Rann Ride : Day 2

I'm feeling like a star, you can't stop my shine .. I'm lovin' cloud nine, my head's in the sky .. I'm solo, I'm ridin' solo .. I'm ridin' solo, I'm ridin solo, solo

Day 2: Dhrangadhra-Dholavia-Radhanpur

Woke up at 7 and immediately went for a bath .Today was going to be easy for my butt , not much ride planned for today . Initially planned route was Dhrangadhra-Halval-Tikar- Varnu- Adesar- Rapar- Lodrani-Dholavira . Called Devji Bhai to inquire about the status of Rann . He informed that the south west monsoon waters have brought sea water in the Tikar side of Rann . Only way into the Rann and out was from Dasada-Zainabad side to Kuda .

I left Dharangadhra with a very heavy heart . The sole purpose of my trip was to ride in the Rann . He said that there is a 10 Km patch of greater Rann between Lodrani and Dholavira ,only to find out later that there is a road through this stretch with greater Rann on both sides . Started for Dholavira at 9 Am . The route I opted for Dholavira was Dhrangadhra-Halvad(30)-Maliya(50)-Samkhiyali(40)-Rapar(45)-Dholavira(90). The Dhrangadhra-Halvad-Maliya stretch will be Four Laned within 2 months . Currently it is 2 laned with very sparse traffic and I didnt allow the needle to drop below 100 Kmph mark . The roads of Gujarat can put the best roads of Maharashtra to shame .

At 10 Am reached Maliya and stopped at a tapri for a Glucon-D break .Here I met Shabbir , who almost convinced me to go back to Tikar , assuring me that Little Rann was still very much dry and only 4-5 days back he had visited Ghantila Mandir . Shabbir does fishing in Rann during the monsoons . The Jhinga fish is the livelihood of the people in the Little Rann during Monsoons . Here I was in a dilemma whether to ride back to Tikar or continue to Dholavira and then made up my mind and continued towards Dholavira with a hope of riding in the Rann on the return journey .

Suraj Bari Bridge is 8 Kms from Maliya . This bridge is built over the Little Rann . Rann was completely encroached by the sea water , no piece of land was visible from here , salt activities had already wound up. Completely disappointed asked around 8-10 people if they had any idea about the condition of Tikar-Varnu Stretch , almost everyone said that sea water has encroached . Without wasting any more time started for Dholavira . The roads from Maliya to Samakhiyali are 6 Laned , perfectly tarred *and perfect to twist the throttle and forget about the rest . At 11:45 Am i was in Rapar and hungry . Rapar is a small town , although they call it city . Landed up in the market area , feasted on the street junk food Paani Puris,Dhoklas , Khandvis , Fruit Salads , Ice Creams , Dabelis etc with almost no impact on the pocket . Started for Dholavira by 12:30Pm with a filled stomach and crossed the 1st BOP(Border Outpost) before Dholavira and stopped at the second BOP for a chat with a lone BSF Jawan on duty at 1:40 Pm . In between Rapar and Dholavira , I happened to meet one Mr. Hussain . He was a knowledgeable guy , who helped me plan the return route . I was pakaoing the the BSF Jawan , with all sorts of questions . This was the first time I was meeting a defense guy on duty . *He informed me that I could well ride till the border fence 35 kms from Lodrani , if the BSF company Captain permits , and that the chances of him permitting are very high .

