Biking at Midnight...

Man & Machine:
1. Abhishekh and Pratibha on RZ (karisma)
2. Palat on Pulsar 180.
3. Sonal and Sneha on ZMR (karisma)
4. My brother and me on Royal Enfield (thunderbird)


Source & destination:
Kumarswami layout To Bangalore International Airport

Total Distance:
90.392 km

Time:
Stared at 1:30am and ended at 7:30 am.

Camera:
Sony cyber shot 10.2 MP

My first time to Bangalore turned out to be one of the most amazing trips. I had no such destinations to visit on my calendar.
But however, the first thing on my list was obviously (for folks who are aware of my obsession) to go biking.
Seasons & seasons, I had dreamed about embracing the road as my home & to flock all the scenes it has endeared me upon – mountains, rivers lakes, & rains. But the adventurous soul needed some reality but with peace. During my Bangaluru trip my mind boggled upon various possible ventures, but none could tingle my adventurous bone except the night out Bengaluru-Tumkur-Bengaluru trip.

At night around at 1am, my brother and I roared down the thunder bird and raced for the gas station. It was however just 3kms away from the street we were living in. Tumkur is about 69kms out of the city in the state, on a major highway that goes from Bangaluru to Pune, crossroads right through the heart of the city.

The first thing we wanted to be sure was that we don’t run out of fuel amidst our tour. So a precautionary plan… we got our tankers filled to the brims with the greasy liquid ‘petrol’.
After we made all preparations for our bike ride… we started toward Tumkur road. We set our sights, bag & bike to reach our destination. With perfect spirits & perfect wind, we blazed through the road without much hesitation. The route is split between quiet roads through tress, passing street lamps and old houses & over gently rolling country roads. The roads were all empty and there was something enchanting in the breeze. The whole atmosphere was mesmerizing. We took a break of about 20mins in order to capture the beauty of the night.

We clicked some pictures and admired the mother earth with her beauty at its best. We were bowled over by the beauty. As it was 2am by then, we decided to continue with our rides. My elder brother and I were on Royal Enfield… although I am not very fond of bullets yet I decided to drive the bike for the rest of the journey. It wasn’t too hard for me to please my brother to sit behind me and allow me to drive ;)

I started the bike and drove with full energy. I have traveled many miles on a motorcycle, but I have never experienced winds like I did that day. The winds slammed into the bike and me. I must say that Bangaluru is a powerful place. Its ambiance grips you in many ways. It was a beautiful night the sky was covered with a blanket of stars of various lumens with that familiar but faint milky wave of millions of them clustered together many light years away in the background.

Suddenly what caught my eye was the sign board of police patrolling jeep on checking. It took me a while to realize that all my friends were standing there with the inspector. I could have accelerated and could have easily escaped but then you can never escape. Now days Police in India have an awesome networking. They come again and again; they are not scripted to a specific area anymore. They chase you no matter where you are and the longer you run from them, the higher you’re fine if you are pulled over. So I took an intelligent decision and I switched of the engine and parked my bike where the inspector signaled me.
Slowly my brother and I cockled towards our other friends near the inspector to know the scene over there. But there was something strange…
What surprised me was the reaction of the inspector… he was very astonished to see me… a GIRL driving the Royal Enfield..!!!!
The best part of the whole episode was the way he was continuously poking his senior about this :D
Due to security reasons the police denied us to go further on same route but as our spirits were high and so was our Petrol Tanks we decided to drive to Bangaluru International Airport.
We reached the airport by 3:30am. It was damn cold at that hour of the day.

Our bones were numb… so we rushed to the nearest coffee shop to sip something hot and sweet. We had an authentic south Indian breakfast on the food stalls and then bid farewell 2 all. Left the airport early, but was lost in the twists & turns of the city. After some crucial help from the auto drivers, we were able to find our way out. The climate seemed just about perfect with the sun shining between the creeks of the clouds & the sweet wind just about blowing as pleasant as ever. The return trip seemed getting passed by as early as possible.

As the trip ended, the bond between some passionate bikers & their machine became stronger & stronger. With a promise that we will conquer the roads till the last breath, we finally lied down to wear off our tiredness, at around 8:30am.

I Don't Give a Damn....

I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation
You're living in the past it's a new generation
A girl can do what she wants to do and that's
What I'm gonna do
An' I don't give a damn ' bout my bad reputation

Oh no not me

An' I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation
Never said I wanted to improve my station
An' I'm only doin' good
When I'm havin' fun
An' I don't have to please no one
An' I don't give a damn
'Bout my bad reputation

Oh no, not me
Oh no, not me
I don't give a damn
'Bout my reputation
I've never been afraid of any deviation
An' I don't really care
If ya think I'm strange
I ain't gonna change An' I'm never gonna care 'Bout my bad reputation

Oh no, not me
Oh no, not me

Pedal boys!

