oFFice oFFice

Its 11:00 am and all the government offices, Banks and all were just opening up now. It was complimentary off for 2 hours on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan in all the government organizations. I was the 1^st in the queue of water bill submission, not for submitting the bill but for the complaint. I was here with my sister; she had paid her water bill last month but still these govt. authorities had sent this month’s bill with addition of previous month’s bill and fine for not submitting it on time (That’s quite common mistake by the officials).

As the billing window open, after few minutes of argument the bill collector at last agreed to check his records. That too of no use, as his records were also showing that we have submitted the bill on time and the bank also processed the same. So he asked me to go to MC office to rectify it because it’s their mistake and they need to update their records.

I have travelled 5kms to oriental bank office and now need to go to MC Head office nearly 10 kms away at another corner of Patiala and that too because of no mistake of mine. As we reached MC office, I was so surprised on seeing the condition of the office. I came at the inauguration of this building 7-8 years ago with my friend; his father was at some high position in MC so we got the passes for the function. At that time we admired the architecture of the building, it was designed so beautifully for a government office’s use. But now I felt pity on its condition, water logging at the entrance, floor tiles worn out badly, doors and windows were like smashed by a bomb blast, and garden was full with wild bushes; grass has not been shown a blade from last many months. Thank god lift was working, but it will scare the hell out of you once you step into it.

I asked the gate keeper for the concerned person and got the reply “Andar Chale jayo”.

Inside it looked more like a warehouse of files than an office. The entrance was aisled both sides by Elmira’s with the worn out files hanging outside and above them. I wonder in this technology driven decade what the hell these files are doing here. As we turned to the left towards working area, It reminds me of my school staffroom which is still pictured in my mind regarding the fact I had seen that 12-15 years back. Wooden tables with metal legs and drawers have been placed in L shape with piped chairs weeded with plastic strips. 

70% of the tables were still to be occupied, rest 30% are just been occupied. I looked around for a helping hand and asked an old fellow regarding my complaint, he directed me towards an empty table. “That place, Wait there”

We moved to the assigned table. I have to look for a comfortable chair as almost all the chairs were in bad condition and some of them were held in position with jugaad. The table in front of me is having glass top of it having pictures of almost all the devi-devtas and calendar of last two years along with this year’s calendar. I wonder if the person sitting here is keeping record of the previous years or will plan his year ahead depending upon his past records.

Three mid aged persons were sitting next to us discussing the current affairs holding pieces of today’s newspaper. I think there’s only one newspaper in this office and that is being circulated in every body’s hands in pieces till they crammed it all. After making us wait for 20 minutes one of them slid his chair to us for hearing our concern. I was surprised that why the fellow has waited for such a long time to shift to us if he knew we were waiting for him only. He looked at few files called few persons and told us that it’s a typing mistake by computer operator and will be modified. He asked us to wait for few minutes as the operator starts the computer.

15 minutes have been passed and I was tired looking at the people around wasting time in stupid chat some females on the back table discussing about their suits and some newly opened fabric shop in some market. One old aunty was talking on from last half an hour and so loud as if she is talking with a person on the opposite roof. I asked the same fellow who was busy in the newspaper and got a reply “wait, computer garam hoan nu time laganda”. I was astonished that is it a super computer or what? It reminds me of my school days when we used to think that there will be a big computer in some corner of the world where all the data is stored.

We had no option other than to wait for the computer to heat up. I was scanning parts of the building, not even a single window pane is in good condition, and all the curtains are hanging only from one or two points, saw a big mouse entering through the window and jumping over files placed atop of an Elmira. An electric heater placed in a corner used for the tea making but dangerously plugged in a broken switchboard.

I asked him again after waiting for 10 more minutes. He called some body and told me that it will take few more minutes as computer is in the basement and a person is already there to start it. I urged him to be quick and asked why the computer is placed in the basement when they have so much space here only. On his reply I got to know that he is not talking about the computer but the server room. For him all this is a one thing called computer. And none of the persons sitting there knows anything about computer and they have hired a computer operator for doing small jobs of data feeding in it.

After waiting for around two hours and computer was still in the process of heating up, I requested him for some other option and he took our complaint on a paper and assured us to put it in records when the computer starts. I had no trust on that person if I will do this task properly but had no other option. We have to wait for next month’s bill to make sure whether our complaint has been done or not. We took stairs to come down from the third floor instead of that scary lift.

I thanked GOD that I am not working in a govt. office, and thanked my MNC for providing me such good work facilities.

Being Indian

17-July-2011

CP-Delhi

“India nahi sudhrega” those were the words by Gaurav who has just returned from S.Korea last week.

We were walking towards ‘The Embassy’ restaurant in CP for dinner. Humpy and Ashish were few steps ahead guiding us. Me, Neiha & Gaurav following them.

Gaurav commented on seeing a pan/Gutka peek filled corner and I nodded in agreement.

‘Few Hours Later’

After dinner, we were chatting while enjoying the cool breeze outside the restaurant. I and Kapoor went to the other side of the street to fetch some ice-cream (Feast – my favorite) for everyone from the ice-cream vendor.

After a minute, the place around us was decorated a bit more with the feast wrappers (I used the word “bit more” because It was already decorated with disposable plates/Glasses, Polythene packs etc.). Out of us five, only I and Neiha were having those wrappers in our hands. Gaurav was the first one to contribute to the dirty picture of India, Humpy and Kapoor followed him.

As of my habit, I couldn’t stop myself from complaining, so “India ka to pata nahi…….. But Indians nahi sudherenge” my first words.

Everyone was silent at first and then laughed after understanding my taunt. As always Humpy was quick to respond. He picked up his wrapper and put it in my shirt pocket.

“Show me the dustbin here….. Otherwise take it home along”.  Everyone was looking around including me if we can find any dustbin around to shut his mouth. At last, at a distant site across the road I saw a dustbin in the inner circle of CP about 50-70 meters away.

“Who will go there….. I am not going…. If you want you can……. Moreover look around, there are hundreds of things littering around, what difference will this tiny wrapper make in this already dirty place.”  Gaurav throw the wrapper down from my pocket.

“I agree that there are not enough dustbins in this area. Why to talk about CP only, I had never seen a dustbin in ISBT Delhi also. Infact, this story is same all over the country. But that doesn’t mean we go on littering and spiting all around the place. At least do as much as you can. You can keep this wrapper in your pocket and there are dustbins in metro stations. You can dispose them there; But you wouldn’t do that, after all you are also an Indian.” Neiha got aggressive.

Everybody picked up their wrappers from the ground and the talks went on. Everyone contributed in blaming the government, the population, the people and at last the whole Indian system.

After few minutes we moved towards metro station to catch the last metro to our respective places. It was just 2-3 minutes walk and Gaurav couldn’t wait that much so he put his wrapper in my back pocket; Humpy tugged his wrapper in the security barricade’s sand bags outside Metro station. They proved it again ‘Indians nahi sudhrenge’

INCREDIBLE !NDIA - BIJLI MAHADEV

16th MAY 2011

Kullu, one of the most exotic hill stations of India is situated in the state of Himachal Pradesh. This place is a hot spot tourist-visiting hub and is well known as 'Silver Valley' of Himachal Pradesh.

