Chamundi Hills, the jewel of the Mysore tourism board. I was lucky enough to study in a college, SDM-IMD, right at the base of these hills. The roads leading to the temple at the top of the hill is wonderful and well maintained. The jet black tarmac is properly marked with bright yellow shoulder lines and a pure white divider. Every time i go up the hill, i found it really tough to go easy on the throttle.
I have always wondered, how these roads would look - MINUS THE DAYLIGHT. But thought, it would be very tough to get out of college after the permitted time. Plus i also believed that no one would accompany me to fulfill my crazy dream. (I have to admit, i was a bit scared to go alone). But, pretty soon all was about to change, when Manjunath came to the rescue.
One fine evening, after a long day packed with boring lectures, when i was almost about to crash on to the bed, Manja came to my room asking me if i was interested in joining him on a night trip to Chamundi. I couldn't conceal my excitement which found its way to Manja too. The next obvious choice was Mohit.
After dinner, the three of us met in front of the mess and decided that we will head for the hills at 11.30pm sharp. The odd timing itself gave me a weird and eerie feeling. (Lots of rumors float around the college about weird and bizarre incidents happening in Chamundi, especially during night time). But i was game !
It was a cold, and i mean really cold December night. The 3 of us were ready with our Sweatshirts, Jackets, Bikes and Helmets. It was around 11.25pm. The was nothing to stop us now, or so we thought. As we reached the main gate the watch man blew out a shrill whistle indicating us to stop. It was at this moment when i realized how influential Manja was among the college Staff. All I saw was Manja laughing and chatting with the watchman and the next minute the gates flew open and he was more than pleased to do so. He even passed on a salute to us when we passed through the gates. God only knows what Manja said, but i was impressed.
The open gates were symbolically representing the freedom we got from the busy schedule at college, or so i felt. Soon i could see both Manja and Mohit rev up their engines and vanish into the darkness. It hardly took a few seconds for the racer in me to take control of the bike. It was the best night rides i have ever had in my life.
The winds were chilly. My whole body was shivering uncontrollably beneath the sweatshirt and the jacket. But the best part was that, it was only the three of us on road that night. It felt as though we owned the roads. The roads were well light, and no not with street lamps (There ain't any). It was a full moon and we could see the moon light reflecting off the shiny white paint, which divided the broad road into two halves. That's when i saw Manja turn off the headlights of his bike and race ahead. Mohit followed suit. Though i thought, it was unsafe at first, i too gave in to the temptation and turned off the lights and flew by to catch up with them. The only thing guiding through the pitch dark road was the white divider. I could feel the adrenaline rush when i saw the speedo cross 80km/hr in complete darkness. Yeah, u may think its stupid but it gave the ultimate head rush for a Motorhead like me.
The view point which usually takes around 20min on any normal day, was reached in 7min flat. The pin drop silence of the forests was shattered by the screeching noise of 3 bikes which finally came to a halt. The three of us climbed on top of guard rail. The breeze was strong and painfully cold. The experience was awesome. We spent the next half hour on the view point chatting about the rough days and the tight schedule ahead of us, totally unaware of the fact that we are in the middle of Chamundi forest on a cold winter night.
By around 1.00am we decided to head back to the college. But we took the Nandi temple road. Trust me, this road is scary even during day time, so just imagine how it would be late in the night.... Phew..... This winding road is extremely narrow and is covered with thick bushes on either side of the road and the slightest mistake could push you off the road, deep into the forests, Man its scary !!!
There is a straight stretch of almost 2kms, downhill. The road is at a 45 degree angle. If a vehicle is left idle and allowed to free fall, it could easily cross speeds of 60km/hr. But me not being the 'Regular Guy',could not do the usual things. I just hit the gas
and the speed was mindblowing.The bike soon touched 110km/hr, a forbidden figure even on a levelled road, imagine how it would be at a 45 degree slope! It was as though, Gravity had let me off for a while. There was nothing to hold me back. And to top it all, the road ended with a small hump which acted like a ramp, which threw my bike off the road. For the first time in my life, my bike was airborne. Though i was on air for hardly 2-3 seconds, the experience still manages to send a shiver of excitement through my body.
The fun was not over yet. Both me and Manja decided to drag at the base of the hills. This was the ultimate test of our machines. With a 2km straight stretch as our playground and Mohit as our referee, we set off ! The fun cannot be expressed in words. It was fun to see manja struggling with the gear shifting. He was a rookie u see... he he and i took full advantage of that. His inexperience cost him his victory and won me the title of the hottest rider. :-)
Some things that you do at a particular stage/situation may seem foolish at a later point in time. I have realised that by riding with the lights off and racing, you are not only causing danger to your self but also others. So i have never done that again. But i also believe in living my life to the fullest. There was a part of me which wanted to do it, so i did it.... It was indeed a very good stress buster plus i had one of the best rides of my life. We also got a lot of other interested guys willing to explore the Chamundi @ night.... We showed them the way with pleasure... :-)
I have always wondered, how these roads would look - MINUS THE DAYLIGHT. But thought, it would be very tough to get out of college after the permitted time. Plus i also believed that no one would accompany me to fulfill my crazy dream. (I have to admit, i was a bit scared to go alone). But, pretty soon all was about to change, when Manjunath came to the rescue.
