Bulls On Parade to Neemrana(Again)

The Abhaneri Ajgars
NO
The Neemrana Naags

Never before had it happened in BoP's history that we changed our destination during a ride. We have reached the destination 24 hours late, but always made it. But the conditions that day, were helpless.Nishant Jha was on his quarterly visit to India. And that meant a ride. But this time, he had time for only one day. So, the place had to be somewhere close for a one-dayer but not too close. Abhaneri was selected. Much had been heard about the Baoli there.Nishant's presence also meant big participation. Some riders who could not make it to the ride, we had something else planned. A pre-ride bash the previous night. Customs should be followed.

27 February 2011

The riders that turned up were:
Nishant Jha - Royal Enfield Electra - "main seeti baja ke nikal doonga"

Vikas Garg - Royal Enfield Standard - "mujhe paraathe banaane sikhayega?"

Rohan Kaushik and Aman Maangat - Royal Enfield Classic 500 - "prescription likh dega?", "Uba rah gaya", "Atariya hai peechhe"

Dhruv Malik - Bajaj Pulsar 220 -

BK Atreya - Hero Honda Karizma -

Deepak Chauhan - Bajaj Pulsar 220 - "main nahi khaata"

Shubham Sachdev - Bajaj Pulsar 220

Diptinder Singh Chhabra and Vihans Gupta - Royal Enfield Electra - "Haaayeeeeeee"

I was woken up by Vikas' call. This is getting disturbing now. I'm getting late much too often. Maybe, I do need to cut down on drinks. I reached at the spot at 5:40. Zaheer bhai was to join us but he suffered a fall and had to skip. We set off for a clean start. But as soon as we crossed the toll plaza at Manesar, things began to turn ugly. Negotiating traffic at that hour of morning is very frustrating. To add to it, we were surrounded by dense fog. We braved it for a while thinking it would be clearer ahead. But it was not to be.We stopped at a dhaba for tea and Parle G. Frost covered our eyebrows.

It was impossibly difficult, and highly dangerous too. We must have spent an hour at the dhaba before setting off again. The fog refused to lift. The sun still could not penetrate the thick fog. With the six-laning construction activity going on, it was a recipe for disaster. It was necessary to stay together. But Rohan, led us off on the way to Bhiwadi. Phones were not being answered. So, we followed the original plan and returned to the highway.After covering only a few kms we stopped again at the roadside with the rest of the group. We thought of stopping at a dhaba nearby and wait for the fog to lift. At Bawal, it got clear. Time to rip the motorcycles. Since, it was almost 9 AM now, we stopped at a dhaba to decide on the future course of action. It would not be right to call it a dhaba. Tony Cold Drinks was the name. But then, we trust Nishant's judgement. This time we were punished for it. First things first, Nishant went for the fields. This activity has been a source of good luck charm in the past rides. So, we were hopeful of a clear weather from here on. If only he would have done this at the Gurgaon Toll.Deepak joined him. Nishant assisted him with his whistle. Don't bother with the details. The parathas arrived. From here on, only Vikas' sound could be heard. He kicked Tony's ass time and again over the quality of food. Moreover, the Frooti bottle had an expired date. But Tony was one league ahead. He took everything in the side and responded. At the end, he also forcefully took Rs 10 as a tip.Our destination was still 200 kms away. We would have made it but then it would only have been "touch-and-go". The return would have been very late. But, since our destination had a Baoli, we decided on Neemrana as the new destination. It has a Baoli too. It was the destination for the first BoP Ride back in December 2007. There are lots of attachments with that place. We started off again. And then stopped soon after, again. This had to be the most relaxed ride. We had not covered more than 25 kms at any stretch. But, this stop was essential. We had to stock up on fluids for the Baoli. We picked up Tuborg and Kala Teetar, the national beer of Haryana, here in Rajasthan. India is a fascinating place.We started off again. And then stopped soon after, again. This time at the turn towards Neemrana. Vikas had not noticed the others at the theka and just rode on. We waited a long time for him to turn up now. Calls were not being answered. What really happened, is still a mystery to this day. We started off again. Now, we were riding inside the Neemrana village. On turning at the road towards the Baoli, the way ahead had too much slush. We took a diversion from the neighbouring street to get to the other side. Now, the path cleared and we arrived at the Baoli. But no stopping. As had happened in the first ride, courtesy Kam, we rode on to the head of the Baoli and rode our motorcycles up the path near the well. This is a fantastic spot and it still looked as beautiful as I had seen it more than 3 years ago.

Without wasting anytime, we started our agenda, the BBB session. Out came Maker's Mark, Kentucky Bourbon brought in from Kuwait specially for this ride. Nishant did the honours of opening the wax seal. For the next two hours, all hell break loose. Any stranger nearby at that time would not have been able to handle the enormous quantity of knowledge that flew at that time. The effect was doubled by our echoes from the well. I really wish to have a recording of such a session. It would be remarkable to review it.Vikas appeared one hour later and then passed clean by the Baoli without noticing us or the Baoli. He reached the next village before turning back.When empty clinks of beer bottles began to sound, it was time to explore the Baoli. We went all the way down. Much thanks to ASI for ignoring this property as they would have then locked off all the sections. It is one of the rare historic structures still holding on its own.Going down was easy. The climb up left us panting for breath. Some of us got even more playful on reaching back to the vantage point. The ground in front presented a dirt track kind of picture. Deepak, Shubham, Dhruv and Rohan went ahead.

All of them had to be pushed over the initial slope. There was too much dirt. The rest of us just lounged besides the well.

Nishant went one step ahead. He snoozed and snored for the next half hour. Now, we got hungry. Dhruv suggested Hotel Tokas Midway just nearby on the highway.

After the dismal breakfast, lunch was super. Although vegetarian, it was delicious. We were so stuffed that we just lay out on the lawns for a good length after that.

It was getting late. We knew we had to cross the dreaded Dharuhera traffic in the sunlight before it reaches its chaotic state. Most of us rode non-stop till the Gurgaon toll plaza. Rohan stopped for his customary dump session. See, we are environment friendly too, enriching the soil for plantation.The Delhi-based riders said goodbye from the toll. Four of us reached the Leisure Valley so that Vihans could collect his bike and then bade farewell to each other.This was a very short ride, but a very delightful one. The BBB during this ride was one of the best. Abhaneri is still a target for this year.

JAI BoP !!!!