The Motorcycle Diaries

Day 4 – It Has To End, Nah?

“Brijesh! Brijesh!” exclaimed Alpesh frantically, “There is someone in the hut!”

I woke up by the loud cry. It was 5:30 in the morning. From the corner of my bedside there came the sound of someone dragging the plastic bag full of the snacks. I put it next to the table fan before going to bed. It was pitch-dark and there was no electricity. I switched on the torch light in my phone. From the distance I tried to look into the corner to see if there was a rat or mouse which was searching for food from between the bamboo sticks. None was found. The dragging was stopped but both of us were afraid of checking the corner. The white plastic bag was hanging in awkward balance between the table and the wall. Satisfied by the prevailing silence, and more importantly afraid of going too close, I switched off the torch and went back to bed. The dragging was again heard after about 10 minutes, but was stopped immediately at my loud Shh….

The trip was coming to the end. After breakfast we again went for a short walk towards the waterfall. After coming back we paid our dues, had one last view of the camp and left it. On the way back, before Kejenta, there was another camp, the Udhal Mahuda Camp. We had time on our side so decided to go there. Udhal Mahuda was small guesthouse on top of a hill overlooking a river. The river carved its path neatly between the hills crammed on both the sides. There was a small machan and a bench at the cliff. The clear blue sky and the brown and green hills gave the water beautiful bluish green color. A boatman was enjoying his solitude in the calm waters. Two ducks were fighting and playing in the water. We had to fight the reluctance to go.

The ride back home was rather uneventful. The bike was cruising along the well-tarred roads. It was evident we were moving away from the forests to urban civilization. After Balasinor, we stopped for lunch on a roadside dhaba. Before some 40 km from Ahmedabad, Alpesh stopped the bike. There was no shade and the afternoon breeze was hot. I asked him why he stopped the bike there when there were plenty of banyan trees just 100 meters away. He showed me the distance meter on the bike. It read 0999.9. He wanted to see all the 9’s change to 0’s together. He dragged the bike from there until the meter read 1000.0. The slow motion of change was quite rhythmic. I was glad he thought of that.

After 4 days and 520 KMs of road travel, we were finally back. The bike dutifully went into garage to cool off. The trip which was almost called off the day before it was to be started turned out to be one of the most pleasant one I had been part of.

After the Sunset

The Bus for Amreli is on time in the evening. That is a luxury I rarely get to enjoy. But things are quite different these days. The luck has befriended me and it enjoys my company too. A little panic like situation is created when Alpesh announces that he has lost his two-wheeler keys. We try to find it in the bus but to no avail. The engine grunts, the wheels roll on, off goes Alpesh little worried about the keys and waves me goodbye. By the time the bus leaves Gandhinagar, he calls to say that he has found the keys on the bench we were sitting on in waiting for the bus.

I ponder over the events of last four days. I remember the butterflies…the waterfall…the bird that was the Indian Roller…the sunset. Those were the most beautiful things I came across. And they were free. Free as in freedom. Nobody can own them or buy them. Can anybody order a butterfly to flutter its wings…Can anybody force a bird to fly for his fancy…Can anybody dare to summon the sun to rise or set down according to his whim? The most beautiful things in the world are free…free from the bondage…free for all of us to receive, enjoy and be blessed with. And it does not apply only to the things of nature. What about the love and the care we shower on our fellow humans? Aren’t they free? Pity we run after inconsequentials all our life and refuse to embrace the true source of happiness.

In the end I have to thank the people who made this possible. Thanks to Pradip, without his idea the trip would have not been possible. Thanks to his father, who made sure we never ran into troubles. A special thanks to Alpesh for sharing the vivid dream and making me feel that the reality was indeed as beautiful. And a very very special thanks to the life, which again proved that when you don’t make plans, it comes up with the best plan for you. Live on!

