Bulls on Parade to Deeg

The Deeg Daggers

15 - 16 Feb 2014

RESURRECTION. Thats what BoP needs now. And I'll try my best to resurrect it. The Glory Days of 2009 will return. I am already very pleased to start blogging once more. It has been a long time coming. Udaipur was a welcome break but the mental state just wasn't the same then. This is the true BBB state.

So, as soon as I had my first salary after more than a year of joblessness, action was triggered to go on a Ride. Starting on a new job posed a constraint of not taking a leave. Moreover, leaves were very much needed for Nilu's wedding in March. Only a weekend Ride could be planned in Feb. The shortage of time meant that distance had to be under 300 kms, or else there would be too much riding involved for two days. The next hurdle was location. We are finding it difficult to discover new places to explore. Time might soon come that a destination would be repeated. But until then, we resolve to keep on discovering new locations. Life is too short to repeat a holiday destination. India has much to offer.

Then, the idea struck. Forts have always been BoP's weakness. There lied a small fort that we had not conquered till now, at Deeg, about 180 kms from Delhi. We grabbed this opportunity and decided on Deeg to be the destination. But not exactly, as Deeg would not offer a night-stay option. So we booked Falcon Guest House near the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary.

The customary pre-Ride BBB happened on Friday, 14th Feb. None of the other Daggers could make it though as it was heavily raining. I, myself reached Mayabay in a drenched state and needed a couple of shots to warm me up. Credit goes to the brave souls of Vikas, Adit and Nitin for making it to BBB on Valentine's night.

The scheduled departure time was set for 7 AM. I reached Leisure Valley Park on time. Chadha Paaji had already messaged that he's on his way. I called up Vihans and he was trying to get Rohan along for the Ride. However, due to certain complications, that didn't happen and Vihans took Rohan's Classic and came along with Ankit. Chadha Paaji arrived in his traditional track pants. He was feeling cold and asked for spare inners. I had none and if by any chance the others were carrying any, they wouldn't fit Chadha Paaji. The Chandni Chowk brothers reached at around 7:50 AM. The Daggers were now:

Sandeep Singh Chadha - Royal Enfield Standard
Vihans Gupta - Royal Enfield Classic 500
Ankit Gupta - Royal Enfield Classic 350
Diptinder Singh Chhabra - Royal Enfield Electra 4S

Around about 8 AM, we set off and the maiden 2014 BoP Ride was in progress. JAI BoP.
We had selected a longer route for our journey. This way we would get more riding action. We set off on NH-8 till Bhiwadi. The traffic is a nuisance on this highway. December 2011 was the deadline and still no progress has been made. Moreover, the foggy weather made it worse. Thankfully, we had to turn off it at Bestech City Center at Bhiwadi. The short riding distance enabled us to take the journey on a leisurely note. Everyone was feeling the unexpected cold weather of mid-Feb. Some tea was taken to warm us up. Vihans was also taking in warmth by watching Karishma Kapoor billboards.

We took the Bhiwadi-Alwar route. Lots of townships have been set up on this road and plenty more coming up. "Luxury" is such a common word in advertising now, doesnt mean the same anymore. The road is in an excellent state and now even tolled. I guess thats what keeps the smoothness maintained.

On the way we encountered the turn to Tijara. Its a common thing now. Whichever road we take, there's always a turn that takes us back to our past rides. Lots of memories there too. But right before that there was a funny incident. Just a couple of kms back, we were starting to feel hungry and some signboards attracted us. There was a different menu item on each of them and an arrow indicating the way to the food shop. But, there was no restaurant there. So, all we read was Chowmein, Milkshake, Dosa, Chhole Bhature, but could not locate the place which offered them. This became a good source of laughter later on.

Just ahead of the Tijara turn, we stopped for breakfast at a dhaba. Out of all the things in the ride, this is the one I look forward to the most. By breakfast time, everyone is wide awake and well into the riding mood. Everyone is hungry too and this stimulates their funny bone somehow. Hot tea and parathas were served. We gobbled them up in zest.

