Cycling (mis)adventures at Bharatpur

Continued from here.
So it was that we set off for the bird sanctuary after a heart breakfast on the morning of the 13th.  The sanctuary is about 500m down from the hotel, on the Jaipur highway.  The short walk to the sanctuary gates is dusty and unpretty, with the roadside lined with hotels and motels - Pelican place, Sunbird, Birders Inn and many more.

On reaching the gates, my first learning was that it was not pronounced key-o-la-dee-o, but kevladev!  I never understand why Indian words written in English are not spelt phonetically.

The entrance to Kevladev

The park is open from 6am to 6pm and one is free to stay on the whole day, which is what we did mainly. Entrance for Indians is Rs 25.

Getting around, unlike other sanctuaries, works out very inexpensive.  So, we could either cycle, take a rickshaw or go in an electric "car". The rickshaw is Rs 50 per hour for two, and the rickshawwallahs are excellent guides, courteous and untiring. The cycles are even cheaper - Rs 40 for the whole day, is what we paid.
So, with cheer and enthusiasm we chose our bikes. Our good mood slowly changed to consternation, apprehension, and then pure pain, by the end of the day.
I dont know what we were expecting..probably classy, Firefox bikes, with cushioned handles, gears and easy driving comfort!
Instead what we got were rickety, rackety, old cycles, seats as hard as can be, brakes non-existent, and oh so heavy!!
Sore butts, weary shoulders and aching thighs - that was our physical state by midday! On top of that, it was dangerous to ride too close to Raji and Sheila - somehow they could never ride a straight line, and their bikes seemed to have a mind of their own, veering left and then right. The paths we were cycling on were narrow bunds and so the behaviour of their cycles was quite likely to send others in to the lake to join the painted storks and spot-billed ducks!!

Then there were others like Mr Shivkumar and Mr Chari who claimed their seats were tilted backwards, and so they had to battle just to stay in the saddle so to speak!
The gunners (men who had cameras with these humongous lenses and tripods, so that they resembled AK47s!) had wisely chosen the rickshaws to transport themselves and their cameras. Of course, they had to complain about something isnt it? So Carthic and Sripad tried to convince us that their shoulders were aching carrying their tripods or monopods, while all the walking had made them weary!
The electric car- I did not find out the rate for this
My dear friend Raji had a fall towards the evening as we headed back. I've already mentioned her rather unsteady driving skills, well this time she decided to avoid a group of walking visitors (who were actually quite a distance away), and so went into the bushes and lay down rather gracefully on her side. At that moment I was admiring a nice night heron by the side of the road, and turned around to find these visitor boys heaving at her backpack(in an attempt to pull her up!) Ay, ay what's happening, we all rushed, and Vijay helped her up, to find that she had grazed her left palm quite badly and was also a bit shaken, and probably very tired.  She was bundled into a rickshaw, back to the main gate, and Kumar showed great ability in riding his cycle with one hand and dragging hers back with the other.

The night of the 13th, it looked like no one was going to bike the next morning! We all just tumbled into our beds, dog tired, after a tasty, hot dinner and bath.

What birds did you see, you ask? Oh plenty, including the majestic sarus cranes, but that's for another account. I need to get the cycle story of my chest!

14th morning 7.00am and we are back, earlier and even colder at the park entrance.  Only my nose and cheeks were uncovered and by the time we reached the park I had to rub my nose to warm it up!  Bottoms seem to have been miraculously healed overnight, as everyone was game to cycle again!  Of course people had come "prepared" in many ways - one member was wearing several underwear to give him cushioning, extra towels had been brought to line the seats, and more importantly bikes were selected for sitting comfort!

Much to my dismay, my cycle no 22 of yesterday has been taken.  Then, I discover my purple steed.  It was to remain my faithful companion for the next 3 days, taking me through potholes and ruts, around twisty lanes and bricked paths!  Never mind that it had no stand, so it always had to be rested against a tree or post (though quite often it just lay on the ground), and no matter that it had no brakes - I just had to use my feet.  The no-brakes also had an advantage, others got out of my way in a hurry!!

And of course everyone knew where I was.  "Oh, there's her cycle, she must be in the area!"  

That red bag hanging from the handlebars also gained importance - it became the lunch bag for the group, as Vijay would wake up early, rouse the cooks into action and carry some 50 aloo parathas for our breakfast and lunch.  Now with 50 parathas and pickle to go with it, the bag was rather heavy to carry on the cycle, so it was given to the gunners who took the rickshaws.  The "pantry car", as the rickshaw was promptly christened, was ordered to report at the Keoladeo check post where we would all assemble to eat, lounging on the grass in the sun, with resident babblers, sparrows, magpie robins, starlings and mynahs for company, as also squirrels and a resident dog.

Of course, we ensured that Arun's rickshaw was not the pantry car, since then we would get breakfast at lunchtime, and lunch at tea time  as he lost track of time chasing the Maratha woodpecker, black-capped kingfisher or some other such exotic bird!

As a result of his latecomings, the dog ran off with his parathas one day.  (The next day, after being fed 5 aloo parathas, we found the dog missing until well past lunch!  It had probably learnt his lesson, or felt like a hibernating Indian rock python!!)

As we wandered day after day, the rickshaw guides, chai shop wallah as well as other serious visitors all became friendly.  So it was that on the final day when my purple steed developed a flat in the middle of nowhere, the rickshaw wallah advised me to go back to the checkpost, where I could get it fixed.  It was a fifteen minute walk back pushing the cycle.
The "adda" around my injured steed
As I looked at the tyre tube, it inspired no confidence, so many patches, that I doubt there was any original tubing left!  One puncture was fixed, and as I waited chatting with some others, the tyre deflated again!  Again the whole thing was redone, after which I decided that I should just head back rather than wander the trails again!

So, without a last look at the Sarus, Divya and I returned, stopping to check out the Dusky Eagle Owl nesting off the main path, and pausing to admire a brown-headed barbet eating fruit of a Ficus tree.

Click on the map for a better view.  

The Saras hotel is at the left most tip of the map, where the downnward-pointing arrow and the right-pointing arrow intersect.  To the left is the city of Bharatpur and market.  The cycles were hired at the main gate.  I estimate that from the Main Gate to the inner gate/Visitor Centre would be a say 3 km ride through open scrub.  The Bharatpur Ashok is located in this stretch - the only hotel inside.

The spot marked with the temple was the area where we met for breakfast and lunch, and also the place where my punctures got fixed.  Jatoli was where we saw the pythons.  The Sarus Cranes hung around on route 4, just at the bend.

We cycled along trails 1, 2 and parts of 4, but not 3.  Hmmm, we seem to have overlooked that. We also did not go to Kadam Kunj and the secondary lake there.  In hindsight, maybe we should have cycled that route one day.  

Next time!

Update:

Photo by Mr Ramanan - his bike had other uses as well!