The Motorcycle Diaries

Day 3 – Ramblings in Ratanmahal

We packed our bag after the breakfast since we were leaving Kevdi to go to Ratanmahal guesthouse which was some 30 KMs away. Jethabhai was in cheerful mood and cracked a few jokes. Unfortunately they were certified as adult jokes. We bade them farewell and left. I wanted to ride the bike so asked Alpesh to sit back and enjoy the ride. The bike was little heavy for me but to drive it was an awesome feeling – the sound of the engine, the wind blowing on the face, the trees and houses passing by in hurry. From Kejenta, the straight road made the way for the serpentine road with lots of ups and downs. The good thing about all those roads was that they were properly tarred and marked with white lanes even inside the forest. I have not seen such good roads in the other parts of the country. Gujarat can certainly guide other states when it comes to the road network. How comfortable it will be to have the same kind of roads in Kerala or Coorg!

At Ratanmahal Forest Office, the Range Forest Officer (RFO) suggested us to stay at Naldha Nature Camp which was not far from there. We got a nice bamboo hut there for cool 250 bucks. The camp was situated between hills and a river ran nearby. The food was tasty and the service was exceptional. We strolled around after lunch and watched kids playing cricket inside the camp. There was a waterfall which was reachable after a moderate trekking. We were told that it was 2 KMs away. On the way to waterfall, just outside the camp, there was a machan. We occupied the machan for a while and pretended that we were soldiers guarding the fort. But in the rein of the nature, there are no enemies. I thought I saw enough of the butterflies the previous day, but Devdi was a lone soldier compared to the army that was Ratanmahal. Plenty of butterflies of wide variety asking for your attention! I forgot that I was going to a waterfall. Alpesh had to literally drag me.

The trek seemed far more than 2 KMs. The climb was steep and heavy stones made it more tiresome. At one point we reached nearly to the top of the hill and still there was no sight of the fall. We almost gave up but what kept us going still was the sound of the water crushing the stones. We knew we were about to win in that game of hide and seek. Finally we emerged as the winners. It was a small but virgin waterfall. It seemed not many people frequented this place which helped it retain its beauty. The water was cold and we had no intention of splashing it despite having our swimming costumes with us. With the loud background music of the falling water, we recorded ik din beek jaayega.

We sat there blissfully, enjoying the all the Mother Nature had to offer. The hills, the trees, the water – Alpesh noted that these very things, the building blocks, are same everywhere but the way they are put together differs in each place. Or for that matter, all humans are of same composition but still no two human beings are same. The different patterns emerge, and they make the world beautiful and exciting. As Alpesh meditated, I sat quietly allowing the water to run over my feet. That was the moment when I could not help but remember Kailash Kher’s the Cherapunjee song - barse barse re ambar ka paani, jisko pee pee ke dharti deewani; khilkhilane lagi hai, muskurane lagi hai, bheeg gaya mera mann.

The descent was easy from thereon. We enjoyed nice tea at the camp. It was 5 PM by then and we immediately started for the sunset point. The RFO met us in Ratanmahal and advised us not to waste time because sun set early there and the 8 KM road to the point at the top was rather not supportive. We soon realized what he meant – the road was full of small pebbles, quite steep and winding. Not used to that kind of road, we almost fell down at one curve. Twice the bike stopped on the road and refused to move. Undeterred by the difficulties, we continued going up on the treacherous road. Later that night the RFO said that the bike Thunderbird was a royal maharaja bike and we should have not put it under that heavy stress. What I thought was that it was the beauty and the beast; only vehicle that could have taken us to the top with wanting for more. And don’t the maharajas carve their place in the history by fighting rough battles?

Halfway through the terrain became plain and easy and the gregarious bamboos crowded both sides of the road. They looked dry. The RFO explained that these trees flower after 50 years and then die. What I was looking at were the dead trees! A bird full of life caught my attention soon. I watched it taking flight from the empty riverbed. It was an Indian Roller – blue colored bird with brown and black beak and legs. It disappeared in the bamboos just after two seconds but I could vouch that was the most beautiful bird I have ever seen. My eyes searched it between those trees, but it was not to be found again. Poor me!

