larger vehicles and takes lead again. I fall back and begin to tail Motorbreath once more. Occasionally, as the traffic thins, Spiderweb will fall back allowing us to forge ahead and shed light on his distinctly dark path. Intermittently, the Karizma, in a bid to not let its master down, pushes for more illumination - the headlights brighten for a while only to dim down in time. It is apparent that the beast has been mis-wired in the midst of Udaipur.

Meanwhile the jabs between Spiderweb and Motorbreath have dwindled down for speed was not an option in the path we took. But the jabs will resurface as we get closer to Delhi, causing Motorbreath to consider riding alone to Delhi - a consideration that's shot down by Spiderweb on the pretext that regardless of how we function internally, we ride as a group and get to wherever we get to as a group. From where I stand, Motorbreath is under immense pressure - one that will impact the group dynamics significantly in the days to come. I will turn your attention to the significance of this impact as we travel further. For now, Spiderweb and Motorbreath have slipped into a friendly banter - like siblings and as the saying goes - Aall is well.

We break once more for thirst quenchers and some chair napping. I get this click.

As we ride out once more, Spiderweb is concerned. For we are to be accomodated in an abode that belongs to a relative of Spiderweb and he has indicated to them that we will arrive in Delhi by 2am. That target seems unachievable now simply because we are way past the mark. We did not anticipate the treachery of NH-8.

Facebook update: Exhilirating (not) ride thru sand clouds, pitch dark roads, potholes, n more.
01 June at 02:29 via Text message

Sagar Raikar
keep it up people.........all the best
01 June at 02:43

Dinesh Samtani
Go Go Go..

Spiderweb, understandably, does not want to arrive at their doorstep at 4am which we probably will. He suggests we kill time at a dhaba, get some rest and proceed a few hours later. And that is exactly what we proceed to do. We eat like hungry truck drivers, rest on khatias and laugh our heads off watching bollywood movies from the yesteryears with ludicrous plots and an insanely funny art that was being passed off as acting by scheming denizens who called themselves actors. Yes, favourably, the dhaba has installed a mini-tv which is rocking to the bizarre beats of Bollywood.

The particular skit we were blessed with involved a police officer played by a very tired looking Shatrughan Sinha whose wife is kidnapped by the crime overlord. The officer's brother, played by Sanjay Dutt, looks horny for the most part and seems VERY keen on saving his bhabhi from the evil clutches of an equally horny villain while Shatrughan Sinha sports a constant "Ya whatever, they'll send her back when they get bored with her" look. On seeing Sanjay Dutt's desperation to save the bhabhi aka his wife, Shatrughan Sinha has the "Something is fishy. I must see this for myself" look on his face and so, even though he has little or no interest in protecting the hag called his wife (I don't recall who played the role), he must go and try and pretend to be a man and save her before his brother charms his way into her ... well. Obviously we had our share of bhabhi jokes to share.

And while we are at it, Spiderweb decides that adding a dump to the mix won't be such a bad idea after all. On determining the absence of a bathroom, or the presence of a big one called Mother Earth, off he goes into the darkness of the fields beyond to leave his mark and give them bacteria some food for thought. On his return, Motorbreath follows suit. I contribute a mere piddle.

Facebook update: Motor n spider take a late night dump behind a dhaba under the moonlight! Romantic!

01 June at 03:26 via Text message
Samardeep Singh, Swapnil Jadhav and Rohit Chourasia like this.

Rohit Chourasia
jealous!!! Hmmm
01 June at 03:30

Alankar Misra
No no I bless ur union with holy water (ie pee!!!) :-) family forum people!!!!
01 June at 03:31

Deepak Vadhani
so where exactly are you now..........Dilli kitni door hai????
And these two are at it since god knows when.........lol
01 June at 06:48

Rachit K
haha..!!
01 June at 11:54

Atul Aherwar
rofl@@@
01 June at 13:39

Insanity at its best. Bidi's for Motorbreath for lack of cigarettes. More ticks, a few clicks.

