Memories 'n' Melodies

A lifestyle called BIKING – The complete Nirvana

2010-04-22T12:35:00.011+05:30

A lifestyle called BIKING – The complete Nirvana

I have had people asking me why do I tour so much, why do I ride bike so much, what is biking all about? Believe me I have done some of the craziest things on bike in my life. Like waking up on a Saturday morning early feeling an itch to complete few kilometers… smoke some rubber, feel some air. I ride a few kilometers in 100s just to have a simple coffee on a countryside dhaba , may be have a strawberry at Mahabaleshwar on a Sunday morning some 140kms, a wish taking a bath in sea beach on the costal areas…or wish to cover Leh-Ladakh…or zoom you bike around the Rann of Kutch, make a record of covering most no. of NH and SH.

The thrill of accelerating, of weaving and banking on a twisty mountain road is addictive. Once bitten by the motorcycling bug, you're never shy of it. When static, the bike's engine throbs with latent power underneath.

“YOU KNOW YOU ARE A BIKER when, you can tell the bug’s name just by its taste”

Here I describe few pleasures of BIKING!

1.The pleasure is in doing three-digit speeds for hours on end when most consider 60 as dangerous and 80 as fatal!!

2. The pleasure is in tying the luggage so well on the back seat that the Bike seems to have come fitted with it from the showroom!

3. The pleasure is starting your bike's engine for a long-distance ride on a cold morning and listening to its steady comforting idle while you prepare for th e ride.

4. The pleasure is in racing a train speeding along parallel to the road and beating it, at beyond a 100 kmph!!

5.The pleasure is in watching a row of several single headlights trailing in your mirrors, the group on the move.

6. The pleasure is in watching a bunch of gleaming bikes knifing together through fast highway traffic.
7. The pleasure is in knowing a split second before the car in front panic-brakes. You were more focussed than the driver of that car. You survive and smile!!

8. The pleasure is when your upshifts and downshifts are so smooth that the Bike feels auto-geared.

9. The pleasure is in tooting a salute to truckers who safely wave you past on a blind mountain curve.

10. The pleasure is in glancing up at the cloud-darkened sky for a moment and guessing correctly how far ahead the rain will catch up with you.

11. The pleasure is in riding with a bug splattered visor for long, trying to look from between the squashed mosquitoes.

12. The pleasure is in cleaning the visor at a tea stop and seeing the world clearer through it as it had never been before.

13. The pleasure is in washing your muck-covered Bike beside a cool mountain stream.

14. The pleasure is in the easy companionship of a riding group.

15. The pleasure is when the group gets together weeks after a long ride and talks about it like it happened just yesterday.

16. The pleasure is in seeing photos of a re-grouping stop when everyone in the group with helmets on look like astronauts with overgrown heads!!

17. The pleasure is in hearing seven identical bikes start and rumble together while warming up for a long day on the road.

18. The pleasure is in watching other road users gawking wide-eyed as the group does three-digit speeds together in formation.

19. The pleasure is in entering a road-tunnel on a bright day with your sunglasses on and remembering the fear of riding blind for even a few moments.

20. The pleasure is when you fix a puncture by the roadside in the dark and nothing goes wrong with it for months afterwards.

21. The pleasure is in having just the right tool and spares at hand when something goes wrong with the Bike in the middle of nowhere.

22. The pleasure is when you finish your day’s ride, and reach in one piece. You’re the smallest vehicle on the road, and you’ve survived.

23. The pleasure is when you take off your wristwatch, and see a band of untanned skin.

24. The pleasure is when your motorcycle and you move as one single united form. Whatever shape the road takes, whichever end of the compass it leads to.

25. The pleasure is when you use your hands, arms, thighs, knees and feet to steer.

26. The pleasure is when you take off your riding jacket for a break, and feel the breeze dry your sweat.
27. The pleasure is when you sing to yourself on an empty road. You’re the world’s best rock star.
28. The pleasure is when you reach a place you’ve never been before, and someone you’ve never seen before asks you for a ride. And comes back grinning.

29. The pleasure is when you wave to village kids, and they wave back.

30. The pleasure is when you almost, almost fall. But don’t.

31. The pleasure is when you get up that narrow path for the view you’ll never forget.

32. The pleasure is when you view the world at an angle.

33. The pleasure is when you eat bugs at 90 kph.

34. The pleasure is when you look at a dust-streaked face in the mirror after a 12-hour ride, and don’t want to wash up.

35. The pleasure is when you can see the petrol signal full after a top-up.

36. The pleasure is when your throttle hand has calluses.

37. The pleasure is when you jump a speedbreaker.

38. The pleasure is when you stop to help push a stranded car to the side of the road when you had the choice of riding past but didn’t.

