One Man... One Machine... One Nation: Golden Quadrilateral Solo Motorcycle Ride

           

                 I once heard... If we have soul, then its made up of love that we share... unbound by death... undimmed by time. It may take a lifetime to get it but it takes just a few moments to feel it. While zooming on the roads of Bangalore, I saw a toddler who did not look energetic like other kids. I talked with his mom. With a heavy voice she replied...My child is suffering from some form of mental disorder. That night, I spent hours on the net just to see if these young kids have any hope. I asked one question to myself, can I do something? I am not an expert neither a millionaire.

There I came to know about an organisation called Udaan ( http://udaan.org/) .The NGO happens to work for these kids. A little interaction with them and I realized that there are more than a million kids who have some kind of disorder. Then I thought at least I could spread the message of Udaan to the people of the nation. And how would I do that? The answer was simple. Just ride with this notion along the nation. Next three months was to plan for a ride on the biggest highway network of the country. The highway pattern was promising , 'The Golden quadrilateral', also known as GQ. In my plan I got assistance from my friends, my motorcycle club ‘Bajaj Avengers Club’. Methods Automotive provided K&N R1100 universal air filter provided initial financial support. Another company OSS GPS Tracking Solution of Bengaluru equipped my machine with Navigation support system for birds eye view. Thanks to OGTS, my people were always able to track me.The refreshing taste came from the cans of RedBull.

         So on a bright sunny day of 1st June 2014, I started my ride from Bangalore. Soon I crossed Neelmangala Toll booth on NH4. I felt like the biggest highway of the nation was laying red carpet for my Avvy Machine. I started cruising. My target was to cover nearly 500 km as a daily routine. The weather was warm and charming. The roads ware butter smooth. Soon I reached Tumkoor and took a small break. I was surprised to see that the local villagers have surrounded me. They interacted with me and wanted to know more about my armoured jacket. For a brief time I felt like a celebrity.  Soon I continued and moved towards Hubli, Davanagere and moved towards Belgaum. By that time it was twilight. The sun was dipping slowly. Looking at the horizon it was like kissing the sky. At around 7 PM I reached Belgaum. The city invited me with a huge sign of a local sweet called ‘Kunda’. The sign was really lucky because I got a call from my friend who invited me to stay at his place in Sankeshwar. If you ever go to that city, its like time has come to a halt. People were relaxed. Old alarm clocks were hanging on road side eateries. The houses were mostly stone made and has a time stamp with them. That night me and my friend enjoyed dinner in true Kannadiga style.

Next morning it was a fresh start. I headed for my next destination Pune. This city has a distinct charm of youth, energy and culture put together. I was informed that my club members have arranged a meet at a coffee shop in Chandni Chowk. It was like a riders gang coming to meet me. Mostly, in their twenties. Some of them even freshers or students, I was asked a lot of questions about my mission and the notion that I carry called Udaan. Spent a lot of time with the gang. I nearly crossed the entire city to reach to EON teck park at Kharadi. There I kept waiting outside to meet my old friend who unfortunately never showed up. Anyways, I took some rest and next morning and it was Misel Pav at a local eatery.

The beautiful hills of Lonavla and Khandala is an enchanting experience. Riding on it was like motorcycling in misty winds. I was refreshed like a new born. The hairpin turns were a bit challenging but then a gentleman love curves. The 45 min ride on this track was a real delight. Very soon I was on the verge of Navi Mumbai and then crossed the entire Mumbai city. It was a like living two different life in a day. One like a dream holiday and then a chaotic city life. Anyways, I kept on moving. On the verge of Maharastra and Gujarat, I realised what it means to ride with the winds. The sky was dark with huge flux of water droplets coming towards me. At one point of time, I really thought of taking a break. Then, I soon realized that at I am in the middle of a forest with hoarding that cautions me to take care of wild animals. The only option was to race the rain. Within the hour I was out of there and reached to Vapi. One thing was surprising every second hotel on the highway was named as ‘Hotel Decent’. I was reminded of a Hindi movie where the movie shows a crisp turn at Hotel Decent. Anyways, I took shelter in one such Decent Hotel and slept like hell. On my radar it was now Modi’s own city Ahmedabad. Unfortunately on Bharuich to Ahmedabad expressway, motorcyclists are not allowed. So it was a rusty ride in Gujarat. Anyways I reached there and was impressed by the hospitality shown by Gujarati riders. After so may days I tasted a traditional thali which is good to taste and health. I loved the simple food and next morning it was a plateful of khamar and tea to feel mild Gujarati flavours. On the way to Rajasthan I was greeted by a group of children who for a moment was thinking that this man belongs to race track. Anyways I continued and soon found that the corridors of Rajasthan was welcoming me. This is where the entire trip takes a new turn.