It is time to leave. We did not want to be too early, but we do not want to be too late either for, Spiderweb explains, if we delay our entry into Delhi, goods trucks will begin their entry into the capital city as the sun breaks out and we will encounter heavy traffic. We ferry our bikes down a slope of sand - Motorbreath and me that is. Spiderweb isn't following suit, for the mighty Karizma has nose dived into silence. It won't start...again.

The drill of button starts, kick starts and push starts begins again but the engine won't roar. We all take turns with the kick to no avail. We are uncomfortable miles away from a mechanic - for now we don't adjectify it competence for just about anyone will do. But when the steed won't speed, we give up. Well, almost. For as he hops off his steed, Spiderweb notices a wire hanging lose. He plugs it back into a socket nearby, hits the button start and the steed comes alive. I have my back turned to him and hear only the roar of the engine. I'm ecstatic as are the rest. Time to move along.

The remainder of the road offers no adventures - just pain - immense physical pain. My hands hurt, my back hurts, my bum gave up hurting several bumps ago for it can hurt no more. I'm not alone. As the sun comes up, we are close to our destination; we break for a few more clicks.

Not far down that road, we see a toll booth and a board that welcomes us to Delhi. We made it. We rode from India's commercial capital to India's capital, we did it in a group of three, with wheels that count to two, up to a total of six. And Spiderweb is proven right. For as soon as we enter Delhi, we get swamped with traffic.

The search begins for the aunt who was kind enough to agree to let us into her home. We ask for directions several times, notice the superiority of Delhi roads when compared with our home city until finally we are in the vicinity of Vasant Vihar. But as we approach the said block, Spiderweb stops dead in his tracks. "This is not the Vasant Vihar we are looking for", he says. For Spiderweb has spent a significant share of his childhood growing up in Vasant Vihar and this is not the one we seek. So off we go looking for the elusive second Vasant Vihar. But nobody knows its whereabouts. They only know just the one. Several trying minutes of riding around in circles and confusing locals with our queries about this bastard cousin of Vasant Vihar, Spiderweb makes the call to his aunt only to realize that the place he grew up in was Vasant Kunj. Fatigue does strange things with your mind. We are ready to strangle him, but the distance between thought and action is much to great for our weary minds to traverse. Besides, as the evil of self-preservation points out, we still need him. Within 15 counts of the minute, we ride into iron gates, bank left and stop.

We're home.

As we strip off sweat soaked articles of clothing, we get the full five star treatment. Fruits, tea, lemonade, chicken curry and rice and had we chosen, beer. We choose slumber while the weary Karizma and the Pulsar are serviced. I choose not to let the unknowns fiddle with the R-15 for I prefer an authorized service center - one I cannot find. I will clean and lube the chain on my own. Servicing will have to wait. Photography though, is another matter as Motorbreath and me take turns shooting.

My phone is buzzing. It's Aman. I will introduce him in the pages to follow. For now suffice is to say that he must ride with us. He decides to come over and talk with us over the routes we must take so we have some semblance of a plan. As he enters our doors, he finds six unmoving feet and the ambient noise of human snore. Luckily I awaken. We have a quick discussion on the when and the where and decide that it would be wise to leave as early as 1am to beat traffic and heat. He exits as I enter dream state.

That evening as I bathe, I look myself in the mirror. I find a body I do not recognize. Fatigued to the core, I've aged years in days. The questions resume as shades of a mid-life crisis envelope my carcass. "Am I too old for this? They said it would be difficult. I won't be able to keep up with them 20 somethings. What was I thinking? Mebbe I am too old for this. No, I'm certain I'm too old for this."

As it turns out, I was wrong... horribly wrong.

 June 2, 2010

1:00 AM

Spiderweb: Motor....motor...
Motorbreath: Hmmmmm.....
Spiderweb: Uth ja... (wake up)
Motorbreath: Hmmmmm.....