Bijli Mahadev Temple situated in Kullu is quite popular among local people but tourists like me don’t know much about it. I have been to Manali 5-6 times, but never heard about Bijli Mahadev Temple. This time I get to know about it from my skiing guide in Rohtang Pass. After hearing about its beauty and strange phenomenon of lightning I was desperate to visit this place.

I started from my Hotel early in the morning so that I can reach back before 4:00 O’clock in the evening to catch my bus at 5:00 O’clock. I already had booked a Royal Enfield for the journey from bikers point on the left bank of Beas on

Rohtang Road

. The guy reached well on time 6:30am with the 2009 model Bullet Electra. The condition of the bike is not that great, my own 2002 model Bullet is far better than this, but it’s OK because you need ample time to search for a rented bike in good condition which obviously I didn’t had. At around 7:00AM I was on the road, as I left Manali the road condition was good but it deteriorated a lot as I moved close to Kullu.

From outskirts of Kullu after crossing the fly bridge I took a left turn upside the hill and the whole view was different from there onwards. Bijli Mahadev Temple is situated at some 15 KMs from there and the road to that was very narrow only a single 4-wheeler can travel through that and you have to look for the space to overtake or cross another vehicle. But that problem does not arise much because vehicular activity there was very less. 

On this trail you get great views of the Kullu valley and will spot small houses clinging to the hillsides. The entire walk is through dense forests and apple orchards by passing a few quaint villages. It’s been more than 2 hrs. And I was travelling at nominal speeds of 20-30 Km/Hr when the road abruptly comes to an end. Then I got to know from the nearby & only shopkeeper there that this is the end of the road and from here onwards I have to trek to the Temple.

The trek begins from the small village ‘Hanerri’ and goes along a mountain ridge high above the River Beas. A holy darshan of the temple requires a hefty voyage of 3 kilometers on foot, which is quite tiresome but I enjoyed it because I love to trek on torturous hills. The uphill path towards this sacred shrine is flanked by pine trees and few apple orchards that make the stride a pleasant one. I noticed one strange thing that the hill has a great population of different varieties of Lizards mostly the big ones. After passing through roughly crafted way with mare walking and somewhere with stone stairs you will reach on the flat hill top which looks like a golf course in between the pine trees. Dotted by two small natural water bodies which originated by the melted snow from the hill the place looks so mesmerizing. The sparkling Hill houses the pictorial view of the luxuriant valley below was breathtaking.

Situated atop of this majestic hill Bijli Mahadev, the temple dedicated to Lord Shiva (2460m). The Bijli Mahadev Temple is truly an architectural marvel and is very well crafted. It is adorned with a 60 feet high “staff” which is visible from near by Kullu and Parvati valleys also. The door frames of Bijli Mahadev Temple have delicate and superb carvings. Two wooden Nandis / bulls face the temple door stood like strong guards.

Bijli Mahadev temple is called the ‘Temple of Lightening’ as it is believed that its staff (wooden pole of deodar) attracts divine blessings, in the form of lightening, from presiding deity Lord Shiva. Thousands of travelers gather at this place every year, for a fair held in the hindu month of ‘Shravan’.

According to a legend, Maharishi Vashishta prayed to Lord Rudra to absorb the excessive electric current within him. Lord Rudra acceded to his request and absorbed the electricity current, saving humankind. The incident is believed to have taken place at the confluence of Parvati and Beas rivers. Later, a temple was erected at the sight, in commemoration of the event. A stone phallus was enshrined inside the temple and named as Bijleshwar Mahadev or Bijli Mahadev.  

In another anecdote, every year, there is a frightful lightning and the 'Shiv lingam' gets reduced to pieces. It is believed that Lord Shiva absorbs the energy discharged from the atmosphere and saves the world. After the incident, the temple priest collects all those pieces and puts them into “satto” and butter. The image is restored to its original oneness until another similar flash repeats the miracle and in this way, the cycle goes on. The work of resetting the 'lingam' is carried out in secrecy by the temple pujaris and the temple employees.

After spending 2 hrs at the temple capturing the nature’s beauty in my camera I started my back journey. It took me 35 minute to come down instead of 2 hrs to reach to temple. For next half an hour I took some rest at the shop where I parked my bullet and had a good chat with the shop owner which provided me this above written history of the temple and much more. At around 3:40PM I reached back to my hotel and at 5:00 O’clock I said good bye to Beautiful Manali with a promise to come again and to explore some new places.

INCREDIBLE !NDIA - Whispering Valley

After the hectic overnight travel from Delhi to Manali (More than 500 KMs) through NH1 and NH21 we checked in to our hotel at around 1:00PM. All of the

Mall Road

of Manali was completely dig up by MC dept. for sewer work which dampened our mood a bit. But we were too tired for anything and opted for an afternoon nap.

If Manali had been approachable by rail then it had been great for tourists and for the local business. But the nearest broad gauge railheads are at Chandigarh (315 km) and Kalka (310 km). The nearest narrow gauge railhead is at Joginder Nagar (135 km). The nearest airport is at Bhuntar, which is about 50 km from Manali. So for us Volvo Bus was the only good option which turned out to be very torturous.

After having bath and a late lunch we moved out for an evening walk to the mall road. But the evening walk was made difficult because of this mess created by MC and the weekend rush of tourist. Less than 30% of the space is left for walking rest all is converted into big pits by the cranes. So we decided to sit in an open air restaurant and enjoy the Mall road evening from there only. This was an Italian restaurant so there obvious best will be Pasta’s and we ordered same. While we were waiting for the order my eyes stuck at an old man wearing formals and old DevAnand style cap sitting on a bench in the park in front of the restaurant. He seemed to be a local guy from to Manali. As of my habit I took time from Neiha and moved towards that old man for a small chat.

“Excuse me Sir, can I join you” I asked politely. And he just nodded without saying any word and I sat beside him on the wooden table.

“Hello Sir, you seem to be a localite here” I started conversation after few seconds wait.

“Yes, I belong to kullu city and living here in Manali from last 40 years.” He took a long pause. “I have two hotels here and own a restaurant also.” The good/bad thing about old people is once they open up and start talking they don’t stop.

“Where are you from?” He inquired a bit about me and then after seeing my curiosity he started telling me about the history of Manali.

“Manali belongs to the Kullu district and situated at an altitude of 8612 feet” He laughed after seeing my surprised expressions.

“Sir, If somebody ask me about my home town Patiala I won’t even be able to tell him its distance from delhi and you know the altitude of Manali” I questioned.

“I was a tourist guide. I started my life journey at a young age as a tourist guide in seventies. Allow me to tell you in detail……. If you have time”

“Yes, of course” I looked at Neiha. Pasta’s have arrived at our tables, but I found this conversation more interesting than the Italian pasta’s.

