There is something special about these Monarchs, the butterflies I mean. One tiny among them flaps its wings to leave home and the entire rabble follows it. And together they set out on a journey which span across many miles, seasons and generations. None of those amazing creatures who set out on this transatlantic migration will complete the entire cycle. It will be their third and fourth generation which will return to the place from where it all started. How they manage to reach the same place year after year is still a matter of study. No wonder in some places they are called Wanderers. Wanderers…I have started developing out of the ordinary fondness for this word!
Many of you will also be sharing the same kind of soft spot for this word. Well. I am not trying to claim that I am one of those…Wanderers, but I truly wish if I could be one! You start doing something so meticulously that eventually it becomes part of you. Fish swim, birds fly and I ride...that kind of thing I mean. Alok, who is my friend, also thinks on the similar lines. Smitten by the travel bug, he often exhibits those characteristics which one can relate to that shown by a chained wanderer. So together we just ride off whenever we get a chance. And this time we had planned something great & bigger! Bigger than whatever I had attempted till now. A seven day long trip to Goa is what we had in our mind. Jog Falls, Gokarna & Udupi were the other places we planned to cover on the way. All efforts were made to get as many people we can for the trip. But as usual everything went in vain. Sometimes it is difficult to understand how people around you can be so boring. Anyways we were prepared to ride the way we are.
This is a write up to share few of those golden memories from the seven days of my life, which I have treasured forever. Seven days as a wanderer along with my bike!
Riders of Doodhsagar…
I ride because it's a passion and necessity. Here I met a group of people for whom riding is bread and butter. Let me introduce you to the Riders of Doodhsagar ! It was the 3rd day of our ride. We were staying at Colva Beach and decided to visit the famous Doodhsagar Falls. I had seen few photos of this fall and was simply stunned by them. Its at a distance of 60 km from Margao. We started our ride at around 12 noon. This was the last time when I was not riding in rain. The roads towards the falls are through the Sahyadris range, in other terms there will have enough of wilderness around for your company. There was heavy truck movement on those roads. All brand new trucks which were travelling at high speed. They didn't care much about other vehicles on the road, for them we were like insects hitting their windshield. To prove that we were riders, we did over take few of them. But then, it was their playground. We stopped at a roadside dhabha and had a heavy lunch. Fish fry was great. Thereafter we continued our ride towards the fall till we reached a point from where no private vehicles were allowed to go further. From that point there are two options: Trek towards the falls through the jungle along with a guide, which is a good option provided you have enough time or take a bike ride. Yes, there was a group of people who will ride you to the falls on their bikes. They will act as your guide also. At that time I was not sure why we were not allowed to ride on our own and why we have to sit as a pillion. Most of them had 125cc bikes. This is when I got the chance to meet Manoj Kumar (Ah! Not the bollywood star). He was may be 5 feet 4 inches tall, but then adventure comes in all sizes. He has been riding here for the past 7 years. He was the George of the Jungle! My guide and rider for the day. While beginning the ride there were proper roads, then slowly they started to disappear. And then there were no roads or even paths. Soon we were riding besides railway tracks. There was a small channel of water flowing next to the track and this bike with 2 of us on it was being ridden between whatever space was available between the track and the water channel. Whenever there was a bike coming from the opposite direction either Manoj or the other rider will park the bike on the metal laid besides the track. I saw few people sitting at back with their eyes closed and clinching the rider. If your rider loses his balance, then its bad news for you as you will surely fall into the water channel with the bike following you. Finally the adventurous ride ended or I thought so when Manoj stopped his bike. Then he told me to cross the tracks and wait on the other side. From there the jungle ride was going to start. I asked him where he was going then. He told me that he will come to the other side after crossing the channel. Alok and I waited for them on the other side. We started the ride again through the jungle after paying the entry fee to the forest guard (I wonder for what the hell they were charging that fee). There was hardly any road or path through there and only an experienced person can make out the way. Manoj continued the ride along with which he narrated the legend of Doodhsagar, his biking experiences in the past 7 years in this place in a very polite manner. He was a good guy and a biker too.
We reached the falls. Enjoyed the scenery, took photos. Then the trouble begins or should I say the fun begins! It started raining heavily. Manoj had warned us about the rain. If it rains badly all those small water crossing which we had on the way would have become rivers. The water current will be such that we will have to wait for hours for the water to come down. It was getting dark also by now. Getting struck in the middle of a jungle with water pouring like hell and that too during night was not at all a good idea. So we rushed back with our fingers crossed. The guy riding with the Alok was new to the terrain and the bike didn't have front brakes, so all these factors made the ride even more adventurous for Alok. While coming back the entire forest was flooded. I have no idea how Manoj was able to make out the way. Many new streams were formed coz of rain and the already existing ones had more water flowing through them. But it was not that bad as we feared. But every time me & Alok had to get down from the bike and cross the stream as the bikes won't be able to carry two people. After crossing one such stream we took a pee break. I asked Alok…How is the ride Buddy? He said he was loving it! Looking at the way Manoj and other bikers of doodhsagar were taking the bikes into the water and crossing it, I felt that people trying to build better amphibious vehicle can take a lesson or two from these guys. Finally we reached the base from where we started. While paying the money the manager enquired us about the ride & the falls. He also apologized for the trouble caused by the rain. I told him not to worry as the rain only increased the fun. He gave me that ''Are you crazy?'' kind of look. We thanked and said bye to Manoj. Hats off to those riders. Well, that was what I call a ride!
