Phase 2 – Day 14 Rava Village

Chilapata Forest

Last night it rained heavily. The morning is cold and the surroundings are lush green. Today I plan to visit Rava Village. As Rava is located in the periphery of the forest the villagers are heavily dependent on the forest activities for earning a living. They collect honey, cut wood, do fishing and hunting, pick herbs and berries and sell these to make a livelihood. They haven’t been into agricultural work of any sort.

Since the last few years this areal is protected by the forest department claimed as a National Park, and therefore the entry of locals into the forest area is prohibited. As a result the people have no means of earning their daily bread. Poverty is at its peak in this village. The inhabitants of this village still dwell in mud homes; there is no electricity in the village so far. The means to earn a living were less and now the situation is even worse. They are not used to agriculture, and can’t do forestry any more. The situation is not very good but still I see smiling faces around.

I visited the village, was amused by their simplicity. Raj and Help tourism is being very active in developing means of alternate living here. Government offered one hundred days of livelihood per family. There are about thirty to forty family here. They have to work for three months and get paid for a hundred days. They worked on a water harvesting project. They get paid by the work they do. Digging a 10x10x1 ditch would earn them 100 rupees. Some families come here and work for a few hours a day and make their living. Being so used to doing forestry they still go back to into the nature’s reserves and do what they have been doing ever since they are here.


Another project help tourism is planning to start is a small scale industry for the villagers. They are involved in making snacks such as chivda and popcorn which is then packed and sent to Silliguri for sale. This will earns them the money and generate opportunity to alternate livelihood. The raw material for this will be provided by help tourism. I think it is a wonderful idea. I saw ladies working there making popcorn on a wooden fire. It was a pleasure to visit this little village that is struggling to cope up and change with the changing times. It takes much more than we can imagine to give up something they have done for all their lives.

After lunch that afternoon I did off roading into the jungle it was a bit difficult due to the rains of last night. It was a task to control the bike on slippery muck. I needed to be a bit more technical about handling the bike, somehow my guide and I managed our ways through it emerging triumphant at the end. It was an absolute pleasure riding amongst the greens of the forest, listening to the chirping birds and calls of animals. Riding amidst nature at its wild was an awesome experience in the Chilapata forest.

Phase 2 - Day 13 – Life changes….When tables turn!

SILLIGURI to CHILAPATA

Today was not a big day for riding as I had to cover only 180kms. Waking up at 8.30 I started packing my bags and luggage. I was heading to some parts of North East India. Apparently the rains have already set in there. The fear of my equipment getting damaged due to water seepage, aroused the need of some additional protection for the luggage for precautionary reasons over and above the rain covers provided by the luggage manufacturers - Get off your ass. As I did not have plastic bags with me. So now, the task at hand was to look for plastic bags big enough to cover the luggage on a Sunday morning. I set off to the market looking for the plastic bags and found a ready made garment store that was open that early. I enquired from the store owner about where I could buy plastic bags. He very happily guided me to his garage and got me a couple of big plastic bags from there. I was sorted. Its yet another example of the Universe provides us what we need at the right time!

I came back to the hotel and packed my bags and was ready to leave by 12.30.

On the way riding was good as I was going on my favourite route via Sevak bridge, through the forest, and tea gardens on a warm sunny day. It was a pleasure to ride on such a beautiful day, I went easy. I was enjoying the ride on the beautiful roads, with very less traffic being a Sunday. On the Gurudwara junction I stopped by the Airforce base for a refreshing cup of hot tea.

I knew, the next 30 kilometres was going to be a fantastic ride through lush green forests with beautiful trees on both sides of the road amidst nature at its feral. I rode at a slow speed of 30km enjoying the beauty of this amazing place. I covered the distance and arrived in Chilapata by 4.00 in the evening.

On arrival at Chilapata camp I met Bua da. A fantastic person he is! Bua da’s father Shivaji Sah was from Bihar-Samastipura and came to Chilapata in the sixties. He made a living by selling sing chana. (gram and peanuts). Chilapata was famous for wood logging. People cut trees from forests and sold wood logs all over the world. Because of this there were a lot of visitors in the place.

Shivaji - Bua da’s father, sold chana for two years, in that area. In those days the contractors brought people from UP and Bihar for work in that area. The manager of Mathura tea garden was such a contractor himself. He was a popular, rich man, belonged to the Baraik family. The workers and owners of Mathura tea garden tremendously loved and respected him. The Baraiks were very well off and owned palaces and lots of properties.

