To my fellow brethren..

At some point of time we ‘all’ have been fascinated by this machine and have dreamt of owning one.

Like many I fell in love with this machine at a very young age.
How and when is immaterial as this love and passion only grew with time.

I learnt riding at the legal age of 18 years.
Following which I made helpless, repeated requests to buy a Royal Enfield which were turned down by my parents as youthful stupidity.

I am 26 now.
And till about two months ago I did not possess a driving license.
Not because I do not adhere to traffic rules or could not pass the test but simply because I didn’t ride.

Born and brought up in Delhi, I went on to graduate from Mumbai in 2006.
After graduation I took up various jobs till I finally settled down with my current one in Pune.

Of all the cities I have been to I guess Pune is the worst in terms of public transport.
Having lived through the killer ‘Bluelines’ of Delhi and having survived the Mumbai locals, travelling in Pune has been my worst experience.
Not because its risky but simply because of it's poor public transport system.

My desire to own this beast was reaching its zenith when each day I set out to commute in this city.More than temptation it was the frustration of travelling in inadequate, overcrowded, sweaty and most times dirty buses.

The strong conviction that I did not wish to finance this beauty either from a bank or by my parents was a reason for me to go through this ordeal each day.
I wanted to buy it on my own hard earned money.
Call it self satisfactory feel good factor or simply a lofty ego!

Many a times our dreams and wishes comes with a price, one must be just willing to pay it..

Nine months down through this tribulation I had saved enough and now was short of just couple of thousands to buy this enigmatic machine. This was the weakest phase when the urge to borrow the remaining few thousands from parents was the strongest.

Just then as if the heavens bent down seeing my hardships and granted me my wishes.
I received an unexpected Diwali Bonus which added up to the magical figure.

The same weekend I applied and procured a learner’s license and later in that evening, I was at the Royal Enfield dealer checking out the steeds lined up in an orderly fashion. This was the first time I was seeing so many untouched, untamed and unclaimed beast at one place.

Amidst all this I was looking for the one that I had specifically come for – dual tone silver Electra 5s.
Why?
Why not?!

Only after enquiring I learnt that the dual tone was out of stock and the company wasn’t manufacturing much of them to keep the demand supply chain high.
I don’t know how true/untrue it is.
And I was least bothered about the same.

But the fact that I would have to wait for yet another month to get what I wished for was killing me.

DAMN!

My impending desire to own this machine was stronger than my patience to wait for one more month of wait, struggle, frustration and temptation!

Another 30 minutes and I owned an Electra 5s only difference the colour being Black.
This was the only available, unclaimed machine in the entire showroom.
As I frayed my hands across the beauty I left behind a print on the dust coating.
Instinctively, I pulled out my handkerchief and brushed her.
In return she glowed as if thanking me for this gesture.

I turned in the key and kick start my baby and it went... dug…dug…dug…
It was heavenly music to my ears!

I shifted gear and took it for our maiden ride..Dug..dug..dug..dug..dug..dug..dug..dug..dug..
I don’t think any amount of words can describe my ecstasy.
Neither am I attempting to.
I was simply hyperbolocally EUPHORIC!

I returned to the showroom as I had to leave her behind for RTO formalities.
Even though this umbilical connect was just an hour old I felt the pain as I left her behind.

On my way back home which ought to be my last bus ride ever I named the beauty ‘CHAOS’.
According to Greek mythology Chaos was the vacant and infinite space which existed and out of which the gods, men, and all things arose.

For me it was something similar.
The joy, the bliss, the happiness, the thrill, the delight, the excitement, she gave me was something never experienced before.
I guess I was still in a state of trance.
It gave birth to so many new emotions, feelings and senses that I felt the name were apt for my baby.

Chaos is now over two months old and has crossed the 2500 kms mark.
I already see this relationship growing into something magical and beautiful.

It has redefined riding to me.
And I realise that it's not always about the rider but the ride too..

Was the wait and pain worth it?
Absolutely!

I feel it’s one of the best things that have happened to me.

Next priority is to pass my riding test which is a mere formality to obtain my permanent license and then hit the highways..!!

Before signing off I wish to pray for all my fellow brethren whose dreams are yet to come true that your time shall come and we shall meet sometime, somewhere thumping on the highway.

Till then,
Adios with chaos..