Welcome to Alwar said the large signboard outside the railway station. And just below that board, for all to see was a local relieving himself. Not a particularly rosy picture for a kingdom almost next door to the national capital I’d say. A cycle rickshaw took me to the hotel I was instructed to stay in until I looked for a place to rent. I’ve never been on a cycle rickshaw with luggage and I felt quite bad for the poor chap that was riding it. He was talkative enough to tell me the places as we were crossing them. Adding some value to an otherwise very slow and boring mode of travel. The hotel was neat and the staff amiable. The fact that I was going to be out 12 hours of the day or more, I really couldn’t care less about the hospitality.
I discovered an eating joint that served tandoori rotis, tadka dal and aloo-gobhi for just 15 smackers, and tasty too. Apples and Bananas are cheap as well. Food wasn’t going to be a problem. Next morning, I was to get to the factory. I was assured that it was just 12 km away and adequate means for getting there were available. Never before was Einstein’s Relativity theory understood better as I saw the ‘adequate means’, a share-auto that looked like it was going to fall apart the moment I sit in it. The journey took an hour and fifteen minutes one way. The return was even more unbearable. At this juncture, my colleague and I decided that cost be damned, we were procuring ourselves a second-hand motorcycle. The same evening we combed the area for motorcycle shops and finally settled on a healthy 2-stroker in prime condition. A four year old Suzuki. Neither of us had ever invested in capital assets so the initial monetary punch hurt us but when we learnt that we were to save a hell of a lot of time with a convenient mode of travel, it was worth the cost. At 1 Re per km running cost, its more than just a blessing.
At this point I’ll just say that yours truly does not know how to operate a geared motorcycle and this purchase offered an opportunity to learn. Until that happens, I enjoy riding pillion. The temperature in the morning is about 12 degrees C and the wind at 40 km/h is frigid. I finally found some use for cold-cream. The next few weeks are going to be spent exploring the landscape. Not as beautiful as Bhandara but functional and bigger. More updates from Alwar next time.
everything was fine. But there are a few concerns. What in the name of all that’s holy has possessed your lordship to compare the great land of ALWAR with Bhandara which is presumably the ninth circle of hell
Comment by vijay — April 18, 2009 @ 12:13 pm