Baraiks offered a place of stay to Shivaji who was also selling chanas in Mathura Tea estate for some reason he spent the night in a tent. Unfortunately, misfortune struck and Shivaji was kicked by an elephant that night. The elephant also killed another Nepali worker who was lovingly called Teen number. Somehow, the following morning people found Shivaji lying injured badly and admitted him to the hospital with multiple fractures and broken ribs. He was hospitalized for over two months but could not recover completely.

The kind contractors pooled in money and helped Shivaji open a tea and snack shop so he could be independent and make his living to support his family. He was a hardworking man and soon became popular. His pedas are very famous in Chilapata. His days of misery ended. Soon he became richer and bought land back in Bihar and also in Chilapata. Everything was going good for him.

As years passed Bua da grew up and worked in the wood logging industry. In this day and age where conservation in the global mantra some forest officers managed to convince him to help in conservation work of the forests. He was convinced and dedicated his services in conserving natural resources of Chilapata and surrounding areas. He stopped people from cutting trees and helped catching contractors of wild animal trade. He became a famous man.

Kalyan da, a forest officer asked Bua da to start a campsite. Whatever money bua da had he invested it all in building two bungalows hoping to get good returns from it. But unfortunately it did not do too well. Bua da was disheartened and sad. After about one years time, Kalyan da reffered Bua da to Raj from Help Tourism, describing all the good work Bua da had done to help conservation in the forest area.

Raj and Bua da together worked on the campsite. Help Tourism made its selfless contribution in helping develop the campsite. Within no time the place started doing well and tables turned for Bua da. He now had a flourishing business that did very well.

One day, at this campsite a man by the name Chandu Baraik came in search for some work. Bua da employed Chandu at the campsite. The climax of the story is that Chandu is the grandson of Manager of Mathura Tea Estate. The very place where Bua da’s father sold chanas and was offered a tent to live in by Chandu’s grandfather. Now just in one generations time… the tables had turned! Such is the full circle of life. We never can be sure of material wealth and the mysterious ways of life. Life takes its own turns in stranger ways than we can imagine!

The guy washing my bike is Chandu Baraik working at Bua Da’s campsite in Chilapata. Such is life and mysterious are its ways ! We are nothing more than mere string puppets dancing to its tunes!  

No matter what we do the controls lie in the hands of the operator.

Day 13 – Neora Valley National Park to Silliguri

This morning I spoke to Raj from help tourism in Siliguri. He was back to base so he called me to visit him in Siliguri. He expressed interest to help me plan the trip to North East India. So, I decided ride back to Siliguri, this time taking a different route.

I rode through tea gardens, passed little hamlets and villages with people sitting by the road side chit chatting in the bright daylight. Typical sight to this region is the herds of cattle grazing on the lush green vegetation. The small curvy roads gracefully snaked around the mountain slopes. It was an absolutely brilliant ride, with snowy mist flowing on the mountains and gorgeous landscapes.

As I rode this road less travelled I could not stop myself from being a helplessly worshipful admirer of nature’s enchanting beauty. The cool breeze, lush green surroundings, softness of the mist and earthen aromas were an absolute treat to refresh my senses it filled me with joy and ecstasy riding amidst the purest form of nature.

Before I knew the weather was closing in and it began to rain. I had to stop over to cover the soft luggage from Get off your ass with the provided rain covers that come along as a part of the kit. I made a stop over for refreshing tea while I also covered the luggage to safely with rain coverthanks to my bag manufacture from Get Off Ur Ass. it from rainwater. This stop was about forty kilometres before Siliguri.

I made it to Siliguri in time at about 3.30 in the afternoon, and headed straight to Raj’s office where I spent the entire evening planning for the trip to North East India. No sooner than we were done with the planning I decided to start the trip not later than the very next morning.

Settling back in the room I got a good nights rest, only to start afresh for yet another captivating journey to the North Eastern parts of India, the following morning.

Phase 2 - Day 12 – A day with Pal da and his family

NEORA VALLEY NATIONAL PARK

This morning as I woke up I dressed and started for Neora Valley National Park to meet Pal da. I left without having breakfast. I rode off road for seven kilometres and thoroughly enjoyed the ride upto Kholakham. It was simply an awesome ride.

