The Shikara Effect - Ride to Tajmahal

The Shikara Effect

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all" - Helen Keller

It was Saturday, February the 9th 2020; yes, it was just before COVID hit us in the gut. After a "hectic" (JK) office day Ajay, me and Vinay decided to watch a newly released movie on Kashmiri pundits; yes, the movie was "Shikara". Prashant was not there with us as he was with his Girlfriend and they met after a long time _ that's another story _ just, he was not with us. So, the movie was good, the way it was portrayed and the message it wants to convey were lucid and vivid. We were all moved by the movie especially the last scene where the actress takes her last breath while afloat on a boat in Yamuna river behind the famous Taj Mahal looking at the monument; and the actor (her husband) breaks down into silent tears holding her body. 

It was sad, so with that mood, we came back to our beloved chai place in HUDA market, parked our bikes and sat on them (more of a lean). for some reason we did not order anything and were discussing the movie, Prashant called me for my helmet so he and his girlfriend can go to Gurgaon and it was almost night. Yeah! you either have to be too stupid or too strong to take that decision, and he is definitely the first one. I did not stop them, but i asked them politely, Gurgaon? abhi? (samajhdar ko ishara kaafi h) and he looked confidently at me and said 'yes' and asked me for my helmet so he won't catch cold ( it was february as I mentioned) ~ (Personal note: for those of you who know prashath, he said "Thand lag jayegi na!!" :D) So I handed my helmet to him, they both took off, we were back to chatting, Vinay had his 'Sigh' nodding his head sideways disapproving their decision given the time and season, I assured him, "are kuchh nhi hoga!, kya hojayega?" and we continued to chat for a bit and suddenly out of the blue Ajay said, "I am feeling as if I may never have a chance to look at the Taj mahal, shall we ride to Agra?". Me and Vinay looked at him, checking if he is in his full senses. There was a pregnant silence which broke into my doubtful "why not?".

But wait a minute, Just a minute ago, I gave my all-season helmet to Prashant and now I have to ride with an open helmet in chilling cold weather. Yeah! shit happens. Had Ajay asked us a minute or two earlier, I would have had a much better ride. so we three were ready to leave to Agra. We came home to pack our stuff and I was urging them to get ready and pack all the things; Ironically, I was the one this time to pack so late. Vinay wore a jeans and jacket, I took my biker jacket and a jeans & Ajay with his driver jacket that he bought at Nainital. We packed two backpacks and stuffed them in my Saddle bags; by the way, Gods Triton Saddle bags were awesome, I had not problem whatsoever and we took off.

It was around 9 PM and the temperature was around 10C that night and it was waxing gibbous moon (almost full moon) so the night was a lot clearer. the traffic in Faridabad was as hectic with buses and Auto-rickshaws blocking the road most of the time, and the dust! there is always some or the other road being constructed making all the ways dusty, we had to endure it for some 45 minutes before we hit the Highway. We had some parathas (not that good) for Dinner and continued the ride.

The best part of long drives the the faster you drive, the slower you start to take things of your life. Many things flash before your eyes, especially when the road is brightly lit with street lamps and empty (I suppose there is no need to explain how empty, as we have been looking at empty roads most of the time for one year now) We exchanged bikes took as little breaks as possible as it was late in the night. But when you don't have any idea how much more time your journey will take, your mind will play games with you and make you feel all tired, I was dark and cold; we almost reached Agra, 40 Km away and felt we should rest for a bit, It was Mathura and we took a left turn into the city getting off the highway, the city road was reasonably wide and it almost looked abandoned, there were some people here and there but mostly it looked abandoned, well what else can you expect at 2AM. We were in search of a Hotel room to stay.

Ajay didn't quite like the first hotel we found so
we searched for a bit more in the town and it was a good bargain. we almost took to bed when Vinay wanted to wash his face, the water was ice cold, then he remembered he needed a towel, they made fun of me while packing, now look who needs a towel. uh oh! too soon for a punch line, I forgot to take my pajamas! So I had to sleep in my jeans. We tried to watch TV, it was nothing but Blue screen. We slept sooner than we thought. another Uh-Oh! I even forgot my tooth brush.😂. So got up and ready to go out; It was still early in the morning, it was barely sunrise we rode on our bikes into Mathura, along the riverside through narrow alleys and turns and busy market streets filled with cows, cars and people alike, it was as if people spawned like in videogames, all of a sudden, I see a lot of people everywhere. There were many temples but we were not so decisive on where to go, there were a lot of people(guides) who offer to show you around for cheaper price, they even boast that are the "True Brahman" of the city whose ancestors served the gods on the same land. We did not fall for it. Silently crept, we parked our bikes at some "Dham" a bank of river Yamuna which was make accessible by steps and slowly walked our way towards the river, a boat man offered us a ride and we refused him, but the idea of boating was interesting after a minute or two. Yeah! when someone offers something, we reject and run behind it a minute later😆. We took another boat; interestingly there were a lot of gangs of monkeys in Mathura; Ajay was really startled when one of the monkeys came very close to reach a flower. We put our mobile phones in the pocket fearing they would snatch it and boarded the Boat immediately. The ride was peaceful, there were many birds gliding over the water. here have a look.

By the time we were back on track, it was very hot; quite opposite to what we  were facing the last night, now i feel the Biker jacket that i was wearing to be quite troublesome as i was sweating too much. There is not much road left from here to Agra but the time we were travelling made it tougher than we thought, there were many trucks and people everywhere even on the highway. The highway was flushed with people and most of them were going in the wrong way, I had many close encounters and after a while I got used to getting close encounters, there were many careless riders. no to mention the Car traffic, I would have to muster up all my courage to go into the fast lane, they were obviously travelling faster than the limiting speed, but then again who would care!? Highway was a straight one but I seldom rode at speeds greater than 50km/hr. The traffic didn't let me.

Finally we reached Agra after an hour or so, Night riding experience and Mathura part was very good. We met at a rally point after drifting away in the traffic and rode together into Agra, our first stop - Taj Mahal; the reason for this trip. There was more than usual crowd at the ticketing booth and there was no receptionist, people were just standing in the line for nothing, after an hour or so, we got entry into the Taj Mahal. as always, the sight of it takes all the worries away, not because of the beauty of it alone but also the architecture, the ventilation system which makes stream of air rush in through the main gate when we enter refreshing our mood while entering the Taj premises. I have been there 5 times and its the same experience every time. Here are some pics.

  

After that we went to my favorite place for Lunch, Dasaprakash <Google Maps link> the Fried rice here is really heavenly to taste; The is not a paid promotion, we have been there in person. Do try. The traffic in Agra was literally nuts, there are no signals yet people stop and move on will, no directions being followed, no nothing, there are traffic police working; I don't know, Its like they live in a different dimension and not able to see the whole chaotic situation there, I wonder how come they are at such peace. Its like they are in some kind of weird coma. So, some how we barely escaped many accidents and reached the place.

After lunch, the return journey was as chaotic as it was when we stated, the hectic traffic and on a personal note, Vinay and Ajay if you are reading this, remember the horse that running towards ahead of Ajay's bike, There was this marriage ceremonial horse which was barely under control and Ajay was afraid to cross it 😁. It was very dark and for some stupid reason, people are standing in the middle of highway, Take extra care and carry fog lights just to make sure you don't hit anyone. TRAFFIC IN HERE IS REALLY NUTS.

That's that folks! Have a great day ahead!

Regards

P.Suneel

you can connect on IG @pvssuneel