Friday 2 December 2011

Day 18: 22nd September, 2011
Pandharkavda-Hyderabad

We left Pandharkavda early in the morning without wasting any time. The roads were also good and hence, the ride was peaceful. We left Maharashtra and entered Andhra Pradesh. This was easy to identify due to the change of language on the milestones and hoardings but it also made it difficult for us to understand anything. However, since we are all one country, we had no problems and we moved ahead quite quickly.

According to our original plan, we were to spend two nights in Hyderabad but due to all the delays, we shortened our stay to one night only. The volunteers of Hyderabad Kutchhi Mitra Mandal were extremely enthusiastic about our trip and therefore, had made extensive plans for our stay there. From amongst them, Mr. Pankaj Savla, himself an avid bike rider, was one of the most enthusiastic member. He used to regularly call and message us to ask us about our progress so that he will be able to make the best of the plans possible. He had arranged with many other young bikers to go to Kulpakji (Jain Pilgrimage place) when we would be there. So, even we were super-enthusiastic about reaching Hyderabad. However, we were late and hence, this plan had to scrapped.

Members of Hyderabad Kutchhi Mitra Mandal waiting for us
Meeting the members of Hyderabad Kutchhi Mitra Mandal
So, instead, 30 kms before we were to reach Hyderabad, all of them came to receive us. We met them around 1 pm and heartily welcomed us with a lot of warmth and happiness. Now, there was a whole procession of motor-bikes moving towards Hyderabad.
A few of the 15 odd bikes going towards Hyderabad city

At the Monastery, after the talk
On reaching Hyderabad, we went directly to a Jain monastery near Kutchhi Bhuvan first. The other members of Hyderabad Jain Sangh and Kutchhi Mitra Mandal welcomed us once again. We took blessings from Naresh muni, a Jain monk at the monastery. Naresh muni works very actively for controlling addictions amongst youth and gave us an enlightening speech about the same.

Lunch @ Hotel Tourist Plaza
After that, again, without wasting any time, they took us to Hotel Tourist for lunch. Dr. Y. Reddy, a friend of Dr. Kaushik Gada joined them there too. The two friends had met each other after 18 years and it was a joyous reunion of the two. After lunch, we all reach Jain Kutchhi Bhuvan for some free time. A few of us freshened up and took a little nap while Mr. Pankaj Savla took the others to a mechanic for the regular vehicle check-up.

At 6 pm, there was another meeting with Hyderabad Kutchhi Mitra Mandal. Here, all of us exchanged our experiences about the trip and they spoke a little about their activities and social causes in Hyderabad. At the end, we thanked them profoundly for their enthusiasm and hospitality. The meeting ended with high tea.
There are a lot of KVOs in Hyderabad. And so, everyone had some or the other friend or relative in the city. All of them had come here to meet us as well.

Dr. Gada, with his friend, Dr. Reddy
At 9:30 pm, once again, Mr. Pankaj Savla had called youngsters to listen to us. So, we talked a bit about our previous biking experiences and had a great interaction with them. Finally, at around 11, being very tired after an activity-ful day, we crashed out.