When I reached the junction from where road leads to Neora Valley National Park I covered a distance og 12km off roading through a beautiful jungle. Here I met an old man on a bike, his name was Simon Gandolfi. He had travelled to South America covering fifty five thousand kilometres on a 125 cc bike and now he was motorbiking in India covering it in length and breadth. He rode from Delhi to Kanyakumari to Kolkata, now he was in West Bengal and then heading to Sikkim. It is always a pleasure to meet someone who shares the same passion as I.

 In our little conversation I said that this place is changing and getting more commercialised. He immediately pointed out that I was thinking negatively. I missed the point that development also brought about positive changes and betterment of the people living in the place. He mentioned that forty years ago when he visited Goa it was a different heavenly place and now it has changed  but yet is a good place of stay for so many thousands of people who live there. They have more facilities and are connected to the world and enjoy modern amenities like any other civilized place. I realised my thinking was a bit biased and I consciously tried changing my attitude reacting positively towards the happening change. We are planning to ride together at some point. Ending the discussion I was on the way to Neora Valley National Park.

Just then I saw Pal da on that junction in his jeep and together we went to Kholakham through Neora Valley National Park. On arrival at the campsite I was amazed with the beauty of the place and the good work that Help Tourism was doing in terms of development of such unscathed places. They have developed a fantastic camp site at Neora Valley National Park overlooking the valley and mountains. Beautiful homes and cottages neatly lay out added to the beauty of the place amidst nature’s reserves. The smell of the woods and forest sounds made the experience of being at the camp even more enchanting. I was enjoying every moment of the stay there.

I was happy to hear that Pal da’s wife was going to come there from Kalimpong along with the kids. She and the kids had moved to Kalimpong for the sake of the kid’s education. They as a couple prioritized their children’s education over making money. I was very impressed with their decision. Knowing I would be able to spend time with the kids and Pal da’s wife after nine long years undoubtedly made me very happy. I was looking forward to the reunion! Seeing his children all grown up since I last saw them made me realise the effect time has on each one of us. I was enjoying a full on conversation with his younger nine year old daughter who spoke fluent English. She has a very pleasant disposition with a bubbly chirpy persona. The education system in Kalimpong definitely was showing the outcome in the way she conducted herself. We had a great time filled with laughter, fun n frolic that evening. We found ourselves reliving moments from  the yester years, followed by friendly chit chats and a scrumptious meal. That night I went to bed feeling happy and rejuvenated just by being with my friend Pal da and his wonderful family!

Phase 2 Day 11 - Foothills of Himalaya

Day 11 – Siliguri – Rishyap

I wanted to ride easy, as the distance from Siliguri to Gangtok is only 120 km. To cover this distance would take me nothing more than 3 hours. I packed up my luggage and left by 11.00 for Gangtok. The road leading towards Gangtok or Assam via Sevak road is a lush green route. I love the road after the military post. It is a breath-taking route in terms of scenic beauty. Lush green forests cover the snaky roads all along. The forests are rich in flora and fauna. Nature’s illustration of beauty is personified at its best along the meandering curves of the mountain terrains. I was enjoying every inch of the ride taking it slow and easy, soaking in the wondrous gifts of nature. I felt the cool fresh and oxygenated mountain breeze gently brush against my arms and face as I rode my way. The scenic beauty of the place not only is a treat to the eye but was very refreshing to the soul.

Riding along, I reached the junction that diverts either to Kalimpong or Gangtok. At this point I remembered, when I met Pal Da a few days ago he invited me to visit him in his tourist lodge at Rishap. Pal Da and I conducted a children’s camp at the Neora Valley National Park nine years ago. I wanted to honour and respect his invite, also I was excited to reconnect with him and meet his family so I took the road going towards Kalimpong instead of heading to Gangtok. Rishap is 40 km ahead of Kalimpong. Now I was riding towards Rishap, reliving all the memories from my past visits to the place. The roads were fantastic and I was thoroughly enjoying every bit of the ride. The glimpses into the small hamlets, meandering rivers, small tea stalls, colourful flowering plants outside the little cottage like homes, made me smile at the amazing beauty of the diverse landscapes of India.

