Incredible India!(?)

Incredible India. The country where you find the snow capped roof of the world, the mighty Himalayas and the dunes of sand in Thar, the snow in the north to the sea in the south, the malls in the metros to the tribals in the heart of the country. To wrapping yourself up in snow proof gear in Drass to unwrapping yourself to sun bathe in Goa, one country that offers you everything. So Incredible India! Or is it?

Religion: It has more muslims than Pakistan, it is the 'head-quarters' of Hindutva, Chirstians have their own stake and so do Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains. We are now at a stage of maturity where hostility is not openly shown against the other religion but it exists one layer underneath. Why doesn't anyone understand that Humanity is the one main religion of 'humans' and then comes Hindu, Islam, Christianity etc.
Solution: A child needs to be taught to love and treat humans for the who they are and not for what they were born as. I say 'what' here because 'what' is dictated by factors that are beyond the control of an individual but 'who' he is totally depends on that individual. A fool proof way to achieve this in my opinion is, encouragement of cross-religion marriages.

Region and Language: I am standing in front of a travel agency in Guruvayoor(Kerala), a well dressed individual asks me the time. I tell him the time and he tells me he is waiting for a friend who was supposed to meet him there half an hour ago, I gave him a smile. He asked me, "Malayali?" I said, "No, I am from Bangalore." The change in expression and behavior was instantaneous and obvious. We started talking and 15 mins later, he bid me good bye like an old friend. Here the transition of attitude goes from 'what' to 'who'. So what I am saying is, move from the 'what' to the 'who' as quickly as possible, don't judge before knowing a person for 'who' he is rather than 'what' he is.

I am grateful to be a part of this amazing city, Bangalore which has a much much higher tolerance for the above factors than anywhere else I have been. Secondly I am lucky to be a part of the biking brotherhood where there is literally no discrimination about your language, religion, region, background, job or anything else from the first second that you become a part of this clan.

I highly recommend everyone to read "Two states" By Chetan Bhagat, my all time favorite novel. Here's the last few lines of the book which summarizes my intentions,

"The nurse cleaned the two babies and gave them to me.
'Be careful,' she said as I took one in each arm.
'You are from two different states, right? So, what will be their state?' the nurse said and chuckled.
'They'll be from a state called India,' I said"

It gives me goosebumps each time I read it. One of most inspirational writers of the world, Chetan Bhagat, one the individuals I believe could one day make India truly 'Incredible!'.

Peace,
HOTSHOT. 

Mekedatu - Unplanned adventure!

Date:02-02-2010

Unplanned adventures are the most interesting and fun! Have heard this a lot of times but i had my doubts, but now i have become a believer.

9pm, Vysh calls me and tells me there is going to be a ride tomorrow,with his PU friends group. 8 bikes,16 riders was the supposed head count. Barachukki was the location. i had been there with classmates less than a month ago and that is the only falls with water left this season so i agreed. Got permission at home after i told them that i am going to miss the Puttaburthy ride on Sunday :(

Anyway i weighed my choices, Puttaburthy ride(the road) was not that interesting, nor was the place of any interest- this is what Venkat sir told me. And ofcourse Andhra's heat-40-45 deg Centigrade! so i chose Barachukki, 1 am, i called kulla and the plan was not yet confirmed!! Unbelievable right?! i wanted to start early, dint want to ride in the sun. But that was not to be.

i woke up at 530 am, i am always excited before a ride so i tend to wake up early, left home by 730 am i guess, went to Ninja's place, lubricated the chain, he said he was going to NICE road, i was apprehensive about these guys that this ride is going to happen or not and for a fleeting moment, i was tempted to join Ninja, would have too if i had known about the clover leaf! which would be introduced to me by Ninja the next day:) So i went to Bunty's place, a bit of offroading there, was kind of like riding on a railway track for some distance because of WIP, got Bunty to hurry up, we reached family mart, the group except Vysh was there and they decided to go to Mekedatu instead, me and bunty tried but in vain to convince them to ride to Barachukki!

so we left with the group with Vysh starting a bit late waiting for Sumanth, poor guy had to miss out in the end because his bus had had an accident and was delayed by a few hours! Bunty's Karizma had suffered a crash the previous day when his dad was riding, right side fairing cracked, handle bent. I saw clearly that he was not able to ride and he would slow things down. We stopped at NICE road petrol bunk to fuel up, then i took his Karizma. It really annoyed me and hurt me too to see my own bike, "The Black Wind" zoom past me with someone else riding it! :( but i had to ride the Zma, i couldn't be selfish at that time so i rode it. Now this bike had a hell lot of problems- gear shifting was a pain, clutch problem, bad throttle response, not to forget no confidence inspiring brakes( especially when you are used to riding with best in the business dual disc brakes;) ) but still i did hit 120 kmph, almost scraped the left foot peg( the rider behind me later claimed, it did touch a bit:P) and somehow reached college double fast! we stayed there for a while, waiting for kulla, in the meanwhile adding a new item to out Adda's menu! Cheese chilli toast! yummy! i had a bit of fun with thumbs-up n mentos :D:P then kulla arrived and we headed towards mekedatu, scenic roads, a pity it was all dry and hot! Have to check it out in the monsoon! took a few snaps on the way:http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2035947&id=1125462546

