Almost there – Before sunrise
“Yaar Jacket le lun kya?? Thand ho jaayegi….” Rishabh was not a man to leave a place without ample preparation. He took his bright red colored jacket.
Meanwhile, Gupta came out in his long sleeved jacket that he had been wearing for the last four days. Rumor has that it belonged to Mishra but they had struck a deal which involved Mishra borrowing Gupta’s dumbbells without any queries. Anyhow, Mishra is not pivotal to the story.
Prashant came out of his room wearing a grey jacket over a dark blue Nike T-shirt. Pratik emerged from his room donning a green shirt over a black under tee. He was the most stylish of all four.
And thus, aptly prepared for the chilly wind, our heroes made way for the parking lot. Gupta stopped at a couple of stops to light cigarettes and finally reached the parking lot once Pratik lost his temper and shouted out his blasphemies aloud: “Abe Gupta Bho*** ke! Main teri g*** maar lunga… Jaldi aa “.
Boy! They had a colorful vocabulary. Gupta came smirking. He stood for a moment at the parking lot, took a final drag from the Gold Flake he was regally holding between his fingers, dropped it, stubbed it under his shoes, looked up towards the sky (and the flickering light overhead) and exhaled with a smile stating “Yeh saali!! Light be*** ki **** kabhi thik nahi hogi.”
Rishabh had already occupied the black pulsar belonging to Nigam and Pratik had undertaken Gupta’s red pulsar. The remaining two took to their seats. The red pulsar was kickstarted and the black pulsar came to life at the touch of an electric button. Both the bikes thereby made way through the narrow alley covered with trees, came out on to the college road, zoomed past the cafeteria and came to a brief stop at the main gate to make the ‘OUT’ entry.
Rishabh as usual indulged in a small and a quick banter with Surendranath sir. The small chit chat was important to smuggle booze into the college campus later in future.
Now, it is important to notice that there were 4 guys and two bikes which allocated two guys on a single bike. In a campus where seating any less than 3 people on a pulsar was regarded as a waste of real estate space, this was sheer crime. However, beating all odds of social norms, our heroes took a left turn from the college gate and jumped on the Gh-0 road gaining speed quickly towards Infocity.
Somehow, I do not remember the petrol station they stopped to get their bikes refueled, but I shall put the onus on the frequently visited Gh-0 petrol pump. The tanks were fueled for 100 bucks each (those were the good days when a mere 50 bucks gave you one full liter of petrol). A silent sign language and the index finger raised by Rishabh from the bike ahead had affirmed that 100 bucks worth petrol should suffice. No one doubted his views. Not even Monal, the DBMS professor.
And such was the night, full of a dark road lit only meagerly by the insufficient moonlight. The clouds blew over the moon hiding the white circle frequently under their cover. The trees swayed in the wind. All shops were closed until the next 20 kms. The riders rode hard. They stopped for none. They rode with peace and happiness leaving everything behind. Nothing could touch them tonight. Prashant folded his hands in the backseat as Rishabh swiftly sped towards the shop they all knew they would be stopping at. It is weird how silence played tricks on their minds. Gupta was getting numb in the backseat as Pratik rode cautiously to the rendezvous point which was still 15 kms ahead.
Keeping up with the gravity of the situation, I have however been able to penetrate within the minds of all four. The following is what they thought about until the first rendezvous point:
Pratik: Fuck it is dark!! I can barely see the road. Aur madar Gupta ki bike lights bhi kitni kam hain.. MAan kasam kahin bika na gir jaaye….
Gupta: Fuck!! Ye Pratik to bike chalana seekhk gaya hai be…Itni kam light mein bhi kya mast chala raha hai…Light se yaad aaya… Bike ki light bhi thik karaani hai…roshni kaafi kam aati hai…(and suddenly) Abe FUCK!! ROSHINI ko phone karna bhool gaya…
Rishabh: ?? ????!!!!!???-----QQWEASDSDCWSC!! (Bhai kitna kuch chalta hai iske dimaag mein….)
Prashant: Achha.. .to petrol dalwaya 100 rupaye ka… Chai naashta hoga 50 rupaye ka… Pathak ko 38 rupees dene hain…To…hisaab ho gaya… (Bhai ye kitna sochta hai hisaab ke bare mein…)
Within the next 20 minutes our heroes parked near ‘Adalaj circle’. A tea shop was open. There were a few people sitting on the ‘charpai’ placed outside the shop. Prashant went in and ordered four cups of tea and a got a couple of smokes. Happily they sat outside the shop for the next 15 minutes enjoying every sip, relishing every fag……
The tea was consumed. The smoke was recycled. They got back to the bikes. The riders were now exchanged. Prashant was riding one with Rishabh at his back while Gupta took to the other. They took a right from Adalaj circle and moved into the remote villages which would lead them to the ‘Thol lake’. They were attacked by a pack of dogs near the circle. They survived and moved on…..
Within a span of 30 minutes they were bordering on the city and village and were riding into the deep of a village. The morning was close…. The destination was closer.
Cutting through fences and crossing roads frequently, they reached a dry heath with sand all over the road. It was a difficult terrain to tread upon. Rishabh took to the task of riding. The ride continued in the dark….. The night swiftly bordering on morning, gloom quietly bordering on chirpiness…
In no time they had reached the gates of ‘Thol Bird Sanctuary’. It was an overwhelming arch that allowed for the entrance of bikes, cars and humans into the sanctuary. The bikes had to be parked on the level ground. The two bikes took to the stop and quickly became silent and dark once the ignition was turned off. Prashant was the first to get down. His getting down had a purpose:
“Abe bahut tez aa rahi hai… Bha*** raaste mein kahin karwa dete…” He started to complain.
Pratik was slightly sleepy and realized they had reached the place. “Abe!! Bas itna sa hi hai kya?? I thought it would be grand!!” he exclaimed with a yawn.
“Bhai koi karwa do … bahut zoooooor se aa rahi hai…. !! Gupta madar.. sutta kyun jalaya??” Prashant started to lose his calm. He was on the verge of relief…(if you know what I mean)
“Udhar kinaare me chal…” Rishabh pointed.
In around 15 seconds, four guys stood in a file unzipped and watered a corner of the sanctuary… Gupta still had the smoke in his mouth… Pratik still complained about the smoke. He stood dangerously close to Gupta. Rishabh swayed slightly… Prashant was too eager to dwell on any activity.. He just pissed in peace….
It was almost sunrise….