I now found myself standing at the junction of Rishap and Rawa. Taking the route towards Rishap I had to off road a few kilometres over rocky mushy roads. The weather was closing in. The sky was overcast and cloudy. I knew it would pour that evening. The bumpy rocky mushy ride ended soon and I parked my bike at the Rishap Tourist Lodge. Walking into the place I found no one in the lodge. Pal da and his family were not there and neither was the caretaker of the lodge around. However the neighbouring hoteliers were very kind and invited me over there. I saw that there was no competition among them. There was perfect harmony between the neighbouring hotels. I was a guest to their neighbour and they were nice to me. I engaged in a conversation with the three curious young boys who were fascinated to know I rode all the way from Mumbai and wanted to buy my bike. I smiled at their simplicity, and refrained myself from taking up the offer.

I found that the restaurant door of Pal Da’s lodge was open. I walked in and put my luggage in a safe place, while I waited for the care taker to come in. I was craving for some tea. Finding my way to the kitchen I realised there was firewood instead of LPG. I was in no mood to light fire at that time so I decided wait for someone to appear. Soon the caretaker came in and I spoke to Pal da’s wife over the phone. They were in Neora Valley National Park at a new campsite they opened, which was 20 km away. I decided to stay on for the evening as it was going to rain. The weather was chilly.

The next morning, as I woke up the skies had cleared, it was a beautiful bright morning. On one side I could see the Kanchan Ganga peak and the other side was the Neora Valley National Park forest area.  I was excited to meet them after so many years. I was on the way to see Pal da... I realised one thing… it is the bond that connects people and livens relations regardless of the time factor and physical distances. This place has undergone a lot of changes since my last visit. I see a significant rise in the number of hotels in the place. I see that it is undergoing a change that comes from development of tourism. I enjoyed my stay at Rishap. The first day of riding on the curvy roads of the mighty Himalayas was indeed an awesome experience!

Phase II - Day 10 – Siliguri

SILIGURI

I had done almost eight hundred kilometres the previous day. I was tired so I decided to take it easy and rest. I woke up at 10.00 am. I wanted to meet my friend Raj who works with Help Tourism. Unfortunately I could not meet him as he was conducting a workshop in Shanti Niketan. Help Tourism is an organization that  is actively involved in establishing employment opportunities for communities through the development of tourism. They not only start campsites, but also conduct various activities to generate openings for the locals by involving them in the projects. I have high regard for their good work and respect them for the initiative they take for the betterment of tourism and the development of manpower in rural areas. Their work has always fascinated me.

Since Raj was not around, I decided to service my bike after riding 3000 km. I needed to change the oil and get it geared up for the ride ahead. Luckily I got a very good mechanic who knew his job well. The biggest problem with Karizma is the panel, it always makes a noise and needed some fixing.   The oil, clean spark plug,  and the seat lock needed to be changed. The boys at the garage worked efficiently and knew their job well. I was relaxed.

Meanwhile I called my friend Baabi from Siliguri. I met him through Help Tourism a few years ago and since then we are good friends. He is a very good photographer and makes a livelihood through animations. We caught up over Chai and Singada (local word for samosas)

I needed a new BSNL Sim connection that works in North East India so I can use it when my Vodaphone connection won’t work. Unfortunately they don’t have any prepaid cards here. Secondly, I also needed a permanent local  address to get a post paid connection. So I could not avail a BSNL connection. I dont know if I will be connected to civilization while I'm touring the interiors of North East.

I asked Baabi over, to watch the match that evening. He adamantly refused because the last time I was here and we watched the match together, he supported the Kolkata team while I supported Mumbai Indians. Back then KKR badly lost the match. So this time Baabi did not want to watch the match with me as he was convinced that when we watch it together it brings a bad omen for KKR and they lose. After a lot of convincing he agreed only when I assured him to support KKR. My main motive was to spend time with him, the match was only an excuse to enjoy his company. We had a lot of fun watching the match supporting his favourite team, but ultimately what he feared did happen, Kolkata lost!! It’s all in the game. We had a great time that evening!

Phase 2 - Day 7, 8 & 9 - Varanasi to Siliguri

VARANASI TO SILIGURI

* PS Note : This post has no photographs. The reason is that I avoided inviting trouble by attracting the attention of people by using cameras. The route I took is notorious for not being the most safe. I opted to be safe rather than sorry. So there no pictures on today's post!