One fine evening, after a long day packed with boring lectures, when i was almost about to crash on to the bed, Manja came to my room asking me if i was interested in joining him on a night trip to Chamundi. I couldn't conceal my excitement which found its way to Manja too. The next obvious choice was Mohit.
After dinner, the three of us met in front of the mess and decided that we will head for the hills at 11.30pm sharp. The odd timing itself gave me a weird and eerie feeling. (Lots of rumors float around the college about weird and bizarre incidents happening in Chamundi, especially during night time). But i was game !
It was a cold, and i mean really cold December night. The 3 of us were ready with our Sweatshirts, Jackets, Bikes and Helmets. It was around 11.25pm. The was nothing to stop us now, or so we thought. As we reached the main gate the watch man blew out a shrill whistle indicating us to stop. It was at this moment when i realized how influential Manja was among the college Staff. All I saw was Manja laughing and chatting with the watchman and the next minute the gates flew open and he was more than pleased to do so. He even passed on a salute to us when we passed through the gates. God only knows what Manja said, but i was impressed.
The open gates were symbolically representing the freedom we got from the busy schedule at college, or so i felt. Soon i could see both Manja and Mohit rev up their engines and vanish into the darkness. It hardly took a few seconds for the racer in me to take control of the bike. It was the best night rides i have ever had in my life.
The winds were chilly. My whole body was shivering uncontrollably beneath the sweatshirt and the jacket. But the best part was that, it was only the three of us on road that night. It felt as though we owned the roads. The roads were well light, and no not with street lamps (There ain't any). It was a full moon and we could see the moon light reflecting off the shiny white paint, which divided the broad road into two halves. That's when i saw Manja turn off the headlights of his bike and race ahead. Mohit followed suit. Though i thought, it was unsafe at first, i too gave in to the temptation and turned off the lights and flew by to catch up with them. The only thing guiding through the pitch dark road was the white divider. I could feel the adrenaline rush when i saw the speedo cross 80km/hr in complete darkness. Yeah, u may think its stupid but it gave the ultimate head rush for a Motorhead like me.
The view point which usually takes around 20min on any normal day, was reached in 7min flat. The pin drop silence of the forests was shattered by the screeching noise of 3 bikes which finally came to a halt. The three of us climbed on top of guard rail. The breeze was strong and painfully cold. The experience was awesome. We spent the next half hour on the view point chatting about the rough days and the tight schedule ahead of us, totally unaware of the fact that we are in the middle of Chamundi forest on a cold winter night.
By around 1.00am we decided to head back to the college. But we took the Nandi temple road. Trust me, this road is scary even during day time, so just imagine how it would be late in the night.... Phew..... This winding road is extremely narrow and is covered with thick bushes on either side of the road and the slightest mistake could push you off the road, deep into the forests, Man its scary !!!
There is a straight stretch of almost 2kms, downhill. The road is at a 45 degree angle. If a vehicle is left idle and allowed to free fall, it could easily cross speeds of 60km/hr. But me not being the 'Regular Guy',could not do the usual things. I just hit the gas
and the speed was mindblowing.The bike soon touched 110km/hr, a forbidden figure even on a levelled road, imagine how it would be at a 45 degree slope! It was as though, Gravity had let me off for a while. There was nothing to hold me back. And to top it all, the road ended with a small hump which acted like a ramp, which threw my bike off the road. For the first time in my life, my bike was airborne. Though i was on air for hardly 2-3 seconds, the experience still manages to send a shiver of excitement through my body.
The fun was not over yet. Both me and Manja decided to drag at the base of the hills. This was the ultimate test of our machines. With a 2km straight stretch as our playground and Mohit as our referee, we set off ! The fun cannot be expressed in words. It was fun to see manja struggling with the gear shifting. He was a rookie u see... he he and i took full advantage of that. His inexperience cost him his victory and won me the title of the hottest rider. :-)
Some things that you do at a particular stage/situation may seem foolish at a later point in time. I have realised that by riding with the lights off and racing, you are not only causing danger to your self but also others. So i have never done that again. But i also believe in living my life to the fullest. There was a part of me which wanted to do it, so i did it.... It was indeed a very good stress buster plus i had one of the best rides of my life. We also got a lot of other interested guys willing to explore the Chamundi @ night.... We showed them the way with pleasure... :-)
LIV 2 RIDE, RIDE 2 LIV !!!
7 comments:
Great going, it gets better and better. I think I like this post the best, almost got me to the nail biting stage :) I am not a big risk taker unless someone pushes me into it, so no comments there. As always, ride safe :)
Good one...1130 pm to Chamundi..ahem..now we know why you never recovered from cold and cough at Mysore.
Ride safe AshWIN,its always interesting to go for such ride but too risky also...Good Work.
hey..cool post !! you know what..its the best feel !.. A few of us had actually ventured out for this trip,close to 2AM in the freezing december chill.Nothing beats the experience of standing atop the hill (actually somewhere midway).and seeing the entire mysore city..and munching on food!Really makes one feel alive!
Yea.. We also used to make it a point that we be there on Sundays evening 6.30 when the lights are turned on at Mysore Palace... Its an awesome view from up there....
Nice Post da...quite nostalgic since I am read it now. Anyway I am happy that even I didn't miss out this crazy night safari on bike :)
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