The dividing line..

Why do I jump the fence?
Only to fall deep into the ocean that it protects.
Swimming against the currents that surround me.
The waters that appear so beautiful, clear and blue,
pacifying me with their soothing notes,
now are despicably salty, and burn my senses.
Now, back out of the water,
I try hard to jump back over the fence.
It seems higher - so much more difficult to jump back over
than it was to jump in..
The ocean had drained me.
I dared not look back lest the waters lure me in again..
But, now believing I can jump back over,
I try, with all my might,
and, possibly, succeed.
I cannot look back again.
I must not.
For if I do, I shall once again feel drawn to it,
mesmerising as it is on the other side of the fence..
But, I fear for myself - for I won't survive again.
I shall only drown and lose myself,
never to be able to find myself again.
I grip the fence tight.
I look back at the ocean.
For no matter how hard I try,
it's memories remain with eyes closed.
I must see it. Watch it's graceful waves.
Stare into it's beauty, yet feel my hand bleed,
a perfect compliment to my heart.
For I dare not jump over again.
Why should I jump over the fence?
Why...do I want to again??

It's all relative...

"A minute spent with a loved one feels like a second, while a minute on a hot stove feels like an hour." How true the words of Einstein, his "theory of relativity". However, it's a bit different with speed. The feeling is very similar though...

Still recovering from the stage where realisation dawns that a dream from the future just hit reality bigtime, waaay sooner than expected, I can say I am truly awed at the true meaning of certain things taken for granted. How fast is fast? How slow is slow?

"Go slow!", she yelled at me... We were on the 20bhp Pulsar 220 doin about 60. "My Kine doesn't even go 60!" 60, to her, was fast. Yeah, with a bike like that, to me, 130 was fast! Yet here I was, just a few months down the line, with a massive 315bhp V8 engined 4x4 super-sedan, needle past 200! And boy how soon did she get there! The scenery turns into a total blur as you floor that pedal, and feel the shove into the back of your seat. The safety belts tense up and hold you there. The acceleration, for me, was brutal! 210... 220... Traffic! Brake down to 60 in under 3 seconds. Feeling the G-force squish me. That was fast! Yes, to me it was...

Then there's the Murcielago. The Zonda. The Veyron. And, of course, F1 cars. 100 comes up in 3, or even 2.5 seconds. F1 cars do 0-200-0 in 5.5 seconds dead. No Veyron or Aero TT can match that yet. It's all relative. If I had a Veyron, fast would be 407!

Day 6..

We had the whole day to spend in Manali, get acclimatised and get our bikes checked. A few picture sessions later, we were in the main market, the MG road of Manali... A variety of handicrafts, services, sweets, foods - South Indian, Punjabi, "Chainees" and of course local flavors.. The Hadimbamata temple was just up the road from there and they had a yak you could get on, as well a guy with a (sedated, but rather deranged looking) python, that you could have around your neck and get your picture taken...

That apart, the tall trees and bustling marketplace were the major distractions there. Now we went looking for a Bull garage, and luckily there was one right near our hotel, albeit a good few bends away. My bro Ashish had his bike taken care of, and I got my crashbar welded - no surprise something broke, considering the roads leading up to here.. But better now than later, cos it was only gonna get worse. On our way back, a bakery caught our eye, and we decided to pay a visit later.

Cafe Amigos - German Bakery it was. A few tables, picture postcards of Manali hangin around, psychedelic art work by the DJ, and a fresh baked counter made up the interior. And then when GNR hit my ears, I felt that I'd just entered the Toons of Manali :) What followed was too good to be true - Nirvana, The Doors, Van Halen and the like.. Add the good food and the insane cakes and this was fast becoming a place we wouldn't wanna leave! But leave we did, cos we had to... After the night was done, we'd have to leave early, very early, for the place where most of us would encounter snow for the very first time ever - Rohtang La.

Pre-dinner plans included fuelling, and the nearest fuel station was on the way to Rohtang, a few kms through Manali. On the way back, we were greeted by a sight, which to me was pathetic. A Safari had gone off the road and half of it was stuck in the gutter. Apparently a boulder had bounced off the bonnet and destroyed the windshield. If only he had opted for the 4x4, it certainly would've been another story.. But it wasn't a 4x4, so a lot of burnt rear rubber later, he gave up, and they evacuated. We headed back for our final slumber in Manali.

Day 5...

With sunrise an 5am and sunset at 8pm, we had to leave early, Manali was calling, and we were more than happy to get on and get going... So off we went, through Punjab, where every excellent piece of highway, unfortunately, had a detour that took us mud-plugging for a few hundred metres, but it was cool...

Then came Manali Ghat, a brilliant series of twisties, accentuated by the river Beas flowing in the valley alongside... Save for a traffic jam due to a truck spill that would've taken hours to leave behind, had we not been on bikes, the way was a-ok...

