OUR WHIRLWIND TRIP TO THE DESH OF “SHONDESH & ROSHOGOLLAS’---- KOLKATA

Till the evening of this trip, I wasn’t aware that I was to tag along with my husband VeeCee (Vijay) as a companion in the new Mercedes Benz “C” Class, to Kolkata, all the way from Chennai. One of VeeCee’s business associate residing in Kolkata had booked for a ‘C Class Mercedes Benz’ from Chennai. As VeeCee had to attend a Mega Seminar in Kolkata and since there were no air tickets available, it occurred to him to test-drive this magnificent machine on wheels. Under the circumstances, VeeCee thought of driving down to Kolkata, as it served the dual purpose of delivering the vehicle and attending the Seminar in 25 hrs flat!!

Since his boss Mr. Kana knew that he was taking up the driving option to reach Kolkata after a very hectic day’s work at office, he wanted me too to go along with VeeCee. As both of us had taken up so many trips earlier, I readily agreed.

VeeCee came home in a brand new metallic –green Mercedes Benz C Class with Tamilnadu registration at 8.00 pm. He had already told me to pack up the bags and be ready. I arranged for the children to be put up with our family friend for 2-3 days, as they had classes to attend. We set out around 9.00 pm after our dinner. VeeCee had informed me that it is going to be a non-stop trip as there wasn’t much time to loose for he had to be in Kolkata for the Seminar at any cost which was commencing at 11.00 am the day after. I had packed some snack packets, sandwiches, water and a flask full of hot black coffee, all for the road to have at regular intervals for the non-stop driver.

We filled up diesel and then we on a new driving experience driving one of the world’s best cars---the Mercedes Benz. It was quite a fantastic and thrilling experience. The pleasant scent of the leather upholstery was mystifying and the thought of travelling in one of the safest cars gave me a unique exhilarating feeling, beyond words---something to be experienced and enjoyed. We had some wonderful music to keep us going and we were on our way to Nellore. VeeCee had informed me that the route would be Chennai- Nellore -Vijayawada- Vizag- Berhampur- Bhubaneshwar- Cuttack- Balasore-Midnapore and then finally Kolkata, a distance of approximately 2400 kms., which he wanted to complete in 24hrs including break time for food and ablutions across the way. The highway was literally blocked with a never-ending convoy of trucks and lorries and unfortunately that night, there was an unusual checking of all vehicles by the police and customs officials, perhaps to catch some wanted criminal or smuggler! For quite sometime VeeCee stayed in the long Queue, but started getting restless, as he was loosing time. All of a sudden, we heard the siren of an approaching ambulance from the same way as we were. The ambulance did not stop behind the convoy of buses, trucks, lorries and cars, but just zoomed through. The moment the ambulance passed us; VeeCee steered through and followed the ambulance just 50ft behind!!

At first, I was quite anxious because I thought that the cops might stop us for following the ambulance. But the adventurous spirit in my dear husband took all the fear out of me. The convoy of the vehicles lined up for checking to be never ending and was there for more than 10kms. Finally at the check post the ambulance was set free and the cops came to our car, peered in and enquired as to where we were going. We told them that we were on our way to Kolkata for an important Seminar as air tickets were not available, we opted to go by road. Seeing the car and the occupants, they let us go without checking our baggage. Soon thereafter, VeeCee over took the ambulance and started cruising at around 140 Kmph. My job was to ensure that my husband is alert at all times and so I continued to engage him in witty exchanges. We reached Nellore at around midnight due to the time we had lost earlier at the check post.

We hit the National Highway to Vijayawada and since the road was fairly okay, VeeCee was going at 110-120 Kmph and reached Vijayawada at around 4.00 am via Ongole. In fact, this is supposed to be the most dangerous period …3.00 am to 5.00 am – where the maximum accidents take place, because the drivers tend to sleep off !! a Viayawada, we filled up gas, freshened up, washed our faces, sipped the coffee I had in the flask and proceeded to Kakinada. But the way was so lousy with shallow potholes all over, we had to reduce the speed out of no choice. Anyway we reached Kakinada, brushed our teeth on the roadside and got into a nearby hotel, where we had some tea and hot Masala Dosai and Idli-Sambar. We left there around 8 O’clock for Vizag. Fortunately, this stretch of road was excellent that we could reach Vizag by 10.00 am. We took a short break, filled up some gas, took some coffee as I was feeling terribly sleepy for being awake the whole night and I could see the signs of fatigue on VeeCee’s face too. He appeared to be very tired, but the fire and zeal in him took away the tiredness. At Vizag, we got to see a whole lot of ships lying anchored in the horizon, as we were cruising along the beach highway. At a rivulet, VeeCee suddenly pulled up the car and wanted to take a plunge in it to shake off his fatigue! He wanted his swimming trunk (he always carries it whenever he goes on trips) and there arose a heated argument between us, as I was against this idea as I feared there would be crocodiles or serpents in that water. He was so adamant about the swim, that I left it to God to protect him. This made all sleepy feeling in me vanish!! He swam for about half an hour and as he came out he appeared lively and bright as ever. He drank off the remaining coffee in the flask and was ready at the driving seat. But this break cost us about 45 minutes, but the confident VeeCee said he will make up in the good patches of road, that we may come across in the course of our journey. I sat nodding my head in agreement, musing at this incredible man for his guts, valour and courage.

