Engineers Night-Out (Sept’10)

Engineers Night-Out (Sept'10)

“Enough is enough. I can’t go on without a ride now. It’s been some five freaking months that I rode.” That’s something that I told myself before I asked Karan, Chandan & Someshwar for the night-out ride last weekend. The agony of not being able to find a suitable job was already upon me. In such circumstances, what better than a weekend ride could be there to settle down the rush?

Visit to the Bangla Sahib Gurudwara at midnight, a quick & desperate meal at McDonalds at Manesar, some delicious omelettes with tea at Yusuf Sarai & finally at dawn, a perfect end to the night-out with a superb cappuccino at Comesum Restaurant at NZM Railway Station, it was all in store for us that night. And all this came up with a calm ride down the road on that dark night & some amazing photographs that we managed to click while onboard.

It was all planned & locked, only when Someshwar knocked off his presence due to some birthday ceremony at his relative’s. We were left three but still good to go. I called Chandan at 08:30PM in the evening and asked him to be ready & put on some tough shoes; he was to be my pillion for the ride. I picked him up at 10:30PM & we moved towards Krishna Nagar crossing where Karan was supposed to meet us. It was Chandan’s debut night-out with us; the regular wanderers, and undoubtedly, he looked excited about the whole experience. Karan came a few minutes later at the spot, while I & Chandan scheduled the ride. However, the plan had to be revised as Karan showed anxiety for the world famous Yusuf Sarai’s omelettes & wanted to hop on some delicacies at the end, I couldn’t resist them myself. And thus, we decided to head to Bangle Sahib first and then further continue to Manesar. All set, we rode towards CP ablaze through the Vikas Marg.

RIDES & THE RIDERS:

HH HUNK: Rahul (Me) with Chandan as Pillion

Pulsar200: Karan

That's me... The Wanderer...

Karan & Chandan

Bangla Sahib Gurudwara, CP

It was a warm night, though I was expecting downpour in the first place looking at the situation that prevailed a few days back. Karan had his fair share of rain protection, but I & the debut (k)night were flying with our smooth tees ON. The stretch from Laxmi Nagar to I.T.O. is one amazing tarmac to sweep, especially at night when creatures like us come out of the hound. In no time, blazing our machines on those metalled roads, we reached Bangla Sahib & parked our rides in the underground parking lot.

Flawless Beauty...

The aura of relief was already there while we made our way to the Gurudwara. And the very first thing you notice when you enter such premise, is the humongous amount of lighting. The positive lights themselves fill you with relief & contentment. The Gurudwara was built by Sardar Bhagel Singh in 1783. Originally this place was the Bungalow (Haveli) of Mirza Raja Jai Singh, hence the name Bangla Sahib. The main hall comprises of the shrines & museum artifacts of Sikh Gurus. Once we bowed heads before them, we headed towards the Holy Sarovar, whose waters are considered as “Amrit” by Sikhs. It is supposedly mandatory to walk around the Sarovar for once atleast to complete the worship. Some people opt to take the holy bath at the Sarovar while others settle with drinking the water & sprinkling it on their face. And also, one should worship the “Nishan Sahib”, a pole covered with orange cloth with a white light source at the top, used as an indicator for visitors to lead them there.

Chandan & Me...

A different view...

Karan, Me & Chandan... At Bangla Sahib

The Holy Sarovar

Once we were through one big round of the Sarovar, it was midnight already. We decided to hang around for a while & found ourselves some space in the corridors built right next to the Sarovar. These corridors are meant to be the resting place for worshippers who come from distant places to visit the Gurudwara. We sat & we chatted long hours there. I & Chandan, being the degree holders now, suggested Karan (currently in final year of the same relentless course ) regarding future references & what one should opt to ensure smooth way ahead of their studies. Though, I needed the discussion the most. I was spell-bound by looking at the beautiful colors of the Sarovar, when the Gurudwara threw its shadow on the waters and couldn’t resist myself from clicking some astounding photographs. It was 01:30AM & we realized that our bikes had waited quite long to set themselves ablaze at the NH-8 to Manesar. With this thought, we got hold of our machines & rode towards Gurgaon via Dhaula Kuan. Again, some beautiful stretches with CWG Delhi-2010 patches on the blue lane, welcomed us. Although bikers make their own lane, we respect the integrity connected with CWG for all Indians. And here’s when I wished the best for the games.

Nice click!

