Several minutes, fifteen at the last count, have been spent looking for the wash basin. One would imagine that hotel We-Suck, in return for neither providing reasonable parking space nor a view of Dal, would at least have the decency to install a wash basin so one may float paper boats and dream dreams of potty on the rocks. Unfortunately, the sadistic bastards deprive us of this fundamental right. All I have is a tap and bucket combination to perform unmentionable rites that I'd rather not transcribe into digital stinkaments.
A re-charged phone, a rejuvinated mind and a few facebook updates cheer me up some.
Facebook update: Hit Srinagar last night. Heavy cold, cross winds, fallen trees n wet roads.
04 June at 11:12 via Text message
Sagar Raikar and Tushar Jadhav like this.
Rachit K Congrats..!! Good u made it.. btw, what time did u reach Srinagar & how was the state out there.. was there any curfew
04 June at 11:29
Tushar Jadhav in rachit's ishtyle- from 40 to 0 degree
04 June at 11:29
Rachit K hehe.. yeah man..!! & beyond too..!! let them reach baralacha la.. am sure
they will spot the extreme chillness out there.. anywhere in the range of -5
to -10
04 June at 11:31 via Email reply
Winsey Varghese .
04 June at 12:03
Rachit K ^^ ..
04 June at 12:06 via Email reply
Tushar Jadhav ...
04 June at 12:21
Rachit K ....???
04 June at 12:24
Tushar Jadhav ........?????!!!!!
04 June at 12:34
Winsey Varghese <.^&*..>..! ???
04 June at 12:35
Tushar Jadhav ( . ) ( . ) , .... ----) ,,,,,,,++++++====o
04 June at 12:38
Anirudh Khusape :P LOL
04 June at 16:38
Facebook update: Fallen tree across Srinagar road. Lifted our bikes over it to get across!
04 June at 11:13 via Text message
Winsey Varghese likes this.
Tushar Jadhav oh ho, good adventure.......hope u had pics of these.ride safe
04 June at 11:26
Rachit K ohh..!! all the very best guyz..!! Ride safe.. so u r heading for zojila today.? & where u planning to halt... Drass??
04 June at 11:28
I torment on the subject of our steeds for the rain has had a lot to say on many subjects the night prior. My fears are not unfounded as we find our beloved beasts drenched to the core. Moisture has taken shelter in my odometer. All I see now is blurred incoherent crystal formations. Drags, grunts, heaves, shoves, and some of our steeds manage to make it out. My efforts land me in a ditch, literally. My steed now struggles to gain a foothold in slithering pastes of brown. Motorbreath drags us out and we finally make it to the tarmac. Time spent, 20 minutes. Distance covered, 10 meters. Much to our gratitude, the rain, exhausted by its tantrum the night before, remains silent today. But a cloudy sky reminds us to keep our spirits in check for Mademoiselle Rain will show up anytime she so pleases and there's not a damn thing we petty mortals can do about it.
The Karizma has a limp in her stride. A brief inspection and we recognize a puncture; our second if you've been kind enough to keep count. We must heal her before we let her run any farther. As we consider options, we lose Aman as he, unaware of quandary, continues exploring the Srinagar scape. Not even phone calls deter him. We assume he must have headed towards Dal and do the same, hoping that we will find a mechanic to fix the problem on the way. We don't, but we do find Aman, except that he is nowhere close to Dal. He remains in the vicinity of our stay, furious at the other end of a phone call, wondering why we left him to get to Dal. We give him directions to where we are. He finds us as we capture our environment; an environment that seduces in two dimensions, overpowers our senses in the third. I'll admit, I'm in love with Dal for she brings me peace I have never known. In the days to come, I will cheat on her as Leh takes me into her fold. I feel no guilt for my polygamous nature; the two deserve to be loved by many.
We now turn our attention on to the Karizma. A brief word with locals and we are directed towards the heart of the city for aid. I've noticed that opportunities to explore will usually present themselves under the garb of obstacles for it is they who temper our stride, force us to see when we only would look, force us to experience when we only would see. We experience resentment from the locals though; for we realize that we are being rejected help from those that possess the tools; redirected elsewhere where elsewhere itself will react the same. Mindless hops from one station to the next, we wonder what it might be of us to encourage such ill-treatment. Aman and I stop briefly for fuel as Spiderweb makes inquiries at location number im-too-tired-to-count. With not many Gandhi's to support us, we only manage a few liters. ATMs will have to be attacked to replenish the needs of our motored beasts. We look around and we've lost Spiderweb and Motorbreath again. I can only assume they've headed straight ahead, for it is understood that any divergence from the linear path on their behalf would attract a "make-sure-they-know-where-we-are-going" maneuver on their part.
