Nibuwatar Chronicles

With bhattey on his FZR

Mona’s invitation to come spend a weekend at his living quarters inside Kule Khani III project, in Nibuwatar was long overdue. Amidst last minute changes, we decided to take up on his offer and packed our bags with bare essentials and loads of hors d’oeuvres for the night. There were four of us who agreed on the commute – Dhungel, Gauri, Bhatte (a soon to be groom) and myself, amongst two motorbikes – an almost bedridden Pulsar 180 DTSi and a relatively newer Yamaha FZR.

About 60 kilometres from Kathmandu, lay Nibuwatar via the Pharphing -Indra Sarowar –Kule Khani route. From Kathmandu via Kirtipur to Pharphing and after taking the fork upper right from Pharphing, onwards to Nibuwatar we went. The road snaked uphill with potholes in the decades old bitumen road. From Lama Gaun onwards, about 11 kilometres of dusty jolting roads punctuated the total length. As we ascended towards Indra Sarowar (the reservoir for Kule Khani Hydro-power), the wind chill factor grew and I considered myself fortunate to have remembered to bring along my woollen cap; Gauri on the other hand, made do with his North Face hoodie.

A clear blue sky from Mona's quarters

Along the road, conversation dwelled between biker and pillion on different topics – the most frequent being on the sumptuous buffet Mona promised us at Nibuwatar. We did manage to check if they had fresh fishes in the village atop the Indra Sarowar reservoir, and gaze briefly at the wonderful sunset from Chisapani Gadhi (Makwanpur Gadhi) Fort. Then it was further downhill to Bhainse with haste as Mona had warned us of troubles that darkness brought. Taking short breaks in between for nature calls and to stretch our cold-stiffened romp and legs, we finally reached Nibuwatar.

After four hours plus, riding pillion on a Yamaha FZR, sliding back and forth yielding into the terrain and obfuscating twines of the road, causing my driver’s family jewels to grind further uncomfortably against the motorcycle’s tank, we had made entry into Mona’s quarters.

Dhungel with Mamasri

Mona, his hospitable self, had arranged for chilled beer, appetizers, a sumptuous buffet and a campfire to warm our wind chilled plus aching behinds. Bhatte recalled that we had developed more adipose tissue on ourselves and could no longer endure the arduous road on a motor bike. Additional guests included two more colleagues/neighbours and a very peppy chef cum electrician – Mamasri. After the usual formalities and introductions were carried out, we welcomed ourselves to the warm camp fire and drinks.

Conversation flowed ranging from the recent Bollywood item song to how Mamasri had acquired his name. Our hospitable hosts also gave us a run through on how Nepal might still be caught in the energy deficit scenario in the years to come.

long exposure shot by Dhungel

Besides some gesticulations on the energy scenario of Nepal, conversation diverted towards more merrymaking in view of Bhatte’s upcoming marriage.  A drunken debauchery never did take place at Bhatte’s bachelor party, but a very interesting pillow fight (with brooms, wooden staff and flying shoes) did occur.  I dozed off pretty early while the others stayed up until the wee hours of the morning.

The following morning, we made ourselves a sumptuous breakfast of bread, eggs, cheese, ham and Weisswurst sausages. A little hung over after last night’s merriment we went to the rock besides the road restaurant and helped ourselves to more chilled beer.

The road back was less welcome as we had indeed nothing to look forward to in Kathmandu save the mundane nine to five.  The aching romp and shoulders were still ailing. The back of the FZR was no more a welcome thought and still, we tagged along at around 12:00 after tasting the local delicacies at Rainiko Pasal near the audit channel for Kulekhani III project.

On the way back, chances of taking photos from Gauri’s DSLR were rather slim as the light was receding fast and we needed to reach Kathmandu safely before darkness fell. Gauri still managed to grab quite a number of shots on our way back perched behind Dhungel’s Pulsar DTSi. The Pulsar which showed signs of fatigue on the road back, finally gave way near Lama Gaun. Dhungel and Gauri pushed the bike in the dark road under the starlit sky while Bhatte and I pursued ahead to look for a motor bike workshop. We found the only one along the whole stretch closed, a good twenty minutes away via motorbike. Finally after getting hold of the mechanic via cell phone and persuading him to come down from the village atop to reopen his workshop, Dhungel and Gauri arrived just in time to have the bike checked. Further delayed, cold and no more in a genteel mood, courtesy the aching butt and shoulders, we entered Kathmandu mum and sleepy headed. The moment I reached home, I helped myself to a modest dinner and slumbered off in the warmth of my bed.

Nibuwatar was a much welcome reprieve, though the commute back was rather unwelcome. It served as a bonding session among friends and was also an equally learning experience for me. Look forward to loads more to come.

Photos from the trip courtesy Gaurav Banskota taken by myself, Arpan Singh, Gaurav Banskota, Prabal Bhattarai & Sandeep Dhungel.