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While cycling from Nagaur to Bikaner, I felt the real desert heat as I was heading towards the desert city of Bikaner. Sand beside long, lonely roads has its own beauty and I was quite mesmerised by it. The scorching heat of sun was felt less as I was completely involved in the surroundings and in the excitement of reaching Bikaner. I have been hearing about this beautiful city a lot from an Army officer friend of mine who was posted here four months back.  There were times when I looked back and forth and all I could see was only me in this arid region. Whenever I used to cross people on my way, they saw me as if I were an alien and I felt awkward. A few people I met thought that my cycle was automatic and when I changed gears, there was no need to paddle it. I had a hard time making them understand that it was a bicycle and needed paddling to move it. And then to some, gears were no use on a bicycle.  As I was about to reach Bikaner, I was cycling up a small elevation and all of a sudden, I could see this big concrete city ahead of me, springing up from nowhere in the middle of the desert.  I came across the famous Karni Mata temple 31 km before Bikaner. I cycled for 117 kilometers in 6 hours and 15 minutes to arrive at Circuit House in Bikaner. I have a friend (IAS officer) posted here in Bikaner, who got accommodation arranged for me in the Circuit House, where other senior government officials stay. There was tight security of police when I reached there, as 17 April would be the voting day in the city. I feel really lucky to get to stay in the Circuit House and it gets added to my new experiences during this tour. |
