Anyway I was supposed to ask you this when we meet but still tell me that what made you go to the tour with a PULSAR because the other two bikes are like Huge.. Well I know the excitement & passion was the key but still on a practical note do tell me

I pardon your noobness to be honest I had the most powerful bike of the lot, Pulsar 200 with 18BHP, ZMA is the best tourer handsdown and the R15 is suppose to be a tracktool rather than something you would like to ride it to Leh. So you see, it boils down to the rider and then the steed. The problem with my bike was the Silencer which was half broken and so was loosing out on power on long stretches when compared to the other 2.. A stock Pulsar 200 can touch 130kmph (On the speedo ofcourse), but mine due to MY OWN NEGLIGENCE could hardly touch 122kmph max.. just once.. most of the time I was hovering around 110 and if lucky 115.

But as you'll read ahead, apart from not being so fast bike, THERE WASN'T A SINGLE ISSUE with my babe.

*feels embarrassed* I did not know it was a P200 :-)
Yeah *says it in ur ear* Pulsar rocks

well.. you wait till we reach Baralach La, there are some surprising elements which will change the whole dynamics of this ride.. fcuk, Masala movie in the making

Ooh girls ? sex ? *waits* Fuhn

yaar alankar we had gone in june and u havent even reached Leh yet, kitna kuch baki hai yaar yeh saal pura lega kya ??
By the way your vocab is amazing its a treat to read, frankly sometimes to i just cant comprehend what u trying to portray
Let it come at your pace, having fun reading this log, mast hai

Dear Chirag by no means was motors bike any lesser just wait for the blog to proceed then you will see that there is no such thing as a lesser bike.

@alankar - I dont wish to to put spoilers here so letting it all come from you

With so many people getting annoyed by my posts these days, I'll henceforth refrain myself from posting anymore on the forums.

Atleast for the time being.

So people who dont like me, get some fresh air...


@Motor: I know there is no connection between a bike's top end & its bhp, thanks anyways.
And I dint deleted my post coz of your reply.

Well I have no issues with you.. even though being the closest friend to you on this forum, I wasn't treated well from yourside on the Leh ride.. I was not a pro-tourer like u.. am still not, but I gave my best and sadly you din't appreciate that. Well neither I post much on forums (every1 knows that).. but that last post of urs was harshly POINTED @ me.. and trust me there was no sarcasm in that post.

Personal issues can be sorted out off the forums.. and as much as i remember we don't have any.

P.S.: See ya, 2moro evening.

Man, this thread is on fire!!!

@Drifter: Thank you for the encouraging words buddy! Will continue writing and yeah I know I've been slow but given my work commitments it becomes difficult to spend time writing. Furthermore, even if I'm completely free it takes me roughly 3 days to come up with one chapter, upto 2 days on thinking about what I felt during that part of the journey, trying to remember facts through my scanty notes and FB updates and trying to figure out how I should present the facts through my perspective. Once that is done, I take roughly 4 to 6 hours to put those thoughts in writing and I then leave it for a bit, think about it some more, and make the final edits and post along with images I handpick for the articles. So yeah, its a LOT of work! Of course its worthwhile - but its still a lot. Hence the slow pace!

@Spidey/Motor: Come on now, this is an old story and yeah we felt what we felt, we said what we said and we did what we did. Let it go now. This is old news. Lets not take this seriously.

@Raman: I see you're enjoying this as always

@Chirag: Yeah stay tuned. There's LOTS more to come which will change your perspective towards most. None of us are perfect, we all F**** up during the journey (including me), but none of us would have made it through without each other so its all good. And stop calling me Misraji! Makes me feel old (no smart remarks from Spidey or Motor please!). Call me Alankar.

If my post was harsh, yours was rude to no limit.

If you think we dont have any issues then why do you think that what I write is against you, it was humour, I was pulling your leg & you took it the wrong way.

You know I dont like Pulsars, be it yours or anyone elses\
And thats what i wrote.

If you know me since 2 years, its sad you cant make out difference between my serious & lol posts.

Arre I was pulling his leg & I guess he was frustrated on something & his mind dint work while reading & he took it in all ALIEN SENSE. Pure misunderstanding. Nothing is on fire

Blog yes very much.....

Stage drama no....oob chuka hoon


(tune aisa bola, nahi mere bolne ka matlab ye tha, abe padhne wala baccha hai kya)

Section 3: The Journey > Chapter 14: In my defense

June 2, 2010

~ Wikipedia inquiry. The fact that it was made at 30kmph made it oddly funny. How curious do you have to be to ride up to someone only to ask him the specifics of his thermal reading? In each situation, my response was In each situation I was subjected to the thunder of an open-hearted and vociferous Punjabi laughter that tickled my senses and made me lose my balance a fair bit, all in good spirit.

My comrades ride off into the distance, even as I turn to take one last look at the Golden Temple.

, belches out the Indian jawaan in a startling display of eternal, unending breath. The crowd goes wild, cheering him on.



, hollers another as he works up the crowd.
, a positively charged crowd responds.


























The energy is palpable. A jawaan marches up to the gate and takes a confrontational stance, displaying power and agression, taunting the other side. The crowd resonates their support and cheer him on. Precision marching, foot stomping and choreographed hostility between the two sides flare emotions. Mild bursts of abuse are quickly silenced by liberal by-standers.














Several minutes of chanting, of solidarity and patriotic ferver, the ceremony draws to an end as flags lower in unison and the gates close. I make my way back to the stall realizing only now that I had lost my mates in the crowd. My camera lacks battery power; the lowly iPhone is put to use. I do not claim to be a professional shutter bug, but I live to learn...






I learn that whenever you take pictures of anonymous denizens, remember to take their names or forever regret it.


I learn that there were several shutter bugs before me who have educated the young in the art of posing as these little souls transition between several camera-friendly poses with professional ease.


I learn that the father, although a tad rigid, can pose just as well.


I learn that some entrepreneurial spirits will charge you 10 bucks for a photo.


I learn that the eyes are the windows to the soul and despair is aplenty.


I learn that some will shake your hand with all their might to thank you for considering them to be relevant enough for a capture; if only they knew they were so much more.

And just like that, my tryst with Wagah draws to a close. I let my mind idle into thoughts of idealism; of a world without war and borders; of being able to ride into Pakistan through to Afghanistan via Europe to the United States, circling through to Asia - all without questions, without permissions, without papers, without fear. Alas, I will not live to see this happen. But for the sake of future generations, I can only hope that this dream will someday befriend reality. Until then, I feel blessed for being born and raised under the protective wings of the Indian Army. May the Universe conspire to protect them at all times.

We rest our tired bodies. I rest my tired mind. Its taken me places I've never been before...

another brilliant day captured well through the text as well as the "peculiar" captions to the pics...