The Nahan Nunchuks
The limits have changed…till last year the maximum daily riding limit for BOP was a maximum of 350 kms but this year we have re-defined the limits…we have done even 550 kms in a day…that was from Mcleodganj to Gurgaon…this ride was going to be a little different as we wanted to enjoy a relaxed ride and do at the most 300 kms in a day…so we decided on the destinations as Nahan, some 280 kms from Gurgaon and it is also the hometown of our BOP rider Tomar so we didn’t have to scout for the route maps or staying options, Tomar planned everything for us...Nahan is a quite-little place some 17 kms from the Haryana-Himachal border and nestled in the foothills of Himachal… Not many riders signed up for this ride though which was a little sad as Nahan is so close to Delhi and we wanted to make it a big ride but still it was good fun…read on for the Nahan Nunchuks magic… The Nahan Nunchuks were: 1. Dips on his Black 4S Electra 2. Ajit on his Blue TB 3. Manji on his Silver 5S Electra 4. Tomar on his Red 4S Electra 5. Vihans on his Orange FZ-16 6. Che on The Mighty One Day 1(19-Sep-09) Gurgaon – Murthal – Shahpura – Kala Amb – Nahan – Dadaahu Due to the Offisial Atyachaar Event and the beer session I slept very late and woke up 30 minutes later than the planned time and reached the Gurgaon Rendezvous point later…the second time I turned up late ever for a ride…Tomar, Ajit, Vihans & Dips had already reached and I really felt bad on making them wait…we all reached the Landfill Site on NH-1 where Manji was waiting for us, we had some really awful tea and started the ride…I was really feeling sleepy and the hangover was hitting me badly…we stopped for the breakfast-break at the Ahuja Dhaba for a sumptuous meal of Paranthas, Dahi & Tea…it was thoroughly enjoyed and we started the ride again…the plan was to stop at a Theka some 80-90 kms later but I got a call from Dips at 9:30 AM that he had a rear tyre puncture and told us to wait, all this time Tomar was with him that’s why we didn’t go back…we waited at a Dhaba for some tea and Sutta…Dips & Tomar came at 11 AM and then we made our next planned stop at a Highway Theka near Shahbad…a long BBB session followed and some chilled beer & pics later we were up & running again for the last leg towards Nahan… The heat was really bad and when we hit the Haryana-Himachal border we had to wait at a railway crossing for some 30-40 minutes in excruciating heat and loads of dust…the wait was endless indeed…but after that the solace was some 20 kms of Hill Riding from Kala-Amb to Nahan where we reached at 2 PM and straight went to Tomar’s Home…please note Tomar would be henceforth known as Kunwar-Ji due to his mighty standing in the Nahan District…everybody knew him there and the rest of us also got extra attention due to his special stature!!! We had been invited to Kunwar Ji’s home for lunch by his mother…and boy-ohh-boy what a meal it was…gastronomical delight…she had made a special Himachali Dish for us and that tasted superb… After the heavy(really heavy) meal we left for Dadaahu where we were to stay overnight…its some 35 kms from Nahan and is an even sleepier town… En-route we stopped at a Waterfall which was beautiful and was very high…we could actually see the mouth of the waterfall and decided to trek towards it…I gave up midway as the uphill stairs were too much for me and I just didn’t have any strength left to reach the top and came back to the base but Kunwar Ji, Dips & Manji made it to the top and had a great time there, surely after the tough trek it was a beautiful sight… All this while me, Vihans & Ajit kept biding away our time doing some good-hearted Bakchodi while sitting on the road…we all reached Dadaahu at 6:30 PM and were to stay at the Government Rest House where Kunwar Ji had booked 2 rooms for us…but the biggest surprise was coming our way…No Smoking & Drinking in the premises…that was a shocker for all of us and one which he had hidden from us all this while!!! We entered with a heavy heart, rested for a bit and after weighing all the options decided to go outside for a BBB session at an Ahaata – I am sure all Gurgaon people would know what an Ahaata is !!! I decided to catch up on some sleep and joined the guys later at 9 PM…it was badly needed as I had just slept for 4 hours the last night…I reached the Ahaata where the Bakchodi Session was in full flow, we finished the drinks session and went for dinner to a quaint looking restaurant where the food was OK to say the least…didn’t enjoy it one single bit and went back to the rest-house disappointed… All-in-all a great day…Breakfast @ Murthal (sounds like Breakfast at Tiffany’s!!!), riding in the heat, theka session, the sumptuous lunch at Kunwar Ji’s Home, the Ahaata BBB Session & the not-so-good dinner later we all called it a day and slept as some really tired-riders!!! Day 2(20-Sep-09) Dadaahu – Renuka Ji – Jammu Koti – Dadaahu – Nahan It was going to be a relaxed day and we all woke up gingerly amidst some bright sunlight…nothing like the misty-mountain mornings one expects in the hilly areas…it looked like a Gurgaon Morning scene to me!!! very sunny & warm…we were all ready and raring to go by 9:30 Am…the next stop was a small-little breakfast joint where Kunwar Ji once had a meal some 4-5 years back…we all followed him and reached the place…a heavenly setting indeed…nice-fragrance of fresh Chhole, a river flowing just beneath us and a very quiet place…and the food was even better…one of the best breakfasts I ever had in my life… After the dream breakfast our next stop was the Renuka Ji Temple, Lake & the Zoo… We decided to take our bikes inside as walking was not much of an option due to the heat…stopped first for the customary bike-lineup pics... And then for the best sight of them all…the lion enclosure…where one lion & 3 lionesses were roaming around frantically…growling away to glory…maybe they wanted to get into some