Now heading towards Mandi, we had all fanned out as the road widened, and narrowed, and widened again; through corners and crowds... About 40 kms later, I decided to check status... 4 were far ahead, 2 were far behind. And after a forsaken 180° fork in the road, I barely headed onto a freshly paved road, and had a small spill on the loose gravel.. Minor bruises, ok. Back up, and about just abt 4 kms ahead was the waiting party, just 2 of 4, again.

As we headed up to the final ghat that led to Manali, the mountains appeared taller, the air crisper, the roads curvier and the river too had gotten more vocal... Clouds lined the afternoon skies - a warning of the approaching downpour. A couple of softdrinks later, and the 2 remaining bulls having caught up, our group of 5 headed out...

What followed was truly out of sheer fantasy - movies or video games whatever turns your crank... Steep mountains with unbelievable rock overhangs on one side and a sheer drop into a river of freezing cold rushing white water on the other, all on a twisting road with a breathtaking view...

The others were up ahead at a riverside restaurant for a cuppa tea and some bites.. As light rain fell from the darkening skies, we decided it was never too soon to leave, for the last thing we needed was doing another long bit of the very same terrain in darkness... And left we did, only to stop again for a link-bridge that spread over the raging river... A few clicks later, we were on the move again. Coming up was a tunnel that signalled our arrival at Manali - close to 30°C as we entered, there was a massive drop in temperature as we proceeded through what was almost 2 kms of dark mountain shaft, with the steady thump of the Bulls echoing in full glory as we neared the other end. Then came the light at the end of the tunnel, followed by the chill of the cold mountain air. As unbelievable as it may seem, the temperature must've dropped at least 10°C from one end to the other, as we exited the tunnel... The view was heavenly now, and for the very first time for so many of us - in the distance we could see a snow-capped peak!

The air was alive with excitement as we plodded on towards the ice, feeling it's call urging us to push harder, move quicker.. Manali beckoned. We rode on, the Beas noisily rushing past in the opposite direction, and with rafting points coming up, we slowed again to take in the scenery, and more pictures...

The growth of cottages, bungalows and inns made it evident that we were now approaching the city. We found a nice, rather new place with fantastic accomodation, but were forced to look elsewhere because of the asking price. But then, that was a good thing, cos we hadn't actually entered city limits yet, and the toll gate we had to go through made that pretty obvious. Thankfully, a hotel agent had his pull, and we moved onto the place we were supposed to put up at for the next day... Traffic was a pain, and after a few winding roads and turns, we were there - a quaint little place with all we really needed to stay the two nights. One of the guys was called "Cookie", and everyone got cheap thrills in yelling for him every few minutes, and so it became something that would remain a part of the trip from then...

Sightseeing, finally after all the unpacking; it was pretty late, and the city started shutting down by 20:30... After a hot chicken dinner, it was back up for us and we called it a night...

Day 1, 2, 3 and part of 4...

Time constraints meant the bikes were transported to Gurgaon, in a container by a car carrier - a decision all of us would regret later...

The less said about Delhi, the better...

Yes, through the unbearable heat, we saw the Ba'hai temple, the Qutab Minar and the India Gate, and shopped in an air-conditioned underground market...

The sun was as visible at noon as a white light bulb in an open field at about the same time... The Nizamuddin station bus stop looked more like a dock, if you ask me... just over 2 days were spent there, and I was glad to leave it behind when we left on June the 4th. Having picked up our bikes, albeit with a few marks, scratches and rubdowns of the worst kind, we made our way from Gurgaon, back to Delhi, to catch the highway to Chandigarh. Ah, the beautiful open roads :)

Chandigarh welcomed us at midnight. We couldn't see any sign of accomodation, and road right through, because none of us were aware of the structural brilliance of the city. 3 roundabouts later, we were out of Chandigarh, blindly heading wherever the road would take us; in search of a place to spend the night. Come Highway Dhaba, and a kind owner who let us catch 40 winks for free, but only after we'd had a substantial dinner...

The ultimate trip^

"One day... One day I'll ride through the snow... Through snow-covered passes and mountains... To go where every Bullet should go, at least one in their lifetime... One day... Some day..."

May 31st, 2009, the first step towards the much-awaited, much-dreamed of journey to the icy north. To the land less travelled and much read about... Of course to get there, was an experience in itself, well, it was the experience...

I got to putting the whole down in words, but realised then, it would take a while... So I guess day-by-day is the best way to go... :p

Cars... and dawning realisations...

"Long time no post", I said to myself. Truth is, so much has happened in the past few months I'm so confused as to what I should write about! That being said, I really don't think I wanna write about most of it... So what I've been busy doing the past day was making a list (or trying to..) of the cars I absolutely HAVE to own at some point in my life :) and of course, why..

Upon sitting down to do it, I realised how difficult it got after number 3... It's not about being the fastest, or the best looking, or even about having the most grunt... I guess it's all about character...

