Bodhisattva Visits Bidar

In front of a gate of Bidar Forte

It was almost more than a month since I went on any ride; the last ride was the Srisailum ride. So it was expected that I would try to go somewhere. A few weeks back I tried to go for a ride to Bidar but was unsuccessful since none of the riders turned up. After a lot of planning finally I was able to make this trip. Thanks to Raghu and Riyaz who responded positively for the trip.

Bidar is about 136 Km from Hyderabad in the state of Karnataka. It has some of the magnificent historical structures like Forte, mosque, madrasa, tombs of historical importance, a famous Gurudwara and mandir in addition to the picturesque landscape. So reading about it in internet caught my interest to visit the place as early as possible.

We started our journey at 6:30 AM on 6th July 2008. Initially it was Raghu and I with our heavier halves (our Royal Enfield’s). We started from Begumpet and rode through Ameerpet and NH9 towards B.H.E.L where Riyaz joined us with his friend. He came with a brand new RE which had done only 150 Km so it was decided that we are not going to cruise beyond 60Km/Hr.

The road was awesome and it was only because of the new baby that we restricted ourselves to 60Km/Hr. Even riding at that speed we reached Zahirabad, our last stop in the state of AP at 9:00 AM and had our breakfast. Then we moved on towards Bidar. It was just a rope in the middle of the road on a check post that marked the boundary of the two states of AP and Karnataka. We reached Bidar shortly after 10 AM. The entrance to Bidar was through a gate of ancient forte.

History of the Bidar Fort:
In the year 977 AD, the Chalukyas established their kingdom in the South and their capital was Kalyani. It was 57 Kilometer from the Bidar Fort which belonged to them. Later on however, the fort went into the hands of the Yadavas of Devagiri, and then into the hands of the Kalyanas of Warangal in 1322. But the real charm and elegance of the Bidar Fort rose to its zenith in the hands of the Muslims.

The Bidar Fort is at a height of 2,200 feet from the sea level and overlooks the Manjira River Valley. The main gateway of the Bidar Fort is the contribution of the great Sultan Ahmed Shah Wali of the Bahmani Kingdom. This was constructed in the year 1429 and afterwards further renovations were made.


Mahmud Gawan Madrasa

On entering Bidar through one of the gates of the forte (stopped by a traffic constable for entering through a wrong way) we came across a Clock tower which was a huge structure and we could not resist ourselves to stop and to take pictures. Riding a short distance we found the Mahmud Gawan Madrasa. The building is huge and has a tall minar which contained ceramic tiles in its outer walls. Constructing such a magnificent structure must have taken years to complete. The building primarily got destroyed due to a lightening strike but what remains shows the grandeur of the structure.

We moved on towards the main forte, which was a huge structure and made up of stone walls. The gate through which one needs to enter is strategically built so as to repel any enemy attack. The fort consists of a museum where different artifacts are displayed. A very long rifle is kept in the museum and I am sure one can’t find any rifle longer than that. I don’t have any idea how it was loaded or fired. Cannon balls of large size did arouse our interest and we wondered what may be the size of the cannon which would have fired such a cannon ball. It was just the beginning of our admiration. The palace and the garden associated with it is fabulous and one can see the beautiful valley under the forte. The garden contained fountains and water path which were beautifully decorated and the architecture of the palace is something that amazes everyone. Though the palace is in ruins but the shear structure shows its grandeur and workmanship that involved in building such a magnificent structure. The fountain was build by artisans from Persia. The garden is well maintained and one can spend a considerable time in it.
Riding a few hundred meters we reached the 16 pillar mosque. The pillars are non existent as they must have been destroyed long ago, but the mosque is a huge building and contained rooms and hallways whose ruins still stand tall against the tide of time. We took a few snaps inside the mosque.



Then it was time for our biggest surprise and admiration for the technology of those generations which built and secured the forte. We came across a large cylindrical structure and on its top we discovered huge cannon. The size of the cannon mesmerized us and we wondered how such an awesome gun fired, and how was it mounted at such a height. The barrel of the cannon is at least 20ft and one can easily crawl inside the barrel of the cannon. The cannon must have rained havoc on the enemies. It was mounted in such a manner in which it could be rotated at any direction. The gun mount provided a wonderful view of the valley underneath and we were spellbound by the view. While riding out of the forte we found two more large cannons and many other small ones which used to be mounted on the walls of the forte.