Soon we touched Vizianagaram and then steered through the worst strip of road I had ever seen. It was even worse than the Bihar roads, full of deep craters with lots of ups and downs like waves in the sea. In some instances, we could hear the road scrapping the belly of the car. So VeeCee had to negotiate this rough terrain very carefully more so because the car was brand new. So, he started to go in a zig-zag manner and that way the bottom of the car does not get scrapped by the road. On the way, we saw a few breakdown cases of cars and trucks, some with puncture and some with broken axles. By God’s Grace, we finally got through this 5 km. patch in 2 1/2 hrs---a terrible waste of time. Once through this nasty stretch, after crossing the Orissa border, we were in for a surprise to see super smooth, broad NH Roads and VeeCee hit the gas pedal to the floor with renewed energy. He was just concentrating only on the highway after turning off the music. He told me to be awake and silent and he kept cruising at an unbelievable speed of 170 Kmph. He was not able to go faster than that, as later when he checked with the Benz showroom at Chennai, he was told that they had deliberately locked the speed limit to 170 Kmph., for safety purpose. I was astounded by the way my husband was negotiating the road, which had traffic, pedestrians, bullock-carts, stray dogs etc. For sudden drop in speed, he would shift the gears from 5^th to 3^rd to 2^nd in a matter of seconds and the car would slow down drastically. VeeCee had told me that at high speeds, one should never apply brake, but control the speed only through gears. According to him application of brake at very high speed could lead the car go out of control. So he always used the gear and then followed it up with brakes, when the car has slowed down considerably. The curves and bents were negotiated brilliantly without any tyre squealing----really an amazing car!!! Soon in a matter of time we crossed Berhampur, Bhubaneshwar, Cuttack, Balasore and crossed the 1 Km. by around 6.00pm, a notorious and dangerous stretch of Highway, where normally robbers waylay cars and buses at night. In fact we did not stop anywhere for lunch and I was feeding VeeCee with the items packed at Chennai after laying a sheet as napkin on his lap! This was necessary, as he didn’t want to take his eyes off the road even for a second. The only time we slowed down was, when we crossed some villages in between. There too he honked the horn continuously and drive at 80 Kmph------a very risky thing to do, but still made our way through by God’s Grace.

We reached Midnapore by 6.30 pm and after the gruelling high speed driving, VeeCee was not able to walk out of the car, as we had pulled up near a wayside Dhaba to have lunch cum dinner at one go. After we ordered the food I got the shock of my life-----VeeCee just passed off in his chair into what could have been a deep sleep, borne out of total fatigue, exertion and exhaustion. My heart missed a beat and then it started pounding so hard, that I could feel the sound of it coming out of my body! I nudged him, pinched him, shook him-----but to no effect. All this I was doing clandestinely, so as not to attract the attention of the other people there, mostly truck drivers and locals. I prayed fervently to all the deities, which came to my mind at that time; breaking coconuts and performing pooja etc. My mind was clogged with doubts, searching for solutions; How to deal with that situation? I was already turning cold and numb with fear, as to what had happened to my dear husband!!! My fear was that we were in he eyes of the outsiders, a wealthy couple in a brand new Benz car that too, in such an unknown place!!! Moreover, we were having some costly presents in the car, which we were taking for the presentation ceremony to be given at the Seminar. At this point, the server boy came to our table and put a jug of water and 2 glasses. He enquired whether “Saab soraha hai kya??”(Is sir sleeping) to which I just gestured. The moment the boy turned his back, I took out a glass of water and splashed vigorously onto VeeCee’s face, muttering God’s praise. And Lo!! He stirred in his seat and slowly opened his eyes. That shot of water on his face did the trick. He asked me what had happened seeing my worried face. I explained to him and asked him to splash some water on his face and have some hot tea. Due to all these tensions, I could not eat anything that was ordered, but to my amazement my hubby was gobbling up the food and ate most of my share too! He then had a ‘zarda paan’ and took to the wheels, as though nothing happened. Back in the car, I admonished him and made him promise that if he really loves me, he will never ever drive at that speed anymore; to which he said that he was doing so to reach Kolkata by 10.00 pm. We left the dhaba at 7.30 pm and soon again, as if out of habit, he was going at 150 Kmph and I kept on reminding him to lessen the speed and so he lowered it to 130 Kmph. His idea was to reach Kolkata by 10.00 pm, crossing Howrah bridge and check into The Calcutta Club, have a good sleep and be ready for the Seminar with an audience of more than 2500 at Uttama Manch hall —a make shift auditorium.