Riding down the NH-8 has always been a treat for me as a biker. The best part is that I can be myself and ride without worrying about the traffic, for there isn’t any at that God forbidden time. In some odd 15 minutes after we crossed the Toll Plaza, we reached McDonald’s Restaurant on NH-8 at Manesar, our next stop for the night. Now that’s a place I’d love to visit everyday & night. While we parked our rides, a bunch of guys with some oooooomph-looking gals made their way out of the premises. “We are late. But the place looks good!!!” The first-timer said so. I & Karan, on the other hand were almost aware of the kind of crowd one can expect there. The moment we put our first step inside, we spotted what we were best at, three super-hot chicks sporting minis with flowery spaghetti tops sitting down the corner. I was stunned to look at them as they looked like they were at a party or something, but that’s just regular for the place. We East-Delhi guys are not used to such gestures u see. Neither we ever get lucky. But reflex couldn’t be constrained & our reactions were:

McDonald's (NH-8, Manesar)

Karan: “Awesome!! What else could we expect here?? These must be from some nearby college hostel. It’s gonna be fun…”

Me: “Holy sh.. Mann, that one in green spaghetti!!! Ohh God… she just looked at me!”

Chandan: (pressing my biceps) “Tum yeh galat jagah le aaye mujhe itni raat ko…”

That comment made us all laugh our hearts out. Somehow we settled tight near them, obviously coz in such a situation the most feasible place to seat yourself is the place near the hotties While Karan seemed less conscious about the company & more concerned about the order as he dealed with the menu, I was somehow managing to stare at the lustrous pink lips above green spaghetti, God she was a stunner to look at. And Chandan, forget it… He was barely comfortable in the chair. The excitement killed itself soon, as the girls left the place leaving every guy present there disappointed & feel like losers as if they just lost the IPL finals. Once they were out, life came back to normal. All of a sudden, McDonald’s was transformed to a dhaba. Chandan seemed relaxed, Karan was out to order some foodies & I chanted to Chandan, “She wasn’t that good, not my type though…” To which I received a scary & shut-the-fuck-up look. Ahead was my favorite part, McD’s burgers with French fries & some drinks, soft though. The food was delicious & so could be the pink lips (if I had my chances)

“Yaar… When I’m gonna hang out with some chick like the one in green spaghetti??” I said with my head down on the table, remembering the vibe she left me in. Chandan said waking me up, “Wake up dumbass, we’ll have our chances”. That, apparently was shocking as it came from Chandan, who was once settling his pants the moment we entered the place. But that surely woke me up & I returned to my senses.

Chandan & Karan at the tea-shop

The clock hit 03:30AM and it was time to head for the next stop, which was the tea-shop near AIIMS at Yusuf Sarai. This time Chandan accompanied Karan on his P200 while I rode alone, just the way I’d always prefer. We followed the Vasant Vihar route via IIT Delhi and reached the tea-shop at 04:10AM. It didn’t seem that we were the only ones awake so early, a dozen people gathered there to enjoy the lovely omelettes & morning tea. While a few cars were there as well, must be the party animals returning to base. Karan ordered what we were there for, while Chandan settled for a prantha with some tea. The morning freshness was present & it almost seemed that the hot breakfast was served. It was a well spent time; especially coz I got a chance to get away from the usual weekdays. We finished our meals & thus our time at our 3^rd stop for the ride. Next & the last was Comesum Restaurant on the list. Without wasting any more time watching the Chai-walas & sweepers who looked confused on seeing us with bikes at that hour, we rode towards Nizamuddin Railway Station via South Ex.

At Comesum, NZM Railway Station

At 05:20AM, we were there. Comesum is one of the renowned food junctions in Delhi and quite known among wanderers like us for 24 hours campaign of non-stop fooding. It ensures stylish interiors, soft music, and a variety of cuisines like Indian, Chinese, Mughal and Continental foods. And nevertheless, the crowd it gets is one good a reason to hop on sometime. The place usually comes alive between 1AM to 4AM, yea I’m not kidding..!! Call centre CABs, people returning from late night parties or even the travelers waiting for their trains at the NZM Railway Station are there to be seen. All in all, a perfect place to end our night-out ride. The crowd was fetish there as well, but this time we were more controlled & were tired enough to be excited. To keep it simple, we ordered coffee to couple it with the sandwiches. The night-out was flowing as we expected. While we sat in the outside lawn under the umbrellas, I managed to click some random pics.

Some random clicks!

Some random clicks!

Yea.. The frolick!!

Some random clicks!

It was fun, frolick, amazing (especially at McD’s) & full of energy. Some people are of the opinion now, that we should have coupled the night with some hard drinks to keep up with the spirits, to which I declare, “We are bikers! Our spirits don’t need fake spirits…” We are better & will continue this way. Nothing is more enjoyable than being with friends around. Till next time, when the riding bug bites me again, take care friends & stay safe.

Peace out for now,

Rahul Arora (blogburner)