After we satisfied our eyes inside the forte we went to visit the famous Gurudwara Nanak Jhira Sahib. It is a beautiful gurudwara and kirtan was being sung when we reached there. We entered the gurudwara with our heads covered with handkerchief. The gurudwara carries the tale that Guru Nanak - the first guru of the Sikhs visited this place and got rid of the scarcity of drinking water in the region. Near the temple fresh crystal clear spring water appears from nowhere. Inside the gurudwara we prayed for a while. It was a good place to rest since we were feeling tired. Hunger was burning in our stomach and it was not long before we found ourselves in the 'langer' of the gurudwara. Food was good and we really gobbled up whatever was served. The langer room could house many thousands at a time. It was a nice experience since many of us did pay a visit to any gurudwara for the first time.
After the grand lunch and a short rest in gurudwara we visited the Papanaash temple, a Shiva temple a few Km from the gurudwara. While returning from the temple we came across the tombs of Badri Shahi rulers. We tried to enter the campus but it was closed and restoration work was underway. We were told that it remains open for public only after 5 PM. Due to time constraints we could not see the smaller tombs.


A gush of shower stopped us from moving any further but that removed the dust and the surrounding became even greener. We could see two large dome structure at the other side of the road and nothing could resist us to have a closer look at them.
We entered the area in our bikes and riding a few hundred meters through the mud road amidst forest we came in front of a huge tomb. But nowhere was it written in whose memory was it built any by whom. I guess it was of Bahamani rulers. The tomb had graves which were well preserved but the surrounding of the tomb needs restoration. The dome of the structure had inscription from the holy Quran.
Leaving the tombs behind we went towards Narasimha Jheera, a temple of Lord Narasimha. To visit the Narasimha Jheera, you have to tread for at least a furlong inside a cave with waist deep water (and countless bats hanging from the roof!) to seek a view of Lord Narasimha. Due to time constraints (and the thought of water filled with bat droppings) we decided against going inside the cave.

It was now that we started our journey back home. The new bird’s fuel tank went on reserve and Riyaz went to fill it up only to find that due to some issues all Petrol Bunks of Bidar were closed. But he managed to get a few liters. We decided that we won’t stop till Sadashivpet. The road was good but windy and we rode at constant speed of 60Km/hr for almost two hours before we stopped at a HP Petrol Bunk crossing Sadashivpet. We took fruit juice and then again carried on the journey. Since the NH-9 was a good road the ride became a boring one and we resisted the temptation of cruising at higher speeds as we had no intension of leaving one of our fellow riders behind.
Before the neon lights took over the job of the mighty sun we were in Hyderabad and bid goodbye to a new found friend Riyaz in B.H.E.L. I and Raghu did some cruising while we rode through Kondapur towards Mehdipatnam.
It was a ride that will remain in my memory for a long time. We resisted our cruising temptation in this ride and never wanted one of our fellow riders to feel lonely. While on some other rides we did cruise but many riders fell back and we had to wait for them. It was a ride that unexpectedly turned out to be a good one even when some others gave feedback that the place of visit was not worth riding. We were able to nullify that negative feedback. It was a weekend to be remembered.

More pictures avaliable at http://picasaweb.google.com/bodhisattva24/BidarVisit

Srisailum Ride

On May 26, 2008 Saturday, we went on an adventurous ride to Srisailum, a beautiful place on the Ghats which is about 220 Km from Hyderabad. The ride was organized by Wanderers-The Royal Enfield Fraternity of Hyderabad. It was a combined ride with the Highway Nawabs joining us in our quest for adventure. It was a ride which we were eagerly waiting for, so as to break free from our mundane monotonous lives and to play with the wind in the serene beauty of the Ghats.

DAY 1
In the morning [6.30 AM] of 26th May the riders of the Biker’s club Wanderers met at James Street MMTS station along with the riders of The Highway Nawabs to take the trip to Srisailum. We were 34 men in 17 Bikes and a WW II jeep WILLY’s which we called Grandmother. At 8:00 AM we roared of with our bikes towards our destination. People of Hyderabad were sent aback with such a convoy of bikes riding in 2x2 formations with their engines thumping in a synchronous manner. Soon we passed through Charminar and Falaknuma Palace and off to the highway free from the pollution and traffic snarls of the crowded city. Nothing gave us so much pleasure than to put our bikes in top gear and press the throttle.

