Bullet Baba Ki Jai
Om Banna’s 350 CC Royal Enfield Bullet that is worshipped in the temple.
I’ve made many “life altering” decisions while being stuck in a cab in Mumbai’s traffic jams. If you continue to stay connected to this space, I suspect you’ll soon end up hearing about them all.
On a balmy afternoon in 2016, I was stuck in the terrible traffic that enveloped the route to my then office - a leading Mumbai tabloid. Pearls of sweat trickled down my forehead and I made sure they disappeared somewhere around the cheek. If allowed to roll down any closer to the neck, I can bet it would have had a strangling effect. My soft cotton shirt bore absolutely no signs of the freshness it felt about thirty minutes ago. I was going to be terribly late to work.
I kept thinking of the story I was filing for the next day’s edition. It was about the upcoming World Sacred Spirit Festival to be held at the grand, Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur. The line up included incredible musicians from across the globe. Some familiar; all of them interesting. I had already interviewed the organisers and some of the performers. I checked my email inbox on my phone and there it was. The organisers had emailed photographs from the previous year’s gig. When I did get to office, I re-checked the dates of the festival, accounted for a few more days of travel and applied for leave.
I called my cousin and he promptly planned a bike trip, where post the festival, we would ride from Jodhpur to Jaisalmer, halting on whim, in interesting villages and towns. I got back home that evening and announced my grand plan to my parents. My dad responded with a “what about your mom and me?” I called my cousin again and he said, “let’s skip the bike, I’ll take the car.” I was happy my parents could go but I was also sad that the bike couldn’t. I had no idea then that there was another bike we were destined to meet on this holiday.
After buying tickets to the music festival, making a detailed itinerary, working out kilometers, looking for rarely visited hotels and hidden havelis, we were all set. (The itinerary for that road trip makes for a separate blog - coming soon!) A few days before we were to leave, my cousin’s leave got cancelled. The commands of the Indian armed forces have to be taken seriously. That left the three of us; Mom Dad and me! Off we went. First to the magical festival and then, on an adventurous, road trip.
When we first heard about the Om Banna temple, we weren’t quite sure what to expect. It seemed both strange and amusing. We decided to make a quick stop there. What we did find was one of the cutest, spooky places in India.
Sacred threads tied in the hope of the fulfillment of one’s wishes at the Om Banna Temple
On the road from Jodhpur to Jaisalmer, 20 kilometres from Pali (53 kilometres from Jodhpur) is a temple dedicated to a bike - a bullet to be precise. (I was surprised that Royal Enfield isn’t milking this already.) Local banter suggests that on 2 December 1991, Om Singh Rathore (also known as Om Banna —Banna is a Rajasthani title, close in effect to Mister in English) lost control of his motorcycle and hit a tree. While Om Banna (died on the spot, his motorcycle fell into a nearby ditch. The morning after the accident, the local police took the motorcycle to a nearby police station. The next day it was reported that the bike had disappeared from the station and was found back at the site of the accident. This is supposed to have happened several times despite the police trying everything in their power to keep the bike in its place. It is said that on one occasion they emptied the fuel tank of the bike and it still disappeared only to be found at the accident spot. In another failed attempt to keep the bike at the police station, the police placed it under lock and chain. The motorcycle always returned to the same spot before dawn. Travellers along the road started seeing visions of Om Banna and it is believed that his spirit, even today, helps distressed travellers.
To appreciate the miracle a temple was built on this site and the motorbike continues to be garlanded and worshipped here. We were told that locals also sing folk songs that tell the story of Om Banna. We spotted many newly weds, dressed in their bridal attire, at the shrine too. My hubby has a Jawa which makes me wonder if Bullet Baba would approve.