“Manali is all about natural beauty. But modern day Manali history belongs more precisely to the Britishers. They made this beautiful land their choice for staying during the summer months. They brought forth the apple orchards and trout fishing to Manali that largely shaped the economy of this place. It was the British people settling here, which developed Manali as a tourist destination” His knowledge about Manali and way of telling made sure that he has been a tourist guide for quite long. Neiha was calling me with strong gestures but I ignored them and concentrated on this interesting conversation.

“My father was a farmer, we had small farm near Kullu itself. Now, even I can’t find that place because it is submerged in Kullu city and our farm land has lost its existence in the modernization” He continued and I was thinking if this beautiful valley has taken a toll of modernization then why we are blaming it for its toll on metros…….. That’s quite obvious.

“The hills of Manali offer stunning landscape so it was a hot spot for the tourism from the start. Basic business of local people here is the tourism, rich people had hotels, restaurants, apple orchards etc. and the one like us became tourist guides.” He sipped some water from its sipper bottle and continued.

“During the seventies and Eighties Manali was stained with the cultivation of marijuana that attracted the development of a hippie culture that was looked down by the conventional tourists. Even youngsters like us followed suit and indulge in those unlawful activities. But with government’s sharp steps and laws it all went down slowly. Still there are places in Manali and around which are popular among the foreigners for there hippie culture.” He drove into silence as if he gets lost in his past memories.

“With the rise of turmoil in the Kashmir valley, the tourists turned to Manali again as the landscape and beauty of the two places matches each other.” He paused for a bit again this time to catch his breath.

“I worked really hard to reach the position where I am today. I had never been to school have no education but literate enough to decide the right and wrong. Initially I worked as a tourist guide in Kullu then shifted to Manali and today I have 2 hotels, a restaurant and a big apple orchard. And my fellows who didn’t come out of the unlawful activities then are nowhere now.” He became bit emotional remembering his old times.

On my question about the Name of Manali he replied like a well educated person. I must say experience matters a lot.

“Manali history is just like a fairy tale that is more in myth than in reality. The existence of Manali can be traced back to the times of Mahabharata. The name 'Manali' literally means the abode of Manu (The god of Law). Manali is the place where Manu found refuge. Back in the 17th century, Raja Jagat Singh brought the idol of Lord Raghunathji to his throne and till now, he is the presiding deity and king of Manali”

“The colorful tales and saga of the mythological existence of Manali will remain in the heart of the lovely innocent people of the Manali” Few minutes of silence and a big smile covers his wrinkled face.

“OK beta, its time now. I will move” He stood up and without waiting for my good bye he moved out of the park. May be he gets emotional and wants to go deep into his memories and enjoy them alone.

The end of the meeting was so fast and abrupt that I didn’t get time to ask his name. But surely will remember him for always.

The dark was spreading around and the beautiful oil lamps in the park were put into life spreading the yellow all around. Neiha had already left for a stroll in the Tibetan market just adjacent to the restaurant; I joined her hurriedly with a big smile on my face. Now I was feeling more familiar to the valley and it seems like every nook and corner of it was whispering his story in my ears.

Kaarobar

‘Bas Sahib Daal Roti chaal jaati hati’

I hurriedly rushed to my car to buy some hardware material for which these carpenters were eating my head every 10 minutes - screws, bolts, nails blah blah blah……..

Cherry on cake is my car’s flat tire. I replaced punctured tire with the spare one and moved to Sec. 40 market. I dropped punctured tire at puncture vala’s shop who asked me to come after 30 minutes to pick it up. I then moved to Jharsa market for my hardware items and within half an hour I was back to puncture vala but he did not even touched my job.

But I was touched by his manners and etiquettes.

“Yaar tune abhi tak mera kaam nahi kiya, adhe ghante se upaar ho geya hai” I asked him with little anger.

“Sorry Sir, wo uncle thodi jaldi mein thhe iss liye unka scooter pehle karne lag geya. Bus 2 minute aur”

And within 2 minutes he was on my job. I have a small conversation with him in hindi which I am translating here in English.

“What’s your good name?” I asked him to start my conversation.

“Delip Soni” He answered to the point.

On his response I thought he might not be interested in talking so I sit silently on the cement pole placed aside his thela. He was talking with his friend and they are cursing his previous job. I noticed that this puncture vala was quite good at English also. I couldn’t control my curiosity and again I ping him.

“How much do you earn?”

“Daal Roti chal jaati hai sahib” He took a long pause “At least job se to achha hai Apna Karobaar karna”

“Ya, owning a business is always better than a job either it’s big or small” I agree him as I always want to be an entrepreneur instead of working in a company.

“Han Sir, apni marzi se kaam karta hun. . . Apni marzi se chhuti marta hun. . . Azaadi ki zindagi jeeta hun” He seems to be proud of his work, which we people are usually not whatever may be the earnings or whatever may be the job.

“Where are you from……? I mean which place do you belong to?” I just wanted to pass my time. He was working on my car’s tire and I was entertaining him.

“Vaise to main patna se belong karta hun. . . . Aur abhi yahan sainipura gaon mein rehta hun……family vagera sab yahin hai ab to……..”

“You have not checked it by dipping it into the water?” I asked him as he started filling puncture.

“Sir, 20 saal ho gaye hain iss line mein ab to itna experience ho geya hai k ek baar hath ferne se pata chal jata hai puncture ka…….”

“20 saal………. What’s your age?” I was amazed because he looks just to be 20-22 years of age.

“36 sir……Kyun, meri twacha se meri umaar ka pata hi nahi chalta……”

“Really…. You look so young”

“20 -22 saal to sir iss business mein ho gaye hain mujhe……. Ek dukan 31 sec. mein hai meri aur ek yahan agge T-Point pe……… Din ka 1000-1100 Rs. kama leta hun………”

He told me that he had done his graduation in Arts which is evident from his etiquettes and language as his English pronunciation was better than his counterparts. He worked in HSBC bank in transport dept. for few months then left that job, to expand his business.

I was quite amazed and was thinking about him while coming back home that even a puncture vala was earning Rs. 30000 PM in Gurgaon and still he says “Daal Roti chal jaati hai sahib”

Paida Karna Jurm Kyun Nahi Hai ?

‘That girl in yellow boots’ seems to be quite good. Don’t know about the movie but the name itself is very cool. I searched for Friday night tickets but couldn’t find any as all the shows were packed to full strength. And then comes the suggestion by Jyoti ‘BOL’, Neiha and Vicky agreed to it. I didn’t want to see such intense movie as it seems from the trailers but they won by 3:1 votes.

BOL is a Lollywood movie starring Humaima Malik and Atif Aslam written, directed and produced by Shoib Mansoor. From the trailers of the movie I thought it would be regarding female foeticide or about women’s condition in Pakistan. But the plot of the movie starts differing from what I thought at the mere beginning only.  

