Being Punjabi, we adore our Bullet motorcycles, we serve them well, we keep them clean and sparkling.. and we love them like our girlfriends. Indeed Bullets are our better half, they are our girlfriends… but we never really consider Bullet as a God.. however, if there is a Motorcycle God, it has to be Bullet 350. And indeed there’s a shrine dedicated to the Motorcycle Devta, also called Bullet Baba. The deity is indeed a motorcycle and such is faith that hundreds of devotees turn up every day to pray for a safe journey. The unlikely shrine near Chotila village, around 20 km away from Pali en route to Jodhpur on the highway, has a Royal Enfield 350 cc motorbike as its deity. It’s hard to miss the din of pilgrims here. Every day nearby villagers and travellers stop and pray to the bike and its late owner Om Singh Rathore. The temple beside the Enfield motorbike has a big picture of Singh, fondly known as Om Banna.

It is said that a person who does not stop to pray at the shrine is in for a dangerous journey. The story goes that back in 1991, on a fateful summer night, Om Bana was returning from Pali to his native Chotila on his Bullet 350 when it skidded and hit a tree, killing him on the spot. The tree stands over the battered vehicle till date. Villagers say after Om Bana’s death, the motorbike was taken to a local police station. But next day morning, it was found at the accident spot.