Rambling in Rajasthan – Part I

Kahlil Gibran once wrote: “Your reason and your passion are your rudder and sails of your seafaring soul. If either be broken, you could but toss and drift or else be held at a standstill amid seas. For reason, running alone is a force confining. And passion, unattended, is a flame that burns to its own destruction.”

This ride was something like that. A lot of changes were in process. KD had recently won award for his photography; Nitin was taking a big step and getting married in next 20 days and I was planning to change city. The most important fact was – it was the first official ride for ‘Adventitious Riders’.

This trip was scheduled and then rescheduled about 3 times after which the date was finalized to 14^th March 2014. I confirmed my presence at the last moment as I had just come out of a week long hospitalization!

Destination and Route: Delhi à GurgaonàJaipur àAjmer àMount Abu àUdaipur àHome. A 1600kms ride in 4 days.

Riders: KD Singh Chauhan, Nitin Rawal, SaNj and Ravindra Chaudhary.

 

From Rt. to Lt. SaNj, Ravi, Nitin and KD

Voyage commence: The meeting point was my previous company’s parking lot where we gathered at 1630 hrs on 14^th March. We started the journey at 1700 hrs. Everyone was super excited about this ride. This was also the bachelor ride/party to Nitin. We started riding along with the sun and progressed as it sank down. We reached Neemrana at around 2000hrs and took our first halt. After riding almost 200kms we reached a place 20kms before Jaipur city. It was already dark and heat began to drench the energy out of us. We decided to call it a day and spent the night at a road-side dhabha – ‘Padharo Sa’ i.e. ‘You are most Welcome’ in Rajasthani native language. The rooms were not much of a delight but we arranged some Charpai’s and drinks to make the evening affable. We were celebrating reunion, a new life to start, riding the road together and friendship. We drank till 0200 hrs and slept afterwards.

jour suivant: (15^th March) we resumed our ride at around 0800 hrs in the morning. It was fresh, breezy and shiny. The excitement was only rising up. Next destination was Ajmer via Jaipur city. Although, the gang was having a colossal fun on the road, traveling in hot Rajasthan ain’t that easy as compared to our previous riders (Leh-Ladakh, Keylong, Dhanaulti and Manali). We rode in the sun mocking the heat and stranded roadside. The highway is newly built/repaired, the traffic was minimal and weather was favorable (so far). On the way we came across very funny names of localities for e.g. Dudu. :D  We reached Ajmer around at around 1200 noon. We were hungry, thirsty and tired. The dehydration was actually killing us as by then the temperature got really hot! The best part of travelling is that it compels you to rely on the kindness of strangers. We had our brunch at ‘Rasoi’ at Ajmer city. It’s nearby to Ajmer Sharif and Railway Station. The place was really interesting in terms of design and outlook. It was designed like a metro train or airplane. The food was scrumptious and relieving. We rested nearly for 2hrs before we headed towards out next destination – Mount Abu. Around 2000 hrs we reached Sirohi which is 80kms before Mt. Abu. The mountains and valleys were visible now. We planned to resume the journey early morning so that we can enjoy the Sunrise and pleasant weather. We checked in to a hotel called ‘Atul Residency’ adjacent to the highway. Still coming out of awful sickness I decided to stay at the hotel whereas the other riders decided to take a walk to the closest restaurant for dinner which was my first mistake (these nutbags teased me about that food on the whole ride afterwards).

Voila Mt. Abu: (16^th March) next morning we woke up early at 0600hrs. It was a little frosty and windy. By the time I got off my bed, our 2 photographers had already climbed to the top roof of the hotel seeking to capture the sunrise which was a difficult shot from behind the mountains which delayed the visibility. We headed towards Mount Abu with the wind blowing along with us, the sunrays rays were making a mirage on the road, and the mountains on the either side of the road made everything no less than a scenic landscape. The ride was so awesome that it freed our minds of all those other pressures and challenges we face every day. Passing each other on the highway, doing some road stunts and mocking each other, it was a joyful ride.

We stopped at a roadside eatery named ‘Arbuda’. The word Arbuda is taken from the range of mountains in epic Mahabharata. There were remains of an old vintage Volkswagen displayed as memento, wild rabbits hopping in the park and beautiful scenery of mountains just added to the charm. We had a delicious and extravagant breakfast before we headed to Mt. Abu.

Just about 1300hrs we checked in to Mount Abu. The last 15-20 kilometers were curly, snakey and hot! Mount Abu was super duper busy and packed. Finally after checking almost every possible hotel and guesthouse we checked into a guesthouse; the boys planned for a little hiking to the nearby hill and enjoy some drinks. I decided to save some fuel within me for the next activity in the sundown and took a short nap.

