Day 103 – Bajra Roti, Ambedkar, and Unexpected Family on the Rajasthan Highways
Day 103 began at the same petrol pump where I had spent the previous night, under the care of manager D.S. Garg, who had kindly allowed me to stay on the premises. After thanking him for his help, I rolled out into the cold morning and stopped at a nearby hotel in Samon ki Dhani for breakfast, where four hot samosas became my first fuel of the day. With that warmth in my stomach, I started pedalling further into Rajasthan’s dry landscape.
By late morning, I reached another petrol pump near Kundanpura and paused to refill my water bottles and cook food for Bhairava. As I unpacked my stove and rice, a few locals approached and, seeing the setup, immediately asked if I needed anything or if they could help, explaining that along this road there are barely any hotels. I told them I would just cook for Bhairava and eat later at a restaurant, but they refused that idea with a smile: “You are our guest. You have to eat with us. We will arrange food for you.” Their insistence turned an ordinary break into something special.
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While I cooked rice with eggs for Bhairava, they prepared a traditional Rajasthani meal for me. Soon, they served bajra roti and kadhi, and explained a beautiful custom: when a guest comes home, they must be served with ghee and jaggery. So I mixed the bajra roti with generous ghee and sweet jaggery, eating exactly as a family member would. In that moment, I was not just a cyclist passing through; I was treated like one of their own. I thanked them from my heart for their love and hospitality before moving on towards Dhanau.
On the way, something else caught my attention. At one of the circles, I noticed a statue of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar standing freely in the open. In Tamil Nadu, most Ambedkar statues I have seen are enclosed within metal grills to protect them from damage. Here in Rajasthan, a state known for its deep caste hierarchy and frequent atrocity reports, this statue stood without any grills or physical barriers. That contrast struck me strongly and gave me a small sense of hope in a place often described as one of the most casteist regions in India.
As evening approached, I reached near Alamsar and found a place to stay for the night. The day ended peacefully, with my body tired from the ride but my mind full of gratitude—for the petrol pump manager who gave me shelter, for the families who fed me like a son, for Bhairava’s full stomach, and for the quiet reminder of Ambedkar standing openly on Rajasthani soil. Day 103 was not just about distance; it was about dignity, equality, and the unexpected families that appear on the road when they are needed most.
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