“Time Well Wasted”

After a bad day at work, on the way, I was talking to my cab driver & told him how desperately I was looking for a vacation. This is when the conversation started; he started telling me about his native village & suggested that we go check out this place. Initially I was not very keen in knowing about this place, as I thought that he was just boasting about some usual village where he grew up. Farms, tube well or may be a canal... that was my idea of village. A few minutes down the road, he started telling me about the places he grew up, now this is when it caught my attention & the conversation became interesting. Curious to know more about this place, I am totally engrossed in the conversation & later learned that this guy is talking about a place which dates back to the Mahabharata era, has its fair share of mentions during the Mughal era & has a list of historical building totally ignored by ASI; just in the vicinity of the National Capital Region. All I could think of is why on earth, I have not heard about this place till now...

The very next morning I connected with my friends Prashant & Johnny; told them about this place. Whoa & he you go… the plan for our next ride was made within next 15 minutes & rest of the gang was informed accordingly. Here comes the Saturday morning, Prashant, Johnny, Niraj & me, as decided, we met at decided point near AIMS. A quick round of meet & greet, with a cup of pre ride Chai & we started our bikes & were ready to roll… Pankaj & Ankur Bhai were to join us near the Gurgaon toll place… From where started our ride on the Gurgaon – Shona – Alwar Highway...

Where are we going?? This was exactly what was most of the group was thinking as this has been a surprise ride till now... Nuh (Nuh district, Haryana)... never heard about it?? That’s right, even we dint knew what was waiting for us.

Located just 45 kms from Gurgaon, is the Nuh district in the Indian state of Haryana. According to Mahabharata, the area was gifted by the eldest Pandava king Yudhishthira to their teacher Dronacharya. The city passed from the hands of the Maurya Empire to invaders such as Parthian and Kushan. The town later gained importance because of the trade in salt manufactured in neighboring villages.

Once we entered this town, we dint had any idea where to go, all we knew that there were a few building from old times… It was time for a break & for some information gathering. And the best place to gather some local information is always a local tea stall. After talking to a few locals around the area, we were given directions for a local attractions including Ghasera fort, Chuhi Mal Ka Taalab, Old tehsil building & Kotla mosque (later in 2018, these were noted as state protected monuments.)

The most boring part of everybody’s & everyone’s every trip… After spending a good amount of time on the named spots, it was time to ride back home… After a few goodbyes & handshakes, it was Prashant & me on the last leg of journey to reach Noida & all of a sudden the weather changed. From the scorching skies, all of sudden it turned cloudy & started drizzling. The cool breeze & tender rain drops were like icing on the cake & made it a ride to remember. Finally it was time to say Adios Amigos… & as a highway ritual, it’s very well said over a Chai… Not sure, weather it was the warmth of tea or friendship, this goodbye comes with a silent wish for each other to be safe & sound, on every ground; until we ride again…

I hope you have enjoyed this journey with me, below are the glimpse of “Time Well Wasted”.

Note: Please ignore the missing timeline & location details; as this ride was done in 2014 & is being documented in 2021. More pics from the ride are availble on my facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/richard.david.9028194/