Bulls On Parade to Nahan

The Nahan Nunchuks

Continuing on the tradition of "one month one ride", Bulls On Parade head towards Nahan. A place very close to Delhi, only 260 kms. With just 15 kms of hill-riding, it was not one of the usual BoP rides. This one was planned as a relaxed ride, although it did not turn out to be so. We were expecting a lot more people for this ride since the last few rides had seen greater than 10 riders. But the final six were:

1. Nishant Jha - Royal Enfield Electra - Che
2. Sanket Tomar - Royal Enfield Electra - Kunwarji
3. Ajit Singh - Royal Enfield Thunderbird - Ajit
4. Manjinder Singh - Royal Enfield 5S - Manji
5. Vihans Gupta - Yamaha FZ-16 - Vihans
6. Diptinder Singh - Royal Enfield Electra - Author

19th Sep 2009:

(Gurgaon - Shahabad - Kala Amb - Nahan - Dadahu)

The time was 4:30 AM and I reached the gathering point first, Gurgaon Toll Plaza, at 4 AM. Nishant called up at 4:30 AM saying that he had just woken up. This was unusual of him as he is most punctual for a ride. But not surprising, as the last night had seen some frivolous activity at Epicenter with BoP having a ball at the Offisial Attyachar event(must write a blog for that too).

Except Manjinder who would be joining us at the fragrant Landfill Site, the rest of the riders were grouped and ready to go at 5 AM. "Jai BOP" and The Nunchuks were out. Sanket had to stick to a speed limit of 60 kph due to a cylinder kit replacement. We reached the Landfill site quickly facing little traffic. Early morning demanded tea and we sipped some amongst all the flies. Even saw GODS with their Hayabusas and Intruders.

We set off 15 mins later. The going was unexpectedly rough with broken roads. Potholes emerged from nowehere. There were a couple of dreadful clunks, the sort that jar up your's and the motorcycle's insides. Pace was reduced to a modest one. Of course, the same cannot be said about Nishant who has a speed demon inside him.

We reached Murthal by 7 AM, our favourite Ahuja Dhaba. Gulping down parathas and hot tea. By now, the sun was up and it was getting hot. We thought of picking up the pace, but the broken roads stopped us. More dreadful clunks followed. And just when I was cruising through Karnal, we faced our first mishap. My rear tyre punctured at 70 kph. I have become experienced now in handling the Bullet under such conditions(Sunny bhai will vouch for this) and gently pulled to the side of the road to avoid the traffic. However, the puncture-wala was 200 m away and dragging the limp Bull with a backpack took all my strength away. Sanket caught up with me.

The puncture-wala was an innovative person. He didn't take out the tyre, just opened the main screw, loosened the tyre edges and took out the tube. For future reference, this guy can be found at the Sec 12,13 chowk in Karnal. I gave him my spare tube and in 20 mins, we were on our way again. By this time, Sanket had called up Nishant and they were waiting for us at a dhaba 15 kms away.

The sleep-deprivation of last night was catching up and my head was dropping even while riding the Bullet. Manji told that he was also facing the same which is why we increased the pace. Hot tea was ordered at the dhaba to drown out the sleep. Nishant had the sudden urge to have dal-roti at the dhaba even though we would be lunching at Sanket's place in another 2 hours. Still, Jha saab ke bahaduri kartab alag hi hain. Vihans also bit in. The waiter here was cross with us for some reason. It could have been Manji's snap response when he brought Coke and Manji exclaimed, "Limca maangi thhi maine, ye Limca hai?"

After this, the waiter was cross even when Nishant asked for extra rotis. When Nishant tipped him Rs 10, he again responded,"kya lana hai?". Nishant just recoiled and said meekly, "kuch nahi lana bhai. tu rakh le." We ran out of the dhaba before the waiter's rage went out of control.

Crossing Kurukshetra, we took the right turn towards Kala Amb from Shahabad. Now, we were on country roads. The roads were decent and the shade of the tall eucalytpus trees all around provided great riding conditions. We were ripping on these roads, much faster than GT Road. However, this added to our thirst and then, you know what. We stopped at, what else, Theka, since we are a traditional lot.

The brand of beers in the country has always excited me. This time it was RDX. Explosive name. The rest opted for Kingfisher. A noteworthy fact was that Sanket bhai passed. He was going home and avoided getting any alcohol-breath. It must have been very heart-burning for him and we all took it personally to console him, by pushing our bottles under his nose. I also asked him to fill up his hip flask with Black Bull Rum I had purchased through Army canteen. He gladly obliged.

Now, we were supercharged. Throttles opened and we zoomed through the villages. Sanket stopped now and then asking for directions. This was entertaining as Nahan was Sanket's hometown. He explained that this was not the usual bus route, but we didn't give him any pity. We rode through the streets of Nahan in a single file towards Sanket's home. The local public stood to the side of the road as if welcoming the local hero. That was when Sanket was nicknamed KunwarJi. Nishant kept his Goldstar silencer at low hum staying conscious of the local following of KunwarJi.