As if all the shocks and tensions were not over, we had yet another narrow escape from what could have been a major accident. Halfway down Midnapore and Kolkata, while we were cruising at 130 Kmph, a truck suddenly swerved from a side road straight into the highway about 200 feet away. My husband in a flash, shifted gears from 5^th to 2^nd to 1^st, amidst high revolution noise from the car engine, together with applying the breaks and we somehow narrowly missed colliding with that truck. Fortunately, the truck too was moving in the same direction, it helped to avoid a major collision. It was just VeeCee’s extraordinary skills with quick responsive mental abilities that saved us that day. I was trembling at all these happenings. We overtook that truck and stopped the car diagonally on the highway forcing the truck to stop. My husband was in a fit of fury and as he can converse in Bengali, he started off abusing the driver and pulled him out of the truck, slapped him a couple of times and before the truck driver realised what had happened, VeeCee was back at the wheels. I told VeeCee that he shouldn’t have done that, to which he retorted to me in the same fit of rage to shut up as he knew what he was doing. My cribbing went on for some more time, when he asked me to zip up my mouth and sleep off in the rear seat. I wiggled into the rear seat without him stopping the car. He then put the music on and soon I went off to sleep in the comfort of the back seat of the Benz, not feeling any jolt or rocking at all. VeeCee maintained the same speed of 120-130 Kmph and at around 10.00pm, we touched Howrah Bridge. My husband woke me up to show me the grand Howrah Bridge and after the tollgate, he took directions from passers by in Bengali, as to how he should reach The Calcutta Club. I came back to the front seat and it took us about 40 minutes to get to the club. Once in the club, VeeCee instructed the front office that the car needs to be washed thoroughly and kept ready. We then went into a grand double room and hit the sack at 11.00 pm, only to get up at 9.00 am the next morning . My hubby and I went through our ablutions and at 10.00 am, we were ready for breakfast. VeeCee called the rightful owner of the Benz to come to the Club. He came with his driver and then onwards his driver was at the wheels and they dropped us at the Uttama Manch.

We didn’t have any time for going around to see places, though I had been to Kolkata in the 80’s when my hubby’s parents were staying in Alipore. After a glittering Seminar, we went along with my husband’s boss Mr. Kana, his wife and other officials back to Chennai by night flight, but only after packing up some “Shondesh” and “Rashogollas”---the sweet delicacies from Bengal, for the people back home at Chennai. Once in the plane, my hubby went off to sleep and I kept chatting with Ms. Kana all the way through about our real life experiences.

Later we did have opportunities to travel in another ‘C Class & E Class Benz’ to trips to Bangalore, Kodaikanal, Madurai and Thanjavur. I should say that Benz has its own class, style and performance ---

What a car and what a journey it was!!

CLIMB EVERY MOUNTAIN & FOLLOW EVERY STREAM

Our Incredible India has so much to offer us that we hardly have to go out of our country for exploring new vistas for adventure and fun. Mother Nature in her incessant love for her children, has given the vast green lands, plains, mountains and valleys that are so mystical, magical and spell-binding in her beauty, the forests, deserts, lakes, rivers, lagoons and long beaches, et all. What more can we ask for?? The only ‘mantra’ is to rejuvenate your exhausted mind and body, by turning to any one of these assorted destinations Mother Nature has gifted us, when, you want to break loose from those hectic life-styles in the cities



We as a family have travelled together, the maximum while we were staying in New Delhi. During the mid-term vacation, my sons and wife visited me along with her mother and brother, sister-in-law and their small son. My in-laws came down to Hyderabad from Thiruvananthapuram and collectively they all boarded the A.P Super Fast Express for New Delhi.



As usual, I was very much engrossed with my refrigeration project and so could not do any justice by taking them for site seeing around our Capital. I arranged for a driver named Fanta, who used to take them wherever they wanted to go. When one is thoroughly exhausted with grinding work hours, it is good to squeeze out some time away, from the monotonous life-style, by taking a small break in between, escaping to places that balm one’s senses!! I too decided that. Moreover, I wanted to spend some quality time with my folks, who had come all the way to be with me at least for some time. As my mother-in-law badly wanted to see the holy places of Rishikesh and Haridwar and due to the non-availability of Fanta, the trustworthy Sikh driver, I went along with them in our Contessa car.



We had to adjust a little with more number of folks in the car, but I swear we all had a memorable drive. Unlike in other trips, which we four used to take up at nights, here we started off from New Delhi, very early in the morning. We went through Meerut - Muzzafarnagar to Haridwar.



We were transformed into a state of ecstasy and spiritual reverence, as our bare feet touched the soil of the renounced Holy Place of the Hindus --- Haridwar. One may get lost in the chaos of the busy frenzied actions and rituals of the jostling devotees from all corners of India and the saffron-clad sanyasis, who throng the ghats, for a holy dip in the mighty Ganges (River Ganga, who the Hindus worship as a Goddess, who washes away all sins and liberates them from the cycle of birth and death) that flows gracefully in between the ghats. People were bathing in the pristine water, unmindful of the strong under-current. I got into the water and was taken off my cool, as the water was unbearably cold even for a person like me who can withstand extreme cold as compared to heat. To play a prank on the rest, I didn’t tell them about my experience with the cold water. My Mother-in-law got into the water and she almost shrieked !! The rest got a cue and they had to muster enough courage before plunging into the Holy Ganges, that was at almost freezing temperature and just couldn’t control sending out squeals !! But surprisingly once you are in, you don’t feel liking coming out. Since the current was strong enough to wash you away, there were long iron chains attached to the poles at the ghat for support. After changing the wet clothes at the small covered spaces provided , we went around to the nearby Goddess temple and we purchased a whole lot of lip-smacking pickles and murabaas, (chillies, mangoes, gooseberries, lime, lemon and what not) trinkets and the likes along with some small cans for collecting the Holy Ganges Water for my religious relatives. It is a scientifically proven fact that though Ganges looks so polluted by the filth and grime, the stored water you collect from her, remains so pure even after years together!!!



