At 3.30 pm we decided it was time to head back. As is the case with students the world over, we realized that we were short on cash. How we managed to pool in enough to refuel so as to reach Bombay would serve as a lesson in economics. We decided to take the return journey a bit slowly as our asses were crying for mercy. Neither of us was accustomed to such long drives. At Lonavala and Khandala we passed a few chikki and fudge shops that we stared at wistfully, but we tarried on.
We spotted a few monkeys near the valley ad something about our simian friends made us stop and shoot a bit of footage of the alluring Sahyadri valley. With the light fading and hunger creeping in our stomachs we decided to visit Ajinkya, a college friend. His benevolent mother fed us a scrumptious feast of dhokla. We visited another beautiful temple with Ajinkya. At 7.30 pm we set off again. In the dark Prasad transformed into a Night Rider and me into a Silent Rider. From Lodhivali for about 19 kms driving at a consistent 90kmph, he didn’t allow a single vehicle to overtake us. I was damn impressed.
We reached Thane at about 9pm and thus the journey came to an end. The journey was an amazing success. A few people, who heard our story, said that it was a big risk. I guess it was and that possibly is one of the reasons why I jumped at the idea. I feel if you want to leave footprints in the sand you can’t do it by sitting, then you would just be leaving butt prints in the sand.

Some pertinent and possibly rude yet funny observations:

• Driving in Pune is like walking a tight rope. One stupid mistake and you will lie sprawling on the road, at times you will find yourself on the road, even without any mistake.
• There is little road sense, or respect of trivialities like signals and lights.
• Driving with headlights turned on during the day is Pune’s way of showing that it doesn’t face a power shortage.
• More scarves are worn in Pune than in the coldest hill stations that surround it. Women cover up every bit of their face except the eyes, and zoom past you on their Scooties. Men on bikes with scarves do the same. If you have a scarf factory you know where to head. If you want a photograph of a terrorist riding on his next mission, still head to Pune.
• If you ask for directions people will tell you to go left and indicate Right with their hands.
• We spotted a rickshaw with a 4WD sticker on it!

Pune trip

Now I have a feeling that some of the few readers of this blog might wonder what I am thinking, posting this so late. Nevertheless, this is how things panned out.

Almost everyone has a tinge of insanity within us. We all possess a bit of zany sense of individuality, that streak of adventurism or sheer recklessness, whatever you want to call it. While some prefer to keep all that feeling bottled up beneath their staid faces, people like my friend Prasad and I revel in that sheer ecstasy.

I can picture us as some dark knights of an era bygone who look at the vast tracts of unconquered land and yelp in glee, “Let’s conquer this!” If you know your history then the Marathas reigned over Kalyan/Thane. In those ages, to reach there from their citadel in Pune some 160 kms away, it would take months of travel on tired horses. Aeons later the new age conquistadors journeyed from Mumbai to Pune and back, all in a matter of 12 hours and that too on a unicorn. Hang on! It wasn’t a flight of fantasy it was a Honda Unicorn.

It all happened thus. Prasad the brave and ebullient warrior of the Budhyal family had to seek blessings from a holy place in Pune. Then somewhere in that slightly cracked cranium of his, an idea took birth. So he came to me and asked if I would accompany him on a bike ride to Pune. I gave him a look that suggested he shouldn’t take me on the face value. I mean, I might look dumb. I ain’t! The earnestness on his face then convinced me that the freaking guy was serious. Thus I was entangled in this adventure. Not that I wasn’t game for it. It's just that, I wouldn’t have thought of it.On 26^th February 2008, we decided to surreptitiously sneak out of hour homes and undertake this awesome road trip.

At 8.00 am, we met near the Indian Library, {how that place manages to feature in most of my clandestine activities is something of a mystery to me!}, both having informed our parents of our noble (?) intentions of attending extra practicals early in he morning. We were all set for the trip. A word, about the machine though. She was a Honda Unicorn like I said with the silver of Unicorn blood. She has enough firepower and is a comfortable ride.

Back to the ride. With a triumphant smile splattered on our angelic faces we set off on the Mumbra bypass road. The road had been reconstructed. It is wide and the ride is smooth. Prasad’s riding is instinctive and very good. He manages to squeeze through the narrowest of gaps at speeds that would make other riders queasy. We took our first pit stop at Khopoli at about 9am. A quick breakfast and some chai set us off for the rest of the ride.

We were back on the road. The surroundings are green and scenic. Tiny villages dot the landscape and the cattle also use the NH4 as its personal toilet. As we were cruising on, a few choppers with guys in black leather jackets zoomed past us. Soon we were doing 120 kmph. Prasad maintained an excellent control over the bike at those crazy speeds and I sat behind wondering when on earth would learn to ride a bike like that. Its different kind of fun to have the wind whooshing past you at 120kmph, it’s a wonderful sound and you feel on top of the world cruising like that. The road and vehicles rush past you in a blur.

Speed is a wonderful thing, it thrills, and it seems to have a sense of power almost as if it has a life of its own or as if it infuses life in to someone else. And a bike is one of the best ways to experience that high. I guess it’s the sense of shock, the sudden tremulous acceleration that gives that high and I was drunk on it.

The road is picturesque. The Sahyadris accompanied us like a watchful elder one. With their looming figure they always seem near and yet so far. I like that bit about them. Tall dark, giant like with shades of green and some white threads of water, that’s how the whole surroundings appear. Then there are large open spaces and a few green fields. Pink Floyd springs to mind as ever, “So you think you can tell...”

We reached Pune at about 11.30 am. Sanket’s handycam was useful to shoot a part of our trip. Just when we were about to reach take a turn in Pune, a car crashed on to us and we were accorded a Puneri welcome, by the driver in his typical Puneri Marathi. The bike took a tumble and both of us lay on the road. The helmets saved us. A few scrapes and bruises was all that we had on or body. A traffic constable made his way to the mess and asked us what we were up to. I held the handycam aloft and told him I was media student. God! He was positively scared. We slipped away from there and Prasad was a bit shaken from the whole incident. Even I wondered if I would reach home safely that night!

But we avoided taking too many pictures as it would have made our lies public. We took lunch at Dhankavdi and everything was fine. We had both recovered from that initial Pune shock. So we called that human GPS system- Nikhil Pai who directed us to the Osho Ashram. Sadly the tickets for the day were sold out. Yet we saw loads of firang chicks on our way out and maybe we might come here again. But I guess that’s another story.