It’s high time I wrote about this experience.
Recently, when I had gone to Mt. Abu with a few of my
friends, I had the experience of a lifetime!
Once we were done with breakfast, all of us set out to do a
little sightseeing, and as we wandered around d city, we saw group of 2 or 3
riders on their Royal Enfields cruising around. After the initial admiration, I
quite forgot about them as the wonders of the city filled me. We walked around
the bazaar, ate popcorn, slurped down some ice slushies and bought a bunch load
of souvenir crap. As we moved into the Nakki Lake for a taste of the original
and famous rabdi we heard a roar that
made everybody stop in their places.
From all sides possible, bikers atop their Royal Enfields
poured into the little chowk. 10 in
all, with each and every one of the bike different, they parked their bikes in
a neat linear formation.
Ten bikers on 10 bikes, 10 beasts. That in itself was a
sight to behold. Every eye in the vicinity was fixed on them, well; at least that’s
what I imagine ‘cos I surely couldn’t take mine off them. They turned off their
bikes and took a few photographs of themselves, and so did everybody else. I,
for one, was too mesmerized even to move.
After the whole photo session, all of them started their
bikes; didn’t race, didn’t drive, just started; and that was enough to get my
heart racing.
The thing about Royal Enfields is that when the bike engines
start and the bike is in good health, the firing matches the beat of your
heart, well; my heart. The heart resonates the sound and beats along with it. So
naturally, when you race, the heart works overtime, beating feverishly to keep
up with the pace.
So, that’s exactly what happened. For about 30 seconds, they
all raced simultaneously, in the neutral gear, making my poor heart go mad. And
then for about 10 seconds, all of them honked, one after the other, while their
engines roared and the sound echoed through the valley, in that little chowk. There wasn’t another sound there.
It was breathtaking, like a pack of wolves calling before an attack, like a
cult performing a kind of ceremony or ritual, like the calling of a conch shell
announcing that something grand was going to happen. Then, the leader signaled and
slowly, one by one, the pulled out of the chowk
in a synchronized routine.
And just like that, in less than a minute, they were all
gone with only the roar of the beasts buzzing in our ears. It took me a while
to come out of the experience and into the real world. It was then I realized that
I had had a crazy adrenaline rush and that my heart was beating too fast. For about
an hour afterwards, I was weak in the knees with a heart beating out of my
chest.
Even know as I recall that scene I get an adrenaline rush! Wow!
That was one hell of an experience!!
Sorry, I just need a while J
to catch my breath….. 