Late night fiasco, Part- II

...Continued

THE JOURNEY

Villagers (in chorus): We told you not to go there. At last you came back to us.
Me: Big deal! No problem whatsoever. We're going back home.
Villager1: Come on. Don't give up so fast. We'll take you to the place you all have come to see.
Villager2: Yeah yeah. We'll take you there. You don't even have to pay us until we get you'll there safely.
Villager1 (pointing towards the hill): Can you see people with flashlights on top? We took them there.
Me: Where? I don't see anybody. Is something wrong with my eyes?
Me (beckoning to Sankarsh): Dude come let's get the hell out of here before they strip us threadbare (Old Suresh Gopi dialogue) in the jungles with their weapons and stuff.

As we all stood there contemplating on how to scoot from the clutches of the two morons in front of us, the headlight from the distance reappeared all of a sudden. They had been stalking us for so long and had probably realised what was happening. The villagers fled towards the fields by the roadside, figuring out their game was up. The cops, instead of pursuing us, took a nosedive with their bikes into the fields (an unusual, unmissable feat). This gave us time to escape from the place ASAP.

With our hearts beating faster than it would have if even the voluptuous Kim Kardarshian was to stand in front of us wearing skimpy clothes, we headed towards the exit. It would have been a totally different story if the cops had taken off to pursue us instead. I could notice the fear on everybody's face.

The best suggestion I could make was to tell everybody to get home immediately and catch up on some sleep, but, except for Khader, there were no takers for it. They all wanted to roam some more. So, the next best suggestion I could make was to go to Nandi Hills, around 20 km from there. I knew the fort gates weren't going to be open until six in the morning, but we had no choice. If not Skandagiri for sunrise, then at least the good old Nandi Hills we thought.

Another short break for snacks, another fuel fill-up in Sankarsh's bike and another session of discussing the agenda later, we found ourselves on the winding roads which led us to the top. It was almost 3 am as we reached somewhere near curve 35  (of around 48), where another unexpected event awaited us.

Around a dozen bikes and half a dozen cars came stampeding downhill shouting what we least expected to hear. All we could hear was- Cops! Cops! Cops! As if the cops were after their blood like some freaking mutated vampires. Well, we poor souls had no other option but to follow suit. The herd mentality among us Indians is unprecedented I must say. Also, we had no intention of getting beaten black and blue on our derrières for no fault of ours (though we were not sure why they should do this to us).

On reaching the foothills, I casually asked one of the shopkeepers why such a ruckus is being created by the cops. He said it was all because some miscreants had created some problems a few days ago on the hills. The guy also mentioned an event that happened in front of him where a car turned turtle while manoeuvring at high speeds. The forest department too was extra cautious about people entering the hills at such odd hours.

"The price innocent people like us have to pay for the misdeeds done by some overexcited eccentric hooligans" I thought. Turning such a calm, conducive place into something which needed police protection 24/7. The cops just seemed to be so ubiquitous in these parts of the district.

So, to say the least, this is how our ambitious night (mis)adventure turned from disaster to double disaster in a few hours.

THE RETURN

Well, with sleep getting the better of us, we had to leave for home sweet home. A novel way to waste a lovely weekend, we concluded. Vowing never to indulge in such spontaneous, erratic stupidity, I took over the bike from Sankarsh. As we entered city limits I realised the bike behaving in a funny manner. It tut-tutted to a halt for err- any guesses? Yes, the fuel was over once again!!!!! That too at five in the morning.

A perfect garnish to the dish of hopelessness (as if the dish itself wasn't enough) that we had churned out staying awake the entire night. What a way to end it. A total fiasco!!!

  **THE BEGINNING**

Late night fiasco, Part- I

PROLOGUE

It was a Saturday morning. I was casually sitting at home wondering how to while away my weekend when I suddenly got pinged by Sankarsh on Facebook. Now, Sanky (as we know him) had this long pending birthday treat that he was supposed to give us from the past three months. Having fooled around ever since and having used all escape mechanisms in his "How-to-escape-from-anyone" series of books, I finally found the right time to ask him for the party.

