The Motorcycle Diaries

Chapter 1

PART I

A thirteen year old boy stood in front of the thick metal garage door. He listened carefully for any sound within. There was total silence. It seemed he had arrived early today. He settled on the upturned bucket waiting for the men to appear.

The boy was an Orphan. He didn't know what had happened of his parents. He didn't even remember their faces. He feared nothing and people always thought that he was full of attitude because he spoke very less. But he didn't care. He liked to keep to himself. He liked doing unusual stuff which ordinary people wouldn't even dream of doing.

One evening when he was returning from School, he saw two men enter an isolated building, a mere two blocks away from his Orphanage. The building was partially complete and it had been completely vacant ever since he had arrived at the orphanage. It was quite unusual for them to go in there he thought. So he decided to follow them.

He always had a thing for solving mysteries. He crept behind the two men silently and that day, they introduced him to an exciting, dangerous world which was totally new for him. And then there was no stopping him. Each Friday night he would sneak into the rundown building to listen to the men discussing cars, races and lot more.

The turning of the locks disturbed his trail of thoughts and he silently peered through the key hole inside the garage. Dim yellow light flooded the room and two burly men came into view.

Without wasting time, one of them pulled the covers and a Porsche & a BMW came into view. 'What do you think Sam?' the man asked his friend.

The man called Sam let out a low whistle. 'Sexy!' was the only word he could utter.

The boy's mouth was shaped in an 'O' of surprise. It was the exact same BMW which he had driven on his computer in his racing game Grand theft Auto. The metallic blue paint was shining and he couldn't stop admiring the car's elegant design. The Porsche too seemed to be imported from other country. He had never seen this model until now. The two men had already sat inside and were discussing the stats. Though he couldn't get what they were saying, he knew the cars were very hi-tech and expensive.

He heard them speaking -

'They are indeed a lot of money'

'Will they sustain in the race?'

'Depends upon who gets to drive'

'Man. This is fun. The betting is already worth millions! And the game hasn't even started!'

'Yeah dude! I just can't wait for the event to begin!'

'Come on. Let's leave. No one should come to know about this place. Else we'll get into trouble'

They hid the cars under the covers and checked the room to see whether everything was alright. Still discussing cars, the two men left the garage through the other exit oblivious to the presence of the thirteen year old kid who had witnessed the entire scene. The boy knew whatever they were up to was certainly not good. Else who would meet in an old building in such a secretive manner and that too at this hour of night? Racing games were his favourite. He wondered how fun it would be to do it in real life rather than watching the cars on a computer screen.

O-o-o-o

8 years later -

The surroundings had changed. But his life was just the same. The same old orphanage and a few good friends! But his passion for racing had increased. It was an addiction which had been growing all these years. The boy now an adult had discovered many secrets till now. The men in the garage would import cars from abroad and would rent them to racers. On winning, the racers and these men would share the money won. It was a type of gambling. Now the young man knew how these people worked and their complex networking. Alcohol, drugs, money, girls, betting and what not! One could find everything he or she wanted. The young man would sit and observe these people for hours and hours…

These racers mostly used imported cars. Sometimes domestic cars were made to look like imports performed in a power packed action filled races.
Danger was a part and parcel of this thrilling sport and he absolutely loved watching it.

Quite a few times, he imagined himself in one of those cars fulfilling this badass, long cherished dream of his own. Naturally all this invited high rate of crime. He was amazed how the cops never managed to get hold of the racers. He had heard a few cases where cops had busted the gang of illegal street racers yet the surprisingly these illegal activities continued and seemed to be growing.
He had developed a reckless need for speed by watching all this action since childhood. Once when he was watching a drag race sitting on a rock in the darkness, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

The young man wasn't frightened at all.

'Kya hai?' he asked the stranger in an arrogant voice.

'Chalo mere saath… Saab ko tumse baat karni hai' said the guy.

He led them into a dirty room just a few feet away from the racing track. A short and a slightly bald man looked up at them from his chair. He was smoking a cigar.