39. The pleasure is when you stop at the smallest of towns, and somebody asks you deep technical questions about your bike.

40. The pleasure is when your roadmaps gets dog-eared, rain-splashed and tea-stained.

41. The pleasure is when you give a stranger a lift and he loves it.

42. The pleasure is when you have battle-scars, each one a lesson in survival on two wheels.

43. The pleasure is when you can feel the cool morning and the hot afternoon, the light rain and the damp fog.

44. The pleasure is when you leave four-wheeler traffic standing in a jam.

45. The pleasure is when you aren’t lulled by an air-conditioner.

46. The pleasure is when you are free. Open. Independent. Liberated.

47. The pleasures, ladies and gentle, are all yours for the taking.

48. The pleasure is when you drive in fog, seeing only few meters ahead and reaching safely.

49. The pleasure is when driving in heavy rain. Bed ridden for two days and remembering the journey & enjoying the moments & also 2 days rest

50. Pleasure of Motorcycling is almost falling when a tiny stone comes on the way while taking a corner & then we safely straighten out bike & smile back to realise we missed a fall while taking corner at 80kmph.

The pleasure is when you are a BIKER. But you’ll never know how that feels, will you, Mr. Car Driving Gentleman?

My Airforce Selection Board Call

2007-02-03T02:33:00.001+05:30

Dated : 22nd January-26th January 2007

Fliping thru the pages of my book called life...i do some times get into flash back (Just like another Ekta Kapoor Series).Some times i just wish i could turn back time.......just go back to past and re-live those moments that have become my memories.Why dont these people at the Labs invented a time machine or something? One such memory was the SSB call of Indian AirForce,Dehradoon during the last week of January 2007.Rite from my childhood days i had a fantasy for Airforce. Air thrills me......when i was small.... i wanted to be an Astronaut.......i spent hours watching at the sky....and space programs in DISCOVERY CHANNEL were my favourite....someone told me Airforce is the way towards being an Astronaut......
Anyways...sillly me.silly are my thoughts.....lemme fast foward my life here.
December 2006:Airforce written cleared ....well i was the only boy from my college to clear that exam....i wonder how i did that.......cleared rest of the rounds and bagged the Call for AFSB.All of a sudden i felt my childhood dreams on the way to reality.

I left for Dehradoon just the very day my University Semesters got over.....Man! wat a month it had been...the exam days.......long wait...tuf papers........aaah! why do we have exams...Yuhi degree de do yaar....kyu apna n hamara time waste karwa rahe ho...we can use this time na....waddya think?(Can anyone temme who invented this exam shit???Saale ko ghar pe jaa ke hi fodunga :-/).....but i was glad it got over...I was very very enthusiastic about my trip......I did a lil party in the Bus itself.....Romanov,Me and Lays Masala were the trio!!!!
The trip had been more entertaining, more learning than i expected......I actually lived kinda live army life for 5 days....i have felt was a military life is like.....
Its was soooooooo cold in Dehradoon....didnt even came outta room without 2 sweaters.......I wonder how the Doonites or Doonians...wateva they call themselves survive.......One the very day we arrived the Incharge read a huge list of rules n regulations.....and a time table sorta thing for us.....n left many of us wondering how on earth are we gonna do that.....the Time Table that he chucked out wat some like this:

Morning Alarm : 5Am
Bed Tea : 5.30 Am
Hotwater in Washrooms : 5.30 -7.00Am
BreakFast : 6.30Am - 7.00 Am
Attendance : 7.45Am
Activites (Involved Personal Interviews , Physical Tasks and Group Activites and Conference Interviews) : 8.00AM - 2.30 Pm

Lunch : 2.30PM - 3.30Pm
After 3.30Pm we are free to visit city .
Reporting at AFSB campus : 7.00pm Sharp.
Attendance : 7.30Pm
Dinner : 7.45 Pm - 8.30 Pm
Tv till 9.30 Pm.
In room by 10.00Pm

The Morning Raga:
Getting up in the morning was always a big fite for me.....and that too in such a chilly dehradoon morning......God! i hated that sooooo much......the water was soooooo cold....i was a herculean task to even touch it.....i kept on wondering if a Big Big ice slab was kept in the Overhead tank that kept on melting and flowed thru the pipes to our taps......I even tried to experiment ma thoughts n intuitions but the boys werent allowed to go upstairs.....thats where the girls dwelled.....Silly me .....Silly are ma thoughts......
I was last one to arrive for the breakfast.....everyday....Reasons...u know....Its like even by 7.30am....there wasnt enuf morning light.....as if the sun had gone to play hide n seek.....hehehhee.... or was trying to play with us....One thing was alwaz with me....My Stole (Mufflar).....i liked it so much i wore it alwaz and these friends called me "FANA FOR YOU"...hehehehehe...subhanaalllaah!!!!!!

