If there’s a motorcycle god, it’s got to be a Bullet!

It’s a shrine dedicated to Bullet Baba. And such is the faith that hundreds of devotees turn up every day to pray for a safe journey. The god in question: A Royal Enfield 350.
It’s hard to miss the unlikely shrine near Chotila village, around 20 km away from Pali en route to Jodhpur on the highway. Every day nearby villagers and travellers stop and pray to the bike and its late owner Om Singh. The temple beside the Enfield motorbike has a big picture of Singh, fondly known as Om Bana.
It is said that a person who does not stop to pray at the shrine is in for a dangerous journey.

The story goes that about 21 years ago, on a fateful summer night, Om Bana was returning from Pali to his native Chotila on his bike when it skidded and hit a tree, killing him on the spot.

The tree stands over the battered vehicle till date. Villagers say after Om Bana’s death, the motorbike was taken to a local police station. But next day morning, it was found at the accident spot.
Police initially thought it was a prank and after emptying the fuel tank they brought the bike back to the station. However, the motorcycle was again at the accident spot the next day.
“As soon as the story spread, people in the nearby village built a platform on the spot where the death occurred and started offering prayers,” said Chotu Singh, a resident of the nearby village.
The temple has a priest who manages daily affairs. Many shops offering incense sticks, flowers, coconut and red thread meant for offering prayers have sprung up near the shrine.
Local people sing folk songs in the name of Om Bana who owned the Royal Enfield.
Travellers, especially drivers of vehicles that pass by, offer prayers at the site, which is almost in the middle of the road.

Some drivers also offer a small bottle of country liquor at the site, praying for a safe journey. “Whenever I pass this area, I never forget to light incense sticks, offer liquor and lie prostrate in reverence,” said Jagdish Singh, a taxi driver.
Devotees also apply the ’tilak’ mark and tie a red thread on the motorbike.
“Villagers here believe Bana’s spirit still hovers around the place and they can hear the Royal Enfield rev up at night,” said Hem Singh Rajput, the resident of a nearby village.

The riders : Vivek + Navroze + Kapil & Me

The pillions : Benny & Namrata

Destination : Raigad

Date : 10th  & 11th July

Distance Covered : 400 kms

Experience : Looking beyond the façade of a place and allowing its true colours to seep in can result in the most beautiful of experiences..

more to come..

My road trip to Murud with Milan is one of my favorite road trips till date, not only because the ride and destination was not planned until we were already on the bike but also because of the various experiences we faced on the way..attacked by locusts,getting lost in the mountains at Roha,riding in the night through swarms of insects and having an hour long baffling conversation with a koli woman for our accommodation for the night..just to name a few.

Murud is famous for the impregnable fort of Janjira and beautiful beach, situated in Raigad district of Maharashtra.It is famous for being the only fort along India’s western coast that remained undefeated despite Maratha, Dutch and English East India Company attacks.The word Janjira is not native to India, and may have originated after the Arabic word Jazeera, which means an island. Murud was once known in Marathi as Habsan, or Abyssinian’s land. Some of the people also split the name as “JAL JEERA” meaning fort in the water.

To Reach the Janjira Fort, sailboats are available from Murud Port (which is behind Ekdara Village) and Rajpuri port.
Murud doesn’t just have a Beach & the fort. It also has a Temple over the hill next to the New Bus Depot (known as Datta cha Dongar) Hill of Lord Dattatray. One can have a paranormic view of Murud & both the islands together from the hill.
Further ahead of the hill is an Idga Mosque, the walk though the dense jungle is a experience in itself.
The fort also boasts of a sweet water lake inside it. It is considered to be a miracle that the Fort surrounded by the salty water of the sea has a lake full of sweet water. Also the cannons in the fort are quite unique. The biggest cannon boasts a range of around 18 km. It is said that since the entire cannon could not have been transported at once they had to be brought in pieces and they were then assembled inside the fort.

A short history of the fort
The fort was built by the Koli (Fishermen) kings of Konkan and repelled all the attacks of Muslim rulers for almost two hundred years (till 1490). The subedar of Junnar, Mallik Ambar also tried to capture the fort in vain in 1485-86. Finally around 1490, he secretly sent a warship disguised as a merchant ship with 147 Habashi soldiers. The ship’s crew asked for refuge in the fort. The officer at the time, Etbatrao, agreed and took the ship in. The Habashi general, pretending to be a merchant gave liquor to the Koli soldiers. Habashi soldiers hiding in the goods containers attacked and defeated the intoxicated Koli soldiers.