I didn’t like the movie much but only its start and climax. The start of the movie is very catching. Zainub (Humaima Malik) was sentenced to death for a murder charge and she narrated her story before she was hung. Initially it seems about the bad financial condition of a family which have several girl children only and the father of the lead still continue pushing her wife for a baby boy. Then Zainub’s mother gave birth to a hermaphrodite (Shemale) child and rest one hour of the movie reels around him. Which I think is bit too elongated and that made the movie very slow. In actual movie starts after interval when Zunaib’s father kills his hermaphrodite son. Then the story unfolds through different layers and tells about the bad condition of women in extremist Pakistani families.

Zainub is the only one who raises her voice against all the ill doings of her father throughout the movie and at the end she kills her father to save a girl child being murdered by him.

The only thing I liked about the movie is its climax. Zainub’s last wish was to address the media before being hanged which was approved by the President. There she narrates this entire story and tells that she took revenge from her father for giving birth to her. She asks the world “Sirf marna hi jurm kyun hai? Paida karna kyun nahi????” ‘Why only killing someone is a crime and why not giving birth’ she further asks why having legitimate children and then making their life hell is not wrong? Why those parents give birth to children if couldn’t adequately feed them. She argues that giving birth to children one can’t afford should also be considered as a crime.

Zainub was hung till death.

But the question still lived on ‘Sirf maarna hi jurm kyun hai.... Paida karna kyun nahi ??????’

INCREDIBLE !NDIA - How I get LEH'd

[Leh was the capital of the Himalayan Kingdom of Ladakh, now it belongs to Jammu & Kashmir. Leh(Altitude 11562 ft) is connected with Srinagar via 434Km stretch of NH1D. Srinagar-Leh road typically remains open for traffic from June to November. Since 1987 the 473 Km Manali-Leh road has been serving as the 2^nd land approach to Ladakh which is described by many as a biker’s paradise.

Leh-Manali Road opens for traffic from June to October.]

Day-1 (18^th June 2010) NCR to Ropar

6 Bulls 8 Devils - The Journey begins………..

The journey of a life time started on a usual note- Waiting

Scorching heat of Delhi summer and I was waiting for Sanju & his friends on Karnal bypass. My wrist watch clocking 13:20. I reached at Karnal By-Pass well before time as we planned to meet there at half past one. As always I reached before time because of my awful habit of punctuality. After waiting for 10-15 minutes I called  Sanju and according to him they were just there and will reach within 10 minutes.

I parked my bike under a bushy tree and rested on it. I was thinking about our last year plans of a bike trip to Leh which got cancelled because of my official trip to Seoul. And I have to bare all the scoldings of my friends because their dream trip has been destroyed because of me; anyways this time I am on the way to fulfill my dream. This time also we were planning for this 13 day trip from last one month and from 15 member’s team in starting we ended up to 8 only.

Coming out of thinking cycle I looked at the watch, Sanju’s 10 minutes has equaled 70. I called him again and he still needed 10 minutes to reach there. In that mean time I made a new friend there a helmet seller, who’s rehri is just beside little tree under whose shadow I was cooling down myself in this peak June summer. I was surprised to see that he was selling even those torn out helmets for 40-50 bucks which we through out in dustbin.

At last my wait got over at 1450 hrs 4 bikes circled me around. I knew only one person among them Sanju, rest all were his friends. So, Sanju introduced me to all of them.

1. Devender (Pillion to Sanju, he didn’t even know bike riding) Delhi
2. Darshan (Pulsar 200CC, 2 years back he planned a Solo ride to Leh, but could not materialize it) Guajarat
3. Adrian (Pulsar 180 CC, a passionate biker & Pro- Photographer, do check his clicks) Aurangabad
4. Sumanta (Unicorn 150CC, senior most among us) Bengal

5. Sandesh (Pillion with Sumanta, has good driving skills, which he showed later on) Aurangabad and last

6. Sanju (My friend from TU on his Pulsar 180 CC) Punjab

We started from Karnal Bypass at around 1500 hrs towards our first night stay ‘Ropar’. I was the slowest one among all the bikers the reason might be, because after coming out from Delhi traffic, it’s really so enjoyable to drive on highway or I was just enjoying my Bullet ride. All other have racer bikes so, they are enjoying racing speeds and I was cruising along the highway. We took our first halt at Nilokheri for drinks. We 1^st stopped at Karnal Haveli but because of some parking problems and one irritating drunken guy (who bumped into us at the parking) we moved ahead to Nilokheri. There we soothed our dried up throats with Batta (Lemon drinks) and moved ahead.

Then via Ambala we traveled towards Chandigarh. On the way to Chandigarh I got first jolt of my trip, a passerby said something while pointing a finger on my rear wheel. I didn't understand him but stopped to check and noticed that it was not for my bike tire but my tool box lock has blown off and it was swinging freely. I had lost my tool kit and my bike papers with it, which I always kept with my tool kit regardless of many warnings by my friends. I was confused and started dialing my mate’s cell in a hope if anybody driving behind me has seen it, but nobody picked my call. Adrian stopped by my side when I was busy on my cell and to my good luck he had my tool kit and papers in his hand. I put them in my tool box and sealed the box with tape.

We crossed Chandigarh at around 2100 hrs and reached ‘Ropar’ at 2200 hrs. Till the time we reached ‘Ropar’ we were all hungry and torned by 7 hrs long drive, to our surprise ‘Ropar’ city had only 3 hotels & a youth hostel and all were packed because of some exhibition in the city. After an hour long fight we found one guest house on outskirts of the city.  That too was possible only because of Hemant’s local friend otherwise we might also had enjoyed the bare sky sleep that night.

7. Hemant Aka ANNA (Bullet 500 CC, our 8^th partner) South

From outside the guest house looked good but from inside it was more like a hunting house than a hotel. In first 15 minutes I lost myself three times because of confusing stairs and long dark balconies. The strange sounds of birds and wind blowing through thin passages of the building were taking our breath away. On the dinner table I had a small chat with the waiter and He told me that this guest house is used more for other illegal things like prostitution than this usual hotel business. Anyways we were on our beds past mid night. At the bed I was thinking if the starting of this trip is like this and that to in my well known Punjab region how would it be from tomorrow onward.

But, your dream of a life time is worth anything.

Day-2 (19^th June 2010) Ropar to Manali

Not so happening one…………

After previous days hectic drive it was not easy to wake up early (as we had planned). But still we managed to start our day at 0630 hrs. I woke up with the click sounds of Sanju’s Digi-Cam. The view around our hunted guest house was so beautiful, just along the highway in between the green fields I stood at the top of the building looking around the lush green landscapes of Punjab feeded by the hard working farmers. It was so pictorial & calls for heavy clicks. All the tiredness of last days drive was gone with the good sleep & now this beautiful morning.

We quickly had bath and breakfast because we did not want to get late for our dream ride. As we were getting ready to roll on, one more bikers group reached there. One good thing in their group was that they had two hot chicks with them. We were thinking of going along with them for the remaining journey but they will be leaving from there in the evening. So our eye job was just finished there only and we bounced on the roads at around 0800 hrs after saying lovely good bye to the lovely group.

