Cycling through big cities and lots and lots of hinterland - India III

India is intense. India doesn't sugarcoat anything. India is loving and cruel.

India demands and shows us its beauty as well as its ugliness. Here you are enchanted one moment and the next it is as if you were kicked in the back of the knee and lost your stability.

We will find out more and more in the weeks as winter draws to a close.

Every time I am, and we are, caught off guard by this realization: India is so intense and doesn't fit into any framework.

In mid-January we leave the peace and magic of Hampi. We took the encounters and new memories into our hearts. What lies ahead of us now is uncertain and new.

For the first time since we traveled this country, we are breaking new ground.

It should go north. The original plan to cycle to the northeast is thrown out the window for various reasons. We stay in the west of the country and look for a route towards northern India so we can get to Nepal in the summer.

At the end of January we roll across the border between the states of Karnataka up to Maharashtra. Everything seems greener, cleaner and bigger there.

At every corner, at every break and even in between from the bike, there is one or two chats. The question of where from and where to is usually quickly clarified. The question of why often hangs in the air, followed by silence. It's neither a pilgrimage nor a family visit why we're traveling through this area.

The climate is now pleasant for cycling. It is dry and less hot.

The route takes us via the cities of Pune and Nashik towards Gujarat. A state neither of us had set foot in before.

But before that there are many encounters, a reunion and a road trip by car:

Using the Warmshowers* platform, we find space with Kedar and his family in Pune for a few days. A cyclist himself, he knows what we need.

As we spend two hours making our way to his apartment through the city traffic, I feel initiated at the end.

If it's possible to cycle between all the cars, motorbikes, rickshaws and pedestrians, and we can make do with buses without ending up on their bumpers, we can ride anywhere.

It's just a matter of looking decisively at the right moment, not averting your gaze every now and then, pedaling hard, having a nice chat at the traffic lights (yes, they exist in India's big cities and are more or less observed). to look for the driver of the more powerful vehicle in order to gain the right of way and always, really always drive. Just don't hesitate, never hesitate. And certainly don't stop.

We arrive at our host's place all set and ready. We are cared for and pampered and warmly welcomed into a very loving family.

From here we take a short weekend visit to cousin Deepa in nearby Mumbai by bus. Before we finally turn our backs on the south of India, we want to have a little family around us again... saying goodbye is a bit wistful. We know it will be a long time before we see each other again.

Back in Pune, we once again pack just a small bag and set off on a road trip by car with Kedar and his friend Braveen to the remarkable caves of Ellora** and Ajanta***.

I've never seen anything like this before. Several hundred and thousand years ago, temples, statues and monasteries were carved and carved from the stone. To this day, some of these works of art have been more or less well preserved and with a little imagination you can see what might have been going on there back then.

We wouldn't be traveling with Indians if in less than 48 hours we had not only seen these two outstanding sights, but also visited one of the 12 most important Shiva temples - the Ghrishneshwar Mandir - in the country.

Women and men from all over the country line up for hours in a long, jostling queue to bow in prayer for a brief moment in the innermost parts of the temple. One might become impatient in the heat of the midday sun, crammed in among all the believers. You can also practice patience. Watching others live the waiting as part of devotion - as Bhakti Yoga - and do the same.

Somewhere along the way we pick up a miniature museum of Indian monuments. It is mentioned here because the owner/curator/artist Mr. Vishnu Ghulepatil's enthusiasm for his works and his show is touching and infectious.

These days, Kedar not only provides us with stories about his country and Hindu culture, he also lets us taste one or two delicacies from India's vegetarian cuisine and he gives us helpful tips when planning the route for the way to the north. ****

When we set off from Pune we were so motivated that we extended our daily stages a little. Now we want to make meters. The heat of the day is still bearable, but in a few weeks it will be really hot - or so we are told.

Once again we roll through the landscape of Maharashtra, sometimes faster and slower. Over plateaus, on gravel roads, country roads and even the motorway proves to be a pleasant journey.

In Nashik there is another longer stay in between.

Our new friend from Pune arranges to stay overnight with his friend Rajendra and his wife Anita. We want to hike and rest a bit here. But things turn out differently than expected. Things always turn out differently than expected.

The local cycling club really embraces us. We are honored and invited from one event to another. We give a talk about our trip in which we get to say less than the audience present and in which a journalist from the local daily newspaper asks a lot of questions but ignores the answers and ultimately writes what he said in the article about us would like to share with his readers. We get involved in a charity event that provides pilgrims with snacks and water and hike with a school class to a temple mount. We eat wonderful home-made food with our host family and spend the night in a hospital room at their clinic (the two are doctors in their own hospital). We are invited and looked after by various people and a puja (worship in a Hindu temple) is held in our honor. Even our bikes get service. During these three days we will once again get to know the boundless hospitality of the people of this country. They are often overwhelmed by it and realize that the best way to deal with this feeling is to get involved and use humor.

We leave Nashik accompanied by a few cyclists from the bicycle club, full of impressions and the urgent need to be alone again.

A few days later we cycle into Gujarat. A state in northwest India that neither of us had ever visited before. Here we leave the Dekhan Plateau and roll downhill for kilometers over gentle, forested hills.

A ferry takes us to the Saurashtra peninsula in mid-February. The area here is flat and desert-like. We pass salt marshes again and again and marvel at how there is so much life in such a barren area. The only downside these days is that the local cuisine doesn't quite suit our taste. There are hardly any breakfast options and when there is, it's fried food. Sugar is used in many dishes that we love because they are not sweet.

Nevertheless, Gujarat also remains fondly remembered: with the beautiful Jain temples in Palitana. With a temple where it is customary to throw turmeric powder around. With a hike in Junagadh where we climb 5000 steps to overlook a small mountain range rising from the plain. With a warm extended family somewhere in a small village who invites us to lunch and proudly shows us their dairy cows and the newly built house. With a bird safari and the world's only white donkeys, which live in a nature reserve in the “Little Runn of Kutch”.

At the end of February we cycle to the next state - Rajasthan. We have a newly constructed highway through green, hilly landscape almost to ourselves. Cereals grown on small areas are about to be harvested. As in Gujarat, here too we encounter many, many stray cows and especially bulls. Sometimes there are entire herds that roam around the area looking for food. More and more often we drive past camels, which are used as livestock animals in this dry area.

We spend a few days in Udaipur, the former capital of a large principality, sightseeing and occasionally enjoying the amenities of a large city that has been developed for tourism. The architecture here is beautiful to look at. The colorful wall paintings on the house facades give the surroundings a cheerful expression.

However, the real destination of our trip through Rajasthan is Pushkar. A small town just four stages from Udaipur. The town is just as popular with Hindus as it is with tourists from outside. One of the few temples of the Hindu god Brahma is located here. Jewelry and colorfully embroidered clothing are available for purchase in the alleys. The small town is no longer so small. The magic of this place can still be felt.

For health reasons we are staying here longer than planned. We spend two weeks getting healthy, taking short walks and finally, finally eating home-cooked food again.

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* Warmshowers - a platform for cyclists where you can offer or find free sleeping places. Similar to couch surfing.

** Caves of Ellora - The complex of 34 Buddhist, Hindu and Jain temples has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983.

*** Ajanta Caves - Buddhist cave complex consisting of 29 cult and residential caves. Also a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983.

**** If you are planning a trip to India and would like to hike the Himalayas, you can book a trip with Kedar and his daughter Kruttika.

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