Murthal Calling (Chapter 5)

Murthal Calling (Chapter 5)

“There’s no fuckin way that I’m goin with ya”, “Dude, you’re crazy or what?”, “You kidding right?”, “Are you in your senses?”, “Looks like you guys are gonna get your asses whooped”, “A night-out in this freakin weather, you’re gonna kill yourself I tell you”, “Blow your heads off, I have a family to take care of”, “I’m not fond of being a pain in my own ass, you go ahead”.

Those were some common replies I got while I confronted people with my plan for a night-out ride to Murthal last weekend. The more the gobs, the more the talks. People didn’t seem to take me seriously, though I wasn’t in a mood to back down.  The chill was ON & so were my spirits for a weekend ride. Having known that I’d have to leave the town in a month or so, it wasn’t easy for me at all to rest in the warm quilt on that saturday night. I had something else on my mind but as the time for ignition narrowed, so did my plans. I, with agreement of the co-riders, shortened the ride to Murthal, which was initially planned to stretch upto Karnal, Haryana. Amidst the chaos of weather conditions & certain disagreements, the four of us managed to jot down several miles on our odos, while others stayed back & did what they had to. The ride that eventually could turn out to be my last one before I left was underway.

THE RIDES & THE WANDERERS:

• HUNK: Rahul (with Chandan as Pillion)
• P200: Karan
• P150: Devesh aka Ballu

That's me... The wanderer...

The gang...

Beware!!

“Fuck man, I’m covered from head-to-toe with woolens but still shivering”, Chandan said as he adjusted himself on the pillion seat. He almost looked like a gangster in disguise with mufflers, woolen jacket & gloves. And when I asked him the reason of such arrangements, he told me, “There’s no way my mom could let me out without these”, referring to his extra-cover shield to avoid the chill. Devesh had referred the night-out as my Birthday celebrations in order to get away with his Dad’s consent. He met me at Chandan’s. I was amazed on faking my birthday for the 3^rdtime in the same year for Devesh’s Dad. Earlier, during the 2^nd chapter of Murthal ride, I excused it to be Devesh’s birthday at my place while he did mine. And without this knowledge, I reached his place to pick him up & was surprised on being wished by his younger brother. “It’s your birthday right? Happy Birthday bhaiya”, his brother said with a wide grin, to which I replied, “Yeah..?? Ohh, yea.. Thanks bro!!”

Me n Ballu

Chandan n Karan

Well that was fun. This time, everything went smooth. Karan joined us at Welcome Metro Station. It was 11:10PM already & we had a long night to live. Karan was having his fair share of woolens as well. “Ohh goshh… My interiors are freezing already. Dunno how I’m gonna get through the night. You are insane Rahul, you got me into this”, Devesh cried digging his hands in his gloves. To this, we laughed & started the off ride. Making our way through I.S.B.T. Kashmere gate, we reached Monastery where we were supposed to take a “Smoke halt” as directed by Devesh earlier. While he fired some of his smokes, the three of us chatted about some worthless engineering stuff. Devesh as usual was pissed off with the studies, so he stayed away from the discussion. And when it got rigidly intolerable for him, he intervened & out of nowhere started a fresh topic for discussion “Who makes the best sneakers, Puma, Nike, Reebok or Adidas??” That was sensible for him though. Devesh was delivering his dominating speech while I noticed a Police vehicle slowing down near us by the roadside. I looked at Chandan while he tried hiding behind the muffler he covered his face with even more. Soon, the policemen left, must have been a patrolling vehicle.

Karan on his No.46

A photography stop...

That's me!