We were welcomed at Sanket's home by his mother. The first word of the welcome was "nalayak". This was also caught by the next person, who incidentally was Nishant. We sat down in the living room hesitantly fearing some outburst on dirtying the linen. But there was no need. Lunch was served with so much warmth and affection. Chhole, Rotis, Rice, Aloo Capsicum and a local dish(forgot the name) and seviya for sweet. And the taste of the meal was out of this world. Ghar ke khaane ki baat hi alag hai. We wolfed on all the dishes.

Aunty was sweet enough not to show any disgust. We ate beyond our capacity and were left loosening the button of our pants. Went to the roof of the house to get a view of the surroundings. And the view was magnificient with hills and clouds on the horizon. Someday, I'll have a holiday home like this one.

We took our leave after a while since there was still some 35 kms to cover and our heads were not very clear. We bid farewell to Sanket's family, thanking them for the fabulous meal. The road was again decent and the curves made the ride even more exciting. Manji stopped at a bridge at a waterfall to click pictures and proposed the idea of climbing up the adjoining flight of stairs. This was even after Manji had attended the night shift and straightaway came for the ride.

Sanket, Nishant and I agreed. Ajit and Vihans declined, which was a wise decision. As soon as we started we were gasping for breath. The stairs looked defyingly simple. Some local men were also accompanying us and kept on urging us to keep going. We were trying to reach the base of the waterfall. When one local told that we have reached halfway, Nishant had had enough and turned back. 3 of us kept going believing that the result would be worth the effort. It turned out that we climbed higher and higher and reached the top of the waterfall. The place was pristine. A lovely stream flowing with lots of trees for shade. All set the mood for Sanket's hip flask to emerge out of the cargohold. He had been thirsting for some since morning and we were not helping either with our continuous teasing.

The cool water of the stream drained away the tiredness from our legs and the neat rum evaporated it from the rest of the body. Recharged, we reached back to the rest of the guys. The final 8 kms to Dadahu were covered quickly. Enroute was a resort aptly named Hotel Ekant(01702267415) since it was in the middle of nowhere. The place looked worthy of a future visit.

At Dadahu, we parked at the PWD Rest House Sanket had previously booked. On the outside was a board banning smoking and drinking. As some of the riders freshened up, we discussed on the future plan. There was a debate on whether to comply with the rule or not. In the end, it was decided that it would be bad on our part to do so. Moreover, there was a theka and aahata at a walking distance.

These 2 new places were paid a visit soon. We settled at the aahata for some rounds of beer along with fish. One of the waiters had been busy himself. Such persons provide very interesting conversation. The aahata had only 3 tables. Someone commented that Himachalis are not known to be drinkers. A dreadful mistake. This was proved wrong within the next 10 mins. Public came in and did not wait for chairs. A common choice was Officer's Choice. They made huge pegs, mixed a little bit of water, offered some to the fallen, gulped the rest down in one swig and ready to pour one more. The offensive comment was proved wrong again and yet again throughout our stay in Himachal.

Nishant joined us after having a nap. The bakchodi round went on and on. We had no idea of the time. It was plain fun.

After few beers, Sanket and I started on rum. Manji grew tired and left for the rest house. After some time, I retired much to Sanket's disappointment. The rest of us went to the nearby restaurant for dinner. Inside the restaurant, we were the only guests. We poured out one more peg of rum. The waiter objected but then relented. Then Sanket received a call from Manji. He had lost his way to the rest house. How anybody could over a 1 km distance, remained a mystery. Sanket went ahead and guided him.

We sat down on the steps of the rest house savouring the peace and quiet, such rare in cities. Planned on the following day and went to sleep.

20th Sep 2009:

(Dadahu - Renuka - Almost Jamu - Renuka - Nahan)

Renukaji was 3 kms away from Dadahu. Everyone woke up by 8 AM, courtesy Vihans who woke up early and began roaming around. But before heading to the sanctuary, Sanket guided us towards Haripurdhar. Nishant and I were wondering about his intention. Then some 10 kms later, we came across a dhaba besides a small waterfall. The place was blissful. A sign declared "No Alcohol". This trip was turning out to be restraint one. Chhole-chawal were served for breakfast. A simple yet so delicious meal that extra helpings were ordered.

After breakfast, we reached the Renuka Sanctuary gate. The entry was Rs 100 for the vehicles. None of us was willing to leave his machine behind. And so the ride progressed inside the protected area much to the fright of the other guests. After a Bike photo shoot, we reached the Lions and Bears Enclosure. The lion and lionesses were in seperate cages. This enraged them, obviously, and they were letting out deep guttural roars. Or maybe, it was the freely roaming Bulls. The sound of the roars was chilling. We waited a while outside the leopard enclosure too, but it being Sunday afternoon, the leopard was busy snoozing and didnt bother to come out of its cave.