In the end it took great courage, caution and care to reach at the top. On the opposite side of the sunset point, there was a small temple. We offered our prayers first. The view was spectacular from the point. The hills were all spread across the horizon and giving an impression of camel humps in a desert. The sun was slowly going down behind the hills covered with green vegetation. It looked like a lonely sunflower in a huge farm. If before a few minutes, I was ready to give up my life for one more sight of the flight of the bird, now I was a sucker for life. Give me more…the sunrise, the sunset. The twilight made compelling case for Alpesh to meditate again. I was not ready even to blink lest the wonder wither away.

We had to leave the place involuntarily. The RFO gave the students lessons about the nature while we had our dinner. There was no electricity in the night. The camp ran on solar cells and they were discharged that night. We retired to our beds after a walk. It was the best day of our trip. We were rejuvenated. As the cook in the camp put in his own lyrical words – aav haala, ratanmala (Brother, Come to Ratanmahal).

* Photos can be found at: http://picasaweb.google.com/brijesh.gajera/Ratanmahal#

To Be Continued...

The Motorcycle Diaries

Day 2 – Walk in the Woods

I woke up at the sound of the knock at the door by Mohseen, one of the employees in the guesthouse. He came to invite us for breakfast. I opened the door of the balcony to feel the morning. The air was still chilly. The east facing balcony gave a spectacular view. The sun was coming out of the dense trees. Between those trees and the room was a very small stream. A group of swans was looking for the food in the water. Interestingly there were some black swans with golden beaks, which are hard to find. It was perfect morning for a lazy breakfast and tea with prospect of morning walk afterwards. But Alpesh thought otherwise and did not trade his sleep for the breakfast.

Mohseen was waiting in the dining area. It was a dome structure made up of wood frame and grass on the roof. While having poha as breakfast, I talked to Mohseen about the place and surroundings. Every year during winter, the forest department runs Nature Education Camp for the school children of the nearby areas. They are introduced to the trees, animals and birds of the sanctuary and also given lessons to conserve the nature. Hopefully some of them get interested in the diversity the forest is endowed with and come back to work here as grown-ups. That also helps to contain the problem of people leaving the bounty of nature for the urban dreams. One such group of children occupied the tents there and was currently out in the forest under the careful guidance of an official. I regretted the fact that I missed the chance to go with them but Mohseen informed me that the way inside the forest is well marked out and I could go inside without any guide. I sipped the tea enjoying the beautiful landscape of hills and the stream and set out for a walk. An army of guesthouse dogs accompanied me for the most part of the walk. I did not go much farther since Alpesh and I already planned another walk in the late morning.

I came back soon and took bath. While Alpesh got ready for the day, I sat in the balcony, reading The Power of Coincidence. He also shared a coincidence involving one of his pilot colleagues. Incidentally that man was a captain in Indian Air Force and was on routine flight on much dreaded MiG-28 when suddenly the engine failed. The seat was supposed to eject in that moment of emergency but failed to do so. The plane started descending at higher speed with high g-force. He became unconscious by then. The plane passed between two trees in the forest which had just enough gap to let the plane pass. It slide on the ground. At that point the seat ejection miraculously worked and he was thrown into a pit a few meters away. The plane exploded with clouds of fire spreading skywards a few seconds after. He was lucky to fall into the pit because of which he survived unscathed, without a single scar on his body.

We started our jungle safari on foot. The sanctuary is famous for its sloth bears, though we did not expect to locate one in the afternoon time. We climbed a hilltop to get the panoramic view. The rocky hills lined up on three sides. We also found out in the process that it was the only place around where we received mobile signals. While Alpesh talked on the phone, I climbed down and went deeper in the woods. The mahudo was the predominant tree in this forest. I did not see any animal, but butterflies filled my time completely. I chased the small and big, colorful and fluttery creatures to frame them forever in camera. It was tough job to do because the sensitive subjects of my affection fluttered away even at the slightest sound of the foot crushing the fallen leaves. In the end I managed to click a few good shots.

