“I” is nothing

I rode from Vijayawada to Chennai for a last time. I was riding like I was possessed by the winds. I made 480 kms in 6 hrs flat!

Due to the heavy cross winds, I could not do more than 110 kmph. The average speed was around 100 kmph. I have never done it this quick. A Volvo does it in 7 hrs, the fastest train in 6.5 hrs. And a Royal Enfield in 6 hrs!

It was going easy, apart from the odd pedestrian who wants to die only in your hands, and the one off buffalo that wants to chew cud in the middle of a tarmac road that is burning hot.

It was a strange sense of achievement for me. What I was feeling cannot be explained in clear terms now. The fact that I could fly was one feeling I can remember always when I ride, an open road, a powerful horse, early mornings, star filled skies, the wind’s roar, frequent villages, rustic eat outs and the odd smoke and the frequent song that the mind hums within itself.

I am my God in those times. I control a machine ruthlessly. I defy fate that could be different if I had taken a train. I create risks for myself and then I beat them to safety. I create a respite for myself, a comfort zone, where I am unreachable to anyone, not liable to answering. I have Escaped, from the ordinary, from the mundane, from man. I am nothing then. “I” is nothing. But that is bliss!

2 lanes are enough

India is poised to become a superpower they say. What with the roads become golden quadrilaterals, there is no doubt that India will become one.

One of my truck customers in Vijayawada who operates trucks from Vijayawada to Calcutta told me that his fuel costs alone had gone down by 30% after the golden quadrilateral became a reality. Running time is reduced from 48hrs to 36hrs. Tyre mileage has gone up. Maintenance has come down. Accidents have come down drastically. And so on and so forth.

But for a discerning biker like me, it doesn’t matter, does it? I am looking for a good ride. Some thrills, some pleasure. In such a system of metrics the 4 laners of today fall far short of the conventional 2 lane Indian highway.

In a 4-lane road, there is no upcoming traffic, and all one has to do is keep the vehicle straight and relax. Easy overtaking, no glaring headlight beams. It feels so damn boring!

In a fast 2-lane road, there is excitement on the offing. When you overtake, there is upcoming traffic to contend with. There are these fast cuts, quite pulsating and exciting. And it can be exacting also to the driver. Drivers are usually more aggressive in these road conditions.

India has never needed a dirt track racing league or a formula series, just for this reason. For, our motoring thrills are being satisfied in our everyday lives. All it takes for an ardent motor enthusiast or a dare devil driver to get an adrenalin rush is to take his car or bike to the local highway and try to overtake and race with other cars, bikes, trucks, and quite recently, the Volvos!

You can draw out personality types from the driving styles. There are saints, good Samaritans, the monsters, the bitches, the chronic moaners, the manically sick, the patiently persistent, the timidly conscious & unconscious, the wily fox, the show off assole and so many other types.

When you pit your life against such an array of characters, it is an act of madness that results from it. Pumping heart, sometimes rage, sometimes charity. Amid all this there will be a dog who will want to cross the road to mark his territory. A sudden brake, screeching tyres, the dog yet lives. Feels like God.

The Zahir - with the Luggage Carrier