From Bangalore to Calicut and back on an Enfield, Ryan Colaco has close encounters with creatures big, small and downright scaryOne late Saturday morning my former bandmate/ friend/ pain-in-the-a**e and I, left for Calicut. Our chivalrous intentions were to "gift" a common friend our presence at her wedding. It also meant that we hadn't bought her a gift!
We left Bengalooru at 6 am though the plan was to start out as early as 4 am. The reason why we tarried:
most petrol bunks open only by 6 am and my pal had decided that he would save Rs 5 a litre if he waited a full 12 hours to avail of the petroleum minister's largesse as prices would be slashed early that morning. He did save money in multiples of Rs 5, but the saving was at the cost of his blood pressure and my nerves.
We took turns, riding his Enfield. He touched 120 kmph once. I am sure he touched just 110, but why tell him that and risk my life! A few random thoughts did strike me while hanging on to him for dear life. I could die any moment now. So, it was a nice feeling to 'feel alive' in the midst of this 'wise fear' with no 'guarantee of tomorrow'. That feeling was compounded by my friend, philosopher and guide's casual mention that the rear tyre happened to be more than a little bald.
It's important to note that he didn't want to cut short the life of the tyre and get a new one. I guess it goes without saying that he values my life about the same that I value his.
On the way to Calicut, impulse overruled sanity. He suddenly took a left turn. He then headed towards Ooty, a mere two-hour detour. Our destination, I was informed, was a posh hotel for lunch. Thankfully, he paid the bill as I was quite "light" in my pockets on this road trip.
The snaking road and the dense forest left me breathless. The hairpin bends demanded complete concentration as I was riding. I did manage to scare the two of us by nearly going off the road once while trying to change gears.
Our stay in Calicut was action-packed. We enjoyed our friend's hospitality and home-cooked food, beer at the local bar, a visit to the museum (which made us feel awfully young), a not-so-romantic-walk on the beach, a visit to the local aquarium, which turned out to be quite depressing, and a visit to the kalleri massage therapist.
The amount of oil the masseur slathered on me required not one or two, but four baths! But it also cleansed my insides, so I'm not complaining.
Heading back to Bangalore was equally eventful. We stumbled upon a black bear. Lucky he didn't stumble on us! We were also lucky that he had the same idea that we had, which was 'turn and scoot'. I'm glad I have decent bladder control too. Jokes aside, it was great to be a part of the great outdoors with nothing but your reflexes and your common sense to save you!
(The writer can be reached at ryan.kryptos @gmail.com).