Conversed with him for an hour and then left for the Harappan Excavation Site , where I met Mr. Raoji Bhai.
Raoji bhai is the sole caretaker-cum-guide for this museum-cum-excavation site . He showed the various items which had been used 5000 yrs ago , i.e. at around 3000 BC . After this briefing , i roamed around the site . The sun was on its high , and i was informed that the temperature was 43 deg Celsius. The best part of the ride happened here . I was standing on the citadel built back in 3000 Bc and staring at the vast expanse of nothingness , the salt desert, the greater Rann . Now I was not in a mood to call it a day so early with nothing much around to do . By now, my plans were to ride to Modhera for night . While discussing the route to Modhera , Raoji bhai told me that i can save around 60-70 kms if i ride through the Rann . As soon as he said that I can ride through the Rann , my heart was jumping with joy . The route was Dholavira-Balasar(52)-Mauvana(22)-Vahva (Via Little Rann) (30)-Santalpur(12) . Without wasting anymore time , I hit the road high on exitement *By now I dropped the option of riding to the border fence.Went to the first Dholavira BOP , and everything beyond that was nothing but white. I couldn't resist riding in the salt desert and pleaded with the BSF officer there but he didn't budge .Finally left from there with utter disappointment and still with a possiblity of riding through Rann . As I crossed Lodrani , bike went into reserve mode *. With only 2.5 liters of fuel , chances of being stranded in the desert was very high . Luck was on my side , met Mr.Hussain again . he informed that one store in Balasar sell Petrol but also dropped a bomb . According to him the Jawans at BOP Mauvana generally don't allow anyone but local from entering the little Rann .

On reaching Balasar, it wasn't difficult finding the store that sell petrol at black market prices (Rs. 75 for a liter). Bought a liter and left for BOP Mauvana .This is the first time after almost 1000kms , i was riding on single-lane country roads . I was under the impression that such roads never existed in Gujarat . After Mauvana the roads disappeared . I was all sand till the BOP Mauvana . Like Mr. Hussain said , BOP guys started throwing tantrums . Finally after checking all bike papers, Driving Licence , PAN Card , they considered letting me go . I was standing there for half an hour while they were discussing where to let me go or not . Then came Ravi , BSF Jawan from Pune. He started conversing in Marathi . I somehow managed to convince him that , riding through the rann was the only purpose of me riding this far , at the end Ravi spoke to their officer and they allowed me to ride further . Ravi later disclosed that my beard was the reason behind their reluctance . As I was about to proceed further , I was invited to join them for evening Aarti . I was a completely different Aarti , straight out the movie 'Border' . By the time I left BOP Mauvana , it was 7 PM and only 45mins of daylight was left I hit the sandy and bushy patch before entering the rann .

Then the moment arrived and I was riding through Rann . A feeling , an experience which cannot be put into words . 5 kms into the Rann , my bike came to a standstill , switched to the reserve fuel mode and fired again. *I stopped for a moment to experience nothing but couldn't . I saw the horizon to my right ,ahead of me and in the rear view mirror . To my left I could only see the construction debris of the new highway being built across this stretch . Halfway through Rann there is another BOP in middle of nowhere . Went there to inquire if i was on the correct path . As I was about to leave that BOP their pet dogs started jumping at me . There was this sandy stretch for 200 mtrs where I twisted the throttle a little and lost balance . I almost fell there and many times in the sand lost my balance . Back in the Rann , I could see the sunset in RVM . Now the Rann was behind , it was very easy riding there , the real challenge was yet to come ;A 5km ride through a blanket of sand on the mercy of the HighBeam. I lost my balance 10-15 times in this stretch , at times i had to get down and push the bike when the wheels were buried inches inside the sand. I could see the peacocks and peahens gazing at me and my bike . How I wished that I carried my tent along ! Imagining the experience of spending a night here, continued to push the bike . Vavha village, then appeared out of nowhere . I decided to drop Modhera from the plan and call it a night at Radhanpur which was still 55kms away .

Back on the Highway , few kms before Randhanpur stopped for refueling . Reached Hotel IndraPrasta , booked a room for night w/o AC . I happened to see few Nepalis cooking and hence ordered Fried Rice for dinner . That was the biggest mistake of the trip . Checked into my room had a bath , called home to inform that i'll be home by Saturday night . Then had that so called Fried Rice . It was nothing but steamed rice dipped in oil and soya sauce with cabbage toppings. Somehow consumed it and hit the bed .The hotel was close to highway , the truckers made sure that I woke up every hour,but my tiredness ensured that no one can stop me from a good sleep.