We went back to the parking lot where we had left our car, took rickshaws to get a feel of it. We thoroughly were enjoying all these little things in life that go unnoticed in the otherwise hectic life-style one leads in the cities. From there we went to the holy Shrine of Manasi Ma located at a hillock nearby, by means of a rope-car. My son Sandy had to be cajoled, as he was fascinated by the snake-charmer who garlanded him with a heavy python, that he badly wanted to bring back home as a pet by paying for it!!



After coming back to the foothill, we felt terribly hungry and the ladies badly needed a place for ablution. We could not find any decent place around, so, enroute to the next destination point Rishikesh, we encountered upon a roadside dhaba, which comes out as a relief spot for the travellers. This joint seemed to be busy with pilgrims shunting between Haridwar and Rishikesh. As our hunger got out of control, we ate whatever was hot, fresh and readily available, like people who were starving for ages. It was well over 3.30pm! By the time we reached Rishikesh it was nearing dusk. We went to the Shrine of the Lord Shiva to have a darshan of the mighty presiding deity, after washing our feet at the Paramarth ghat, where the three rivers Alagananda, Mandakini and Saraswathi flow through so calmly in a blissful Sangam (union). We were surprised to feel the warm water, which was in contrast to the chill water of river Ganga. From here we went to the Laxman Jhula, the hanging bridge across the Sangam.



We drove down to Dehradun from where we had bought some confectionery items, which that place is famous for. We had our dinner from a hotel where the ambience made us sway in with the melodious numbers from the live-ghazal singing show going on, while the dinner was served. Having come so close to Mussoorie, my temptation to drive further on was uncontrollable. So I proceeded to Mussoorie. My ever-ready wife and kids were supporting me to carry on with the drive into the mountains, but it was a tough time for us to tackle my mother-in-law, as she was satisfied with Haridwar and Rishikesh and wanted to reach back to New Delhi. It was around 9.00 pm, by then and I wanted a clear opinion as to whether the Mussoorie trip was on or not, since opportunities don’t come quite often. We pulled up the car at the roadside and there was a big clash of opinions between the mother and children about either going back to Delhi or proceed to Mussoorie ?? Finally we pretended to agree to her decision and asked her to sleep off peacefully behind. Since my M-I-L didn’t have much trust in me due to my past track-records, my B-I-L Suresh took the wheels to satisfy her and took a full round turn. In that pitch darkness, no one other than me knew which way he turned. Thus my M-I-L due to the day’s fatigue dozed off. Suresh being an ace driver, scaled through those sharp turns uphill very smoothly and so I too relaxed adjacent to the driver’s seat. Finally, as we reached Mussoorie at the middle of the night, we woke up everyone behind to alight. My M-I-L was flabbergasted, but now that the majority won the vote, she just kept quiet and threw all her ego to the blowing gusty, chill wind of the mountains. Now getting rooms at that part of the night was a big question mark, with the ladies and the children as most of the hotels had shut. Along with Suresh, I went and knocked at the gates of many a hotel. Most of them were full. My M-I-L was very sceptical about the whole hunt. So we went around trying until we found one place, where it was okay for a night’s stay. We woke up the man, who was in deep slumber and was too lazy to get up from his sleep. Being at the brink of loosing control, I almost shouted at him to wake up and answer as to whether he had a vacant room in his hotel. The man came to his senses and put on the tube lights and took out his register and asked, “Kithna”? (How many?). We were most relieved to hear that he had many rooms available. A little while ago, Suresh and myself were thinking of sleeping inside the car if incase only one single room was available for the ladies and children for managing that night alone. We took two rooms - one for the ladies and the little one and for the males. Then handing out the room keys, he vanished from there…maybe to catch up with his lost sleep! We readily got into the rooms and found that not even a jug of water was kept! Suresh’s son was only 2-3 years and was feeling so hungry that he kept crying for bottled milk, which got over while climbing uphill. Suresh’s wife Shyama, along with my wife Geeta went to the kitchen to find out if they had atleast some hot water to mix up the spray milk powder. The water that we carried had turned so chilled naturally, that the child was refusing to take a sip of it. Near the kitchen a young man was snoring away. He was least interested to attend to the ladies’ request. Finally, they fetched a vessel and some water and prepared the hot water themselves!! That was some experience, I swear! The little boy guzzled the full bottle in a jiffy and slept off. The tired and exhausted adults followed suit.



The sound from the doorbell woke us up the next day morning. My eyes were half shut as I scrambled to open the door. There stood the women folk ready to go for the sight –seeing!! I asked my wife to take her mother and Shyama to nearby shopping mall, while we men got ready to catch up with them. After the morning ablutions, we went in search of them after taking tea from a small teashop, as the tea served at the hotel we stayed in was lousy. There was no sign of the womenfolk in the nearby places. Finally we spotted them coming out of one shop and getting into the next !! It’s true that it’s said Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus ! Already the bags they were carrying indicated they already have ransacked half a dozen shops by then. These bags were stuffed in the boot of the car and we went to a small restaurant to have some breakfast after which we strolled for enjoying the visual beauty of the place around. The sunlight played hide and seek while we could feel the mist passing through us one after the other and all of a sudden the complete atmosphere changed. The heavy mists and cool wind blurred the vision. Luckily, we were wearing some warm clothing. It started snowing all of a sudden that lasted for hardly 5 minutes. All the people there behaved like kids with excitement .We were no better. After all these fun and frolic, we returned to the hotel room, packed up our luggage and checked out.



