THE DHAK TRIP
(We take the initial steps of a 3-hr trek)
(the Dhak cliff,sticking out like a sore thumb)
(Jui posing with LP)
"On a cycle the frame is gone. You're completely in contact with it all.You're in the scene, not just watching it anymore, and the sense of presence is overwhelming."
- Robert Pirsig,Zen And The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Time: 6:30 AM
Day: Sunday
Date: 20th Nov,2005
Weather: Cool, slightly chilly but promise of a sunny day apparent from the sun’s valiant attempts in the daybreak itself.
“Lal Pari” had been given the long drive drill a day before the trip and it was eager for the trip. Its petrol tank had been filled to the brim, a cool 14 litres of gas down its thirsty throat (which meant that I bled my already slim wallet). Brake check-OK. Tyre pressure-OK. Washed and ready to hit the road.
There is little one can do after that except pray that Murphy’s Law will spare you.
Early morning we started later than what we had decided, which was expected. We were 16 people in all, 3 added up mysteriously overnight to change the unlucky number of 13 we had earlier. There were a total of nine bikes. 8 of us started from office at 7:10 AM and we were to meet the rest 8 there in Pimpri Chowk, at the other end of civilization. I had pillion company in the form of Sumitra.We reached the spot in an hour amid howls of protest directed at us for being late for having stopped midway to pack a breakfast of omlette sandwiches, which later everybody hungrily lapped when we reached Kamshet.
The drive to Kamshet has been one that my bike,LP(Lal Pari,for short)was already familiar with, and I particularly like the part where the road cuts its way through two hills. It’s a sight for sore eyes. I attempted to break the 100 km/hr barrier on that stretch but was able to reach only 90 due to heavy traffic.
After reaching Kamshet we were to take a beaten down track to Jambhoree, the village from which the trek was to start. LP took to the country road as fish to water and smoothed its way across the rough patchy road. We reached a bridge where everybody had stopped and took snaps. It was a lovely morning with the sun starting to flex its muscles. Another half an hour and we reached the village and took shelter in the small shop at the entrance. We parked our hot vehicles and bodies inside and had a healthy meal of pohe and tea. Now everybody was ready for the challenging task that lay ahead of us. We had to leave our bikes and start on a 3 hour trek towards a temple at the top of a huge cliff. We had GPRS (or is it GPS?) help from the gizmo surd- Simar Paul who gave regular updates on our speed and direction. Deepak, our shepherd led from the front to only where he alone knew he was taking us. We crossed open fields of grass and small “forests” of trees to a temple beside two ponds with the muckiest water in it. The temple adorned a Nandi bull in front and a shivling in its sanctum sanctorum. A leafless tree stood beside it, a mute testimony to the fact that winter had arrived. Keyur was showing the caves we had to reach through his binoculars and Prasanna was at his usual clownish best, regaling us with his PJs.
From the temple the journey became increasingly tiresome with the increase in steepness. The climb was made more difficult by the loose rocks. The frequent sound of gunshots from not very soothing too. We took ample snaps on the way and Arun clicked some short movies too.
At last we reached the cliff, and from there we had to go down a narrow gorge, the sight of which simply made most of us freak out. It was a kind of slit between two cliffs and almost vertical with stones filled in. It was dangerous even looking down. On top of that there were people coming from down. We started climbing down slowly and reached on the other side safely. It seemed to be like traveling down the hole that Alice traveled in wonderland. The sight down below was even more terrifying. On one side we had a huge cliff sticking out like a sore thumb and on the other we had vertical strip of rock. There were two caves cut out from the cliff where we rested to save us from the scorching sun. From there on only 4 brave souls decided to climb the vertical cliff and reach the Bhairoba Temple. I can’t describe how tiring or dangerous that journey must have been because I did not go. The rocks were like frying pans and the cliff was steep and they were reached the temple suspended only on ropes and belief. The lesser mortals spent 2 hrs singing Antakshri and playing cards.
By the time we started back it was late afternoon. We climbed back the gorge and then took the trail down to the village. I got severly dehydrated, cramped and my legs had pain written all over it. But I enjoyed the time when I rested myself and the strange sounds of the forest under the low light of the descending sun seemed to give an eerie feeling to everything around me. I limped my way back to the front of the pack. Its amazing how Jui, showed exceptional stamina during the whole trip.
Down at the village we refreshed ourselves for the journey with the simple but tasty food of “Pithle-Bhakri”, said goodbye and started on our journey back home. The rooster in the village gave a rousing goodbye as we started our bikes. The evening stars showed the way to our bikes. It was a tiring but a wonderful trip. With pain in our bodies but smiles on our faces we said goodbye to a memorable journey.
