Life is a collection of stories - all kinds of stories. Some make you laugh, some make you cry and some make you wonder. No matter how many times you try to relive that story or reason it with all your logic or even try out a different perspective, that story remains to be an enigma for you. There is one story that puzzles me to this day. Back in 2009, when I went on a bike trip to Pangot on Christmas.
I used to work for an advertising agency based in Gurgaon. Last few days were very hectic at work. With the new launch coming up, the client had comfortably moved to our office and there was hardly any free moment. Toiling through the month, it felt like the end of time. With too much work on my plate, I didn't get time to plan anything for Christmas or New Year’s Eve. I survived through the launch and after a successful reception; the client took us out for dinner. Although we put aside work that night and laughed about the past few days, I longed for more. Suddenly a message flashed on my mobile screen. It was from my childhood friend, my riding buddy Vinay. The timing couldn’t have been better. After exchanging a couple of text messages, we had an impromptu riding plan to Pangot in place. Without wasting any time, I dropped a text to my boss, and he looked at me funny. A quick chat with him and I had an extra day besides 3 days long Christmas break.
A bit about Vinay, the earliest memory I had of him is from 6th standard when we had a crush on the same girl. And as an ode to our friendship, both of us decided to let her go. Like either of us could have done anything about it. Since then we have lived through many more idiocracies inspired by Bill and Ted and made multiple bogus journeys. And it was time to make one more.
The plan was simple; we had no plan. Just ride out to Pangot and stop wherever we find refuge. We always carried our camping gear with us as a back-up. With Christmas weekend and no prior bookings, it was even more important. I spent the night in anticipation of what lies ahead. It wasn’t long when I heard the most annoying sound in the world, the same sound that has been haunting me since school days, the sound of my good old alarm clock. But today, I welcomed that sound. I jumped out of bed and I was on my way in no time to meet Vinay at our designated spot. Flyover no. 8 on NH-8 has been our designated meeting point for the last 5 years. A quick final gear check and we were on our way. Our first tea break was to be a little ahead of Hapur. It was slightly foggy in the city. We expected a heavy fog blanket on the outskirts and we couldn’t have been more right. As we were leaving behind the crowded Ghaziabad, a heavy fog blanket embraced us. We dropped our speed, changed the formation and switched on the hazard lights. Now we were riding next to each other trying to throw more light at the fog but all in vain.
Our speed dropped to 30-40kmph. So much to leave early on a wintery morning but it felt good to be out on the road. The smell of rubber and tarmac is one of the best scents in the world. We enjoyed whatever journey threw at us but we were not prepared for what awaited us in Nainital.
We crossed Hapur around 10:30 am. By now, we were 2 hours behind schedule. I signalled Vinay to stop for a quick tea break. We had similar riding styles, we both enjoyed riding in whiteout but the slow progress was getting to us. As per the plan we should have reached Gajraula by now for breakfast. We were longing for the sun and wanted to cover as much distance as possible. We prefer not to ride in the dark, especially in the mountains and that too during winter. The combination can lead to too many complexities, like unlit roads, uncouth drivers, black ice and not to forget everyone shuts shop early in small hill towns. By the time we were on our second cup of tea, the fog started to lift its veil. We jumped back on our bikes with newfound excitement. We had an unsaid riding agreement; I used to lead the way and Vinay always tailed me with his headlights reflecting in my back view mirrors. We were cruising down the highway at around 80-90kmph. We made it Gajraula in under an hour. We took a pit-stop at Bhajan Dhaba and ordered some paranthas which were devoured in no time.
Until now, the journey had been slow, and it was time to make up for the lost time. A slew of cars with Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida numbers were jostling for space on the highway. This gave us a sign of how big city madness was going to hit the quaint hill town. Therefore, we needed to move fast and move away from major towns. After short chitchat, we were back on the road by 1 pm. Our route was Moradabad - Rampur - Rudrapur - Haldwani - Nainital - Pangot. But looking at the traffic we took Moradabad - Bazpur - Kaladhungi - Nainital - Pangot. We had 6 hours of the journey ahead of us. We got off Moradabad bypass highway and turned towards Corbett National Park. After riding for about 7kms, we turned right towards Bazpur. Few kilometres down the road, smooth tarmac disappeared, potholes appeared and then disappeared only to give way to lunar craters. We were not ready for dirt style riding, so we slowed down. We were determined not to stop before Kaladhungi.