Leaving behind such lovely experiences with fond memories, we bid farewell to the beautiful mountains of Mussoorie. The next stop we took was at Dehradun to buy some more confectioneries, had tea and snacks from a hotel and left for New Delhi where we reached around noon the next day.

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Looking back today, my M-I-L muses at the trips to these places, which she says would never have been possible, if not for the spirit of the travel bug that had got into my DNA right from my childhood days, when I have seen my Dad, a 2nd World War veteran and later a Director in the G.S.I drive down along with the family to far-off destinations………… !!

THE TRIP FROM CHANDHIGARH TO SHIMLA, CHAIL AND KUFRI.

We visited our friend and my Raakhi brother Mr. Ashok Sharma, based in Chandigarh, the only planned city, along with the boys Sandeep and Rahul during the summer holidays of 1997. We could visit them as we were in New Delhi and my husband Vijay was responsible for erection and commissioning of a new refrigeration milk chilling plant project for Mother Dairy, where he had no specific working hours and was invariably on a 24 x 7 work schedule, a confirmed workaholic and a perfectionist that he was and still is !!! Since he had to attend to some related work regarding a vegetable cold storage factory at Karnal, my sons and I tagged along with him in the Contessa, making use of all given Opportunities to see places, which we have never ever seen before. Luckily for us, he had to go to also go to Chandigarh related to his work. Let me confess one thing here, which I had felt --- Travelling on Indian National Highway Roads, Contessa is the safest car than all other Indian made cars !!! We feel so secure because of the length of the car.

At Chandigarh, we had a lovely time with brother Sharmaji and his family. They took us around to see the well-planned city and the late Artist Mr. Nek Chand’s most creative “Rock Garden”, where he has used up all junk items and magically converted the same with his creativity into fantastic forms in a vast area. While we went around sight-seeing, Vijay dear, attended to his official work. Sharmaji, made a wonderful proposition - just out of the blue and that was for us to go to Shimla, Chail & Kufri, as we had not been to these places earlier and our eyes twinkled at the idea of spending the week-end on the hills. He went on to suggest that we leave the Contessa car at his place as it does not have the heating option in the A/C and carry on with the trip in his Ceilo to Shimla, Chail - Kufri. Though Vijay was initially scuffling with the thought of his work and a little ‘break’ from work; he finally gave the green signal, noticing the eagerness in our eyes to take up this trip.

Thus we started on our trip to Shimla in the Ceilo early next morning. We completed all our ablutions, had some tea that Ms. Sharma prepared with a mix of aniseed and black cardamom, which had an awesome flavour. We went to the petrol bunk, filled in the gas, checked the tyre air pressure, bought some fruit drinks and biscuits that was available from a nearby shop and started on with the journey. As we left the summer heat of Chandigarh behind and started on climbing the high ranges, there was suddenly such a change in the outside temperature, my elder son Sandeep and myself felt very chill. My younger son was wearing his sweater and he claimed that he like his dad - a polar bear !!! We had not taken any warm clothing with us except for the jerkins and a pair of gloves. As our trips are mostly undertaken at the spur of the moment as per my husband’s mood and availability, he couldn’t blame me for such shortcomings !!! I had packed up only clothing fit for summer wear. As Vijay can withstand very cold weather than heat, he gave his gloves and jacket to Sandy and me whose nose and ears turned so cold, that and I pleaded with Vijay to turn off the car AC, with my teeth chattering. In spite of the cool weather outside, he had put on the car AC that had a double impact. He finally switched the A/C to warm mode as we started scaling ghat section. Soon the temperature inside the car was bearable, but after sometime because of the heat inside and the chillness outside, condensation set on windshield, making visibility very poor. We had to then alternate between heating and cooling. All of us were craving for some good food. We located a Dhaba on the way and had a sumptuous Dhaba Khana, which consisted of Dhal Makhani, Sarson ka Saag, Aloo Paratha, Curd & Lassi. During all our road trips we freak out on Dhaba food, as that was the best available on the N.H roads, located in sprawling open areas, where we can take a stroll, while we get to see the owner of these Dhaba preparing the hot ‘rotis’ (Indian Bread) and some tasty side dishes skilfully at a very fast pace. Perhaps, they understand the starved traveller’s hunger better, I guess !!!

Due to the hairpin curves, one has to have a good control over the vehicle. Nature showed her supremacy, as we climbed to the higher levels. We reached Shimla at around noontime. There were too many tourists and our chances of getting a room in a decent hotel were bleak. Even then, to try our luck, we enquired at 2-3 places, but in vain. My husband being a resourceful person just called up his friend who suggested us to go to Kufri, which isn’t too far away, where he could arrange for some good accommodation. So we carried on with our journey and reached Kufri. Since we had heavy breakfast, we weren’t quite ready for the lunch. We managed with the snacks and fruit-juice we had with us. We were thoroughly enjoying the trip, what with the breath taking views, cool weather and listening to Jim Reeves, it was sheer magic moments. We never really bothered about the time frame for reaching Kufri. As the dusk gave way to night, it started becoming misty and the vision on the roads were becoming poor. Vijay being a seasoned driver, was navigating very carefully with the narrow road, especially when there was an on coming vehicle. To make things worse it started raining!! The boys, who were singing and cheering all through, were happily sleeping in the back seat, while I kept wiping up the wind screen and kept straining out for milestones to see how far we had to go. There was a small hotel on the way, where we pulled up to have some dinner. We were at a place called Chail. The hot tea was a treat in that chill weather. After having some rotis and the accompaniments, we gave our compliments to the hotel owner and he claimed that even VIPs like Kapil Dev and so on had tasted food from there. We left for Kufri and reached there at around 9.00 pm. As our friend had called up & arranged for the room, we checked in without any hassles, because it was the peak season at these hill resorts during summer. We freshened up in the hot water provided, changed and hit the bed for a good night’s sleep.