The drive was not that enjoyable because of heavy traffic and bad road condition. We took drinks break after every hour or so and many of the halts were just for capturing the nature’s beauty through our lenses. Still we managed to reach kullu at around 1600hrs, out of 6 bikes only 4 reached there together, Darshan aka SHASTRI and ANNA were very slow and both didn’t had experience of hill driving and moreover its ANNA’s 1st bike trip. We had our lunch from the road side dhaba and waited for them for around an hour and from there onwards we decided to drive in a group.

We reached manali around 1830 hrs. It was peak time for the mall road outing in Manali, So it was full of hot chicks and I was enjoying it fully with the thump sound of my bullet. It was my dream to gerri on Mall Road on my bullet with a hot girl on my pillion. The 2^nd part of the dream was still to be fulfilled but anyways I was enjoying the 1^st part fully. And there I got another jolt to my dreams, in last 8 years from the day I bought my Bullet till today this was my first tire puncture that too in the middle of the Mall road. For my good fortune the puncture vala was just around, I stood there for more than an hour to get it all set. Meanwhile my mates went ahead on Manali Rohtang road to find some place for the night.

We choose to stay on Manali-Rohtang road so that next day we can easily skip the morning traffic of Manali city. On weekends Manali Rohtang road is always buzzing with tourist’s traffic and for our good fortune we were there on weekend. We got a good accommodation along the river and that too very inexpensive. After getting fresh we enjoyed Mall Road outing at night and got our bikes checked for the torturous ride of days ahead and that too without any mechanic on the way from Manali to Leh.

We bought some beer canes and enjoyed them on the river bank with the thundering sound of the river. At dinner we enjoyed the company of beautiful girls who were staying in the same guest house. The dinner was like a buffet under an open tent in the garden with a light music with the river sound on the backdrop. We enjoyed our dinner with cool breeze and hot chicks because we knew that from tomorrow till the time we reach Leh, we are not going to see any girl on the way because tomorrow will be the 1st day of the Rohtang-Leh road opening for public and also general public don’t prefer this route because of torturous terrain, only the tough guys do.

Day-3 (20 June 2010) Manali to Darcha
Real Adventure Begins………….

I was the first one to wakeup in the morning because I didn’t want to miss my bath today as we knew that we will not be able to take bath for the next two days as we will be staying in the make shift tents and we will not get warm water for bathing and we were not that brave to take bath in the chilly river stream. We planned to start early but we lacked commitment and also because of some problem in Adrian’s bike, finally we started at 0615 hrs. As we were sure we will find too much traffic on the way, so it took us more than three hours to complete 55Kms stretch from Manali to Rohtang.

Around 1000hrs we reached Rohtang La. At 13050 feet Rohtang Pass was all white covered with snow and sharp chilly winds were freezing our bones. Thanks to god for the sunny weather, that was calming the things down a bit. Rohtang pass was thronged by tourists; we thought we were among the firsts who reached there on that day. But for our amazement hundreds of tourists were already there and were enjoying the snow games. It was a happy moment for all of us, that finally it feels like that we are on the biggest and memorable trip of our lives. We didn't waste much time there and continued our dream journey as we knew ‘long to go before we sleep’. When we crossed Rohtang La the whole environment was different, it was all calm and silent everywhere. Our was the only group moving in that direction. Not even a single human being till the limits of our sight.

Within few kilometers the road started giving us the hints of the tough times ahead. At one place I just took a U turn and saw a pond of mud in front of me. We stood silently looking at it, one side rocky mountain other side a deep valley in between a lake of mud, we couldn't even guess how deep & how thick that mud was? We tried to know the depth by throwing stones in to the mud but that mud was too thick for that. Luckily a Millitary Truck came from the other side with its terrain we guessed the way through it. It was almost 2 feet deep, some how we managed to cross it with our shoes drenched in mud all bikes fully dirt glued. But soon after that we found a waterfall where we cleaned ourselves.

It was past 1100 hrs and we all were tired and hungry. As I said god was kind to us along the whole path, we found a local dhaba around and we ate till our tummy’s cry. A group of Riders crossed us when we were stuffing ourselves with aloo paratha’s and soup Noodles. All the members of that group were foreigners riding brand new 500CC Enfield Motorcycles and a luggage jeep was following them with a mechanic and all the required stuff. At that time we were cursing them because of their rich wallets. We were carrying all the stuff on our backs and we were the only mechanics to cure our ailing bikes if we would get any such trouble. So now we were not the only one on this route and not the first ones, they were ahead of us. After few miles we overtook that foreigner group while they were having tea break at a dhaba. Yahooooooo we were again the front runners on this dangerous but  a dream run.

We were cruising on the flat but not so clear road near Sissu village when Ana’s bullet got punctured. I was following him. As we stood there in-between the barren road inspecting the tire Samantha reached us from behind. To our surprise puncture kit was with sanju who was ahead of us. I rushed to him through the pebble filled road, saving my bike from getting punctured. Finally I caught him after almost 10 miles and sent him back to Ana and I went ahead to catch Adrian who is far more ahead. Finally I catch up with Adrian who was playing with his lens along a sandy mountain having beautiful natural sand sculptures. Tandi filling station was nearby, so me & Adrian moved ahead to that and waited for others to reach.

Tandi was the only gas filling station between Manali & Leh. From there on till Leh (375Kms) there was no filling station. We had already planned to gather there and move ahead in a group. Unfortunately we had to stay there for more than an hour to wait for others to reach, after curing Ana’s bullet. Till this time we did not see anybody coming from Leh side, so we didn’t know whether the road ahead was clear or still blocked.

Manali Leh Road was opened around two weeks before our trip but because of heavy snow it was closed again for a week and today was the 1^st day of its 2^nd opening and we were on it. As we were waiting for our friends we met a foreigner bikers group, who were claiming that they were the first riders coming from Leh, that gave us a relieving breath. In the mean time Sanju & others joined us.

After filling our bikes to full tank and taking some reserve oil in canes we moved towards our day’s destination Sarchu and next day direct to Leh. Local people there advised us to stay at Keylong or Jispa because those were the only places where one can find hotel accommodation, but who the hell wants to stay in hotel rooms, so we moved ahead. We managed to reach darcha around 1730 hrs, here we got a halt at police check post. The guard over there suggested us to stay there only because from there onwards Baralacha pass will be fully covered with snow and it will be difficult to cross it, moreover we will miss the beauty of the way in the darkness of a night.

As suggested by the locals we stayed there only and took a tent accommodation. We had a good fun time there, went to river side to give a bath treat to our dirty bikes. We met a Punjabi group there and 2 guys from Bangalore joined us later on. We had a long chat session and went to sleep in our cozy quilts at around 2200hrs. But I got a hard sleep that night because of thundering sound of river along our tents.

Day-4 (21 june2010) Darcha to Pang
Toughest part of the journey

Early to bed & early to rise is always considered a good habit but this time it was the biggest mistake by us to start early. We started from Darcha at around 0600hrs, till ‘Zing Zing’ bar everything was ok the only thing which made us worry was chilly breeze, it was around –ve 10 degree Celsius and we were in the open all surrounded by snow covered hills. We were moving easily at speeds of 30-40 KMs/H on smooth roads of Baralacha region.