(We take the initial steps of a 3-hr trek)
(the Dhak cliff,sticking out like a sore thumb)
(Jui posing with LP)
"On a cycle the frame is gone. You're completely in contact with it all.You're in the scene, not just watching it anymore, and the sense of presence is overwhelming."
- Robert Pirsig,Zen And The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Time: 6:30 AM
Day: Sunday
Date: 20th Nov,2005
Weather: Cool, slightly chilly but promise of a sunny day apparent from the sun’s valiant attempts in the daybreak itself.
“Lal Pari” had been given the long drive drill a day before the trip and it was eager for the trip. Its petrol tank had been filled to the brim, a cool 14 litres of gas down its thirsty throat (which meant that I bled my already slim wallet). Brake check-OK. Tyre pressure-OK. Washed and ready to hit the road.
There is little one can do after that except pray that Murphy’s Law will spare you.
Early morning we started later than what we had decided, which was expected. We were 16 people in all, 3 added up mysteriously overnight to change the unlucky number of 13 we had earlier. There were a total of nine bikes. 8 of us started from office at 7:10 AM and we were to meet the rest 8 there in Pimpri Chowk, at the other end of civilization. I had pillion company in the form of Sumitra.We reached the spot in an hour amid howls of protest directed at us for being late for having stopped midway to pack a breakfast of omlette sandwiches, which later everybody hungrily lapped when we reached Kamshet.
The drive to Kamshet has been one that my bike,LP(Lal Pari,for short)was already familiar with, and I particularly like the part where the road cuts its way through two hills. It’s a sight for sore eyes. I attempted to break the 100 km/hr barrier on that stretch but was able to reach only 90 due to heavy traffic.
After reaching Kamshet we were to take a beaten down track to Jambhoree, the village from which the trek was to start. LP took to the country road as fish to water and smoothed its way across the rough patchy road. We reached a bridge where everybody had stopped and took snaps. It was a lovely morning with the sun starting to flex its muscles. Another half an hour and we reached the village and took shelter in the small shop at the entrance. We parked our hot vehicles and bodies inside and had a healthy meal of pohe and tea. Now everybody was ready for the challenging task that lay ahead of us. We had to leave our bikes and start on a 3 hour trek towards a temple at the top of a huge cliff. We had GPRS (or is it GPS?) help from the gizmo surd- Simar Paul who gave regular updates on our speed and direction. Deepak, our shepherd led from the front to only where he alone knew he was taking us. We crossed open fields of grass and small “forests” of trees to a temple beside two ponds with the muckiest water in it. The temple adorned a Nandi bull in front and a shivling in its sanctum sanctorum. A leafless tree stood beside it, a mute testimony to the fact that winter had arrived. Keyur was showing the caves we had to reach through his binoculars and Prasanna was at his usual clownish best, regaling us with his PJs.
From the temple the journey became increasingly tiresome with the increase in steepness. The climb was made more difficult by the loose rocks. The frequent sound of gunshots from not very soothing too. We took ample snaps on the way and Arun clicked some short movies too.
At last we reached the cliff, and from there we had to go down a narrow gorge, the sight of which simply made most of us freak out. It was a kind of slit between two cliffs and almost vertical with stones filled in. It was dangerous even looking down. On top of that there were people coming from down. We started climbing down slowly and reached on the other side safely. It seemed to be like traveling down the hole that Alice traveled in wonderland. The sight down below was even more terrifying. On one side we had a huge cliff sticking out like a sore thumb and on the other we had vertical strip of rock. There were two caves cut out from the cliff where we rested to save us from the scorching sun. From there on only 4 brave souls decided to climb the vertical cliff and reach the Bhairoba Temple. I can’t describe how tiring or dangerous that journey must have been because I did not go. The rocks were like frying pans and the cliff was steep and they were reached the temple suspended only on ropes and belief. The lesser mortals spent 2 hrs singing Antakshri and playing cards.
By the time we started back it was late afternoon. We climbed back the gorge and then took the trail down to the village. I got severly dehydrated, cramped and my legs had pain written all over it. But I enjoyed the time when I rested myself and the strange sounds of the forest under the low light of the descending sun seemed to give an eerie feeling to everything around me. I limped my way back to the front of the pack. Its amazing how Jui, showed exceptional stamina during the whole trip.
Down at the village we refreshed ourselves for the journey with the simple but tasty food of “Pithle-Bhakri”, said goodbye and started on our journey back home. The rooster in the village gave a rousing goodbye as we started our bikes. The evening stars showed the way to our bikes. It was a tiring but a wonderful trip. With pain in our bodies but smiles on our faces we said goodbye to a memorable journey.
posted by Manmeet at 7:15 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home