Alpesh joined me after finishing his call. We went further inside after those butterflies. It was already lunchtime and feeling obliged to feed ourselves, we turned back. The idea to shoot some of the songs we like struck us. I call us the Occasional Singers who need no occasions to exercise the vocal chords. Alpesh started with Rafi’s main jindagi ka saath nibhata chala gaya while I captured the video. The next was Mukesh’s haal-e-dil hamara.

The afternoon passed in the rest after the heavy lunch. In the evening everyone was gathered near the office. It was time to see flying squirrel! I never knew there are flying squirrels in the world. The children were disciplined with a stick to sit quiet as the squirrel might be disturbed by the sound. The wait for half an hour yielded no sight, but finally it appeared, like a superstar turning out late for a show. I watched it gliding between the trees like those flying saucers seen in the alien sci-fi movies. There was a particular tree in the place under which we surprisingly received mobile signals. As both of us kept talking on phones for long, we did not realize that the dinner was already served. Jethabhai, the officer, scolded us gently for coming late with lessons of disadvantages of late night food. We ignored him though since we sighted lapasi, a popular dessert in this part of the country and hurried towards the food. We again set for one more shooting of the song – Mukesh’s woh tere pyaar ka gham. This one was hard to do as it was sad song. We had to change the location thrice because of the lack of proper lighting. But in the end the effort satisfied us.

One more day well spent. We soon fell asleep to welcome another day.

To Be Continued...

The Motorcycle Diaries

Day 1 – The Countryside

Alpesh came at around 9:30 AM and informed me that he mailed Pradip, fondly called Bapu, for more details. When he checked his emails, a certain mail from Pradip popped up. It contained the contact details of his father, who is a forest officer. When we contacted his father, we got more than what we ever hoped for. He arranged a stay for us in a forest department guesthouse, provided contact numbers of the people there, gave us the directions and highways we should take and places to visit. In matter of a few minutes the whole thing was set up. I am sure I would have not thought of that much had I been given a choice of fulfilling a wish. Extremely happy about the turnaround, we stepped out of house to find a good travel book and a map in case the need arises. That was my first encounter with Royal Enfield Thunderbird. That was some bike!

When we started packing, Alpesh suggested that we should put our entire luggage in one backpack. I thought it was not possible since I had only necessary things in my bag and it had no room for anything more. But then I started pulling out things which suddenly seemed totally unnecessary and out of place. It felt as if I was getting rid the burden off my shoulders. It lost half of its weight in seconds. That way we made only one backpack for both of us. After a nice homemade Kathiawadi food for lunch, we were all set to hit the road.

Off we were on the road. Instantly we realized that we had one problem. With helmet on the head, and heavy wind blowing in the face, it was very difficult to talk to each other. We had to holler to make any sense. We pulled off after only 26 kilometers, rather unwillingly, just before the start of NH-59 which goes directly to Indore in Madhya Pradesh. Since talking required hard effort, we thought why not to keep our tongues busy by chewing something. I tightened the belts of the backpack around my chest and stomach. I felt as if some octopus had monstrous grip around my body! There was no point complaining though – we had a long way to go and that was what I wanted.

The main advantage of going on bike, especially in countries like India, is the countryside you get to see. And if you are a pillion rider, you are in for a pleasant treat. Stripped from worrying about the road and the other vehicles, you can just look on the both sides of the roads and marvel at the sights the country offers. There were huge banyan trees with thick dangling roots. At some places the trees were so dense that you could actually play Tarzan act for a long distance. The temples are ubiquitous in India and are easy to locate with the flags on top of them. Then there was cricket –the game we play -which is as ubiquitous as temples, if not more. Wherever there is enough space for 22 yards, we have kids aspiring to be a Sachin Tendulkar one day fighting for their turn to have a go. Gujarat is a dry land and there is not much farming after the monsoon season. Farms are barren at this time, with only the leftover grass of the crop spread in small heaps. People sometimes cover their huts or houses with the grass, which gives impression as if they are made of grass. The highways in India are not actually made only for the vehicles - stray cows and dogs have equal rights over them and the poor pedestrians also. They even do not mind getting run over. They just refuse to listen to the horn and move away.