As we crossed the Zing Zing bar I received the 1^st solid blow of this trip. Due to high altitude it was not easy to accelerate so we were maintaining slow speed only. I didn’t notice when suddenly my bike slipped because of the ice on the road, my bullet slipped from the left side of the road and stopped at the right edge of the road the sight from there was so scary. If I had not stopped for few more inches the only way from there was down and to hell or heaven only god knows. Samantha and Sanju followed me in same fashion. I thought I was the 1^st victim but when we were recuperating from the condition Adrian & Ana came from behind and told us that Ana has met the same fate few KMs back. We by chance spared from there but at this place whole of the road was covered with ice and it was behaving like a glass. We crossed that 20m stretch in half an hour that too after breaking the ice sheet with stones because it was impossible even to stand stood on ice left aside driving a bike.

Till the time we reached Baralacha La top every one of us has tasted snow on the road at least once, for me it was 2^nd turn at Baralacha Top. I slipped again on ice and got hurt badly, I got burnt mark at right leg by my bullet silencer. But the view around had fazed all my pain, we were awestruck by the beauty of snow covered region. It was like every inch of land has got a white quilt. Only snow and snow until miles

Coming down from the Baralacha pass was very tough. The entire path was covered by snow, at some places we have to drive in 2-3 feet deep snow. It was very hard for me because my bullet did not have self start option. It was the toughest and most adventurous ride of my life time driving through 2 feet snow and water, before entering in it we didn’t even know the depth and not even the correct path, because all around what we can see is only snow.

Till the time we reached Sarchu at around 1330 hrs we were all drenched. We planned to reach here yesterday, at this point & in this condition we all were thankful to the person who stopped us in Darcha only. If we had continued our journey yesterday then definitely we would have missed all the beauty and might have lost our way. We had a good lunch there and rested for a while to let our clothes dry. Afterwards we crossed Gata loops. Gata Loops are zig zag road section, from the top loop if you see down you can see the last section of the loops. The whole view of these loops was very pictorial.

At around 1600hrs we reached pagal naala about which we had heard that till noon it stays calm but afternoon it becomes mad & violent because of plenty snow melt at hill peaks and because of this it got this name ‘Pagal Naala’.Sanju will remember Pagal Naala till eternity. Me, Ana & Adrian crossed it slowly but safely, Sanju was following us suddenly his bike slipped and went towards downhill side in 5 feet deep water. He fell in dangerously flowing water; somehow he managed to take guard of a big stone to protect himself from flowing with the river. His bike was 80% inside water. It took more than 30 minutes to 4 of us to pull his bike out. Water has entered in its silencer, so it was not taking self. For Sanju’s good fate the way from there to Pang is down hill, so he just rolled down his bike towards Pang in off engine mode. Somehow after few Miles it started.

We reached Pang at around 1730hrs most of us were not feeling well so we planned to stop there only & shifted to a tent. The view around the place was so beautiful; it was like a cold dessert Sandy Mountains with beautiful natural sculptures all around. Here I came to know what AMS (Acute Mountain Syndrome) is? Five among 8 of us were suffering from it. Only I, Adrian & Devendra had dinner that night others were sleeping with headache or stomach problems. Shastri even visited Military camp hospital and had some oxygen punches. They all missed the tasty food made by the aunty who was the owner of that tent. The interesting fact about this trip is that we got home cooked food all along the way and that too very tasty and healthy contrary to what we had thought off.

Day-5 (June 22 2010) Pang to Leh
Just Wooowwwwwww…………….

This was the best morning of the journey till now. We knew we were close to Leh so there was no urgency in disrupting our sleep. But still we woke up at 0700hrs because of yesterdays early to bed activity. I noticed ice layers on our bike seats formed by freezed dew, temperature outside were below zero but still it didn’t feel so because the sun was in full mood. We enjoyed our breakfast under the sun and left for Leh at around 0830hrs.

As I mentioned earlier Pang area was awesome, so beautiful. Just few kilometers drive from Pang & we have entered Mori plans. The scenic beauty there was breathtaking. I admired god’s creation thousands times in those few hours of passing through Mori plans. It was like river of sand, concrete & wild bushes. No roads just plane area between bare hills along your sides 500 to 1000 meters wide. There were no limits you can drive in any direction you just have to move forward in which ever way you like or I should say which ever way you are forced to drive by the terrain. The sand and concrete layer is around a foot deep and in some places our tire’s were deep struck in wild bushes.

I was the slowest driver in Mori planes region, the reason may be my heavy bike and luggage load on it or I was scared of slipping tires in sand concrete. But I was literally angry and hated that last position of mine. But soon I was happy about that when I found Samantha and then Shastri licking sand on ground. We stopped at around every couple of miles in that 45 KMs stretch to sooth our eyes and admire nature’s beauty. We met lot of bikers at Tanglang-la, they were coming from Leh.

Finally we landed on plane roads, crossed through ‘Rumptse’. I can’t explain that feeling when I got the 1^st view of Leh from the high road. The whole city was visible from there and for me it was like I reached to Heaven a long awaited destination. We reached Leh around 1700hrs and stopped at a petrol pump just at the entry of Leh to let the other ones catch us. After everyone reached there we started our search for accommodation. In around one hour we were in our rooms of Kamal Guest house. Entry to the Guest house was so beautiful, it’s like an old haveli, and it was marvelous from rooms to washrooms from lawns to scenic beauty through windows. Everything about that guest house was so wonderful. Guest house owner introduced us to a travel agent Mr. Parvez M/sLadakh Eco-Adventures who arranged permits for us for Khardungla pass & Pangong. Actually every tourist needs permits to visit Pangong Lake & K-Top because of security reasons because these places are very near to China Border.

We had our dinner at Summer Harvest restaurant, one of the famous local food spots. We tried local dishes there but I didn’t like the ‘Thupka’ the most favorite local dish of Leh. After dinner we roamed around a bit for catching initial glimpse of Leh. After all day torturous long drive we were still on the roads of Leh instead of cozy rooms. I think the feeling of fulfilling our dreams of visiting Leh kept us going.

At around 2300hrs I was on my bed, thinking about all the good and bad experiences of last three days. I will say the way from Baralacha to Leh is my favorite, it was all filled with nature’s beauty. From snow Peak Mountains to deep valleys, from vigorously flowing water to cold dessert mountains everyplace was so mesmerizing. I bet you will stop every few meters on the way to see and admire God’s creation and every time your mouth will open just for wowwwww…….

Day-6 (June 23 2010) Khardungla Pass
Day of mixed feelings…………….

First thing in the morning was, we directly headed towards Mechanic market. Our bikes got checked by the best mechanic in the market. All the light bikes got their engine oils replaced. My bullet was perfect even after last 2 days torture, just a minor clutch issue. We all were on high spirits to drive on the world’s highest motorable road Khardungla pass (18,380 feet, Built in 1976, K-Top opened to motor vehicles in 1988). The Marsimikla Pass (18632 feet), in eastern Ladakh has missed the top spot as it allows for only some kind of four wheelers across it.