raunchy acts of their own but for the boundary…their grunts were really scary and scared the shit out of us inspite of the very high boundary…we enjoyed the classic sights and it was the first time I was up-close & personal with the King of the Jungle…a mighty sight indeed…there were also 8-9 black bears in their enclosure playing in the water pond…the next stop was the Leopard enclosure but there was no sight of the beast…we all decided to go near the room and peeped through the windows of a dark room and bingo…with our camera flash guns we could sight the leopard resting inside and looking gingerly at us…he obliged us with some close camera shots… Kunwar Ji, Manji & Vihans then went to seek the almighty’s blessings at the Renuka Ji Temple and the rest of us found a Machaan/View Point site where we were to engage in the next BBB session…it was overlooking the lake and the lion’s roars were still audible in the background…a great place for the BBB session… We had real great fun and then Kunwar Ji came up with an idea to enjoy some off-roading fun enroute to Jammu Koti which was some 40 kms away…we were all game for it and went ahead…and what a road it was…or should I say what a non-road it was…pure off-roading with no trace of tar, loads of stones, mud & slush…a crazy high for any rider worth his salt…halfway into that ride we realized that Ajit was nowhere to be seen and when we called him he said he was stuck with his gears not working and there was no way that he could ride uphill on that crazy road…we all were really sad as we badly wanted to reach the mountain top but had no other option than to go back…but for some good measure Dips brought out the bottle of Rum which was soon gulped away by Kunwar Ji & him… Sadly we started the downhill ride and met Ajit where he was waiting for us…his gears were completely stuck and he was riding in the 4th gear continuously…but the tough rider he is, he never flinched even once and kept fighting on…I was leading the pack and then stopped at a Theka for another BBB Pit-Stop!!! Sadly Kunwar Ji didn’t drink any beer as he had to visit his home at Nahan; he was surely looking very frustrated & flustered…one can imagine his plight… We reached the Nahan Rest-House and took some much-needed rest, Tomar went to his home and then came back to join us…we all went to the only Bar in Nahan – The City Heart Bar!!! One dingy place…the kinds bars must be…not the lush & posh Lounge Bars one gets to visit in Gurgaon…there were couple of local drunkards who joined us and we all engaged in some good-hearted Bakchodi…Ajit was more than interested in one of them!!! Just to mention it was the first time BOP were at a Bar…by now you know how much we engage in alcoholic fun but had not visited a bar together…this was history-in-making for us!!! We reached the hotel at 12 and then slept away to glory after enjoying another fun-filled day…the best breakfast I had, crazy off-roading fun, 2 BBB Pit-Stops, the first BOP Bar session and the Wildlife Fiesta…the day had it all… Day 3(21-Sep-09) Nahan – Panipat – Delhi – Gurgaon The last day of any ride is surely the sad one but at BOP no ride days are sad days and we make sure that we enjoy each day to the fullest…this day was no different…we had another sumptuous breakfast at Kunwar Ji’s home…hot stuffed Paranthas, Raita & Sewain ki Kheer!!! We all got stuffed to the brim and were in no mood to ride after that than to just sleep our heart out!!! We finally started at 12 PM from his home for our return ride…the heat was getting on to us and we decided to make the customary beer pit-stop…another great BBB session…we all took our chairs to a nearby Sugarcane field and had beer there with some local snacks which we bought from a roadside vendor…beer at a lounge bar is one thing but beer in the open fields is one experience which everybody must indulge in…I am sure nobody would be left disappointed after that… The ride after this stop was filled heat, dust & crammed roads till we joined the NH-1 at Shahbad, where atleast we could zip at 80-90 kmph and also didn’t feel the heat much due to the open roads… We kept riding on till Panipat and then stopped for a very late lunch at 6 PM at a Highway Dhaba…the Dhaba had no visitors till we entered…after seeing 6 bikes parked, soon the place was brimming of people…and then we watched a riding spectacle…1 bike came and stopped and when the pillion removed her helmet we were all shocked beyond wits…the pillion was a 60-something aunty and the rider was of the same age as well…true examples of living life in a way which is generally called rebellious by the general population…both of them were truly inspirational and proved that age is no barrier for the adventurous!!! The Ride ended with a Beer-Stop at Gurgaon where we celebrated the end of another BOP Bike Ride…no major mishaps and no change of plans…the hot weather played a dampener but as true bikers we didn’t let it come in our way and had a blast nonetheless…the courtesy extended to us hungry bikers at Kunwar Ji’s home was a true pleasure indeed…thanks a ton to his mother who laid out the delicacies for us… The Pics of the Ride: 1. Tomar:http://picasaweb.google.co.in/lh/sredir?uname=sankettomar&target=ALBUM&id=5383972490923120369&authkey=Gv1sRgCITX5OW38ozF1wE&invite=CIeEm50E&feat=email 2. Che: http://picasaweb.google.co.in/jha.nishant/TheNahanNunchuks?feat=directlink 3. Manji: http://picasaweb.google.co.in/manjinder.singh82/NahanNunchucks02# The Lion-Roar Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iXdPJVKj04 Information about Nahan: 1. http://www.mustseeindia.com/Nahan 2. http://www.himachaltravelblog.com/2009/08/06/nahan-and-renuka/ 3. http://www.amritworld.com/main/gurdwaras/gurdwara-sri-dashmesh-asthan-nahan/ 4. http://indiaholidayguide.blogspot.com/2009/01/nahan-himachal-pradesh.html Che would be back on the road again… Till then ride safe & have safe sex… Hasta la Victoria Siempre…