After the emotionally draining widow ashram experience, I decided to move out of Varanasi as soon as possible. This was mainly to prevent myself from falling into a different frame of mind. On returning from the ashram, I packed my bags and was ready to leave Varanasi the following morning, heading to my next destination Silliguri in west Bengal.

I was reading up the maps and found there were two routes to reach Siliguri. One was the straight road – NH-2 via Kokatta and the other was the lesser travelled but dangerous route via Bihar. I personally always choose the road less travelled. This time the reason was to challenge my own fears. I have travelled riding throughout the world in places like the border of Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan but never got the courage or a chance to ride the roads of our very own state of Bihar. It was time for me to brave my own fears. Reading and research showed that the roads are not favourable for riding but I was determined I would travel through the state of Bihar—come what may!

I started early morning from Varanasi towards Patna. I was badly caught up in traffic while riding to Islampura; it took more than one hour due to ongoing construction. Connecting to the NH 2 I rode up to Sasaram taking the diversion to go to Patna. I covered a distance of 100 Km on NH-2.

I took the route to Patna via Aara. The road condition was miserable. It was a single road and broken all the way with terrible traffic. I was unable to catch high speeds and moved very slow.

I missed the bypass and entered into Patna proper. I was looking for the route and taking the Hajipur bridge, heading towards Patna. Misleading directions given by people took me to Samastipura. I took that route, riding to Tajpur to get to NH 28 and fromt there to reach NH 31 to reach Purnia. People told me the road was good. Only half a km was under construction and then the road was fine. To my horror the half kilometre of under-construction road appeared after every half a kilometre for the next 50 kilometres I rode. It was a nightmare. I came on the highway at Tajpur. I had to head to Purnia which was almost 200 km away. I stopped at a dhaba to have tea, where a local trucker warned me for my own safety not to stop anywhere till I reach Begusarai, not even to ask for directions. He told me that they as truckers were scared to cross Begusarai even in the daytime until a few years ago and would not even think about crossing it during the night. I took the advice he gave me and decided to be safe rather than sorry. I reached Begusarai at 8.00 pm, looked for a hotel and spent the night there. I could not sleep -- it was too hot!! I wet a towel and slept on it, tried sleeping on the floor and tried all sorts of other things to cool myself down and to get some sleep but saw no success.

Waking up early, I was drowsy due to lack of sleep. I started at 8.00 a.m. I had 380 km to reach my destination - Siliguri. I was riding towards Purnia. I enjoyed my ride. Reached siliguri by 8.00 put up at hotel Niladri after a six hour ride. It was a familiar place and surrounding as I had put up in my past journey to this place.

Settled in the room, I was looking for my cell-phone and could not find it. Yes you have guessed right! I had left it back in the hotel at Begusarai!!! Luckily I had the number of the hotel. I called them up and found that my phone was there. I was relieved to know it was there. He was surprised to know that I reached Siliguri that soon in six hours, which is faster than a train. I requested the manager to courier it to me at DTDC.  Unfortunately, it was a weekend and he could courier it to me only on Monday. This meant that I would get it only on Tuesday or Wednesday. So, I decided to ride back to Begusarai the following morning. It would mean one day of riding 380 km and back another 380 Km. Awesome!!

I was thinking to myself that in a place like Bihar, which has earned such a bad name, there are honest people. It’s not as bad as people claim it to be. There are good souls everywhere. It was the latest I-phone 3GS costing almost 42,000. Would anyone in a metro like Mumbai or any other place have returned it? NO. Bihar has earned the impression of a BIG BAD WOLF; it is because of some notorious people that the whole place is generalized to be like that. There are good people amongst some nasty ones.

Next morning I started at 6.15, thinking to myself… am I in any kind of race? Why do I get so crazy about riding? I don’t eat, I don’t drink enough, what is the big hurry I am in? I don’t know! The day I left Varanasi I rode like a mad-man only making two stops. One for tea and another for water!! I said to myself I will stop and have a good breakfast this morning, but did not! I love riding my bike. I was enjoying the ride so much as the bike was without luggage, that my first stop was at Begusarai in the hotel that is after a 380 km ride! I reached there at 11.15 and was very happy to get my cell phone back! I stopped on the way for a limca, then fuelled up the bike and had another Fanta, before I rode back to Siliguri. I reached Siliguri with the satisfaction that came from a good ride and the joy of getting back my cell phone!