Finally reached Kaladhungi by 4:45 pm. Tarmac came back to our lives. After a short tea-break, we eagerly moved ahead. The straight road turned into a curvaceous beauty as we started to climb. This is the best part of every journey when the road leaves behind the plains and ascends into the Himalayas. We were enjoying every curve, leaning in hard and coming out of the curve at a good speed. We were fast but cautious. The other reason to ride fast was to cover as much distance as possible and get out of Nainital. But destiny had a different plan for us, somebody was waiting for us in Nainital.
Sun parted way with us before Nainital. We needed a change in plan. We could feel a sudden dip in the temperature. We were called names to choose mountains during the peak winter season but love knows no boundaries. Have you ever seen a moth around light? We are close enough to that moth and mountains is our light. Anyway, we made it Nainital, and it was already 7:30 pm. Thankfully, we came out at the other end of town which is on a higher cliff and we could see the hoard of cars along the Naini Lake far away. We were away from the traffic for now and we wanted to keep it that way.
We were tired and starving. First things first, we looked for a place to eat. We descended into town and parked our bikes next to a Dhaba. Quickly placed the order and sat down to discuss our next steps. We wanted to get out of town but it was already dark. Pangot was just 18 km away but chances of us riding out after dark was very bleak. There could be black ice on the road. Considering all the factors, we decided to take a night haul and ride out the next morning. We took our time to finish dinner. Enquired about a few hotels but all the good ones were taken for the long weekend, something we anticipated. After getting turned away from the sixth hotel, the guard suggested checking out the Youth Hostel. We enquired about the route and headed back on the outskirts of the town. We took a left turn from High Court Road, onto an unmarked road. It felt like we entered a different era. There were sprawling British-era villas spread on one side of a dimly lit road. We have never seen this side of Nainital before and started to fall for it. Most of these villas were now government properties and allotted to state government officers. The road was steep and the bungalows were beautiful. We forgot about Youth Hostel and wanted to explore an opportunity to stay somewhere around here, even if we have to pitch our own tent. We kept on ascending on the steep street.
We continued on that street and after a while; it ended. We could get a glimpse of shimmering Naini lake through the thick foliage every now and then. We turned back. The entire setting and the weather was on par with an English countryside, temperature dipping, fog setting in, visibility dropping and a wrought-iron lamppost in the distance. We stopped in front of a villa with a nameplate that read Col. Jonathan Endcliff and Estelle Endcliffe. This was unlike other villas on that road. It seemed nobody lived there, but it still looked well-maintained on the outside. There was something about that place that made both of us stop at the same time. Without saying a word to each other, we got off the bikes and walked up to the gate. We were not expecting to find refuge inside the villa, we wanted to seek permission to pitch our tent on their sprawling property. We couldn’t see a single light inside the villa. As we were trying to look for a bell, we saw a silhouette in the window.
I called out “Hello Sir, can you hear me?”
There was no response. The silhouette merged in the background. I turned to Vinay, he looked a bit surprised. I said to him “Guard the bikes. I’ll go inside and try to find somebody and if we’re lucky we might camp here tonight”. It was a big iron gate adamant not to make way for me. With a bit of back and forth, I managed to gain entry. I called out again “Hello! Anybody there?” There was no response. I signalled Vinay that I’ll go look further. It was a big property, and I assumed servant quarters will be behind the villa. I took out my mobile phone and switched on the flashlight. The villa was well maintained, and I wished I could say the same thing about the garden. As I was walking towards the end of the villa, my foot got stuck in the shrubs. I was struggling to get my foot out, had to bend down to set it free. I had almost succeeded when suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I aimed the flashlight towards my shoulder but it was nothing, must have been the shifting weight of my riding jacket. But it felt real. Anyway, after a bit of a tussle, I was free. I turned around the corner and saw a silhouette again at the far end of the villa. With fog setting in, it could have been my imagination, but I am sure I saw somebody standing at the far corner. I called out again and kept going in that direction to investigate. The fog was settling in and the visibility was dropping by the second. A spooky feeling started to set in. I was not clear if I really saw somebody standing there or it was just my imagination.
I kept searching for a living soul on the property. All I could hear were dogs howling in the far distance. I circled around the property once more failing to find a single soul. I thought let’s pitch our tents since nobody is around and we’ll be out of here before the first light of the day. As I turned back, somebody called my name or it felt like that. I thought it was Vinay. I yelled at him “I told you to stay by the bikes, you want to get robbed”. There was dead silence, only a sound of footsteps walking away from me. I decided to quit the idea and head somewhere else, it was getting late and we had a long day.
