Rushh

The decision to tour Kinnaur on motorcycles in winter,mid-January, was spontaneous. It couldn’t have been made any other way. Logic proscribes purposely pitting body against harsh conditions. But the wantonness of passion foments it. The only logic being that snow weas late this winter and we could change it. So,we found ourselves on the Grand Trunk Road heading for the distant hills. The chill of a foggy pre-dawn ride in the plains was a precursor of what was to follow in the freezing mountains in days to come. The fog burned off with the rising sun. We stopped for an early breakfast a little beyond the industrial town of Karnal. Squatting cross-legged on Jute cots in the bright warm sunshine,we feasted on hot tandoori parathas with dollops of butter.Satiated appetites,a bright clear day and a smooth road heading for the horizon spurred us towards the hills at a fair clip.

By noon, we reached the mountains.The road beganits curvaceous journey uphill,hugging th contours of the mountains it winds across. The Kalka to Simla road,being smooth and wide,allowed us to make good time. Near Kandaghat,the narrow-gauge train chugged alongside us for a fleeting moment before being devoured by a tunnel where the track goes through it. We parted ways,wheels and motion in common, but different routes. Simla(altitude 7000 ft),the bustling and crowded capital of Himachal Pradesh,was bypassed as we were headed farther up. By early afternoon,we had made it to Dalli,a small hamlet that draws sustenance from the highway speeding through it. With the usual route to Rampur via Narkanda(altitude 9800 ft)iced over,we took the alternate through Basantpur and Sunni. This road follows the Sutlaj river and being at a low altitude,it never experiences snow or frost. The road between Sunni and Luhri is a motorcyclist’s dream come true. It stretches beside the Sutlej River,a winding ribbon of smooth black tarmac that demands the most in concentration and is indubitably exhilarating to ride on as well. We stopped to eat at a roadside shack and filled p on scrambled eggs and buns washed down by hot sweet tea. By the time we reached Rampur,the sky was an orange bedspread across the horizon,lacquered scarlet by the setting sun. We were on the famed Hindustan Tibet Road now-Kinnaur’s lifeline. With the departing sunshine went the warmth,and the chill of sub-zero temperatures crept in. After re-fuelling at Jeori,we rode up the narrow ascending road to Sarahan. Some 14 hours on the road and we had family arrived at the ‘Gateway of Kinnaur’. We checked into a hotel for the night,the fatigue of those long hours on the saddle acting as a sweet sedative,and slept warm with a couple of blankets draped over the heavy quilts.