When we reached Mr. Parvez for the passes he told us, due to land sliding K-top was closed. With the blue mood we had our brunch on a roof top coffee-bar and planned to visit local sites and move to K-Top next day. But till the time we finished our food, we came to know that K-top road is now clear.

We jumped in joy and headed straight towards K-Top. K-Top was just 54 KMS from Leh. As we left Leh, roads were smooth like glass and the view all around was so wonderful, but as we moved up the road condition deteriorated a lot that it took around three hours to reach K-Top. More than 50 percent of the path was damaged by melting snow. The world’s highest motorable road belongs to India and the feeling of driving my bullet on that road is too good.

We met few English guys riding bicycles all the way up and down. As we reached K-Top we just completely lost in the beauty of nature so much that it took one & half hour to realize that Anna had still not reached there. We asked few bikers also, who came after us, and even they didn’t know anything. Finally he reached there in a miffed manner, and he was too red hot face in such chilled weather. Everybody asked him what happened and we were shocked on his explanation.

Front disc brakes of Anna’s bullet were jammed without any pressure on lever by Anna. He fell down 3-4 times due to automatic operation of brakes. We wanted to laugh on the situation but Anna’s expressions stopped us of doing that. We all thought he must have applied brakes, because we all know about his height phobia. Then Adrian drove his bike and the puzzle solved. Actually Anna drove all the way with his handle lock on, three of the four bolts of the lock were blown off and the lock was operating just because of one bolt. Whenever he tilted the handle that lock struck in and locks the handle, but because of loose bolting on straight road it works smooth. So on 23^rd June Anna made a history of driving world’s highest road on his Bullet 500 with side lock on.

We then continued our fun sports. We met a jolly family from Rajpura on K-Top. Those guys were very funny and the girls with them were beautiful, we had a good time with them playing around K-Top bumping snow balls on each other. But the oxygen level there was too low so we got tired very soon and the sun was also diminishing so we started our journey back to Leh so that we reach Leh before the sun set. Following night we had our dinner in Sunrise Café. The ambience was too good there with foreigner chicks and beer bottles all around. Then one more rocking day slipped into the warm quilts.

Day-7 (June 24 2010) Pangong Lake
Surprised …………….

 
We had planned to drive 150 KMS to Pangong and then back to Leh in one day so we started early at 0600 hrs from guest house. We had travelled 35 KMS back to Karu on the Leh –

Manali Road

. We had our breakfast at Punjabi Dhaba (Sanjha Chulla) at Karu. After a span of one week we had the taste of real Punjabi alloo parathas.

At Karu the road divides in two, one to Manali & other to Pangong. We showed our papers at Karu check post & moved on to Pangong. After few miles we crossed beautiful Shakti village. After crossing Zingral when our bikes were thumping hard on steep hills of Chang-La, Shastri’s AMS problem increased again. Actually from the day one of this trip Shastri was the medically weakest link of our group. At Pang also he took oxygen from Military camp. Here also Military post came to his rescue. We were thinking about Shastri’s problem on road side when a Scorpio came from downhill and brushed with the hill beside us. That Scorpio was also feeling AMS like Shastri. There were 6 Haryanvi guys in it, after quirling with each other about whose fault is this for bringing such a bad car on this track they decided to go downhill without seeing Pangong. And we saw the solution to problem, we sent Shastri with them and decided that they will drop him in Military camp & we will pick him up while coming back from Pangong.

From the day we stepped on this route of Manali-Leh, everyday the scenic beauty is increasing exponentially and here on this route of Leh-Pangong same theorem continues. After crossing the steep Changla pass we met so many water bodies along the road side and in between them small islands of sand and bushes. After crossing Tangtse all of sudden all the landscape changes into Rocky Mountains and sand all around. It was like crossing through the lake of white Sand.

   

Pangong Lake is world’s highest saline lake (14,270 feet) and spread in 134 KMS, 1/3rd of it is in India and rest is in Tibet which is under China’s rule. I had not heard much about it before the release of 3 Idiots movie. Till June 24th 2010 1430hrs all I know was that there is a beautiful lake near Leh called Pangong Lake. After this day I am at loss of words to describe that beauty. Multi colored crystal clear water dotted with sea hawks, Sea Hawks are beautiful birds mainly found in coastal regions. The whole view was so mesmerizing that we all silently admired that beauty and it was only after few minutes that we realized that we are there in that heaven.

Pangong Lake is one of those places where you don’t get bored sitting ideal, the lake itself make sure you are kept happy and contented. The lake keeps changing its shade as the day progresses from deep blue when the sun is high, with a turquoise shade near the bank and deeper hues toward the middle. It looses colour later in the day and turns dull.

All of a sudden that sunny afternoon converted into dark cloudy weather. Adrian had already planed for night stay at Pangong for clicking night scenes & rest of us were forced by the weather to stay there. But Sumantha & Sandesh moved on with the plan because they have to reach office on time on Monday. So our group split in two parts there, Sumantha & Sandesh took shastri with them and moved on and went to Srinagar next day and then to Delhi. Rest of us stayed at Pangong that night.

After having our lunch we took some rest in the make shift tent. In the mean time weather got cleared and after putting our small luggage in room we moved forward to see the last village till where the civilians are allowed to go, after that only military movement is allowed till the Indo-China border. But as we moved a mile and it started raining so we get back to our room.

In the evening Sanju & Devendra were not feeling well because of AMS. But I & Adrian again tried to go to Spangmik, Adrian wants to click some snaps and I just wanted to explore all the places around. But because of fast paced dark and no road way at all to that village we managed to reach only close to Spangmik not exactly there. We had some clicks on the lake side there and then returned back to our tents. We had our dinner with some Rum shots to calm the chilly shiver down and said good night to Pangong. But Adrian stayed awake all night to have those beautiful clicks of Pangong in moon light which we cherish & will cherish all life long.

Day-8 (June 25 2010) Back to Leh

So Thrilling……………..

Finally it was a sunny day at lake. We bought some Souvenirs from Pengong Military shop and started our back journey around 0800 hrs. As we were reaching TCP before Chang-La it started raining, so we stopped at TCP. The army men there invited us to their camp area and we had a dry fruit party there and sip some hot tea to overcome the chill outside. We made some good friends from army in this trip and I noticed that almost all the army men are very cool & fun loving. Meanwhile outside snowfall has started and our army friends advised us to move forward because if the snow fall gets heavy then it will be difficult for us.

We drive all the way till shakti in drizzling snow, it was too dangerous because we were not able to see beyond 10 feet, all the left and right was occupied by dark clouds and snow and that reduced the visibility only to couple of meters. At the time we reached back to Karu the weather was all clear. But at Karu TCP I noticed that I forget my bag at Chang-La TCP. From Karu TCP we then made a call to Chang-La TCP and our good army friends there recognized us, they sent our bag through one English biker who was coming down from Pangong to Leh, but we have to wait for him for almost 3 hours.