'Tumne shayad mujhe pehle kabhi dekha nahi hoga. Log mujhe KT ke naam se jaante hai. Bohot dino se dekh raha hu tumhe. Kyu aate ho tum yaha? Aur rehte kaha ho?' asked KT.

'Main yahi paas me ek Orphanage me rehta hoon. Bas agle saal meri padhai khatam ho jayegi phir job karunga' said the young man.

'Kaha job karoge?' asked KT.

'CID me naukri karni hai mujhe' said the young man grinning.

'Kya? Tum mujhe dhamki de rahe ho? Tum nahi jaante me kya kar sakta hoon! Abhi tak job mila bhi nahi aur abhi se aise baatein kar rahe ho meer saath!' said KT angrily.

'Mujhe pata haijo kaam tum log karte ho woh gair kaanooni hai. Par maine kisi ko kuch bhi bataya nahi. Aur main aapko koi dhamki nahi de raha sirf bata raha hoon. Bachpan se mujhe racing ka shauk hai isliye yaha dekhne aata hoon' said the young man calmly.

'Khud gadi chalana pasand karoge?' asked KT.

'Boss ye kya keh rahe hai aap. Ap to jaante bhi nahi iss ladke ko!' the other person said yelled.

'Tum chup raho! Jao bahar aur apna kaam karo!' KT shouted back.

'Kya? Aap mujhe puch rahe hai? Ek honewale CID officer ko?' asked the young man shocked.

'Honewale ho na? Hue toh nahi na abhi tak? Ye sirf ek offer hai. Aur wo bhi hamesha nahi sirf emergency me mujhe zaroorat lagegi tumhari. Matlab agar koi racer mar gaya ya kisi aur club ka member ho gaya toh. Hum legal contract sign karenge' KT explained.

The young man couldn't help smiling.

'A legal contract for an illegal job!' he thought.

'Haas kyu rahe ho? Ye sab joke lag raha hai tumhe?' asked KT angrily.

'Nahi. Aisa kuch bhi nahi hai' said the young man.

'Aur haan, tum kisi ko bhi iske baare me nahi bataoge. Main tumhe sirf puch raha hoon. Koi force nahi kar raha' said KT.

'Par mujhe gadi chalani aati hai ya nahi wo toh aap jaante bhi nahi!' said the young man.

'Tum paida bhi nahi hue the tabse main iss business me hoon. Ek hi nazar me mujhe samajh jata hai asli khiladi kaun hai!' said KT.

'Thik hai. Mujhe manjoor hai' said the young man after a moment.

KT gave him a triumphant grin. 'Pata tha mujhe! Mubarak ho! Ab sirf ye contract pe sign karlo' he said.

'Mujhe iss contract ke kuch conditions change karne hai!' said the young man.

'Kya?' KT asked shocked.

The young man put forth his conditions. After much discussion KT finally agreed.

After reading the changed document, the young man placed his initials on the paper by sealing his future: racing.

'Accha ruko. Tumhe boss se mila deta hoon. Aaj se tum hamare club ke member ho' said KT.

KT led him to a room adjacent to them.

'Meet Mr Dom Hobbs' KT introduced him.

'Hello young man! Welcome to the world of racing! Let me get one thing clear. This sport is not for losers. It's for someone who just loves to race, you will have to deal with deadly competitors, and then you challenge them and race. The race can be over when one racer can no longer see the other, one of the racers wreck, or one of the racers pussies out and stops racing' said Hobbs.

The young man merely nodded.

'And it's risky. I've seen guns pulled at street races when guys lose huge amounts of money. And since this is illegal, you'll have to be careful all the time' said Hobbs.

'I am aware about all the facts' said the young man.

'Well I am highly impressed with your attitude. Good Luck' said Hobbs.

PART II

She was the only child of Mr. and Mrs Malhotra and hence sometimes her parents were over protective of her. Her mother was very strict. The girl liked when her father was around. But due to his business trips he was away for most of the time during the year.