            Till now it was long highways, local food and charm of meeting the simple villagers. Suddenly what I can see are deserted lands, temperature as high as 45’ C, less shops and more Daru Thekas. Within two hours the warm Gujarati Hospitality is changed to extreme riding challenge with severe weather condition. For certain section I feel like some saint has cursed this land. My destination was Ajmer. The national Highway actually passes through hilly terrain and inside the city. Unfortunately there are many blast sites on both side of highways and sometimes the stones reaches to NH. My machine was hit by one such lying on the road and I noticed that the side stand spring is not working. Oops…The machine need repair. Anyways till this moment I had crossed more than 2000 kms and it was time for a routine service. Luckily I got a Bajaj Service center on near Ajmer. For the next six hours, I was sitting idle in the waiting room only to watch the idiot box called TV.

After this long wait, I got a neat and clean machine. Man and machine were ready again.

It was long ride to Jaipur. By the time I reached there,

it was almost midnight. Honestly I never saw the pink shade of Jaipur. For me it was only dark shade since at 12 o’clock at night, only twinkling street light prevails. It was Jaipur where I was challenged for a race which I humbly declined. I rested at a hotel where I was offered a Royal Suite at a very discounted rate. The entire Hotel management was impressed at my ride plans and I liked that. I would say that was the best sleep I ever had during my trip. But as all good things come to an end I had to wake up the next morning and prepare my self. It was Gurgaon in Haryana on my list and from there the slogan was Delhi Chalo.

  

            The national capital was welcoming me with blasts of furnace air and high temperature. Keeping a pace with my machine I headed towards Lajpat Nagar where the NGO Udaan was situated. I must confess that locals were staring at me as if I was an alien. They were right after all who will have an air tight full body armoured riding jacket that too complete black in colour. Any ways I reached to there and was given a warm welcome. I met with Dr. Arun Mukherjee, a leading practitioner who informed me about the various disorders faced by children of our nation. I realised that more than the disease it’s the ignorance that is causing the impact. I also met with the entire team of Udaan and got some chance to know about the various facilities available there. It seemed quite transparent and very efficient. Presently Udaan is also facilitating video consultation on skype. There are people even in New Jercey who come to get their children treated at Udaan. I must salute these people who have dedicated their entire life for the welfare of small kids. The Udaan people arranged my stay in Delhi and I am grateful for that.

In the evening, I met an entire gang of Delhi bikers at a local Restrau, They were the biggest challengers in biking arena of the nation. Sit with them for an hour and your entire machining concept is changed. After tasting the crispy night life of Delhi, I headed back to my hotel to take a nap and geared up for the next day.

            I was eagerly waiting for this ride because the destination was Kanpur. It was this city  
where I was born and spent my entire childhood . Somehow... like the cradle of youth. Since I was in a defence estate, so the usual common civic issues were far from my place. The desire to reach there was increasing with every passing moment. I must confess that this ride was the best and most challenging one. Best because roads were simply the best. Challenging because riding in blast furnace is not every body’s cup of tea.First it was Delhi – Noida Express way followed by Jaypee Yamuna Express way that leads to Agra. From Agra till Kanpur the national highway was quite good. I must say that this section of 500 km was most enjoyable. Once I reached there I went to my Uncle’s place since my dad has retired from MoD and went back to pavilion, Kolkata. The expression on my Aunt’s face was beyond imagination. It was a cocktail of surprise, anger, welcome and to an extent speechless.

            I am always worried about the family type questions. The first one is of course on the need of the trip. I had no answer to that. This was followed by a long list quite hypothetical ones. In these scenarios, I prefer silence with my cute smile. For the next 6-8 hours I had to eat a lot. I really enjoyed home made food after a gap of a week but …eating so much …It was like they just had one day to feed me every possible Bengali cuisine. I confess…I felt heavy …That evening I roamed on the streets and the bazaar of my Armapur Estate hoping to meet any old pal of my gang. Soon I realised that the time has moved, place is still the same and just that my people are no more there.