So we reached Mekedatu just a few mins behind the rest of the group, we went in a bus to Mekedatu, there wasn't much to see there, Bunty n Vysh were already conspiring on going to Barachukki and were trying to round up people to rebel:P but then we went back and as we were crossing the river, waist deep water(well for me, chest deep for others;):D ), we went to a small rock island kind of thing and kept our bags there and got into the water, no one was wearing a watch and we lost track of time playing in the water! it was awesome fun, everybody just let their hair down and enjoyed, forgetting the outside world for a while! these are the moments in life that make life worth living for:)

Finally somebody( i suspect, it was Bunty) sneaked a look at a watch and we were running late so we got out of the water, the girls took an hour to "change"!! and then we started back, it was kind of annoying that i had the fastest indian but couldn't afford to make use of its full potential lest i end up riding alone.

Anyway we reached a Dhabha near Kanakapura, we had our Lunch/evening snacks/dinner at 7 pm :P and then we decided that 6 bikes would ride together or whatever and i would wait near college till Vyshak dropped his friend to the hostel and then we would ride together after everyone was gone.

Reality: Vysh started first, the rest followed, i started last,overtook everyone else, reached college, Vysh just came out of the gate after dropping his friend and then we rode together with the rest still behind.

I thought the fun part of the day was over but my bike had different plans. the amazing amazing headlights were so brilliant on the highway, i felt so much at ease, not just me but Vysh too who was being led by me! Love ma bike!:) its like Vin diesel said" The darkness to me is where i shine!" I had so much fun riding at night on Kanakapura road, i wouldn't be wrong if i said that was the highlight of the ride!:) We stopped near YDIT, said good bye, as i would take a left deviation from there, came home, tired but happy! So this was my ride to Mekedatu!

CHEERS

HOTSHOT

Angel from above!

I was alone, i was lost, heart broken,not knowing who to trust! Nothing was going my way! I was fed up of life, started thinking what my purpose is in this world! I had given up, taking life the way it came, day by day. I was living one day at a time with one thought in my mind-" jaane kya hoga mera? kya plan banaya hoga bhagwan ne mere liye, ya banaya bhi hain ki nahi!" I prayed to god-" Please god, do something, i have had enough of this life!" so the lord finally took pity on me and sent me an angel from heaven! This angel when she came into my life, little did i know her purpose but day by day as she went on doing her magic, i came to know that this is my angel, the one i have been waiting for my entire life!

I call this angel "My princess" because she is really the princess of my heart! we talked many a nights,though we were miles apart, i felt like we were together, snuggling under the warm blanket, comfortable in each others arms. She talked, i listened and then i talked and she listened, even though we have known each other for such a short while, we felt like we knew each other for an eternity! Sometimes it was as if we could read each others minds, we knew what the other would say even before they said it! and we knew exactly what to say to each other at the perfect time! Suddenly for me, my life had changed! I was walking barefoot on a path of thorns before and now i was gliding across a bed of rose petals!

One day the princess decided to make her presence felt physically and a suitable date and time was fixed! I used to keep looking at the calender and clock urging it to move faster because I couldn't take the anxiety or excitement of actually meeting the angel that gave me a new life! I was in a frenzy! For the first time in my life i was actually thinking about things like how i look, how i talk, how my demeanor should be in front of her! So i did something i wouldn't do if i was not desperate, I asked princess herself, what i should wear! And she was such a sport, so kind that she helped me out! Now i could breathe easier because i dint have to worry about how i look!

to be continued.........

Bangalore bikers central zone Adda meet!

Date:30-3-2010

time:2300 hours

"Welcome Rain in the middle of a hot summer, no power,7 BBians(Bangalore Bikers) stuffed into a 6'*10' room, a candle lighting up the room, hot paranthas accompanied by cold sev puris,golgoppas for starters,two guys going click click on their cameras, cake cutting by John, one bengali and a vietnamese conversing in kannada! conversations on biking and touring and photography! a bye with hopes of meeting again!" - this pretty much describes the first Adda meet of Central zone of Bangalore Bikers!

Recap: John decided that.. well his own words:

"Friends,

Bbians are located everywhere in city. Lets make some spot where we can give a regular adda. Say after office around 7 pm / 8 pm come for a tea/coffee, have short time chit chat..watch around and go. It can happen every Saturday or Sunday evening. Time always we will fix by discussing in this thread as we have many night shift bbians as well."

i am actually in Bangalore south but the adda of south zone is like 10-12 kms from where i live, and then i saw that banashankari was in Central zone :p i observed the thread for a couple of days, sumanth and eric responded so i thought what the heck! if not south then central, i scratched my head thinking of a suitable adda and then i remembered a Kolkatta chats corner opp Janatha Bazaar, Ajay had introduced me to this place. So i suggested this place and everything was decided upon, the meet dint happen yesterday but today everyone showed a lot of enthusiasm. Sumanth,Eric,Pranesh,Ninja,Deepak and finally John - these were the ones who made it.