I headed back to the bikes. I heard Vinay arguing with somebody from a distance. I gained pace and made it to the metal gate. I saw Vinay engrossed in an argument with someone. As I reached near the gate, I saw Vinay talking to himself and staring at my bike. He is a serious sort of a person and doesn’t prank that often. I whistled at him to break his speech and he turned his glance towards me. He froze, almost turned blue and his words got stuck midway. Slowly, he turned his face back towards my bike and fell off his bike. There was horror on his face and he could not pull himself together. Somehow, he got back on his feet and started running towards the lamp post. He was trying to get away from me. My childhood friend was running away from me, I could not comprehend what was going on. But it was freaking me out. I tried to calm him down from a distance. He was asking me to stay away and mumbled.
It took me almost half an hour to calm him down. I went back to the bike and got a bottle of water. I gave him some water and tried to rub his shoulders. Maybe the fatigue from a long day's ride and cold was getting to him. He calmed down, but he was still blabbering “you were…….th...ere…...bu..t….nnot….the..re...I...ta..llk”. It was all gibberish. I sat down next to him and tried to rub his hands but he was constantly looking towards the bikes. I did not understand what he was going through. Finally, he gathered some courage and whispered: “There is another you sitting on your bike”.
I was completely freaked out now but I tried didn’t let it show in my demeanour. This was beyond me. All I knew was that “We needed to get out of there”. He just nodded in agreement but could not gather up the courage to get his bike. I was still trying to act strong but I was completely terrorized by now. My mind was playing tricks, my body was not supporting, out of fight or flight instincts, flight instinct was pushing me to act fast. I dragged both our bikes one by one and asked Vinay “Can you ride”. He nodded again. This time I decided to tail him. His eyes were still pinned to that gate, I don’t know what he could see and I couldn’t. Finally, we turned on the engine, flipped the gear and rode out of there like there is no tomorrow. We were running away from fear, looking for safety.
The clock was striking 10:15pm by now. The fog had covered most of Nainital. Shadows from oncoming traffic’s headlight reflected in the fog and only added to our hallucinations. Vinay was not ready to slow down. We reached the bazaar and stopped by the same Dhaba. We were still shivering from this experience and somehow ordered some tea. We sat there, frozen unable to say anything. Vinay was doing much better now and seemed to regain his confidence. I wanted to ask him but could not gather up the courage. Vinay could sense my dilemma. He looked at me and tried to assure me through a smile, which he managed to force upon his face. Our accommodation was the last thing on my mind and then the tea arrived. The waiter announced “last order, kitchen closes in 10, Dhaba shuts in 15 mins”. I picked up the tea and started sipping. Nothing was making any sense. Finally, I gathered up the courage and asked Vinay “where are we going to stay”. Vinay suggested, “let’s head to one of these hotels by the lake, with a lot of people around”. I couldn’t agree more and nodded in agreement.
As soon as we stepped out of the Dhaba, we were surrounded by two touts trying to sell a hotel room to us. Normally we stay away from touts in popular hill stations but there was nothing normal about today. More than tired, we were freaked out. I took a card from one of the touts. Words were still struggling to find their way out of my mouth, so I gestured him to hop on to my bike and lead us to The Lake View hotel. This was the first time in a long time when we really wanted to get lost in the crowd. We were feeling better to see so many people around us. We stopped in front of the hotel. Vinay stepped in to get the room keys. I stood there, looking at the mesmerising lake, still toiling to find an answer. Vinay gestured me from inside and I started unloading the bikes. Soon Vinay joined me and we untied our bags. I could not hold it anymore and grabbed his arm. He knew what I was about to ask. Before I could ask, Vinay spoke “how long were you gone”; I responded “around 15-20 mins”. “I thought so...”. There was a long silence. Then he said, “no, you came back after 5 mins or somebody came back after 5 mins who looked just like you”. My knees gave away and I sat down. “And that somebody You was trying to get me inside that Villa as well”. Vinay just kept looking at me, with the same horror that I have seen in his eyes earlier. How was that possible, I thought Vinay also followed me inside when I yelled at him. Nothing was making any sense.
There was nothing more to be said. Just a long silence and a lot to comprehend. I hardly got any sleep that night. Only questions, one after another. We never spoke about that night again.
After so many years I still could not figure out what exactly happened that night. Was it the destiny or somebody else who led us to that villa?