In the mean time we had a good chat session with the Army personnel & got to know many details about life in LEH.  When we reached Leh, we moved to Shanti Stupa and then too Zorawar Fort. We had a good clicking session there. In the evening we searched the local market for shopping and to give some relaxed treat to our tiring eyes and body with beautiful babes around and Beer in hands.

Day-9 (June 26 2010) Leh to Kargil
Departing souls …………….

We had planned to leave early in the morning from Leh. But the feeling of leaving our dream place was not letting us move ahead with our plans. So it took us 3 hours to be ready for the back journey. We woke up at 0700hrs but left Leh around 1000hrs with the feeling of departing souls. After having Breakfast in a restaurant on the Leh outskirts we pulled our bikes on the highway again. The Leh Srinagar highway was just awesome, rubber like roads with beautiful curves gave us the feeling of F1 track.

Our 1^st halt was at Pathar Sahib Gurudwara about 30KMS from Leh. Gurudwara Pathar Sahib is a historical place; Shri Guru Nanak Dev had visited this place during one of his Udassi’s.  At Pathar Sahib Adrian realized that his bike’s engine was leaking and engine oil was below minimum level. There was no workshop or mechanic nearby so he went back to Leh for it and we moved forward on Srinagar highway and planned to meet Adrian on the way only. Because we know Adrian is the fastest rider among us so he will soon catch us.

Then we witnessed the not so magnetic effect of Magnetic hill on the way. We had a tea break at Saspal and in the mean time Adrian also reached to us. We continued driving through the rough patches of the road and through the beautiful valleys and along the river side all day long and reached Kargil at around 1745hrs.

Me, Adrian & Sanju gathered at the Entry Bridge of Kargil, then Sanju & Devender went ahead to search for the hotel & we 2 waited for Anna there only. But for our fate all the hotels were packed to full capacity because of some religious ceremony in the town. At last Sanju got the room and our wait ended after almost 2 hours at that jam packed bridge. We were happy only till the time we reached in our room. The room we got for the night was very dirty and the bathroom was just cherry on the top, but we had no other option so after having Thupka in dinner we wished good night to the dullest & most tiring day of the trip.

Day-10 (June 27 2010)  Kargil to Srinagar
Jai Jawan ………

After witnessing the dullest day of the trip, today we started our journey in a hope of some good ride. We started at around 0700 hrs from kargil and our 1^st stop was kargil war memorial in Drass sector. It was the 1^st time in my life when I got the strong feeling of being an Indian & having a so good neighbor PAKISTAN. The Army men there told almost everything about the kargil war from the Paki invasion till the Indian victory.

Till today I just know that Paki invaders were on the Indian ground but today I could see how close they were, just 500 Mtrs from the National highway & could see the 32KMS stretch of highway from the Tololing hill where they sat their closest camp. We gave our tribute to the martyrs of Kargil and left for Srinagar after having breakfast of Samosas & Sandwitches.

 
Then we crossed Zojila pass which was not too tough as we heard about from lot many people on the way. Then we saw Amarnath Yatra’s base camp at Baltal, which looked so beautiful from the top thousands of colorful tents in rows inviting us for clicks. Then we hit the good road which lead towards Sonamarg, we had lunch out there. This time too ANNA was late and we had to wait for him for more than 1.5 HRS.

Local people out there told us that Srinagar city is still under curfew, and suggested us not to stay in there. This shattered our dreams of visiting the jewel of the country ‘Srinagar’ and playing on the lush green fields of Soanmarag. So we planned to go by-pass Srinagar and stay at Qazigund near Jawahar Tunnel that night. As we traveled through Srinagar bypass we found same problem what we heard about, so much military all around the highway.

We crossed Srinagar and had Kashmiri Kahwa for tea break on a road side dhabha (Kashmiri Kahwa is a Kashmiri green tea and flavoured with cardamom is what helps you relieve headache and maintain fluid levels too). There we met few army men who shared their experiences of Kashmir trouble with us. Through which I noticed that the Kashmir trouble is only because of some extremists and bad politicians Indian government or Army or Local public is not responsible for it.

We reached Qazigund at around 1800hrs and shifted to so called hotel. Qazigund is a small town so we didn’t get a good hotel and we didn’t have that much will and time to search for a good hotel. So we went ahead with whatever we got. But it was worst than we thought of Bad room, worse beddings and worst bathroom.

Day-11 (June 28 2010)  Back to

Den
Drive

Drive &

More Drive

………

We started from ‘Qazigung’ around 0700 hrs and stopped at Titanic view point, from where one can have the last view of the beautiful Kashmir valley. There we met a British guy who was in India from last 6 months traveling all the way from south to North tip of India on a Bullet. I really admire this ability of these white people, to travel around the world all alone. Then we crossed through the marvelous Jawahar tunnel, This 2.5 kilometer long tunnel which is the only road connection of the valley with rest of India. . That’s why it got a Z+ security. 2194.56 meters above sea level, Jawahar tunnel, situated between Banihal and Qazigund, has been operational since 22 December 1956.

Then via Patnitop, we reached Udhampur at 1330 hrs, as NH1D was single and we met a lot of amaranth yatris on the way it took long to reach Udhampur. Here again we had to wait for ANNA for about an hour. We asked local people if there is any short cut, one rehri vala suggested us to take left from Udhampur and straight from Dhar road, and we can hit kathua directly.

We headed towards the direction told by the rehri vala and it was hardly 70 kms and whole Jammu city is bypassed. Driving along the Ranjit sagar dam we reached Pathankot. Just on the entry of Pathankot I fell again because of a puppy. Thank god I managed to control my bike and didn’t hit the road to hard and I survived that without any injury.

Then we had our lunch in Punjabi style at Kehar Singh da dhaba at around 1500hrs. There we all planned our destinations to reach. Sanju will stay at Jalandhar as it is his home town. Me & Anna will head to Patiala and Adrian & Deveder will stay anywhere on the way where they can reach before it’s too dark because it is not possible for them to reach Delhi directly.

At around 1630 hrs we left from there but because of poor road condition and heavy traffic we only managed to reach Jalandhar at 2130hrs, so I dropped the plan to go to Patiala the same day. Sanju & Devender moved to Sanju’s home and we 3 took stay at Jalandhar bypass. We had a good long sleep in AC room of a good 4 star hotel and early morning left for our destinations. Finally I reached Patiala at around 1130hrs and my dream journey has come to an end. Rest whole day I slept in my cozy bedroom thinking about last 10 days of shear fun & adventure.

At the end I really want to thank God for creating such wonderful landscapes on earth & giving me the opportunity to visit those places. Another thanks to god for the wonderful weather during the entire trip. And big thanks to all the mates and to their good photography skills (all the pictures above are from their lenses, you can check more at http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.428293051011.206998.589536011&type=1). It was really the best time of my life.

‘MOTHER NATURE IS AWESOME’