Saturday morning, got a call early in the morning from the transporters saying that my stuff had arrived from Delhi. They had unloaded the stuff at Narenderpur and I should come and get it. Why the hell? I live in Park Circus and they were supposed to deliver it here. After dozens of phone calls to the transporters in Delhi, I finally had to head to Narenderpur, which for most of you would mean nothing. But hell that place is the back of beyond and seems way out of Kolkata, past the Garia Metro connector line. The drive there was past scores of pukurs and lots of vegetation which is common in the country side in Bengal.
When I finally got there, I was guided into a back lane where the truck was parked, a huge ten wheeler. My bike had already been unloaded, and then after a bit of time the crate with my computer was also unloaded, the crate yanked open and the four cartons with my computer loaded onto the car. My cycle was put in the boot. Thank God for the Ambassador. It’s still the car for loading things or people into.
I then put the key in and pressed the start button. Aaah! What a joy hearing that familiar humming sound. A little twist on the throttle and the engine roared. I got on, kicked up the stand and shifted into first and unleashed the throttle. The bike shot out of the lane onto the main road like a bat out of hell. Great, she still handles nimbly. I headed to the petrol pump down the road and topped up the tank. I slid my glares down over my eyes and sped off into the night. Well night, because it gets dark in Kolkata by 5.30 pm. This was going to be quite a joyride. I pulled up next to the car with Rahul and my stuff in it and told him I’d meet him back home and zoomed off.
This is my first motorbike ride in Kolkata. Ok. I realised soon enough, it wasn’t going to be nothing like my joyriding in Delhi. The traffic was not unruly, but just didn’t seem to be moving, I wasn’t getting past 40 kmph. That, my friends, is like hara kiri for my Karizma. So I maneuvered through all the mayhem and found an open stretch ahead of me. Ofcourse I had studied the road all the way here, taking note of all the sections on the stretch which had potholes and damaged surface. I pulled all the way round on the accelerator and the with some nifty gear shifting, touched 100 kmph in a short stretch only to hit hard on the brakes as a burly state transport bus with his headlights blinding me came hurtling towards me, nearly running me off the road.
Anyway the ride down the EM Bypass was quite uneventful as I just breezed past traffic and the cops. It is one of the best possible roads I was going to get in Kolkata to get the rush of riding my bike. By the time I got home and got my stuff up I realised how bad the pollution in Kolkata is. I had made the mistake of wearing a white printed shirt and it was bordering on a grey now, not to mention the collars which had gone charcoal black. Damn this bike’s only going to see the weekends.
After a hot shower, what better to do, but watch a couple of more movies? So BAD BOYS I & II, back to back, way into the night it was, with the customary chips and Sprite.
When I finally got there, I was guided into a back lane where the truck was parked, a huge ten wheeler. My bike had already been unloaded, and then after a bit of time the crate with my computer was also unloaded, the crate yanked open and the four cartons with my computer loaded onto the car. My cycle was put in the boot. Thank God for the Ambassador. It’s still the car for loading things or people into.
I then put the key in and pressed the start button. Aaah! What a joy hearing that familiar humming sound. A little twist on the throttle and the engine roared. I got on, kicked up the stand and shifted into first and unleashed the throttle. The bike shot out of the lane onto the main road like a bat out of hell. Great, she still handles nimbly. I headed to the petrol pump down the road and topped up the tank. I slid my glares down over my eyes and sped off into the night. Well night, because it gets dark in Kolkata by 5.30 pm. This was going to be quite a joyride. I pulled up next to the car with Rahul and my stuff in it and told him I’d meet him back home and zoomed off.
This is my first motorbike ride in Kolkata. Ok. I realised soon enough, it wasn’t going to be nothing like my joyriding in Delhi. The traffic was not unruly, but just didn’t seem to be moving, I wasn’t getting past 40 kmph. That, my friends, is like hara kiri for my Karizma. So I maneuvered through all the mayhem and found an open stretch ahead of me. Ofcourse I had studied the road all the way here, taking note of all the sections on the stretch which had potholes and damaged surface. I pulled all the way round on the accelerator and the with some nifty gear shifting, touched 100 kmph in a short stretch only to hit hard on the brakes as a burly state transport bus with his headlights blinding me came hurtling towards me, nearly running me off the road.
Anyway the ride down the EM Bypass was quite uneventful as I just breezed past traffic and the cops. It is one of the best possible roads I was going to get in Kolkata to get the rush of riding my bike. By the time I got home and got my stuff up I realised how bad the pollution in Kolkata is. I had made the mistake of wearing a white printed shirt and it was bordering on a grey now, not to mention the collars which had gone charcoal black. Damn this bike’s only going to see the weekends.
After a hot shower, what better to do, but watch a couple of more movies? So BAD BOYS I & II, back to back, way into the night it was, with the customary chips and Sprite.
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