Avinash,Avin - these were the ones who missed out!

they have an excuse though, Rain - Bangalore got some respite from the sweltering heat in the form of a welcome shower :)

The south zone guys were already meeting,having chosen an adda and we dint want to be left behind so we thought we will meet up today! Sumanth a.k.a Black fire,Niranjan a.k.a Ninja a.k.a. Red Indian:P:D, Eric and me were already looking forward to it, SMSed Pranesh( a wing/bull rider), called Avinash n Deepak,John posted that he would join us, Avin said he will "drop" in as well. so anyways we were waiting for the clock to hit 1930 hours, i went down and saw that my bike was coated with dust, cleaned it quickly, my shoes had been washed so had to put on the lace and all, so got a bit late, went to Deepak's office, got a bit late there too, Ninja had called twice already :p so me and Deepak reached there and Ninja and Pranesh were sitting on the katte, Sumanth n Eric came and we ate golgappas, it started raining. Ninja took a few pics of the golgappa guy, he got embarrassed! :P Ninja was like- one pic in Nikon, one pic in my Canon! :P i was holding sumanth's cam and clicked a few vehicles still on the road! they were so good that i deleted them instantly! :P and then John came, he got some plain cake, he cut it and the clickers got clicking! and then we had hot paranthas with dahi n pudina chutney with cold sev puri! Yummy! and then John n Eric thought they wud test their kannada speaking skills on each other ;) i stopped them from further Balathkar of kannada! :P Me and john discussed about the Puttaparthi ride. i had almost decided not to go after hearing a lot of peoples opinions but after talking to John, i think i will most probably go! :) All the different food items were first clicked by Ninja n sumanth, they even clicked each other's cameras :P and then we pulled John's leg about his age(read "its about time u got married,John" age:P) the same "John- i am 20+ and me - more like 30-" wala talk and then we left looking forward to meeting up again!

I came home,knew it was late, rang the bell, no response, m like "crap! major scene tonight, m finished!" and then i peeked in2 the key hole and saw there was no key and then i noticed that the Zeus was missing and i dug into my pockets and took out the key thinking its my lucky day :D;) and then got in!

Thats all from me folks, u might see some pics when i figure out how to put pics in blogs! :P

Ride Hard

Ride Safe

Cheers

HOTSHOT

The RCB vs CSK match!

Date:23-3-2010

Time: around 2 am

I went for the match! Yeah!
5 pm, an old friend, i dint even know was in town(He is in IAF,posted @ Kanpur) called me and said, what are you doing in the evening, i said no plans and he said he had 3 VIP tickets for the match and they were only two(the other guy had come all the way from mysore on a Fiero and he is as I type on the way back!) i agreed instantly, and told all my friends who were with me about it! they could not hide their envy! so i came home and hurried to Nayandalli and met up with them and we went to the match, i had taken my dio cos
1. I cudnt think of leaving my bike all alone in some cramped space where she cud get scratched,have her stickers stripped off her and wat not!
2. Helmet- i dont have a helmet lock and i dint want to carry my helmet to the match!
i had to take my old Kimi Raikonen helmet cos my CROSS wudnt fit inside the dio.
so we reached there with plenty of time, parked the vehicles in some street and then as we were searching for the gate to our stand, the CSK team bus arrived! everybody crowded around and i was caught amidst it all cos due to traffic the bus was still right next to me and then people saw Venkatesh Prasad and got all excited and then i also clicked a couple of pics and then when the bus started moving, everybody BOOOOOOED them, lollz that was too good! and then i check my back pocket and realize someone has picked my pocket! DAMN! around 1.5k in cash, some important visiting cards,a few photos,rare coins! Debit card( thank god i just had a copy of my Driver's License!) i was kinda put off! then we entered the stadium. what an atmosphere! it was amazing! the crowd was great too! IPL ROCKS!!! and then what to say about the match! you all saw it on TV! v ate a few pizzas n a cold coffee! great hospitality,they were serving us @ our seats:). And yeah when Uttappa hit those 3 sixes, my moodiness cos of my lost wallet finally kinda dissappeared! Mom called when there were two overs remaining to tell me to leave then only else it will be late, i pretended i cudnt hear her( u know- hello.. hello.. cant hear you.. hello.. hello.. call you later.. bye... CUT!). Now CSK knew they had lost it but still Albie Morkel n Badrinath thought they would have some fun, Albie hit a huge six, it hit the edge of the stadium roof.And then when we won! i was really happy! one of the thoughts in my mind was- i lost my wallet cos of u guys and now after beating you i feel a lot betterand then we were on our way back home, there was a cop riding pillion behind a guy on a platina and the rider was not wearing a helmet! how i wished i could taken a pic! but i was riding and yeah! and then came back home! logged in and here i am!