Sanky: Hi!
Me: Hi! Wassup?
Sanky: Bro I have a plan for tonight.
Me: What's it? I'm hoping you're finally giving your birthday treat.
Sanky: No dude, I have something much better in mind.
Me: What could be better than that?
Sanky: I think we all should go for an expedition of sorts. A night expedition.
Me: Where to?
Sanky: To Skandagiri. It'll be fun man.
Me: Dude, I prefer you giving a treat instead. I'm not in for any mountaineering at night. Especially on such a short notice.
Sanky: Come on bro... The others are ready. Don't be a spoil sport.
Me: OK count me in. But don't forget how treacherous it was climbing the hill the last time we went there.
Sanky: Hey that was during the daytime. It won't be half as difficult this time.
Me: OK. I'm trusting you on this. Catch you in the evening.

THE START

With the hope of not having got myself into a predicament, I started packing my bags for the trip. Now, our trip had six people in all- Sankarsh, Rohit, Jaiprasad, Khader, my brother Amith and I. The trek uphill was going to be at least 3 hours long and we intended to spend the night there, rest for a while, and return home after seeing the supposedly famous sunrise from the summit. I had packed water, some bedsheets, clothes, a flashlight and some light food for the trip keeping all this in mind.

The biggest concern before we go for any such trips is organising everybody to meet up at one common place (usually my house; that being the protocol). A few meetings, a few hundred calls and a few thousand SMSes later everyone finally showed their faces and we were able to leave the place at 11 pm. As if the time delay was not enough already (we were supposed to leave by 8 pm), two of my close friends started having an argument about who should ride pillion on their respective bikes. These were the exact bikes we had taken to Bandipur and Ooty for our previous trip. Sankarsh and Rohit started bickering about their respective bike's inability to carry heavy "loads" for a 120 km trip. Both wanted the small built Khader to sit behind them for the fear of their tyres getting worn out or their suspensions taking a beating or something like that. I was feeling sleepy already.

After half an hour of arguing and getting nowhere, we left the place at 11.30 pm only to find out that Sankarsh's bike had run out of fuel. Feeling sleepy, getting delayed by three hours, wasting time on a non conclusive argument, and that topped with the fuel episode was reason enough for me to doubt if the trip was going to be a failure or not. Luckily, after towing his bike for a while, we found a petrol bunk on the highway. Our official ride started then.

THE JOURNEY

Having ridden for two hours with a small break in between, we reached near the base of the hill at around 2 am. As we proceeded towards it two villagers stopped us with warnings of cops having blocked the road leading to the place. They persuaded us to park our bikes in a house nearby and offered to show us an alternative path to the top. Not wanting to believe them, we headed for the base of the hill only to be stopped by err who else- the bloody cops of course. They had blocked the only approach road with stones and weren't allowing anybody in. I didn't have to go anywhere to confirm my doubts now. Our trip was indeed a failure.

We left the place with a heavy heart. As we were going back, we noticed somebody following us from a distance. It looked like a bike (from the headlights) and we suspected the cops were behind us doubting we were up to something mischievous. After a while, the lights stopped flashing from behind and we stopped again in front of the two villagers who warned us against going where we went. They carried this cocky, smug looking faces as if they had won a battle against us or something; appearing in front of us like some resurgent rulers. I didn't think it was a good idea speaking to them again.

To be continued...

Wilderness Calling

The idea of having a long biking trip always sounded good to my ears. I feel it's necessary to take this much wanted break at least once every quarter (or at least sporadically). Me, being the biggest wildlife fanatic and enthusiast among my friends, thought we should do something different this time. So, when I suggested to my friends about going to Bandipur National Park, they were all for it. Seven guys willingly agreed to come for the trip. I had ruled out any forms of discrepancies and was happy about the fact that the trip would be enjoyable with eight guys in all.