We stopped at a place on the highway just to regroup and take snaps with our machines and decide where to take breakfast. After riding 80Km our first stop was at a place named Amangal to have our breakfast. It was already 10 AM and our stomach needed something to munch upon. The breakfast gave us the necessary energy to move forward. Since the weather was cloudy so the roads were less heated and it was a pleasure to zoom through them. Picturesque landscape welcomed us and people from villages waved at us as we drove through with our headlights on and occasional rhythmic honking. Some of the riders were falling back as there was a new baby with recently fitted bore and piston and it could not be pushed to limit. We stopped under a neem tree at Hazipur on Srisailum X road and waited for the baby and grandmother to arrive. The baby finally arrived with a big smile on its rider’s face.

We started climbing the Ghats towards UmaMaheshwarSwami Temple. It was a steep climb and all of us enjoyed the ride. One of the bike’s cable snapped which was instantly repaired .The temple is situated on the hills and the road to the temple provides a wonderful view of the valley down under. Miles of barren farm lands lied under us and the sky looked down upon us as we rode through the Ghat road. Sunrays danced through the clouds and made the surrounding even more beautiful. The mandir was at the edge of a cliff and contained a beautifully carved deity carved out of stone.

Our trip was covered by NTV a Telegu News channel and we were accompanied by a reporter and a cameraman. While the reporter rode in the Willy’s the cameraman was riding with Vardhaman as we rode by. The cameraman took footage of the whole trip including the one’s in which we rode in 2x2 formations. On our way back we were interviewed by the reporter amidst deep jungle. It was a real thrilling experience.

We stopped at several places over the Srisailum road just to take pictures and enjoy the serene beauty of the Ghats and the reservoir of Srisailum dam which was visible from the top of the hills. The water in the dam had receded to a considerable level due to intense heat of the summer months. The hide and seek of the clouds and the sun gave a wonderful view of the hills with parts of the hill being shadowed and other parts being under direct sunlight. The formation of the cloud over the hills and the sunlight piercing them and falling over the hills was worth riding that far.

We reached Srisailum at 5PM and boarded a guest house which was completely reserved for us. The parking got filled up with our bikes and we were eager to fill up our stomach with whatever was available. The food served was good and in ample quantity and since our stomach was crying for food it went down within minutes. It was then we tried to explore the surroundings. I found that the place had beautiful houses and the Mandir was just a few meters from the guest house.



In the evening we went to the mandir to offer prayers and with help of Shrinu Anna we were able to offer prayers and view Shivlingam from a close range and even touched it to offer our prayers.
I took a few pictures of the main mandir whose dome is gold plated and shines like the sun when light falls over it.

It was time to go back to the guest house and I went back with heartfelt admiration towards the craftsmen who built the magnificent structure so many centuries back. The walls of the mandir was carved of stone and every frame was engraved with events from ancient holy books and the carvings were so perfect that even today with advanced technology it will be hard to copy them. The outer periphery wall that surrounds the mandir had been built of same stone and had in them engraving of gods and goddess and also throws a light about the life of the period when it was built. The mandir has seen the ages and still it stands strong and beautiful. It is a jaw dropping beauty amidst dense jungle and overlooking the hills.

Back to guest house we had a good chat with all fellow riders and some of them showed tricks with cards. The sky was star studded and the nearby hills were glittering with lights from houses and streetlamps. The chat with new found friends made us forget all worries, tension of work, tiredness of the long ride, and mundane monotonous lives that we are accustomed to. Dinner was served and the bed on the floor never felt so comfortable before, we all surrendered to sleep with memories of the ride still hovering on our subconscious minds.

DAY 2: 25th May, Sunday.
I was awakened by fellow riders at 5:30 AM and that was done just for fun. Unable to open my eyes due to lingering of sleep I went outside with reluctant steps with my tooth brush. Then I thanked God that I was awakened so early. The sun was just rising from the far away hills and the sight made me run to get my camera so that I don’t miss the opportunity. Running back with my camera I took a lot of pictures and I literally forgot that the toothbrush was in my mouth. I realized only when someone pointed it out when I asked him to take a picture of me with the background. The sunrays lit up the whole surrounding slowly and the light danced between the hills and the jungle, it mesmerized me.