The girl would sit on the porch reading her school textbook watching as the other kids in her neighborhood ran around playing hide and seek. They would never let her play in as she loved playing football or basketball or other such boyish sport. There were a few older boys but her mother would never allow her to play with them. Her mother called them the "Troublemakers".

One day of the older boys walked over to her. 'Khelna chahogi hamare saath?' he asked.

She smiled at him. 'Nahi. Meri mom allow nahi karegi mujhe.' she said sadly.

'Par kyu?' he asked.

'Unhe lagta hai aap log acche bacche nahi ho. Par mujhe aisa nahi lagta' she said innocently.

The boy laughed. 'Tum mere saath chalo. Mere ghar ke piche ek jagah hai. Waha hum khel sakte hai. Kisi ko pata nahi chalelga' said the boy.

'Okay chalo' she said excitedly.

'Tumhe cars pasand hai?' he asked.

'Haan. Par motorbikes jyada acche lagte hai' she said.

The boy and his friends would tell her about cars and racing bikes from across the world. They would look at their pictures from old magazines and read about their make and engines.
The racing game which he had taught her was their favourite. The rules were simple, you were the car and you had to run and 'drive' beating the others over the finish line which was a stick in the backyard of the boy's house.
But one day the boy and his family relocated to other city and the girl was alone again.
But now she knew every tiny thing about bikes. Thanks to her friend.

O-o-o-o

A few years later -

'Ma! Papa! Meri admission ho gayi! I am so happy ma! India ka sabse best college hai ye!' said the girl in an excited voice.

Her parents beamed. 'Dekha meri beti kitni intelligent hai1 Aur tum khamakha use daat leti thi' the girl's father said to his wife.

'Haan haan pata hai mujhe aapki beti bohot intelligent hai! Aur wo badi hokar kuch bane isiliye to daat ti thi' said the girl's mother.

'I am proud of you! Aur iss saal tumhare birthday par main tumhe ek bohot bada surprise dunga!' said her father.

'Wow! Dad I am so excited!' said the girl.

O-o-o-o

"BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!" Her hand flailed around as she tried to smack the alarm's snooze button.

'Itni jaldi subah ho bhi gayi?' the girl wondered.

She looked at the alarm clock. Its luminous hands showed it was 12 am. '12 ka alarm - Oh it's my birthday! Kahi papane toh ye sab...?' she wondered aloud.

At that moment, her parents and her three friends burst inside her room yelling 'Happy Birthday!' The girl was overwhelmed. They sang birthday songs and cut the cake.

'Thank you everyone! Ye sabse best pal hai mere liye' said the girl.

'Jab birthday gift dekhogi na toh aur bhi special ho jayega' said her father smiling warmly.

'Aise kya lekar aaye hai aap? Mujhe bhi nahi bataya!' said the girl's mother.

'Jao jaakar dekho' said her father.

The girls ran outside the house. And a moment later they let out squeals of delight. She had got a brand new Royal Enfield Classic 350 for her birthday. The girl's hand slid over its shiny black leather seat. It was like a dream come true. The sleek, shiny black motorcycle was all hers.

'Kaise laga gift?' came her father's voice.

She was unable to speak. A fat tear leaked out of her eye. Her father had known her love for bikes. He knew she loved to ride them. Her parents had remembered and cared for her. And he had given her the best gift ever.

'Ma! Papa! I love you! Iss duniya ke sabse best parents ho aap dono!' said the girl tearfully.

O-o-o-o

In her spare time, the girl along with her friends would ride long distances on their bikes on weekend. She enjoyed such road trips immensely. A guy from their group owned an old garage. In the afternoon, they would modify old cars and bikes. They would fit nitrous bottles under the sub frames and them they would race.

Eventually as she completed her education and got a job in CID, she couldn't give much time to this passion of hers.

But one fine day, a friend from her bikers' group took her to a racing event at night.
The girl was overjoyed! She couldn't believe her own eyes. The spectacular new world of street racing had opened new avenues for her to cherish her hobby.

O-o-o-o

A/N - Any guesses who the characters might be?