Continuing around the lake, we reached the exit gate. But we were in no mood to leave yet. Half of our group went to visit the Renukaji Temple. Nishant and I being atheists returned to the closed canteen near the Lions enclosure. We straightaway climbed to the roof of the canteen from where the view was fantastic. Hip flask was again opened. In that environment, rum was much more tastier. Sanket declined as he believed in the holy place and we respected that.

After finishing off the rum, Sanket guided us towards Jamu peak. The place was discussed a few times before as well. Moving ahead of RenukaJi, we encountered offroading. And it was some challenging off-road, the Ladakh kind. It was only stones and rocks. Our motorcycles were rolling here and there. Then we realised that Ajit was no longer following us. We stopped and called him up. His Bullet's gear lever had stuck on 2nd gear and he was making his way downhill. Meanwhile Manji busied himself over some corn in the cornfields with villagers. Realising that it was best to be together, we turned back.

We caught up with Ajit at a tea stall. We told him to carry on his way while having tea and fen. On reaching Dadahu, Ajit got the gear lever fixed temporarily. Enroute, we stopped to conquer yet another theka. We picked up our stuff from the rest house and made way towards Nahan. We reached Nahan shortly and looked for a mechanic for Ajit's Bullet. The mechanic would be available in the morning only. So we checked into the PWD Rest House and coaxed Sanket to stay with us for the night rather than at his home. He agreed.

For the evening, we went to a nearby pub, City Heart. Usually we don't go to pubs but then, there's always a first time. Beer was quickly ordered and that too Golden Eagle, one of my old favourites. Bakchodi followed as the night wore on. There was no stopping. We discussed on the fabulous time we all had had and cheered for many more such times to come.

Two drunk locals came around and greeted us. They claimed that they mistook first Manji for someone else and then mistook Nishant. They sat down with us only awestruck by Manji. We don't know the exact reasons to this day. We called it quits after some time and came back to the rest house. Manji busied himself over one more bottle and his mobile and laid down in the street outside the rooms.

21 Sep 09:
(Nahan - Kala Amb - Shahabad - Panipat - Delhi - Gurgaon)

This was to be our return day. But Kunwarji wasn't finished treating us yet. After he led Ajit out to the welders for his gear lever fix, he led us to his home again for breakfast. But before we went in, an auto carrying prasaad was spotted. We hailed for some for ourselves and the man was kind enough to stop and dole out for all of us. Things you can only see in small towns that make you want to give up your big city life.

Tomar Aunty prepared one of the most fulfilling aloo parathas I had ever seen. I was hardly able to finish two. Ajit was the tank, he finished three. After that, seviyaan were brought out. We were left wondering how to ride back to Gurgaon on a bursting stomach. Leaving the answer to our fate, we bade farewell to Sanket's parents. We couldn't thank them enough for the hospitality.

The effect of the full stomach was shown when I was taking my Bullet out from the parking over a slope. It gave way. I only managed to soften the fall so that there were no damages on the Bullet, but my back bore the brunt. Feel proud of that to this day.

The welding on Ajit's Bullet took place only at Kala Amb. He rode all this distance without a sweat in 4th gear. Admirable indeed. By now, temperature was rising and we were in for a hot ride. To fight it out, we stopped at a theka just before reaching Shahabad. The thekaman warned us not to drink in front of the shop. So, we chose to take a bench to the back in the open fields, a neat experience. Pure bliss.

We struck NH-1 at Shahabad and then ripped through Karnal and Panipat. The road condition was improving with patchworks over the potholes. After crossing Panipat, we stopped at a dhaba for a very late lunch. We asked the waiter if any food was available. He declined. That left us fighting over the packed parathas Sanket had brought along. Maybe it was this sight that the waiter brought out rice, dal and subzi. Only rotis were missing. It was a mish mash lunch.

Its a common sight to see vehicles stop at the same dhaba where they see our machines parked in line. The dhaba saw many more visitors. Until we came, it was empty. One of them was a couple on a Machismo 500. That was awesome. But even more awesome was when they removed their helmets. The riders must have aged over 60. For once, we were not the most admired people at a dhaba. They were returning from Chail along with another couple who were travelling in a car. The riders had a complete gear on them. Some of us could foresee our future in them.

We entered Delhi with little trouble. Thats the thing about entering from GT Road. After bidding goodbye to Manji, Ajit and Vihans at landfill, we made our customary sign-off pit stop at a theka in Gurgaon. Reached home with an anxiety of another ride happening in the next two weeks.

In the end, I would like to thank Sanket and his whole family again.