1700 hrs – we headed to the well-known Sunset point. As we reached, we were surprised to see that almost 2000+ people had arrived to witness the sunset. There were many stands to watch the sunset but as usual, KD decided to take the shots from a better point which was another hiking into the jungle. Crawling our way into the wild and climbing the giant graphite rocks we finally reached a point from where we could see the complete horizon and west side of the city. KD and Nitin both took out their cameras whereas I and Ravi relaxed a little. In next 2 minutes it started to sink down.

A large drop of sun lingered on the horizon and then dripped over and was gone, and the sky was brilliant over the spot where it had gone, and a torn cloud, like a bloody rag, hung over the spot of its going.

There is so much mystery behind the beauty of a burst of golden light by the sunset. Too difficult to be interpreted and translated clearly, especially when the sunset reflecting the glow surrounding from the beautiful place. We could see the horizon line far away in the valley, while enjoying the sunset. The beauty of the sunset gave the refresher feeling for everyone.

Soon it got dusk, a grapy dusk, a purple dusk over Jujube groves and throny bushes; the sun the color of pressed grapes, slashed with burgundy red, the fields the color of love and mysteries. The dusk crept over the sky from the eastern horizon, and darkness crept over the land from the east. Then emerged that yellowish round light up in the sky with millions of small twinkling stars, the Moon! Lucky us, it was full moon that night and within the 30minutes we witnessed one of the most beautiful sunset and full moon we had ever seen.

We then visited the main market and enjoyed some beautiful snacks. There is ‘Nakki Lake’ which is a beautiful sight to visit. The market was filled with tourists and locals enjoying the joy of Holi. Just at the center of market, firewood (Holika Dahan) was arranged as per the Hindu ritual and Dholi’s were playing Dhol. The music was so catchy that I just could not stop tipping my feet. Shortly, we were starving and looking for some good place to have dinner. Only problem – everyone had their own ideas. For instance, I wanted to have some drinks and eat that Thali that I missed last night. We realized that almost every good hotel was jam-packed and ended up at a Jodhpuri restaurant. The food was just acceptable. We reached our guesthouse and called it a night.

Le meilleur de tous: (17^th March, Mt. Abu – Udaipur – Beawar) Next morning KD, Nitin and Ravi again hiked to the hill to capture the Sunrise. Considering the rocky and thorny culture of Arawali mountain chain, hiking to that mountain wasn't easy at all. On the way my boys found some foot marks and wild excreta of which, our so called 'Wild Adventurer' KD Bhai claimed as Goat shit. :D When they arrived back to the guesthouse, the owner told them that they were probably headed/entered into the Wild Bear territory.

It was time to wrap up and return to our usual routine. We rode to Udaipur then. On the way it became so freaking hot that we had to stop and take some rest under thorny bushes looking for shade. We had great fun on the way. We rode at a speed over 100kmph, shot some videos of the group and enjoyed the beautiful mountains.

When we reached Udaipur, it was already 1600hrs and due to Dhulandi none of the eating places were open. We finally reached to Fatehpur Sagar Lake and enjoyed the beautiful colorful colors among people. We were running short of time so we resumed the ride towards Ajmer. It was around 2000hrs, we were around 60kms before Beawar and Ravi met with a road accident. He skid on the road and injured his knee and palms. Luckily we had the first-aid and helped him on the spot.

It was not making any sense riding so dark in that condition. We had our dinner at a roadside Dhabha and called it a night.

Final Chapter: (18^th March, Beawar to Delhi): offroading Next morning when we woke up, everyone knew that this is it; the city is calling back. We started off at 0630hrs and reached Ajmer at around 1000hrs. We stopped at a roadside Dhabha for breakfast and also took shower under Tube-well. It was fun! We reached Jaipur at around 1400hrs and took our second break. We discussed our experiences over the ride there and enjoyed it over lassi. After Jaipur, the ride got tougher. The traffic was killing and the road was not helping either.

About 120kms before Gurgaon, we encountered a barren, wired and isolated Dessert Sand dune adjacent to the highway. We looked at each other and the next moment we were gearing our bikes into the sand. The one thing missing from this ride was dessert offroading and we were doing it now.

It was a thrilling experience going on a rugged offroading, through the sand dune destroying the plain sand patterns. We shot couple of videos and took some pictures. KD has a sports bike so he did really cool job there.

The sun was sinking fast now; the sky had turned to a clear, purple-tinged grey, but to the west there was a ruby-red glow. We resumed our ride and reached Gurgaon at 1930hrs but the memories of past 4 days are still fresh in our minds. 

We chattered with people, tasted the local cuisine, and captured the celebrations of colorful Holi at Mount Abu. We hiked mountain to capture a beautiful Sunset and Sunrise and also trespassed the Bear territory (by mistake).

We split from here to our destinations. It was time to say goodbye and we knew that next time we gonna meet at Nitin’s wedding on 14^th April then.

I was refreshed, rejuvenated and cleansed after this ride. Adventitious riders had made their first mark on the road after all. I am sure there are many more to come and they will be legendary but till then this is going to be a memorable ride.

“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, 'Wow! What a Ride!”

~Hunter S. Thompson