After having breakfast we started for the return journey at 9:15 AM. On our way we visited a mandir top of a hill named Nandi Shrikharam from where the golden structure of the Srisailum mandir was visible. There is a saying that if anyone is able to spot the golden top of the mandir he attains MUKTI or freedom. May be I had a lot of sins committed and hence the MUKTI was not close by. Riding downhill for half an hour we stopped at Gayatri Mata Temple, it was a relatively new structure but was fascinating.

Crossing the dam we started riding through the Ghats and through the dense forest. The group had already got scattered since every one was riding at different speeds and didn’t prefer to stop at Gayatri Mata Temple. I had one bike in front of me and expected that a few will be riding behind mine. The bike in front was really riding hard and at one moment when I had to slow down to overtake a bus it went out of my site. The road through the forest had lots of mysterious twist and turns and hence it was not possible to see the tail light of the front bike. I cruised through the road and after almost riding more than half an hour with average speed of 60Km/Hr and occasionally touching 90 Km/Hr I found that I was the lonely rider over the road with traffic coming from the opposite direction. There was no bike in front or at my rear. Only thing I could hear was the thump of my engine and only visible mammal was monkeys which were sitting by the side of the road. A sudden fear gripped me and I slowed down a bit since I felt that I may have had lost my way and in such a dense forest it is not at all a very satisfying thing. Just then I saw the tail light of my front bike and started speeding up so as to come closer to it. The sight of the bike gave me a great relief, and as I closed in my confidence grew. After riding a while we saw other riders of our group waiting for us by the side of the road and we stopped. I could only hear the chirping of birds and the sound of the engines of passing bikes.

As all the riders gathered the NTV crew interviewed us requesting us to enter the forest and we happily provided them the bytes. We were questioned about how we are enjoying the ride and what were the safety measures that we have had taken for such a long ride.



After riding for a few more Kms we reached the crossing of Mallela Theertam Waterfalls. It was 12.30 PM and we debated whether to have lunch and move on towards the waterfall or just forget lunch for the time being. The traveler within us decided against lunch and we felt a sudden adrenaline rush within us. We were eager to ride off road. The waterfall was 8 Kms from the crossing and the road was in a real bad shape. It was built of red stones and no tar was applied on it. The loose gravels made our rear tyre’s slip and our bikes swayed at times, but the joy of riding off road was immense. The road passed through ploughed fields with no sign of crops. We reached the entry of the waterfall from where we need to take 350 steps downwards through stairs to reach the base of the waterfall. As we climbed down the stairs we entered the jungle. It was dense forest and the sound of falling water was clearly audible. Moving towards the sound through the jungle we saw the waterfall emerging from behind the trees. The waterfall was almost 200ft in height. The water was cool and we had sweated a lot to reach it. It was difficult for all of us to resist the temptation to get into the falling water. So I got into it and the pleasure was such that I was inside the waterfall for more than an hour. Sometime the water was hurting as it was falling from a considerable height. But the pleasures overcome the pain.

After spending a considerable time and taking a lot of pictures we rode back, it was 5:00Pm when we stopped at a Dhaba at Hazipur to have our lunch. We were dam hungry and whatever was served went down our throat. It was then the long ride back to Hyderabad. Once we lost our way and traveled 10KM in opposite direction but soon realized our mistake and took the correct path. The clouds were gathering and it started drizzling. I stopped to put on my raincoat but my pillion, the cameraman of NTV had no protection from the rain. Lightening struck the surrounding and it was a awesome view with the flash of the lightening lighting the whole area for seconds and then it was again dark. The view of the small highlands and the barren lands underneath it was fascinating in the flash of lightening.

Just before entering Hyderabad we called up Lalit ji who owned the WILLY’s, he waited for us and guided us through the city road and the Charminar. Finally I reached home at 9:45 PM, exhausted but happy and content. The pleasure that we had and the benevolence and friendship we developed was worth taking the trip. It was a great feeling that our trusted friend, our bikes, didn’t let us down rather made us proud that we owned such an awesome machine.

