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| The Group Minus Ramesh and Murgesh |
Summer of 1991 – that’s the year my family moved in to our
home in Mukund Nagar. Most of my fond memories here are filled with the antics
of my friends; Friends who are so different – we didn’t realize then.
20 years now in the future we are all wrapped in the fabric
of our own worlds but never miss a chance to look back and to laugh AT one
another. Whatsapp is our common platform for connectivity. Virtually, yes we
are in the same territory but in reality we have embraced other cities to
follow the rat race.
So when Rajan (The Dark Knight – The most Dravidian of us
all – atleast complexion wise ;-) ) made this brave decision (after permission
from his wife) to take 4 days off and visit Pune – just to chill out and not
work, it was an apt reason to let the others know to keep a weekend free. Raj,
Bala and Murgesh were positive to the idea. I, as you know am always ready.
Ramesh and Kanna confirmed on the last day and thus was planned our Reunion of
2012.
P.S. Josie my friend was also roped in by me – well he
doesn’t have much to do in life anyways.
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| The Hitch-Hikers |
Royal Enfield Classic 500 Black, Desert Storm and a Thunder
Bird – Our partners for the ride
3 bikes, 6 friends, 4 will ride to Pune and 2 will join them
at Chandni Chowk and off they will ride to Lavassa and back to Pune and then to
Khandala by late evening to catch up with Murgesh and Kanna. That was the
whole, short and sweet Plan.
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| Ramesh - DevAnand of Mukund Nagar |
My humble request to Raj, Bala, Ramesh and Joseph was that
they call me when they reach Talegaon, so that I leave then from my abode and
meet them at Chandni Chowk – service road turn to Lavassa off NH4. These morons
called up at 10.30 am saying they have reached. They left Bhandup Gaon at 8.30
am and that left me lost in my wits wondering – how did this happen? A quick
shower and we zoomed as crazily as we could towards NH4. It was a prank, we
realized – 1 hour 15 minutes later the bitchy lot arrive with laughter that
invited a bullet shot. It was hot and hence the wait was agonizingly long and
we were well behind in our schedule as well.
Ramesh aka Idli was experiencing the first bike ride of his
life. His first sentence (even before a Hello or Wassup) – “how the hell do
these guys ride so far so often man, my bum just died” ;-) (Translated from
Tamil of course)
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| Biker Brothers |
The initial 10 – 15 km’s (Paud road) seemed like we were
still in the city. It’s only after we crossed Pirangut and took a left, I
really started enjoying the ride. We rode till a little before of Mutha Dam and
decided to take a break - A pit stop to click some pictures. What followed was
a half an hour of multiple clicks to capture riders on the bullet across
various turns and speeds and aperture and angles and what not. The whole
photography activity was so serious that a couple of guys in their car stopped
to ask if there is some movie shoot going on – and I am not kidding here. I
wonder who they thought the hero was – Raj or Rajan or me…hmm!
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| Mutha Dam |
The sight of the Mutha Dam was amazing. We didn’t stop but
the pillion riders with the Cameras did a good job at capturing the
magnificence. Josie became a daredevil photographer with the DSLR in one hand
and clicking in all directions while Raj was twisting and turning at 90 km/hr
or more. Josie didn’t even look through the viewfinder or the LCD screen to
check on what he wanted to shoot. He was just click click click with one hand–
So good. The entry to Lavassa is more or less like Aamby Valley. We got our
bike numbers registered and entered Lavassa. The river front is another few
kilometers down from here. We were very hungry. We stopped at Ekant for a nice
lunch buffet. The grilled fish was mind blasting. Rabdi with Jalebi ended our
hunger drought perfectly.
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| DareDevil Josie |
By the waterfront promenade we took some nice photographs.
The colors of the adjacent buildings just added to the charm of the place. The
promenade has some nice coffee shops with chairs placed outside to sit, have a
cuppa and enjoy the beautiful mountains, the river and the crazy visitors like
us. It was already close to 5. We had to head to Khandala where our other mates
Murgesh and Kanna had already reached. They had checked into the hotel and we
were only just out of Lavassa – well, only to return back to Lavassa. Why? Read
on.
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| Lavassa Promenade |
Almost 30 km’s off Lavassa Rajan got a call from the Lavassa
security that I had left something behind. Rajan was the pillion with Raj. They
were ahead of us. So they waited for me and Ramesh (my pillion) to reach. Rajan
who was carrying my backpack and had left it at Lavassa, innocently asks me
‘Vinos what have you left behind’ and I scream “Duh! My bag, which was with
you’ – careless Dravidian, I say. For a moment everybody was quiet until all of
us broke into laughter. Here we were at the dusk of the day; still some 100 kms
away from Khandala and now have to go back to Lavassa to get the bag. Raj
decided that he and Josie will go back and we head to Khandala to catch-up with
the punctual friends in the hotel. The logic was simple – Raj will cover the
distance in half the time that I or Bala would take :-) Kudos Raj!!
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| Raj and Josie - going back to Lavassa to get my Bag |
From here except for a chai break we didn’t stop anywhere
and reached Khandala by 8.30 pm. Raj reached at 10 pm by when our sores were
better and we had already reached a hotel for dinner. It was a shady bar and
restaurant called Diamond opposite Kumar Resort in Lonavla. Our entertainment
here was a group of 25 guys sitting ahead of us and singing old Hindi songs in
inebriated condition. The food wasn’t great but we decided on something very
realistic here. We decided to ride to Tiger Point (en-route Aamby valley). Perfect!
3 bullets and 8 people @ almost the midnight :-)
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| Triple seat @ Tiger Point |
The ride up to Tiger point was smooth and without any dramas
– thank god! Raj’s Classic and my Desert Storm transported 3 each and Bala was
on his Thunderbird was with Rajan. It was pitch dark all the way. Once at top we
were surprised as there were a lot of revelers like us in their cars and bikes
and playing loud music and even dancing. Chai tapri’s were open and even
serving bhajiyas at this hour of the night. We did some time pass, clicked some
pictures and rode back. Near Bushy Dam a cop caught us for riding triple seat.
But he lost focus on us when he found a car with alcohol bottles in them and
went on to fine them a few thousands leaving us unattended. We slipped away.
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| Rajan's Dream Run |
By the time we slept, it was 3 am and Ramesh was close to
tears. Bala and Rajan pulled Ramesh’s leg so much that he begged them to stop
at one point. Bala (who otherwise is very silent) was in form that day and
bought back all the memories of Ramesh that he tries so hard to bury ;-)
By the end of the reunion I fulfilled one of Rajan’s long
held dream. A Dream of riding a Bull in the ghats. While coming back to Pune –
Bidding Adieu to the rest, Rajan rode my Bull from Lonavla till Hinjewadi. I
could sense the free spirit he had hidden somewhere within.
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| Bala and Me |
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| Entry to Lavassa |
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| @ Tiger Point |