And so Aman and I head upstream. Aman wears an edgy demeanor today for reasons I will grow to understand and spite. He argues that we should have headed towards Drass in our search for a mechanic instead of encircling the city. I try to reason that since conditions of our path to Drass were uncertain and the availability of a mechanic even more so, it is probably a safer alternative to remain within city limits until the steed is at appreciable performance. My reasoning does not appeal to his rationale and he stands his ground. As we ride further, he demands to know if I am certain that they have moved in that direction. I inform him that I am not, but given that they are unreachable on the phone due to network errors, moving upstream is probably the best option to consider. Another argument ensues. As we approach a barricade suggesting city limits, I'm beginning to reconsider my decision. Drizzles indicate that Mademoiselle Rain has a few more discourses she would like to impart. Running out of directional options, Aman and I decide to raid the ATM.
Fortune favours those who... well its extremely arbitrary if you ask me. Spiderweb has found a network and managed to call us. They had backtracked at the pump, but assumed, incorrectly, that we had our eye on them and knew where they were headed. Landmarks are rattled out for our convenience and Aman and I head in reverse. The Srinagar police are the first to witness the first of several heated arguments between Aman and I; for no sooner do we meet the duo, a snide remark from Aman trips my wires and I land up gunning for decibel death-match immortality. For the next several hours, silence will be the only safe verbal stance between Aman and I.
Spiderweb has managed to get a fix for his wheel and we are ready to rumble. But a directional query to one of the public transportation chauffeurs yields a warning that the path we propose to take is enveloped in hostile weather and that we might be wise to delay our approach. Aman tries to connect with the Puneris to get a semblance of the truth but fails; most cellular network providers have yet to penetrate the scapes we propose to explore. A brief discussion with military personnel and we are directed to the Tourism office for up-to-date information.
Facebook update: Raining in Srinagar!! Enjoyed riding along Dal lake!!
04 June at 14:16 via Text message
Divya Misra and Tushar Jadhav like this.
Honey Misra i saw it only in shammi kapoor movies :)
04 June at 18:41
Tushar Jadhav imagine alankar in his place...lol
04 June at 18:43
Honey Misra :))
04 June at 19:11
Within moments of my return, the weather turns extremely hostile as dense clouds wrestle down visibility, the winds overpower linearity and Mademoiselle Rain breaks into a shrill and violent song. We reconsider our decision to press forward and consider spending the remainder of the day floating on a Shikara. Alcohol receives an honorary mention in the agenda. But as the Universe would have it, the Sun comes down upon its adversaries with ruthless aggression silencing both rain and wind and linearity returns to flexible shapes and clouds scurry for cosmic shelter. And as much as I would have loved to love Srinagar and Dal just a little bit more and a little bit longer, we agree to be on our way; but not without more captures along the way.
Somewhere along the road, we, Spiderweb and I get lost in transmission. We spend endless hours capturing the 360.
Motorbreath and Aman await us; the former wraps up a borrowed bidi while the latter answers queries from a curiously curious security officer. Motorbreath and Spiderweb have yet to consume their quota of fuel and that is precisely what they do a few furlongs away while Aman makes a few more inquiries. I do what I do best, capture moments, savouring and saving them so I may tell stories to a future, forgotten me.
Facebook update: Now heading towards Drass. Drizzling. Beautiful ride! I think I'm gonna cry!!
04 June at 16:03 via Text message
Sagar Raikar, Kunal Ghogale, Priyank Mamtora, Adway Kudalkar, Shannon Dias, Winsey Varghese and Tushar Jadhav like this.
Divya Misra Wow. wow.
04 June at 19:04
Tushar Jadhav its just started. save ur tears when u will conquer highest motorable road in world- KHARDUNG LA
04 June at 19:12
Priyank Mamtora gr888..
04 June at 19:50
Sanjay Shukla Good going man! Have fun on the run! good luck running into some Kashmir ki kali.
06 June at 00:05
Sujan Shetty keep goin
06 June at 09:58
The road ahead will see a sea-change in group dynamics as Motorbreath bundles up with Aman and the two ride longer and harder. Spiderweb and I have drifted into touring mode. I stop to capture as much as I can within the realms of my lens. Spiderweb supports me in this endeavour as he keeps me in his rear view at all times. At every stop - and there are frighteningly many - I find him waiting patiently as I condense the surroundings into pixels. We manage to catch up with the leading duo for the first few times for the two of us can reach high speeds frequently and furiously. But as the seconds elapse, we tire of the rush and prefer instead to enjoy the joys the drizzling damsel has to offer. Often times we find the duo awaiting our arrival only to be left behind again in our quest to pixelate all.
The thing about dynamics though is that it is dynamic. The road to Drass will conspire to collude the many permutations the four of us have to offer. We will all be left behind, we will all gain on the others, we will all ride as one in the multitude of pathways. But our journey for the 4th day of June will end in Sonmarg, many miles away from our planned destination. We dare not attempt Drass for the mighty Zojila pass offers challenges far beyond our humble capability. We will tackle the beast in the light of day...
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