Clock hit 00:00AM & we hit the road again. Next stop was to be at Singhu Border, a smoke halt as well as to get away with some chill. However, while riding towards Narela, I noticed a wide stretch with immense lighting & smooth tarmac. I immediately signaled others to stop by the side for a photography session. I clicked some not-so-clear photographs with my humble N70 2MP lens while others chit-chatted. We rode again. Chandan looked frustrated & had that why-am-I-even-doin-this look on his face. But we tried our best to keep everyone else contained. We talked while we rode slowly & made our way to Singhu Border no NH1. Soon after 35 minutes, we crossed Singhu Border. I signaled Devesh to look out for the Omlette shop; we had stopped at the last time we rode to Murthal in winters. Such shops by the highway usually keep fire lightened in chilling winters. I spotted such a shop with a few men had lightened fire & were selling omlettes at the same time. Hot omlettes & fire, both suited our choices quite well. While Chandan vowed to keep away from non-veg, the three of us hoped on the omlettes. Fire was soothing for sure. I asked Chandan to turn his ass in front of the fire to enjoy the warmth where it really mattered , for it was bone-chilling breeze at that time. We managed to have a good time there, enjoyed the lovely omlettes & had some tea at the end. “How much do you eat creeps? We have to ride now. Let’s go!!”, Devesh shouted, though he seemed funny enough. Whipping the dew from the seats, we hit the road.

Buddies...

Colors!

Warming up...

In no time, setting our bikes ablaze the empty highway, we reached Sukhdev Dhaba, Murthal at 01:40AM. Paranthas were on the menu already, except for the Pizza this time. But believe me, don’t even think about ordering that Pizza ever, for you don’t want to curse the entire Italian Civilization henceforth. It was horrible guys. Chapattis & Pizzas are similar at Dhabas. The moment the waiter brought the order, the four of us looked as pale as the Pizza base. It was awesomely weird. I turned down the one bite I took & almost vowed to quit eating Pizzas for life. Somehow, that thing disappeared from the table. Chandan & Devesh managed to help themselves Soon, the much awaited hot paranthas were served. And that’s when we felt the fruit of riding that far. We shared funny talkies as we saw some awesome chicks around. In no time, tea was served, but again Devesh was responsible enough to feel the lack of ginger. While all of us enjoyed the hot tea, Devesh called up the waiter & got his share replaced with another one with oodles of ginger. “Yaar tumhari toh chai bhi ghatiya ho gayi hai, kar kya rahe ho. Dhaba band karna hai kya?”, Devesh asked the waiter who looked as nervous as if he was denied VISA for a tourist visit to Miami. Quickly, the needful was done & finally Devesh looked satisfied. That was a funny experience though; the way he looked at the Pizza was even funnier.

Devesh & Karan at Sukhdev Dhaba

We decided to leave the Dhaba and head towards Havelis for getting hold of some paneer-tikkas. We headed for the parking & clicked some photographs. But that was a disappointment as well, for it was a closure at Havelis & nothing but dinner was being served. It was 03:45AM already, so we decided to roll back from there. We got hold of our bikes which were soaking the chill in the open parking area & flew back to our land.

The crew...

Machines feeling the chill...

Terrorists feeling the chill...

You don't want him around...

While returning, it was almost snowing on us and seemed like the temperature dropped to minus scale. I couldn’t even feel if Chandan was still there behind me or not, for he wasn’t moving at all. The rush ended at the tea-shop in Dilshad Garden where we got hold of several turns of tea & a not-so-delicious omlette. We talked about varied stuff. Devesh was stalking about his unusual midnight experiences with chicks, while I blabbered all about biking & touring to ladakh. Chandan followed Devesh’s words & was in favor of dedicating his time to Devesh’s hypothetical book named “101 ways to get a girl” henceforth.

Go!!!!

Somewhere amidst the chants & the joy, I realized that it’d be gone once I moved out of town for job. But the next moment I thought that these are the moments that’ll make me smile forever & ever, even when I’m away from home. Life’s unimaginable without an eagerness to live, a supportive friend, a stomach-aching laughter with buddies, a prosperous ride on your bike, a drop of tear rolling down the eye when you hear good news & loving your parents immensely.

Peace out folks,

Rahul Arora (blogburner)