For more pictures please visit: http://picasaweb.google.com/bodhisattva24/srisailum

IPL Match on 11th May

On 11th May sunday I and Samrat went to see the IPL Match held at Uppal stadium at Hyderabad. The match was between Deccan Chargers and Kolkata Knight Riders. Kolkata Knight Riders won comfortably while its captain Sourav Ganguly scored a brilliant knock of 91 runs. He was declared man of the match since he also took 2 wickets and 2 catches. It was a nice experience since we were the supporters of Kolkata Knight Riders. We cheered the tean all through the match even if we were outnumbered by thousands of deccan charger fans. My office collegues Toa, Amrita and Amit were also present at the same gallery and together we had a memorable evening .

For more Pics visit http://picasaweb.google.com/bodhisattva24/IPLMatch11thMay

Ride To Belum Caves

This week end I went on a long ride [really long] with my bike. Within a span of 2 days I traveled 903Kms [nine hundred three Kilometers]. to visit Belum caves (‘Belum’ means ‘Hole’) about 320 Km from Hyderabad. The ride was a good excuse for burning rubber.

The ride was organized by Wanderers-The Royal Enfield Fraternity of Hyderabad. The rides objective was to meet other riders from Chennai and Bangalore at Belum as the Madbulls ( Chennai Bullet Club ) had their anniversary. RTMc, 60kph and Bike nomads come together to share the passion of biking, multi orgasmic throttle pleasure, enroute bliss and also the pleasure of seeing the clear night sky with stars carelessly thrown into it.

On Saturday 1st March I with 3 other fellow riders Govind (from Satyam), Vikash (from Infosys) and Vardhaman (Businessman) started from Hyderabad at 6:00am. Life in Hyderabad was just stirring and it was easy to negotiate city roads. Soon, the dusty smoke filled city roads gave way to clear, twisty, curvy highways which saw all our bikes weave together in synchronous bliss. The thump of our engines were declaring our passion for these magnificent machines.


From then on, it was clear open roads, the red ball of fire clearly visible in the rear view mirror - getting hotter by the minute and waiting to splatter its molten “warmth” to the already parched land.

We stopped at places to have breakfast and sugarcane juice. We rode at a speed of over 80Kmph and even touched 110Kmph occasionally. We road with our head lamps on so that the rider just in front of us can identify that it was one of our team members. The roads of AP are pretty good and hence we could clock high speeds constantly. My bike got a punctured tyre but fortunately it was in a small village and mechanic was not far off. We faced bad roads after Betumcherla towards Belum caves which was almost 50 Km from Belum caves. We reached Belum Caves at 4:00Pm traveling 343Kms and found other bikers already present there. The Madbulls Came at 4:30. In total there were 32 riders with 30 Royal Enfield bikes. We stayed in the APTDC hotel at night, there was not enough beds at the hotel consisting of 2 dormitory rooms, so some of them slept in a tent brought by one of the riders. I disliked the food served in the Purnami restaurant in Belum caves.


We went Inside the cave which is 3Km in length (about 2Km is open for visit). The entrance of the cave is a hole in the earth on a flat land and one has to come down through stairs. The cave was formed due to the river waters flowing through it for thousands of years. The cave consisted of beautiful formations of stalactites and stalagmites. The ceiling of the cave was smooth and consisted of holes of 30 cm in diameter; these were formed due to the whirlpools inside water. The cave was warm inside and air was pumped inside it for oxygen supply. At some places the ceiling was not even at the height of 3.5 ft and hence we had to crawl and at other places it was at almost 15 ft. Water was still dripping from the ceilings at places. The walls contained marks of water level over the years. I took a lot of pictures inside the cave.




Out of the cave, all sweaty and feeling like the best workout ever, we were soon feeling the pang of tiredness of riding, gliding and sliding ! BUT, that was all taken care of after a shower and the majaa of meeting and making new friends happened.

The night was amazing with clear night sky, with the stars thrown into it in a disarray of beauty, cool breeze that seems to caress you ever so light, friends whose laughter takes you into a parallel universe of no worry, no headache, no heartache, liquids that give you that buzz that a smile plasters your face, food that stops the rumbling in one’s stomach, a bed that lets you attain nirvana — this explains the post evening session. After a long time I saw the clear star studded sky without any sigh of high rise or communication towers.