Sandy, Raul and myself were already dressed up and ready, as my tired hubby opened his eyes after a wonderful sleep. He too joined us soon after the ablutions and our morning breakfast in Continental style. We walked slowly, enjoying every inch of the place and went to a place that led us to a breath-taking view of the Himalayas in the horizon and it seems somewhere down there lies the Indo-Tibetan Border as well. As it rained the previous night, the place was quite slushy. We happily rode on the pony-sized horses & went to see that marvelous view. The horse – attenders took us to a temple too. It was so quiet and serene there. We climbed up to a very steep height and came to a beautiful place with some lone huts made with thin stones. Residents of that area told us that many Hindi movies were shot there.

After going around, drenching in the enchanting beauty of Nature and capturing it through the lens, which didn’t have the power of capturing the distant snow-caped ranges, we went back to our suite to rest for the day, but only after having a finger-licking lunch. We were hungry enough to swallow an elephant, after all those walk and trekking. I never fussed around with the food. I ate as long as I knew that it was made in a clean surrounding. To make myself doubly sure, I make it a point to personally go and inspect the kitchen areas under some pretext or the other. While my sons and Vijay retired for the day and enjoyed pampering themselves under the cosy blankets and quilts, watching the TV show, I sat out at the balcony making pencil sketches of the scenic natural beauty from that area. I had fallen madly in love with that place.

The next day after an early morning walk, and the usual ablutions, I went to the main dining room for having an elaborate breakfast. Later, we checked out around 10.00 am and started our downward journey back to Shimla. At Shimla, we went to the Mall and did some shopping – my dear hubby bought Pashmeera Shawl for me, some warm clothing for my sons & some gift items for friends & relatives.

We were so much merged in harmony with the Mother Nature, that we felt a pang of sadness as we started descending the mountains. The mountains are so serene, splendid and spiritually alluring that it evokes a feeling and an attitude of meditation in the aspirant. The wild flowers and greenery were enough to make me go insane, with their gorgeous shapes and colours. Even a person with no expertise in poems would be tempted to write some verses in praise of what dear Mother Nature has given for her children to enjoy and preserve for the future generations…We sang in chorus the beautiful songs from the movie “The Sound Of Music”…THE HILLS ARE ALIVE WITH THE SOUND OF MUSIC…!!! promising to go back to her, whenever we needed her caressing touch to soothe us from the routine every day rat-race life in the cities. It was a memorable trip and we carried all those precious nostalgic memories along with us to Chandigarh and back to New Delhi.

Hydie to Cape Comorin

It was the scorching month of May in Hyderabad and the children were having their annual summer holidays. My wife and kids wanted to escape from this cruel heat by going to Kerala, but since no train tickets were available, they dropped the idea. It was then that I had to go to Kochi for some business purpose. The idea of going by road in our new Tata Mobile that was converted into an utility vehicle spontaneously sprang into my mind, as the trip would be serving two purposes at the same time. I had some material purchases to be done at Coimbatore. Since my wife and boys were disheartened at their aborted attempt to go to Kerala, I asked them to pack up along with me that same night. All my trips were undertaken at night hours as I enjoy night driving better than day time as I can avoid the cattle, villagers, dogs and so on and the concept gels with my mantra of work by day and drive by night while on business tours.

We fixed the journey at 9.00 pm on the 27th May 1992. The pickup side had a seat-cum-bed, was filled with mattress and pillows for the boys to sleep well behind. The maidservant too accompanied along with us, so as to take care of the children behind. We were all ready to start the vehicle, when I noticed that I had left my wallet behind. I went back to the flat to get my wallet. As I was reaching the main door, I could hear the telephone ringing in the hall. I almost reached when it disconnected and before I could turn again it started ringing. I answered the call and to my surprise it was my mother – in – law sounding quite panicky and excited on hearing my voice!! We had spoken to her only an hour back about starting on the trip at 9 o’clock. She said that she had been trying our number frantically for quite some time and asked us not to start on with our journey as she heard a PTI report of our Prime Minister Mr. Rajeev Gandhi’s assassination at SriPerumbudur, near Chennai and that the situation was quite grim and that there were reports of violence and vehicle burning every where. Knowing my nature, she sternly insisted that I refrain from taking out the new vehicle and not to risk with the family, as the mob were going berserk over the news and were on a destroying spree. I understood the gravity of the situation and went down to tell this to my enthusiastic travellers, waiting and wondering as to why I took so long. We were so gloomy hearing the news, all that thrill we were having some time back drained out of us. We slowly brought back the luggage etc., back home not sure as to when we really can start with the trip in such a scenerio. We dumped everything in the room and were eager to catch up with the news. The reports were just coming in as The Breaking News. The next 2-3 days we were glued to the TV feeling so sorry for the handsome, vibrant, witty, young Leader, whose life was snatched off in such a demonic manner.