It started out as a draft of 10, then went up to 15, then 20 and I guess it'll keep getting updated even after 50.. So here goes with the 10.. Now this isn't in an order you, or any other soul might agree with, but these are my picks.. To each his own I say...

#1 Hummer H1 Alpha 2006

GOD. To me and a few US soldiers anyway... It had to be #1. The all-conquering one. 'nuf said.

#2 Chevrolet Camaro SS 2010

The mean one. The smirk on it's grill at night is enuf to make you turn tail and run. This then, is the car that made me pick my ass up and learn to drive in the nearest car available.

#3 Audi R8 V12 TDi

The world's first diesel supercar. More details elsewer in the blog. But here we go again :) 5934cc V12 twin-turbo TDi diesel, 500bhp, 1000Nm, 320kph, 9kpl. And she looks great too...

#4 Pagani Zonda F 2006

The supercar to have in my book. Screaming AMG 7.3 V12 with 602bhp/74kgm = respect. The sound, the design, the layout, the controls, the response and the acceleration..... I'm out of words so I'll quote Richard Hammond, "I've tried to think of clever things to say, but I couldn't..." &

"The powers gone up from 555bhp to 6-hundred-and-2...

That's TWO Porsche Caymans     in a car that weighs less     than ONE Porsche Cayman."

#5 Nissan GT-R SpecV 2009

The PlayStation car in real life :) 3.8 V6 turbo, 478bhp AWD GT car that looks like Japan's thoroughbred ambassador of speed...

#6 BMW M5 2007

Family saloon. 4 doors. 5 seats. 500bhp V10.

#7 Porsche 911 GT2 2008

Engine in the extreme end of the tail. And it's a 530bhp RWD 911...

#8 Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG Black 2009

BiTurbo V12! 612bhp! 1000Nm!>>
Wheelspin.. Wheelspin... Wheelspin.... Wheelspin..... Traction!
Now you know why 0-100 takes almost 10 seconds... :)

#9 Lamborghini Reѷenton 2008

Mad bull on direct injection Red Bull, that is the land version of the F22 Raptor...


#10 Koenigsegg CCX-R 2008

Twin supercharged V8. Biofuel E85. 1018bhp. Screams. 410+ kph. Green car :)

--

Other cars that I reeeealy want include the
1996 Ferrari F50
2009 Lamborghini Murciélago LP670-4 SV
2008 Shelby Mustang GT500KR Super Snake

2006 Mitsubishi Lancer EVO VIII FQ400
2008 Dodge Viper SRT/10
2008 Mercedes-Benz SLK55 AMG
1967 Dodge Charger SRT
2008 Ariel Atom 500
2006 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
2010 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1
2006 Rolls-Royce Phantom
1996 McLaren F1 GT
2007 Bugatti EB16.4 Veyron
2008 Alfa Romeo Brera 2.4 JTD
2005 Lotus Elise S
2009 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG
2006 Aston-Martin Vanquish S

2008 Audi Q7 4.2 TDi

2008 Vauxhall Monaro VXR8

and the list goes on.....

:)

Dead Wait...

I'm tired of the air I breathe
for a change I lay in wait...
A tired heart
I see the world through...
I wish to end it all...
I'm cornered,
up against a wall...
Even deciding to drown myself...
I move, fearing my last step,
I take the plunge, deep within...
Only to find out
I breathe what I'm supposed to be drowning in...

Rage in a cage...

As I wake up every morning,
as I open my eyes,
I look forward to the day, hoping
it would bring a pleasant surprise..
I have so much to give..
So much for the world to see..
But then reality
crashes down hard upon me..

There was a time
I felt like a cub..
A baby tiger stretching it's little head,
over the crowd that seemed so snub..

Days went by, the little cub grew..
It spent a long time learning
the many ways of the few..
But then as he stepped out,
into this jungle of a world;
the truth as he didn't know it,
in a matter of moments unfurled..

There was no good, no evil, twas true..
Just members of a shifty-eyed crew,
ravaging the oh so gullible few..
Walking on, hoping to be himself;
looking high and low,
for a world he thought he knew..

Time went on, as it always does..
He seemed to only be a child,
to be himself only in solitude...
But no one even realised that he was a tiger
ready to run free in the wild..
It's only so long, this world
can hold me in it's cage..
It can't hold me in too long,
this tiger's gonna let loose it's rage..
For deep inside is something,
few have chose to hear, if not keep,
The heart, with it's beats
causing me each night to lose my sleep..
For there are dreams
amidst the slumber,
that make me wake screaming, teary eyed,
trying so hard not to remember,
the events that seem to have
so clearly transpired..
But though they are only dreams,
they leave me worn and tired..

The time is now,
for it cannot wait..
To take the step,
I chose to hate..
Like time has come to prove,
the world moves on, I failed to see;
and realise now, this tiger too,
in the wild must run free...