When in a ride always expect the unexpected. After finishing the meal, it was the time to pay. As usual, we formed our money pool and handed over the shares to Chadha Paaji, our regular treasurer. Chadha Paaji plainly refused. Maybe because he didn't have his excel sheet printout with him, but whatever Chadha Paaji says, we follow. Vihans was stuck with all the money pool and the duty was forcefully delegated to him.

We carried on towards Alwar now and were greeted with another wonderful sight. The road took a turn dowhill and curved. We refer to such roads as Manali Road and always stop at such sights. Rajasthan always throws pleasant surprises. It was here only that Ankit came out with his catchphrase "Lifestyle". We were travelling with the rich and famous and becoming part of his lifestyle.

As we neared the city, the sun started to show its face. But the wind was still cold. Traffic started increasing. We bypassed the main city and took the road to Bharatpur, which passes through Deeg. This time a super heavy motorcycle was coming the opposite way, the make of which couldn't be identified. It seems we weren't the only ones looking for off-beat routes.

We must have covered 50 kms now. It was far enough to stop for a break. The short distance made us afford regular breaks. While Vihans and Ankit were racing far ahead on their Classics, I kept in the middle with Chadha Paaji keeping at his regular 65 kph discipline. Even with the sun out, it was still cold. The wind was chilly.

Deeg was only 20 kms away. The roads continued to be excellent. Distance was quickly covered and we went up to the Fort. Crossing the moat in our motorcycles and then entering the fort was like the return of warriors. Only thing missing was princesses showering with petals. And some neatness, of course.

The sight wasn't pleasing. The walls of the Fort were crumbling. A group of children were playing cricket inside the Fort. The nearby tower looked inviting and we made our way there. Lo and behold, on climbing to the top, a great big cannon was mounted. It was massive. How the cannon maintained its corrosion free existence despite the poor maintenance of the Fort was beyond belief.

We took seats on the topmost part of the Fort near the cannon. The other towers were all destroyed. Another cannon was visible in the distance at the second tower. The ruins of two other towers were also spotted. Ankit shared the knowledge that this Fort hasn't ever been captured. No surprises there given the size of the cannons. To celebrate the occasion of the Daggers reaching their destination, we cheered on rum-soaked raisins.

We could have sat there longer were it not for our stomachs. Also, as per Chadha Paaji's schedule, it was lunch time. We have to stick to the schedule.

Bharatpur was only 35 kms away. On reaching the outskirts of the city, we asked the way to Saras Circle, where our hotel was located. There were two routes, one through the city, the other via Agra-Bikaner Road, which we preferred because of better roads.

The Falcon Guest House was located in a residential area where most of the residents have been converted into Guest Houses. It had ample parking space for our Bullets. The Family room we had booked wasn't available. So, we replaced it with two double rooms. Unfortunately, they weren't close together. Moreover the second room was quite small. Vihans noticed the vacant bigger rooms on the ground floor and dumped his luggage there. The terrace looked like a great place for the evening. But first, we needed food. The family running the guest house was very kind to prepare us a vegetarian, but tasty meal at that un-lunchly hour, that too accompanied by a beer. It was nearly 5 pm. We ate to our full.

One of the hosts was Digvijay Singh, or Diggy as we came to know the day after. The lack of sleep of the previous night and the satisfying meal made us drowsy. His family was running the guest house and he was the errand-boy. His accent wasn't Rajasthani, but Haryanvi. The origins were from Faridabad. In the parking, another Classic was parked. Diggy claimed it to be his. It was later in the evening that we realised what a big show this guy was. He raised many tall claims like "The chassisss of the Classic broke because he ran it for 50000 km in a year.", "Falcon is Rajashtan's oldest guest house", "All the guest houses in that row were owned by his family", "I am a dentist". All of this caught the attention of our Vihans. You cannot stick all these false claims in his face and he decided to give it back to him later on.