We took our next break at Godhra after 220 kilometers of drive. The light was fading away quickly and we had still some distance to cover. On top of that, we were supposed to go thru the forest so we did not waste much time in Godhra. Some time was wasted at a railway crossing going further. I also dropped the map after that and we had to turn back to fetch it. As the evening sets in, the wind got chilly. We were in the sanctuary now. By the time we reached Devgadh Baria, it was completely dark. Our destination, Devdi guesthouse, was still far away. The cold was treacherous now and I pulled out my sweater to save myself from freezing. That was first time in more than a year that I used it. Alpesh covered himself fully from top to bottom. We were very slow because of the winding roads and the cold. At 7:45 PM, we pulled off in Devdi Guesthouse with the sigh of relief and satisfaction of job well done.

We were obviously very hungry and the food was ready, so instead of going to our room, we headed for the dinner. We got traditional food of the place – the maize rotla, rice and kadhi. It was simple but very tasty. The guesthouse was newly built and we were the first occupants of the room. It had only basic amenities you require in places like these. It was time for friends’ talk. We hadn’t talked much during the day and we made amends for that in the evening. We talked about whatever we could think of – Chance, Coincidence, Luck, Success, Women, Love, Living in Present and Life. And when we were silent, we talked more.

To Be Continued...

The Motorcycle Diaries*

Before the Sunrise

It was Saturday and we still had no clues about our trip, which was supposed to commence the next day. Alpesh and I decided a month back that we would go together on a trip to some nice place in Gujarat. After a month the only things we knew were that we would go to a place called Ratanmahal in the east Gujarat bordering Madhya Pradesh on a bike. Alpesh could not contact Pradip -who suggested the place to us -for more details in remaining days. I had a bit somber mood on this particular day since I thought we might not make it to the trip. At one moment I even entertained the idea of dropping the whole plan – how in the world someone can call it a plan! But I was quite keen to go and sensed the same keenness when I talked to Alpesh.

In the evening my brother arrived unannounced with a couple of his friends after attending one of their friends’ wedding. A few moments later he left the house to drop his friends to the bus station. This would have been the inconsequential detail for this post had it not been for the coincidence of talking to his friend, Jaypal. As it turned out, they did not get the bus and came back half an hour later. From our chitchat, I came to know that Jaypal was familiar with Ratanmahal and surrounding areas. Jaypal ran me through the map of the area, showed the places to visit and the route to take. It boosted my confidence immensely. Had he got his bus, I would have not talked to him later and would have gone to Gandhinagar, where Alpesh lives, with little enthusiasm. Not that our trip materialized the way I envisaged it while talking to Jaypal. On the contrary, it was completely different. But the booster it provided to me was something I needed badly.

The day before, I started reading a fascinating book The Power of Coincidence. The book talks about the powerful coincidence we come across in our lives and their significance, and even how to increase their frequency for a better life. Let me confess – I did not believe in meaningfulness of them until then; for me they were mere events with statistical probabilities, however small they may be, which have very realistic chance of occurrence and they do occur at times. I saw no patterns in them and I thought they were beyond one’s control. Call it a chanced encounter, nothing more. The book changed whole of that. Within a day I experienced the coincidence, the meaningful one and powerful one. I believed it was a interference from a higher order, the universal soul as they call it. Belief makes it happen.

Late night I boarded a bus to Gandhinagar. The journey was uneventful except the fact that the weather was cold. Early morning, before the sunrise, I was at Alpesh’s place. He was returning back from Delhi later that morning. Marveling at the power of coincidence, I slipped into a dream world.

* This has nothing to do with Che Guevara.

To Be Continued...

The Ultra Dream

It is rather unusual to get up at 3:15 in the morning and still feeling gay and cheerful, legs more than ready to run at the first sign of GO. That was exactly what I felt today morning. In fact, since last many days, I was getting mad day by day as the Ultra Marathon event was approaching. It might be also because the same day I was leaving for my native place for a 2 weeks vacation. Whatever may be the reason, but I was feeling goose-bumpy and had a faint idea that the day was going to be a special one. Eventually it would turn out to be the one.