As days passed by, I realised that this happiness was short-lived. Four of my dear friends, being as fickle minded as they could be, decided not to come for the trip one after the other. They came up with such lame reasons which even a fifth grader wouldn't have believed for a second. These misguided souls were none other than our sardarji friend Navjyot Singh, love-struck friend Jaiprasad, supposedly busy Girish and my very own brother Amith. As a result, this left us with four dejected and confused, but confirmed guys- Sankarsh, Rahul, Rohit and of course, yours truly. My Facebook status update on the day before we left for the trip read so- "The number of guys coming for the biking trip tomorrow has halved from the original 8. No reason to worry as, this doesn't dampen our spirits. We're marching forward no matter what. Bandipur, here we come!"

Rahul and I firmly believed against having any other make-do trip that lasted only one day in order to facilitate the other "not-coming-for-a-long-trip" schmucks. Rohit and Sankarsh soon echoed with our thoughts and shook their heads in agreement. All of us wanted to have an overnight halt in our destination and we definitely didn't have any intentions of changing our plans.

We packed our bags and set out from my house (the common meeting point) at 7 am. Now, any sane person who saw us could make out that the equation was completely wrong from the very beginning. Rohit and Rahul- both emaciated things, so thin that you could count every single bone in their bodies without even having to take an x-ray- were sitting together, while Sankarsh who was a bit on the plump side and I, the absolute embodiment of perfection (OK OK, gags and smugness apart... Of a fairly decent build) were sitting together. We were leading the way as usual because I knew the route to Bandipur like the back of my hand. What with the several trips to Kerala I have through this very route every year using various modes of transportation. I'm anyways known to be very good with directions and routes among my friend circle and family, and this is something that I can be proud of.

After a long and exhausting ride we finally reached Bandipur at 1 pm. We realised that performance bikes (TVS Apaches) were not one bit suitable for long rides such as this, but it was too late. We had already come so far. Conversely speaking, it also helped save time by making up with quicker rides, and this was important for us in order to cover up so many places in such a short time span.

My friend's dad who is an Assistant Conservator of Forests had already booked two rooms for us in the forest guest house. I learned later on that these rooms had to be booked from Bangalore itself, and that there was no way one could do direct bookings from the location. This explains the advantages of having contacts with the higher ups :Þ. Our bungalow was huge and stood out from all the 22 different themed accommodations spread across the place. The best part was, it cost us a very nominal amount- 400 bucks for one room couldn't possibly burn a deep hole in our already burned pockets (We had to stick to our budget of Rs.1000 per person and make it last the entire trip).

We were welcomed by a family of tamed elephants within the premises. After a few snaps with them, it was now time to feed our hungry stomachs. The jungle restaurant served us with some sumptuous homely food. It cost us Rs.75 per head for a vegetarian buffet.

A small nap after lunch was just what we needed to give rest to our tired bodies. We had time to catch a wink until 5 pm before we could get ready for the jungle safari organised by the forest department. At 5 pm, we decided against going for the safari after getting feedbacks from the people of the 4 pm batch who said that apart from a few deers they hadn't spotted anything else. With no intention of going back to our rooms and start gossiping like old ladies, we decided to go to Masinakudi which was just across the Tamil Nadu border (13 km away).

We spotted a lot of wild animals on our way to Masinakudi. These included a troop of grey langoors, a few wild elephants, Jungle fowls, deers, peacocks and a truckload of our common monkeys. Elephants are my favourite animal, but I was disappointed because I couldn't see another favourite animal of mine- the majestic Indian tiger, the largest cat in the world. I would've been happy if I spotted even a leopard or black panther as a condescending substitute.
Once we reached the spot, which was in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve belt, we were welcomed by the sight of a few mammoth tuskers in the elephant camp. It was here that we came across the milestone on which the following letters were printed in bold: OOTACAMUND- 30 km.

Coming so close to Ooty and not visiting the place didn't seem like a good idea to us. We decided to go to the hill-station early in the morning, the following day. The road which passes through Bandipur forest closes for vehicles after 9 pm and reopens only at 6 am. So, the only choice we had was to head back to our guest house in time or get stranded in the middle of the forest amidst wild animals; we obviously chose the former.