When Silence Speaks…
There are words of wisdom, appreciation, encouragement, inspiration, love. Words are so much important, but have you ever imagined how much beautiful it could get in the absence of all these words. And that is when silence speaks. Like a picture which tells a story or a painting which reveals many emotions. I am talking about the loveliness of Silence in its entirety. Well, this is one of the things which I realized during my trip. It was Day 5 of our ride. We had packed our bags and were on our way to Old Goa. On the way we decided to visit few beaches and Vagator Beach was one of them. The ride to this beach was as usual accompanied by rain. But the roads were stunning. We reached the parking which was on top of a cliff. I found 2 bikes with KA registration in the parking. I was happy to see them. At least we were not alone.
We walked towards the tip of the cliff. From there the view was just gorgeous. A long beach with coconut trees leaning towards it. It had another cliff on the other end with a fort facing the sea. Even though it was crowded, I found it beautiful. And then there were water scooters also being operated. It made the view look great from the top. Powerful machines roaring towards the horizon, breaking and jumping over the waves. After clicking some pics we rushed towards the beach. Right away went to enquire about the water scooter ride. At that time we came to know that the scooter is not available for us to ride. One can just sit on it and there will be a professional rider to ride the same. Then came the second piece of information which was that its just a 30 seconds ride and will cost you 300 bucks. Well, it was not a fair deal but I just couldn't resist the idea of riding or flying on that thing, even though it was for just 30 seconds. Alok was not that interested in taking the ride as he wanted to ride it himself. He asked me to take a ride & tell him how it was. Depending on my feedback he will decide. In the end both of us took 2 rides. 1 minute of ecstasy! After that we played for a long time in the sea. The waves were superb. This was the time when we spotted the fort atop the cliff on the other end. On enquiring we came to know that it is the Vagator Fort or the Chapora Fort. A beautiful scene in one of the Bollywood movie was picturized here. We started our ride towards the fort.
As it had been raining all the way, there were not many people who were willing to climb all the way to the top of the cliff for reaching the fort. If we also had decided the same then it would have been a big mistake, I would say. We walked towards the boundary wall of the fort. From there we could see the beach were we took the ride, the road leading towards the beach and all. This was the noisy side of the beach. But the view of the other side had a different story to tell. And that is what made me fall in love with this place. The cliff on which the fort was built was separating these two sides. There was a lagoon on the other side surrounded by thick greenery. I could see waves getting formed, heavy but calm wind and rocks which were standing as a hindrance against those waves & wind. We were in a hurry as we had to reach Old Goa before it was getting dark. But after reaching this place we almost forgot about that. We decided to sit there on the boundary wall looking towards the sea.
There was a different kind of calmness all around. Like she wanted to tell a million things but some how couldn't. May be she wanted us to read that out from her silence. Or may be she was trying to be elusive. We sat there for quite long time trying to interpret and understand that silence. Alok and I just sat there without talking to each other. We didn't want to disturb her silence. For the first time in my life I realized how silence can conquer noise. Silence can speak and I could listen to that. It was just pulling me towards itself. With a promise that I will return there again, finally we moved on. I wish I could carry that silence & calmness back home. We valued silence!
Rain God…
Another notable thing about this trip was the constant companionship of rain. I am a person who loves rain. It brings a smile on my face (well most of the time). Sometimes I wait for the rain to take my bike out for a ride. When raindrops fall on my face it is like a touch of the nature. Initially the rain had made this trip a beautiful thing. But then situation changed. The 1st day of our trip, we had planned to ride till Sagar. On the way after crossing Shimoga, it started drizzling. At the same time the sun was shinning on top of us. A strange combination of rain & sun made the scenery around really picture perfect. The chrome of my bike, the paddy in the fields and the coconut tree leaves, all were shinning with the same intensity. Similarly rain increased the fun during our visit to Doodhsagar Waterfalls. That was the end of it. Afterwards rain came down like hell. For five days we were continuously riding in rain. There was not an inch of my skin which was not soaked in water. My feet got more wrinkle than what was there when I was born.
Alok had kept extra memory cards for his camera. All that was of no use as he couldn't take many photos. Whenever he takes his camera out, it will start raining. But then rain also couldn't stop us from riding.
Broken but not out…
One thing which I have noticed about my bike is that, it may break but it will never be out. This time the speedometer cable got broken on the second day of the trip itself. And this was the third time it was happing in the middle of a trip. But fortunately it was the speedo cable every time. Same applies to Aloks's bike also. It will start giving trouble only after ensuring that its rider is home safely. May be these bikes understand the psychology of its riders! It's a strange bond which not many people will understand.
Creatures of Night…
Riding at night is not at all advisable. But then you haven't experienced it all until you have ridden under the stars on a dark empty highway. We start our ride back home so late that we end up riding at nights. Same happened this time also. We started from Gokarna in the morning itself, but on the way stopped at many places. It was raining badly and I was getting sick of it. The road from Gokarna till Shimoga is pathetic. It had craters so big like those found on moon and not potholes. And those were filled with rain water. We took a halt at Shimoga for lunch. By the time we started from there it was 5 30pm. 275 km more to cover. Roads were good after Bhadravathi and rain also stopped by that time. But what ever damage it had to do have already been done. Now it was complete dark. When I was riding in the front I kept on checking whether Alok is following me or not. I could see his headlight in my mirror. I could make out he was following me by listening to the noise made from the rear brake of his bike. And when he was riding in the front, I kept my eyes on the tail light of his bike. Well most of the time that was the only thing visible in the absolute darkness. With no street lights or proper marking and sign boards, riding on the highway at night is like riding into some void. A strange hollowness engulfs you. In addition to that the visor of my helmet was making a whistling sound. It was giving that much needed sound effect to feel spooky. Like creatures of nights we roamed around this time also.
There are many more things which I want to share here, but no words can express the joy, triumph, bliss, pain which I experienced by riding my bike. If someone wants to experience that, get inspired from the Monarch…at least once in a while. So what are you waiting for?
Go flutter!