What did you do on your Versys today?/ 2022 Hey Include Some Photos!!

Versys India Riders's Meet 2022

The VIR meet was to be held at Kasuali, Himachal Pradesh from 28 Feb till 02 Mar 2022. This diverse group of riders, united by their passion for the Versys series (1000, 650 and 300) were to meet after nearly 3 years; what with COVID, nobody had moved out for even small rides, leave alone a cross country long ride.

I decided to club this with my long-awaited return ride to Rajasthan. The plan was to see Udaipur and Chittorgarh, two historic places that I had not seen during my postings in the state during my army tenure and also go to Badmer, Munabao (to see the Beating The Retreat ceremony at the India - Pakistan border), then to Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Churu, Kasauli (to attend the meet) Dehradun (to meet two veteran officers from my unit), New Delhi (to meet many tri-services course mates and compliment those who had been approved to the rank of Major General) and then back home via Jaipur.

(All ready to go)

But I did not cater for the post COVID issues (yes, I had contracted it just 14 days befor starting the ride) and on reaching Bharuch on 19 Feb, I was literally exhausted after a leg of just 8h 30 min/ 470 kms. My whole body was aching from top to toe like it had been put thru some kind of wringer. Calling my wife at the end of day did not help as she had advised me in no uncertain terms to not go ahead with this long (in total, 5000 km+) ride so early after COVID.

( The Indian triclour flying proudly froom Bharuch railway station, as seen from my hotel window)

So, I decided to cancel the western part of the ride (Badmer, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Churu) and instead, planned to ride directly to Udaipur and Chittorgarh and then to Kasauli.

Here is some info on Udaipur: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udaipur

The ride from Bharuch to Udaipur was uneventful. NH 8 is a vital arterial expressway connecting north to south India and is always maintained in top form. I started early at about 0545h, just at first light and was soon doing good time. I had booked a romm at a backpackers hostel in Udaipur and reached the city at about 1500h. But when I tried to approach the hostel, I found the lanes to be so naroow and so dug up by the water works dept that I was just not able to move in them. Old towns in India have very narrow lanes dating back from the horse era and it is impossible to widen them for modern modes of transport - there were places where even two bikes could not move side by side. SO I had to call the hostel, express my regrets and look for alternate accommodation. I found it in the National Cadet Corps Officers' Mess which I had seen on my way into the city. Frankly, I was just too tired to take any photos of the place. It was situated in an old but small palace kind of a building.

The next day, I went to see Udaipur with an autorickshaw guide named Devendra Singh. (for those who have not been to this part of the world: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto_rickshaw). My guide turend out to be a great guy, plying me with stories of the sights of UDaipur and the legends behind them. He saw that I was limping with an old footbal injury and so very conscientiously advised me against purchasing the full ticket for viewing the Udaipur City Palace at INR 330 and instead, getting one to see just the palace grounds at INR 30.


( Shri Devendra Singh Tomar and self)


A sand model depicting the famous Batlle of Haldi Ghati (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Haldighati)


The Hall of Heroes within the Maharana Pratap Singh Memorial


A life-size bronze statue of Maharana Pratap Singh. Satnding here, seeing the mural and hearing of the battle was a very emotional experiance for me; my men in the army were from the RAJPUT clan and I had often heard them speak of this king and his exploits.


The painting second from left is of Meerabai, a legendary poet and devotee of Shri Krishna. Read about her here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirabai and her most famous "bhajan" (a bhajan is a devotional song in the Indic language pantheon) here: Mere To Giridhar Gopal ( My only love is Shri Krishna, none other)

Maharana Pratap Singh with his other generals.


The City Palace Udaipur. At the top of the entrance in the centre is the icon for the Sun God, which was the diety of the dynasty.


Setting course fom Udaipur to Chittorgarh. At my left is Havaldar (sergeant) Vijay Singh of my unit, posted on the stafff of the NCC Group Headquarters in Udaipur. He ensured a most comfy stay for me.

Part Two in the next section.

My room in Chittorgarh Fort Haveli. The painting on the door top is of scenes from the Shri Krishna - Meerabai legends.


This is a Lord Shiva temple within Chittorgarh fort. Every temple of Lord Shiva is guarded by his white bull named Nandi. So, his statue is made in such a way that Nandi always points at the entrance to the temple so that Nandi can see his master's face abd be ever ready to obey his wishes. Nandi is here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nandi_(Hinduism)


The very essence of Chittorgarh, the Vijay Stambh. Here: https://www.rajasthantourplanner.com/blog/vijay-stambh-chittorgarh/


Stone tablet from the 13th century in either Pali or Prakrit describing the palace and temple complex.


Infor board for the Lord Shiva temple mentioned earlier.


Temple of Lord Shiva made by Rana Kumbha of Mewar. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumbha_of_Mewar




Another majestic symbol of Chittorgarh - the Kirti Stambh. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirti_Stambha



This innocuous piece of grass has a terrible history. This was the site of the "Jauhar", a mass self-immolation by Hindu women. Here is the main article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jauhar

Here are the three separate Jauhar of Chittorgarh:

Allauddin Khilji: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jauhar#First_Jauhar_of_Chittor:_Alauddin_Khalji
Bahadur Shah: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jauhar#Second_Jauhar_of_Chittor:_Bahadur_Shah
Akbar: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jauhar#Third_Jauhar_of_Chittor:_Akbar

This site was originally a deep pit of about 200 feet and more. It would be filled with wood, lt up and the women and female children would leap into it chanting the names of their menfolk and their god and goddesses.

Part Three

From CHittorgarh, I rode out to Sri Ganganagar, where an old army frind was posted. We were so busy catching up with old and new times that I clean forgot to take any pics.

Then to Kasauli on 28 Feb. The meet was the Wood Creek Resorts in Sanawar. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kasauli



A lineup of the bikes in the hotel foyer.


A view of the surrounding hills.



Kasuali town at night.

On 03 Mar, I started the return journey. Stopped over in Noida, near New Delhi, to meet an old friend, Colonel Rakesh Trivedi of my unit. His flat is near the Noida park, a nice place to walk and jog.


Colonel Rakesh Trivedi to my right.

On the road again and I halted for the night at a place between Gwalior and Shivpuri.

I had stepped out of my room to stretch my legs when I saw a V Strom 650 being unloaded, so ran to the help of the rider. He was Altaf Lokhandwala from Mumbai. Had a nice drink and chat with him in the evening.



at Left: self with my Versys 650 and at right, Altaf with his V Strom 650. Two fraternal, non-identical twins, these bikes.

Reached home at about 1940h on 12 Mar after three weeks on the road. I had to cancell Dehradun and Delhi due to a bad tummy infection and some type of plantar fasciatis in the ride foot.


Trip B was zero on 19 Feb. End of ride it was 4336.5 km.

Not one single issue worth even mentionong over this distance. We do have a fantastic bike