We decided to take a short nap and then catch up later on around 7 pm.

After a short but filling sleep of an hour, we started to prepare for our BBB session. Tandoori chicken was ordered, which Diggy promptly went to get from the market (on his Scooty). As per Diggy, they had taken out the Tandoor at their hotel due to lack of demand. Usually foreigners came to their guest house staying for long-term and they preferred veg food. When the Tandoori chicken arrived, it looked quite frail. On top of that, Diggy tried to justify it that Tandoori is prepared like this only, 600-700 gram chickens. Maybe he hadn't ever eaten chicken in Faridabad.

All the efforts and preparations for a Ride come to this moment. The BBB night. This is the reason we travel to far-off places, brave the cold and fill our faces with dirt. With only a few days of winters left, Old Monk was the menu of the night. Chadha Paaji had been taking some medicine for his stomach and got permission for beer from his doctor. He asked the host (Not Diggy) for a bottle of beer from the terrace and then followed it up with a question, "Main neeche aaun lene?". The host promptly said yes. Since then it is said that "Chadha Paaji udtaa hua teer apne seene pe le lete hain". With everything set in place, the BBB took off.

Diggy became the main topic of the night. When asked about the fauna seen in the sanctuary, he told that even animals could be visible in the bright sunshine. When asked which animal, he proudly said, "Ajgar". We expected to hear wild boar, or black buck, but "Ajgar" took us by surprise. The "Lifestyle" was already a topic. Another one that got added was the difference between "Rested" and "Relaxed". The explanation is Daggers' copyright and cannot be shared in an open forum.

During the BBB, another guest was coming out frequently, took a walk and then went back inside his room. We asked him if he would be interested in having a peg with us. The reply was, "We are in the same boat. You are also drinking and we are also drinking". We said Cheers to that and he quietly departed.

Also among the visiting guests were two aged ladies. While the BBB was going on they came and stood at a corner fiddling with their iPad. Dunno, what they were looking for but they stood there for a very long time. Maybe they were looking for an invite, but their attention was solely on their iPad and ours on our glasses. Vihans and Ankit excused themselves by saying that they had their back to them. My excuse was that I never bother other guests. That left Chadha Paaji. Everyone turned to him and commented that he should have invited them. They must have been so disappointed by him.

Diggy kept bothering us as the clock struck 10 pm. Dinner was served. We had pre-ordered Butter Chicken which he must have brought again on his Scooty. As we started on our dinner, Diggy again went to his tall claims. By this time, we had had enough and Vihans retaliated.
Sometimes we were members of a wildlife expedition and sometimes affiliated with Lonely Planet. I tried to change the topic a couple of times by asking Diggy details about the bird sanctuary, bit he failed to answer. The result was that this provoked Vihans even more. There was no end to it now. Vihans even named a few of his local contacts at Bharatpur. It came to the point where Diggy had no further answer. With the dinner over,
We retired for the night.


16 Feb:
our plan was to roam inside the sanctuary ttoday. Breakfast was included in our bookings, so we took the opportunity to wolf down poori bhaaji. Chadha Paaji always has his exclusive menu and ordered bread omelettes instead. I should mention here that no sweet dish was offered by the staff the previous day. That alone blacklists the hotel from BoP's list.

We were in for a revelation now. It was breakfast time and Mr Digvijay Singh was nowhere to be seen. His mother cried out, "Diggy, 10 baje tak so raha hai".  Hearing the nickname had us in splits. If only we had known this yesterday. When Diggy came, he was all polite now. The bubble had burst.

During breakfast, we also got in coconversation with a British tourist staying at the hotel. He was an elderly chap and had also owned a Royal Enfield when he was 16. It's the Bullet that unites us. He also planned a future tour of the Manali-Leh road in September with two more buddies. Chadha Paaji shared a few contacts with him that would help him in organizing his trip.