Three days later, we again set out for the Kerala trip via Anantapur-Bangalore. As per the advice of our well-wishers we started the journey early morning. We stocked sufficient food items with us, in order to be on the safer side of not getting into trouble, due to lack of food availability, as the boys were young and hungry at all times. On the way, we found numerous charred vehicles big and small on the roads. The roads wore a deserted and spooky look. We considered ourselves lucky to have escaped the wrath of the miscreants destroying the private and public property in the name of fury!!! Since the roads were unusually empty with a handful of vehicles plying, I thought of covering up a considerable distance till we reached Bangalore. We didn’t have any trouble on the way, though we were keeping our eyes and mind very alert on the movements on the road. At some places some kiosks were half opened. These places had STD, ISD facility. Since we didn’t have any cell phone facility at that point of time, like we have now, we had to call up from these places to tell our dear ones, who were tensed up on account of us taking up this journey. We passed by many junctions were Rajivji’s garlanded photo was kept on a pedestal with lighted joss sticks and men standing in & around these places. We kept our fingers crossed to reach Kerala safely without being held up on the road. The vehicle had to be filled with diesel as it was showing half tank and most of the pump stations were closed. We went in search of one, as I didn’t want any problem with insufficient gas. By around 8 .30 pm we reached some town in Tamilnadu. We had hardly covered a few Kilometres, when a group of stick wielding people stopped our vehicle and peered inside. They enquired as to where we were going, to which we answered that we had to urgently reach Kerala due to a relative’s poor health and since no vehicle was available due to all these unfortunate happenings, we set out on the trip. One of the fellows in the group was not convinced, asked my wife where we started our journey. My wife’s eyes were red and swollen, due to the incessant tears she shed on hearing about Rajiv Gandhi’s demise and she answered the guy with a very gloomy look. They went behind checked the back area and were convinced on seeing that we were travelling with the family, and finally let us go. We thanked the Almighty for helping us through that situation. We reached Bangalore and went to our friend Raj’s house. They were waiting for us as we had informed them of our visit on the way. We took a break there for some time. Though they insisted us to stay there for the night, we didn’t as I wanted to cover up as much distance as possible and I never felt any fatigue or drowsiness driving continuously.

The most fabulous beauty of the heaven and earth meeting each other, one can experience during the early morning, during sunrise, when you see the sun in red, climbing up and again at sunset when it goes down. As we were entering Tamilnadu border again, some cops posted at the check post advised us to put a black cloth like a flag on the bonnet as there were some riots going around and if it looks like the sympathiser’s vehicle it will be spared. We didn’t have any black cloth, so just drove on and on praying to the Almighty to be our guide. We heaved a sigh of relief on reaching Kerala, as the situation there wasn’t bad as it was in Tamilnadu. Moreover, people slowly came back to their normal senses, as so many days had elapsed by, after the assassination. We drove straight to Palakkad. The sight of the cloud kissing blue-lilac mountains, with the lush green plants and trees all around was a feast for the thirsty eyes. We went to my sister-in-law’s house and rested for a day there.

The next day around 8.00 am, after breakfast I started out alone to Kochi, leaving my wife, maid and kids at Palakkad, as I had some official matters to be attended to in Kochi. Kochi was only 3-½ hrs drive from Palakkad. It took me a day there. The next day I came back to Palakkad and along with the jing-bang left for my hometown Allapuzha, where my parents and aunt stayed, in our ancestral tharavad. We spent two days with them and proceeded to Thiruvananthapuram. Since we have a lot of relatives scattered all around Kerala and mostly in Thiruvananthapuram, it was a must to visit all of them, as they loved to see us once in a year.

Since my wife wanted to go to Kanyakumari, we set out on this trip, on the way getting down at Padmanabhapuram Palace, where King Marthanda Varma once resided, primarily to show the kids the remnants of Travancore history. We then went to Kumara Kovil to get the darshan of Lord Muruga, the presiding deity, which is so tall, that the priest has to climb up a few flights of steps to reach the deity for garlanding and doing pooja. From there, we visited the ancient Sucheendhram Temple, where it is believed that even today Lord Indra ascends there to do pooja to the Almighty Shiva. You can see a beautiful huge sculpture of Nandi, which is made of sea shell (conch). There are many stories related to that temple.

It hardly took us an hour to reach Cape Comorin (Kanya Kumari). We checked into a hotel with the sea view. After having a shower, we had some hot idlies, masala dosas and tea. We visited the temple, did some shopping – buying straw hats, shell chains and the like, took a boat ride to the Vivekananda Rock and by the time we reached back at the starting point, we were so hungry that we headed for a restaurant, from where we had a heavy lunch. Like a python after heavy intake, we walked slowly back to the hotel room for relaxing. In the evening, to see the sunset we walked close to the Gandhi mandapam, when suddenly police started shooing away the crowd making way for the VIPs bearing the pot containing the cremated ashes of the slain Leader Rajivji, to be immersed in the seawater at Kanyakumari. So we went to the other side of the platform, from where we could get a view of both the immersion as well as the sunset. We had a long walk, sat on the side of the temple wall, overlooking the lashing waves and just didn’t realise the time ticking by. Later, at the hotel we had some light dinner and went off to sleep early, as we wanted to get the sunrise view at the sea, but were disappointed as it was cloudy and we could see the sun half hidden behind the clouds, winking at us as though he fooled everyone. But the picturesque hue that was painted all over the sky, at that point of time was enough to make a layman yearn to be a poet or a painter!