The open areas around our guest house was surrounded by deers. These animals come out mostly when the Sun God decides to take a break. I took a few snaps of them in the darkness and was also able to capture a  few shots of some wild boars. We then went to warm our chilly bones by the campfire that the villagers had lit up. 

During dinner, our room attendant told us that when we were out they heard a lot of tiger alerts. It was supposed to be the tiger mating season and the voice was supposedly of a male tiger searching for a partner.

I was the first one to wake up the following morning after a very peaceful sleep. The noise of the vehicles moving through the main road woke me up. It was 6 am in the morning; this signalled that the gates had been opened for vehicular movement. I immediately finished all my morning duties and woke the others. Rahul, being my room mate, got ready immediately. Rohit and Sankarsh, who usually never woke up before 11 am during their holidays were cosily wrapped under their blankets when I went to wake them up. In my haste to get back to Bandipur before 12 pm (Check out time), I didn't even let them do their morning duties. They quickly got ready and we left after we took a few snaps of the herd of deer grazing outside our room. I knew they wouldn't be around when we return.

The weather started getting cooler as soon as we touched the foothills of the Nilgiris. After riding through 36 hairpin bends in the ghat section and almost developing a frost bite due to the low temperature (3°C), we stopped for a snack around 5 km before Ooty. By then, the other three so desperately wanted to take a dump that they kept pestering me to ask the locals if there were any toilets around. Me, being the only one who could speak in Tamil, had no other choice but to help them out. It was after all due to my haste that they were suffering now. The locals said that our only resort was to get to Ooty.

One wise guy had told us the previous evening that Ooty was just half an hour from Masinakudi; it was nowhere close to it. We left our room by 6:45 am and reached Ooty at 9:30 am. The first thing Rohit did was to search for a toilet. His stomach was paining terribly and according to Sankarsh, he was cursing me badly all along the way. After relieving themselves, we headed towards Doddabetta, the highest peak in the Nilgiris. I had figured out by then that the visit to Ooty was only for name's sake.

The vista from atop Doddabetta was just fantastic. The vast ocean of clouds below us, the beautifully contoured valley, the view of the town and its houses, etc. gave me a chance to take some brilliant photography. We even had our breakfast from the restaurant there. It was during breakfast that Rohit flared up even more. He and I wanted to see the entire place before going back to Bangalore and were even willing to extend our stay whereas Rahul and Sankarsh's thinking did not agree with us one bit. Rahul wanted to get out of the place as soon as possible because he wasn't accustomed to such cold weather and Sankarsh said he had to get back at any cost, without giving any obvious reasons as to why. So, I agreed to going back.

Rohit left the place making such a face that even a grumpy old man would have hung his head down in shame at the sight (is this a bad metaphor?). We left Ooty at 11 am and reached our guest house on time at 12 pm. The ride downhill was much faster that we had expected. Once we reached, Rohit and Rahul, who reached a little earlier told us that they got chased by a wild elephant when they stopped to take a photo. Even Sankarsh and I had seen the same elephant by the road side (see pic). I quickly had a bath and we checked out immediately. We still had one place left in our itinerary before we could head back home- Mysore.

After taking a few snaps of the Mysore Palace and satiating our hunger, we headed towards the Mysore zoo. It was my last chance of seeing the tiger before I got home. Tigers have always fascinated me. The largest of the big cats, its size and beauty is just awe-inspiring. We reached the tiger enclosure during the feeding time. We just kept watching how the big males were chewing through big bones like as though it were some pappadam. The animosity that these caged animals had towards its feeders were displayed blatantly by the powerful snarls and violent actions the tigers showed whenever they passed by. We thanked our stars that we didn't come across such a ferocious animal in its natural habitat.

We came out of the zoo at 6 pm and immediately left for Bangalore. The ride back home took us four hours as I controlled the speed of both the bikes. Highways are dangerous especially at night. For me, safety is of utmost priority when it comes to such things. This is not where wild things should be done.

At the end of it all, our statistics read so- 4 friends, 2 bikes, 4 destinations, 668 km, 39 hours, 14 litres of fuel/bike= Rs.1100 per person
The experience= Priceless and wild!