            With a heavy heart, next morning I started for Sasaram (Bihar).On the way I bypassed Allahabad, Varanasi and many such holy cities. Even thought of taking a dip in Ganges and become free from all IT coding sins. But, alas I had to bypass these cities and I do crossed many bridges on Ganges and other holy rivers but the thought of taking a dip became a distant dream. After Sasaram, my next destination was the city of Joy, Kolkata. My old friends and club members were waiting there eagerly. It was chaotic, humid and not so good roads. 

I must confess that this was the state of joy. People were energetic and always in a welcome mood. I felt as if I have cruised to the land of Misti Doi. My old college pals, one of whom is a senior scientist with MoD, stared at me with his cruel smile. He told in a sarcastic way…I knew from day one of college hostel you are no good for a normal life. But then being great is better than being good... at least for making news. I never got his words. Since others were laughing, so I also kept the tempo. That night we chatted, we shared all the idiotic stuff of college life and had a great cooking experience.

Next morning I had to start for the final phase of Golden Quadrilateral the NH5/6 that connects Kolkata to Chennai. I was some 50 kms away from my ancestral village. It was really a tough moment. I thought of going there and meet my parents. The very next moment I gave a practical view and confessed myself that if I go there my trip can come to a halt. My parents and relatives will be shocked to see me on my machine and will send me back in an aeroplane. So with a a heavy heart I moved towards Bhubaneshwar. The roads were pathetic especially the section between Kharagpur and Bhadrak. A lot of maintenance work is going on and the maximum speed limit was no more than 20 kms . well it was painful, tedious and on top of that Indra Dev was also happy. Honestly, I would have crossed that terrain much earlier on a bicycle than on my machine. Anyways I continued, and reached to Bhubaneshwar. The city has all the aspects of a developing town. At some places you would find old houses and huts and at the very next moment it would be skyscrapers. I enjoyed sweets over there and simply continued towards Andhra. Once you cross Orissa and move towards Andhra Pradesh, it was like roaming on a different planet. With nothing on both sides of highway, I felt like that you can shoot planet of Apes again. Certain section was like crossing the towns that offers absolutely nothing except long deserted roads. I actually felt like being the 'Tanhaiyoon ka Badshah' with loads of time for introspection...  It was this section where I could not find any decent hotel for a stretch of 200 km. At 12:30 ie post midnight, I took a decision of sleeping on the highway. I was seriously having no other option. I kept my machine on one side. My valet and cell phone was kept in the box. I put my towel on footbath, prayed to God and simply slept. Honestly I had a sound sleep from 1 o’ clock till 5:50 in the mornfing. All the nature calls were responded in the lap of nature. Thanks to my earlier trekking experience, it was an easy going.

After this during the next three days I crossed many cities and finally reached to Hosur in

TamilNadu. Here I was given a warm welcome by my motorcycling club BAC. People were waiting for me on the highway since morning. I felt like a celebrity and was pounded with questions one after the other. Fellow riders were intreted in knowing all aspects of the journey. After a long chat we finally moved toward Bangalore. I felt like I have completed my long cherished dream of dancing with the rain and kissing the horizon on my solo trip.

The trip was also a pleasure in getting a taste of local food especially the highway dhabas and small roadside eateries is  treat that few ore blessed with. Starting from traditional Dal Bati Churma followed by flavours of Royal Rajasthani food and then clubbed with Delhi Parathas extended to the spices of Uttar Pradesh the ride was cruising on a platter. But this was not all. The real deserts were served at West Bengal with Kalo Jaam and rasogolla only to be followed by ChenaPora of Orrisa. I am told that it takes more than 16 hours for preparation. I even tried a very distinct flavours of idli in Orrisa where the lintels were main ingredients and this was worth trying.

During these 15 days, the man and machine combination has faced all terrains that a biker can imagine. May it be the Yamuna Expressway where cruising and gliding are synonymous to the slopes of Lonavla and Khandala where the misty winds wait for you. After this bliss of experience once I entered to Rajasthan the dream ride was changed to tough terrain challenge. I have faced severe weather conditions. Had to shave my hair, suffered skin rashes and honestly when I look back I feel any rational person will simply give up... BUT THEN WE ARE EMOTIONAL RIDERS AND WE DO WHAT WE LOVE  AFTER ALL ITS BLOOD IN THE TANK AND FUEL IN VEINS!