In the morning of 2nd March we started from belum caves at 7:00am and decided to go to Hyderabad via Srisaylum. Total expected distance 450 Kms. The ride was really enjoying as the road was really out of traffic and we went miles through valleys and beautiful landscapes , sunflower fields and Banana gardens. We stopped at many places on the road, lined up our bikes and took pictures. People in the villages waved at us and we waved back. We had breakfast at Betumcherla and lunch at Doornala.

We rode through the Ghats and the view of the surrounding was fascinating. We rode through the jungle road passing by a tiger reserve; I don’t know how many tigers are there. We could only hear the thump of our engines in the jungle. The only animals we saw were monkeys. At places we had to go off-road as roads barely existed at those places. While riding through the Ghats one bike (unknown rider) which was in front of my bike met with an accident. Fortunately (or unfortunately) I was saved. On the way to Srisaylum my fuel got finished and I went on reserve for 8Km before we reached Srisaylum where I refueled my bike. The view of Srisaylum Dam is worth taking up the long tiring Journey. The view of the Ghats (hills) was awesome. Every single turn brought a beautiful view of the Ghats and the valley beneath it. We stopped at many places just to take pictures. The sun was setting down and it gave wonderful reflection of light over the hills and over the valley. I can never forget them. We left Srisaylum at 4:45pm towards Hyderabad which is about 190 KM from the dam site.

While we were ridding among pitch darkness through the jungle road we were given a chase by a Bajaj Pulser bike and we chased it back hitting speed of 120 Kmph and more. There was absolute darkness allover and we could only see that part on which our headlight fell, everything else was under cover of darkness. On the way to Hyderabad (we nearly reached Hyderabad) we reached a crossing from where we were misguided by locals and started riding on the Bangalore highway. After driving for quiet a while we had a doubt that it was the wrong way and when we confirmed that, we came to know that we have already ridden more than 25Kms. The next route to Hyderabad was through Shadnagar. We reached Shadnagar at 9:30Pm and still Hyderabad was ONLY 48Km from that place! We were tired and also angry with the locals who misled us. My muscles were fatigued and I could hardly hold the clutch properly, even braking was also late due to the cramped right leg. On the top of it the highway was only single lane (the other lane is being developed) and vehicles were coming from opposite direction at high speed with headlights at full beam. Finally we reached Hyderabad at 11:00 pm almost 16 Hrs after we left Belum traveling 556Km on a single day.

It was one of the most strenuous adventures I have ever had , but it was a mix of pleasure, the will to explore new lands, test our riding skills and above all friendship and brotherhood. This ride also marks the deep respect that we have towards our bikes , they are like our brothers , friends and a companion who has the ability to take it all .

Visit to Bhongir Forte

On 24th March 08 I and Manas da went on a ride with my bike to Bhongir forte situated on Warangle road 56Km from Hyderabad. We started at 7:00am and reached Bhongir by 8:45am.The forte is visible from the road but one cant guess its size and grandeur from the road beneath. The forte is situated on a rock hill and built in such a manner that it must have been very difficult to concur. We had to climb up the rock hill to reach the top of the forte. The guard showed the stairs and the railings on the rocks , but while we climbed up we didn’t find our way since no direction board was present. So we climbed up through the steep rock surface. There was a palatial building and water storage area in the summit. The building was in ruins but it still depicted the workmanship and architectural design of that era. The view from top was fascinating. We could see the whole town of Bhongir and adjoining areas, we could see atleast 20 Km from up there.. The landscape was wonderful and we felt of staying there for long hours. While we climbed down we saw more water storage area , even a dam and other structures for storing rain water. It was a steep downhill decent , but this time we found the way in which there was railing and stairs. So climbing down was easier.

The place showed sheer negligence by the authority since there were damages visible due to lack of maintenance. Moreover there was no description about when was this forte built and by whom. There was no signboard showing correct direction.

The week end visit was really a memorable one and I am sure to visit the place again in near future since the view from the top of the hill is really fascinating.

For more pictures visit http://picasaweb.google.co.in/bodhisattva24/bhongirforte

My New Bike

My New Bike Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 350cc

Cactus