A decent well planned and executed fun can be sometimes be killed by a fraction of second lasting event. And something after that. So it has been for me this Saturday. Here is the story.

It has been a while since I did decent motorcycle ride on my yellow beauty. I decided enough is enough and ‘am going somewhere, anywhere, this weekend. Two of my bike-mates from office who were to join the ride announced they were not going to join as I was to start due to unforeseen situations at home. And I wanted to move on, nevertheless. So here I am all geared up with my new ‘Proudly Made in India‘ motorcycle jacket, which I found to  be of ‘excellent’ quality, and to my taste.

I am enjoying the ride with spirits soaring high literally through the early morning cool breeze, blazing through the near empty roads at that hour.

I was passing through the Jeedimetla road on to my way to Narsapur Forest. I see a bunch of street dogs on the other side of the road chasing an intruder bitch. I could see danger with the dogs running haywire and the scared to death dog running away from them. This was on for a few seconds. There was a city bus coming from the opposite direction to the dogs. I was sure the bus driver would slow down with so many dogs running around madly across the road. The bitch that was trying to escape quickly sees the approaching bus and turns back to avoid hitting. Alas! There was a huge THUD! Head on!! I knew it was an imminent death for the dog. How cruel and careless are we human beings. My heart was filled with deep sorrow. Dog lover that I am and a respecter of street dogs, this accident made me quite sad. My early morning ride excitement was doused off and quickly came to a halt. Why wouldn’t the driver slow down despite the action being around for sometime. It isn’t like the dog suddenly came on to the road, after all. I didn’t want to look at the scene of death.My thoughts were deep. Feel ashamed that human beings are among the worst lot to ignite the slow down of wildlife, deforestation, increase carbon foot print and what not. We are the most intelligent of all the living beings yet are often careless and disregard harm to others. And I continue the ride, albeit with reduced spirit. So much for the early morning fun!

I pass through a section where goddess Kaali idol of a mammoth size is on a wheeled platform. As I rode through with a glimpse, I saw the artist managed to bring out the emotions of Kaali, extremely well. After a little hesitation fighting the laziness to return, I couldn’t resist the temptation to photograph such a beautiful idol. So I do a U-Turn. This is a huge idol probably of a height of 30 ft or more. I tried my level best to capture the strong emotions of Kaali. She was very fearsome. The artist managed to bring out the savageness not only in her expression but also through the lions. The demon’s cut off head held by its hair in Goddess’ hand amplifies the mood. I was held on to this place for some time appreciating the wonderful work by the artisan. Oddly enough I realized there was mother Durga, another idol of equal size behind Kaali. And what a contrast! This one was all pleasing and the expression clearly depicting love and affection of a mother. I was amazed how much varied a woman could be. She can be the mostly ghastly killer when needed or the most caring mother at other times!

What a shame, I thought I did take the picture of mother Durga too, but strangely found missing when I checked later!

And I . . . . move on. Still deep in thoughts of the dog that met an untimely death. Who knows, it may have wandered there to feed herself better, so it could feed its puppies. The puppies are probably at ‘home’ waiting for the mother to return.

(In)human(e) that I was, despite these strong sad emotions filling my heart, I was looking forward to have some breakfast at Gandi Maisamma X Roads on my way. I was hungry. Very hungry. It has been over 3:30 hours since I had waken up, and needed a breakfast. Badly! I move on; reach up the interim destination. I insist on hot fresh food at all times, as a matter of habit. It’s not just a desire, but more than that….a need. Some of my friends know it. Despite me confirming from vendor that the idlies were hot, before I ordered, I found them to be lukewarm, to my disappointment. Strangely I felt I didn’t deserve a mood elevating piping hot sparkling white idlies at that time, after I just a saw an untimely death of the dog. The THUD of its skull breaking was still deep in my heart, the sound reverberating yet. Saddened I continue yet.

For the uninformed, Narsapur forest is about 30 sq.kms. About its middle is where Narsapur town is (Telangana, not to be mixed with another larger town with same name in Andhra Pradesh). The drive is excellent with some decent twisty roads. There ain’t any ghat sections unlike Srisailam forest, but being close it is, about 50 kms from Hyderabad, it is a good get away for bicyclists or motorcyclists. There is a village on a diversion I took with some beautiful greenery and forest wild flowers. For the villagers I was an instant stranger with a full face helmet, a motorcycle jacket, and my yellow beauty cafe racer motorcycle! I saw a nomadic group with a flock of cows maintained by them, which I found strange to be stationed adjacent to a village as against being by a city. Here are some pictures that tell the scene better.

There was a temple inside the forest that I could see from the road but have to take an off-road into the forest to get close. Enchanted by its old white washing by limestone, I wanted to get there and check it out. I had some very unforgettable experience here. As I explained this to a priest in a nearby temple that I later visited, he had very strongly advised me not to disclose to anyone. So I am not going into details, but for a picture of this old temple.

All in all, this was one very memorable trip for good and bad reasons. I guess they go together. When there is too much good, it would follow by some too much bad or vice-versa. Life!