Nandi Hills- Sunday, ‎April ‎12, ‎2009

It was a Saturday evening when we suddenly decided to go to Nandi hills, a hill station about 60 kms from Bangalore. This is just one of those spontaneous decisions taken by us. There were 8 of us in all with 4 bikes. Two of my friends had got brand new Apache RTRs and they wanted to wander, away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Kms- 0. It was at 9.30 am, Sunday that we finally set out on the trip (We planned to leave at 7). Full credit to Mr. Sankarsh for getting us late (Normally the award for LATE LATEEF is taken by Mr. Navjyot Singh)

Sitting behind Sankarsh meant that I could monitor his speed, dangerously whacking his head if he dared to go beyond 70 (Sure sure I am the Killjoy) . This got the speed freak among us (read Jaiprasad) really pissed off. Leave it to Jai to speed off in to a great distance, halt suddenly and wait for the slow coaches (Us) to catch up, all the while cribbing about our SUPER FAST SPEED. Man, he always rides as if his pants are on fire.. Prateek, his pillion, was holding on for dear life lest he fly away. The boy weighs a puny 36 kilos.

Kms- 50. We reach Shirdi Sai Baba temple, where we all went, took a quick darshan and came back (With the hope that a beseeching prayer to God would make our trip safer). The spiritual person in me would always come out in such places; though I'm agnostic otherwise :-))

We took the Nandi village route via Muddenahalli. Our ride to the top was, there's no other word for it- Thrilling!!! Somewhere along curve number 36, we all got off, stood on the ledge and started our photo session. We were in fact shocked to see the number of people that were actually visiting the place that day (Obviously, considering it was a Sunday).

Kms- 65.
Once we parked our bikes and got inside the fort entrance, our primitive qualities (yeah, those of the monkeys) started to manifest. The chimps in all of us craved to swing from the branches, and thats just what we did. After all, who could deny those innate callings.

The climb to get to the top was tiring and all of us were gasping for breath.

ACTIVITIES

Kudre Metlu-Literally translates to 'Horse Steps' (Though I don't know how it's connected with a horse..) - One of our favourite spots in Nandi Hills. It's got one of the best views of the landscape and the horizon. Please make it a point to visit this place whenever you go there.

Rohit's Parents Calling...- Well, it's not usual for parents to join a bunch of chimps while they're on the route to rediscovering their apish tendencies, but the daring parents of Rohit took on the onerous task of serving us poor primates with lunch. Well, kudos to Rohit's mum for filling our hungry bellies with only the most delicious food that one could conjure from atop a mountain.

Tipu's Drop... Next stop, Tipu's drop. Legend has it that the Great Sultan Tipu had condemned prisoners pushed off this 600m cliff. Hmmm... made us want to push Amith off for gobbling large portions of our lunch. Silly locals thought they could outsmart us by venturing to extract cash from us by telling us "legends." Jai Prasad's brain was on super fast mode, churning out supposedly brilliant ideas to help avoid the zombie-like storytellers and their spooky stories. Well, the best it could come up with was to escape, which, naturally, we did.... it's not that we don't appreciate a good story. it's just that we were not too inclined to spend a fortune on some old guy's underrated imagination.

Arkavathi river... We expected a river... we got a pond, that was dried up, and served with a wholesome dollop of garbage and waste (Courtesy: Some irresponsible idiots. What do you do?) Summer is not exactly the right time to expect a river with water. well, even a tiny trickle failed to greet our expectant eyes. Somehow this lack simply urged Navjyot and Jai to somehow conjure water. Well, mission accomplished as they spouted wholesome waterfalls from their rather full bladders. So what if the fountains were rich in urea and other minerals? As usual, this exciting sight urged the vandals in us (except me, duh!!!!) to pelt each other with stones. Ah!!! what better way to relax than indulging in some good hooliganism.

Heading Home...- Time for us to get back. Time for us to race. We left after watching the sunset. Posed for a final photo shoot of all the bikes before hitting the highway.

I can euphorically say- though highly clichéd a statement- that the journey was more exciting than the destination.

The END