An' I don't give a damn
'Bout my reputation
The world's in trouble
There's no communication
An' everyone can say
What they want to say
It never gets better anyway
So why should I care
'Bout a bad reputation anyway
Oh no, not me
Oh no, not me

I don't give a damn 'bout my bad reputation
You're living in the past
It's a new generation
An' I only feel good
When I got no pain
An' that's how I'm gonna stay
An' I don't give a damn
'Bout my bad reputation

Oh no, not me
Oh no, not
Not me, not me

My life as an engineering student

“Engineering” considered being a field of brain, technical knowledge and day and night study. With hundreds of engineering colleges budding in every nook and corner of the states, it has merely become a misnomer now. Moreover the level of education is not at all qualitative; it is just certifying one as an engineer with the caliber not more than a senior secondary pass. It is the field that every math’s student views as his/her career option. And with me being no exception even I opted for the same.

It was June 2008, packed up with all competitive and board results and just enjoying the vacations as if life would be the same in the coming months and years. Hardly, aware where I would get finally landed up and which engineering college had the destiny decided for me. Cautious about the career but not that much really, thinking that life would be easier and free, as it was the college time, free from all stringent school rules and daily punishments. Neither homework, nor a bulky bags just a thin notebook and pen. Fewer lectures and more bunks, and having fun all the day with the fellow peers. June passed with the same thoughts and enthusiasm. Finally I had my counseling and got SBCET, the name of the college located at a distance of 17kms from jaipur (the capital of rajasthan). I was lucky to get discipline of my choice that was computers.

Finally the day arrived when my mom and dad came and made me shift in the college hostel. The place was new and I could hardly find anything familiar. My mom and dad helped me in shifting my stuffs in my so called ‘new room’ and then after handing over few thousands to me they returned home. It was dusk; I settled my bags and other items. Internally, I was little upset and afraid but externally pretended to be strong and comfortable with the situation. I had come 7 days before my classes would start. So there were no as such fellow mates except my roomy. My roomy was from Mumbai, the heart of Maharashtra. She was sweet enough to me. I found myself comfortable talking to her. The initial 7days were kind of tough for both of us as our classes had not started so we stayed in our room for the full day and all we did was just waited for the tasteless food.

I had many questions inside me… like how will be going to college? How will my new batch mates and teachers be? And will I find some really good friend in college... Etc... Etc...

Muddled up with these thoughts the initial 7 days passed and finally the day arrived when our classes started. I took care to dress up like a complete idiot for the 1st day of college. I wore an ill fitted salwal suit with normal slippers. I took care to oil my hair and make a pony which somehow looked like dog’s tail ;)

Ragging is something every engineering student is scared of and we were no exception. We were the prey for our predator seniors. They ragged us in the best possible way. Dancing, doing weird stuffs, oiling our hair, dressing up like fools, wearing bathroom slipper in college and wishing everyone started coming naturally to us. This all continued for around a month. We all always tried to escape from ragging by making stupid excuses but none of us succeeded.

The whole month passed in the same confusion, searching classrooms and getting ragged every now and then. Finally the month came to an end with our Fresher’s Party. I was the lucky girl scholar as I was chosen for the title of “Miss Fresher”. After getting the title of “Miss Wave 2008” things did changed a lot in college.

Everyone started knowing me… and yeah... a lot of proposals did flow in. I came out as one of the most popular students in college and of course it had its own sets disadvantages, like... I was easily caught bunking my classes, I was the one who was supposed to give an answer for every mass bunks... etc...Etc...Etc... The list is endless..

At the mean time college continued and ragging wasn’t in vogue anymore. It was hard to cope up with the studies. I was totally in a situation of dilemma where life had left me. It was time when I learned to eat tasteless food, to wash clothes, and to do little works which became mandatory. Every morning I had to wake up at six, and then wait in queue to get a chance to take a shower in the bathroom. Many a time we used to run out of water amidst our showering program, and then we used to struggle for water. By hook or by crook we used to reach college and often late for 1st lecture. Our soporific schedule made us sleep like rhinos, weekends for me was meant for washing clothes, completing the written work not only for myself but also for my seniors. Life continued in the same manner and slowly and gradually time passed and even we became ‘seniors’. Situations were little better now but we were totally exhausted.

Till then it has been three long years now. We are still struggling with life everyday but habituated now and have become more tough and strong with the circumstances. The entire semester completes with the same struggle and the actual study is a day before the finals. Thus from my point of view, a B.Tech Degree is not a matter of 48 months(4 years) but a matter 48 nights(48 subjects in total degree , hence 48 nights before each exam.) A lesson it has taught is that life is not that easy always. Time is one of the best teachers. And of course ‘engineers’ rock’..!!!