Activities
Personal interview:
Mine went for say about 55mins to 60 mins......man! that interview wale ne mera mental rape kiya tha....believe me.....He asked me sooooooooooooooo many questions that i had to interrupt him saying...i was thirsty!I wonder if he was waiting to dissect me......choos liya saale ne!

Physical Activities and Group Tasks:
The best part was this one....had to move in groups..chuck out a plan......blah blah blah!....These guys even made us go thru tyres, jump , crawl, climb ropes that was fucking 10 m high......only god knows...kitne maasoomo k haath cheel gaye.....even girls had to do all this.....bechare!

Conference Interview :
This was the decidinground.......Unlucky me...i was the 2nd attack of these hungry hound of interview panel......i entered a closed room.....n entered another room...seemed like i was goin thru mazez....and then when i opend....these guys started staring me as if i was sum kinda new sleek mobile.....they were round about 25 people.....all in uniform ..from President of Airforce Station, to Air Commodore to Squadron Leaders to Psychologists.....and that too 5 of them......and i was soo alone......they asked me back to back and all at a same time..i didnt knew whom to answer....heard a queation from one side..turned to see whu asked...the very time another interviewer asked.......

Anyways....i was out.....Rest....forget it......m not gonna say you.

Then came the Mussorrie journey.............

We were about 25 - 30 chaps....both dudes n dudettes......in Bus .......round round curvy scary zig zag road......while going towards Mussoorrie it seems everyone drank a glass full of BOOST (the secret of Tendulkar's energy!!!)....dheere dheere..sara josh utar gaya.......the roads made us going on a puking competitions.......sabne part liya...kisi kisi ne to 2-3 shots laga diye..comp jeetne k liye....heheheheh....How Dirty!!!! ;-)..we coloured the bus
Mussooriez a honeymoon spot and i spotted a lotta couples moving together.....commented some....i mean wheneva i crossed them i started sing some number(TUJHE DEKHA TO YEH JANA SANAM...).....hehehehe...must be thinking kitna kamina larka hai yeh!!!! but believe me...its fun.....n i even felt so good looking at these couples drowned in each other......boleto ROMANCE mai...jyada mat sochna ;-) .....i know wat u fellas thougth :-D
Mussoorie is a good place..i like the town but i hate the road towards it.......The bandas n bandis those were selected ....we compelled them to treat us ......had PIZZAs worth Rs1700......unki aisi halat ho gayi thi ki baad mai hum sab contribute karna pada......hahahhaa!!!

Now comes the craziest part of our entire journey....
I'm sure u fellas must have noticed that little standway admist the two seating rows......we all danced the entire journey back in that standway...the curves of the road made us fall one each other...but we wudnt stop at nothing......we fell down...got up again...danced again....fell down as the curves came by again......its was sucha a fun i tell you.....do try that some time if possible....That was one of the craziest thing i have ever done ......Bus k saare supports tod diye...i m sure he wud have sweared not to take any students trip anymore
Finally we reached back to Dehradoon...some of had there Buses back to home.....we dropped them and continued our journey back.......
As we bid each other aideu.....we very full this our throat.....we all were seperating ..... this lil journey of 1day was way too much to make us a small family.......
Its not just another the time we shared but the aura of fraternity dwelled in us......everyone of us....irrespective of there own personal problem....which i m sure everyone wud have had like Job tension,the gam of not getting selected....n many more...was left way behind........we had a quality time.......infact this SSB call not just gifted us friends but gifted someone a brother too....
I have not just met different faces....but different thoughts,different ideas......different natures......and all this has made me more adaptable......I have seen life thru a broader specs .
well,even if i write this down.....i ma sure these journal wudnt make you feel the impact that it had on me......

What this Crap is all about !!!

2007-01-30T11:44:00.001+05:30

Well.....

from quite a few days i was wanting to inaugurate this blog of mine.....but not getting enuf chances to do that.....Today when i got up....all i did firstly.....switched on my Workstation.....and put on this post....
This blog of mines unlike the earlier one...(www.ankyslabyrinth.blogspot.com) will be just about me.....my thoughts....my beliefs.....what i did .....what i did not do.....what i lament about....what i am proud about......
Well,i donot like to advertize but this one's just to make writing a part of ma daily life...sort of e diary...u can call.......but one thing specifically i would like to mention here is that....donot make fun of it...this is my life,my memories,my acts n deeds....and i respect it very much......Nothing is more dearer to me then ma self esteem....and please dont play with that...This ones just a humble request............

So,lets kick off this "MEMORIES n MELODIES"....its ma memories n its ma melodies.......