Diggy had mentioned that electric rickshaws could be hired at the sanctuary gate. As true as his other claims were, none were visible at the gate. Another fact he had claimed yesterday was that there's a unique thing that one would spot only here and nowhere else, that is, Sikh rickshaw pedallers. While it is true that there are many Sikh rickshaw pedallers there, it isn't the only place. One can guess Diggy's knowledge now.

We took our motorcycles till the interior parking(there's another parking right at the entry), hired two rickshaws and began our bird-watching adventure.Immediately came the regret that we should have hired bicycles instead. Although the rickshaw pullers doubled as guides, we were now in a bound state which we hate. With bicycles, we could have roamed around freely. 

Unfortunately, bicycles could be hired at the outer gate only, so we were stuck. Lots of birds were visible. This was the season to visit the park. Lots of tourists also. Some of the migratory birds that we saw were ibis, purple ibis, eagle, coot, stork, egret and I have forgotten the names of the rest. I'm lucky to remember these ones only. 

Our guide stressed very much on the bird Dabchick. He used to recite the same passage from his training everytime one was visible. The passage also mentioned Haryana Tourism's Dabchick resort on the Delhi - Agra road. We heard about it plenty of times and thought of having lunch there only. 

One hour passed quickly as we reached the centre of the park. From here on, if one wants to travel, the rickshaws take 4 hours worth of money. We had to return back to Delhi, so we decided to head to one of the walking trails where Vihans and Ankit could have one of their joint meeting. It was getting close to lunch time and that made Chadha Paaji anxious. Ankit hurriedly created a tourist spot which attracted other tourists too. The details are a copyright of Dagger and not to be shared in an open forum. Vihans finished the meeting hurriedly and we made our way back. 

We had already checked out and settled the bill at the resort. We wanted to say goodbye to Diggy but he wasn't to be seen. With bags packed and loaded, we started for the Lohagarh Fort. Here also, we crossed a moat and entered the Fort. But inside the walls was a full-fledged city. The local people had taken over the Fort. The King lived in his lone palace, Kishori Mal inside the walls. We couldn't find the way to the palace. Photographs of the Bullets were taken outside the museum gates. Nobody was interested in exploring the museum. So we started to make our way towards Mathura. Interestingly, the road led to the second exit of the Fort and we crossed the moat again. 

The road to Mathura was also smooth though muddled with big speedbreakers. We touched the NH-2 highway at Mathura expecting to see a whole lot of traffic. But pleasantly no. We stopped at the first dhaba after crossing the city limits. Dal tadka, Chana masala and aloo jeera were ordered. Lachha parathas were also ordered. These are the favourite of Chadha Paaji and he must have been craving for them since the Ride started. Unfortunately, no sweet dish here too so he had to make do with curd. 

Now remained the 130 kms to Delhi and the time was 4 pm. I made it a point to click a pic of Dabchick resort and then met up with the others at the toll just before Palwal.

We said goodbyes here as I would be turning towards Gurgaon from Palwal. Upto this point I was debating whether to go for Megadeth concert at Greater Noida or not. But I realised then that I wouldn't be able to mosh properly even if I made it to the venue. So, I decided to skip the concert and took the turn for Sohna from Palwal. 

This Ride was turning out to be a pure countryside trip. We had hardly spent any time on the major highways. And that is the best, in my opinion. Country roads are in much better condition. The road to Sohna from Palwal was also excellent. I made it home by 7 pm. 

This kicked off the 2014 Riding Season for BoP. Although very short, it allowed us much more time for a leisurely ride and proper BBB. At no point in the ride did we feel bored. A special thanks to Diggy without whom this Ride would have been devoid of memories.

I hope this Ride injects the much needed adrenaline in other riders and they will start coming out now. Another weekend Ride is on the horizon now to Alwar. 

JAI BoP!!!