It took quite an effort to reach to the Our Native Village (ONV), the starting point of the marathon. Considering it was dark, and not many people were there on the way to get the help from, Gopal and Satheesha did great job to bring us at the starting point much before 6:00 AM, the start time for 37.5 km run. After a brief warm-up session, we were all set to go. It was still a little dark when we started. The 12.5 km trail consisted of 6.25 km going in one direction and then coming back on the same trail. We were supposed to finish 3 rounds of that trail. Around a km of the trail was filled with small stones, but after that it was a proper mud trail barring a 500 meters tar road. As the promising day lifted the darkness, I could see the vast grassland opening before my eyes on both the side of the road. It was quite a sight - small hills, grass dancing with the wind, birds taking flights and the heads of the runners appearing and disappearing in the grass on a winding trail! The grass smelled fresh in the morning. Another 2 km and we left behind grass to enter into the land of big trees, a kind of urban jungle.

After a while, I was at the 6.25 km mark, from where I took u-turn to go back on the same route. The tar road climb was steep there and quite tiresome. I was cheering those fellow runners who were going in other direction. There were some old runners, a few ladies and even children. Though running is a solo sport mostly, a runner still requires appreciation. A thumb-up, a clap or just a few words of encouragement cheer a runner beyond imagination. When legs refuses to move, and lungs get tired, a simple gesture like this can motivate a runner.

I saw 3 runners in my category finishing first loop before me. That meant I was fourth in the lot. That was quite encouraging! Prakhar did mention before the start that I stood a good chance to finish in top draw. I resolved to stick to top-5 for the full race. The good thing was that the weather was very supportive. There was no sign of the sun, but it was not humid also. These were ideal conditions for running. I kept on running, observing the surroundings. A foreigner, a cyclist, was waving at the runners and cheering them. He looked quite amazed to see the so many runners attempting ultra marathon. Another foreigner lady, sitting under a tree, was drawing something in a paper. I assumed she was trying to paint the grassland with the tree line and hills in background. When I came back to finish the second loop, she was standing on the other side of the road, showing the drawing to the runners. There were two red flowers in it, and nicely written Well Done. That was touching!

At the end of the second loop I realized that I was leading the pack now! That was scary and surprising at once! I was tired, hungry and thirsty now but buoyed by the new-found energy from the leader’s position, I somehow kept dragging myself without stopping much. The thought that Glory awaits you was my companion thereafter. I did stop at the aid stations to get some water or munch something. In the middle of the third loop, I knew that the second-positioned runner was about a km behind me. I met Gulprit on the way and he suggested me to speed up for last 6 km. But the climb was grueling and I was exhausted. On top of that, the knowledge that you are leading also kind of acts as a deterrent sometimes. The constant threat of the other person overtaking you lurks in mind, even if you know that he is lagging far behind. The fear is constantly with you, like your own shadow - it never leaves you. I don’t remember how many times I glanced back to see where exactly my competitors were. It was as if I was running with twisted head.

I saw Mohan C, Mohan G and Ambika cheering for me before the last km mark. I was sprinting now. When I crossed the finish line, taking long steps and hands extended in joy, I looked at the sky and thanked God. It was a long, 4 hours effort. In my childhood I used to dream that one day I would become a sportsman and win the big competitions in front of big crowds in huge stadiums. I even tried to get admission into a sports school but was refused. The reason: I was a slow runner. And today that dream came true. I know now for sure that dreams do come true, although they may not manifest the way we see them. But we are so much tied to the images we have of them in our minds that we do not identify with them taking different forms. We see less with the eyes than the mind. That is why a blind person’s life is not completely black. Tonight when I sleep, there will be more dreams. I will be waiting to see how they come to pass.

* Check more photographs at : http://picasaweb.google.com/brijesh.gajera/UltraMarathon2009#