That night we left back for Thiruvananthapuram, stayed for a day and from there back to Hyderabad. The route was a bit different from Coimbatore, from where I purchased the needed materials & then left for Ooty, where it was too crowded with tourists. So, we just had some on the way – by the way sight seeing, did a light shopping of buying some eucalyptus oil, honey and some dry flowers for making an interior arrangement. My wife went berserk collecting the wild flowers and picking up twisted twigs and collected all dried grass and patterned leaves. She was beaming with joy at the ample collection of all these additional tit bits! We left for Mysore the same day. At Mysore we checked into a hotel for refreshing ourselves and took some chapatti and korma with some strong flavoured Mysore filter coffee! Soon after we made a hurricane visit to the Royal Mysore Palace, then to Brindhavan Gardens, Nandi Hills and later on, our way back, we purchased some aromatic joss sticks having a special bearing to Mysore and also some sandalwood oil. As I had taken some time off from the busy schedule back at Hyderabad, it was time for me to call up the shots and pack up. Otherwise, the strong desire for seeing newer places may drag on for more number of days and we had to be back at least a couple of days ahead of the re-opening of the school for the boys. Road to Bangalore I didn’t stop anywhere except for food and biological compulsions. Kept the same pace till we reached Hyderabad.

Knowing about a place is mere information. If we don’t dare to go out in search of places, how do we experience the feel, ambience of the place???

Every journey we made had its own sweetness, anxious moments, thrilling moments, dangerous moments, as well as bitterness. But that is what we call the TRUE SPICE OF LIFE and we always try to take it as it comes, as we feel that by sharing the joys and sorrows in life we become better understanding and meaningful people.

THE TRIP ON WHEELS TO OUR NEIGHBOURING COUNTRY NEPAL

One of the most adventurous & fun-filled trips we had during the summer of 1998 in the month of May, was the one we took from New Delhi to Nepal with our children. The boys had joined us at Delhi for the summer vacation. At that time, as I was busy with my Project work at Mother Dairy, I never found much time to spend with my family. So, when I was planning to drive down to Muzzafarpur on an official tour, to meet some suppliers and vendors, I suggested to my wife Geeta & the boys, whether they would like to join me. They were only too excited about the trip ahead. Thus we set off in our Contessa along with our Cook cum Man Friday Ravi, as he wanted to be dropped at Bihar to meet his old parents.

We passed through Moradabad---Sitapur---and reached Lucknow by night. Since I had to maintain my appointment for the meeting the next day, I promised my wife to take her to the holy shrine of Kashi Vishwanatha at Varanasi, on our way back to New Delhi. At around 11.00 pm, we had dinner at a Dhaba and proceeded with the journey. We made a makeshift bed on the rear seat and the boys slept snuggled between the pillows along with Ravi. My wife kept me company, as I am very particular that whoever sits in the front seat shall not fall asleep, while I drive through the night. I normally cruise at 120 - 130 kmph. We kept singing Antakshari rounds & played word-building games to keep ourselves alert. Since I don’t smoke, I keep zarda paan & bubble gum handy to keep me alert and awake. My wife kept chatting endlessly & when she gets tired, she plays the Hanuman Chalisa cassette and chants along. In between, to ensure that I am alert, she passes on the towel soaked with water to wipe and freshen up my face. The moment she became inactive, I sensed that my partner was dozing off. The wet towel application on her face brought her back to senses again.

The most beautiful scene of the sunset at dusk time & the sunrise at dawn is so captivating. My wife being a connoisseur of art, enjoys the entire gamut of changing colours in the sky, as well as admires and revels at the simple lifestyle of the villagers we come across on the highway. What a calm and peaceful life they share with natures’ flora and fauna, she exclaims with awe!!! By dawn, we reached the borders of Bihar. We then took a break and stopped by a rivulet and completed all our ablutions. We then stopped by for tea and also had local desi breakfast. Later on the roads started to get bumpy, as they were full of potholes and craters all along. Our tyres started giving us problems due to frequent punctures…. we had some 2-3 flat tyre situations ride on that bumpy stretch. The sultry-summer heat slowly started taking its toll on us and we were getting so irritated with the road conditions of Bihar…. it looked as though the Bihar Government never bothered about the relaying of tar roads on the N.H Roads!!! The locals too were lamenting about their plight!!! We had some lunch from a nearby Dhaba, had some tea, freshened ourselves and proceeded to the city. We went through some narrow lanes “Gallies” & thought we should ask someone for guiding us to Patna city. To our surprise they said that we were right in the city!! Good God!!! We were expecting the city to be much better. Since I didn’t want to waste any time, (we had lost considerable time in fixing punctures), I decided to drive on into the night. The sultry weather was getting on to our nerves inspite of the A/C in the car, because we had to fix the tyre punctures and we felt that we badly wanted to have a bath, inspite of the dip in the rivulet early morning. So we checked in at a fairly decent hotel we could find there with the help of our cook Ravi, who knew that place better. We all had our shower and took a light break, as unexpectedly Ravi’s father came to see us as per the prior intimation he received from his son, to see the Boss & family. By then it was 7.30 pm. We thought of having dinner there itself. Leaving Ravi behind, we proceeded to Muzzafarpur.

We checked in at a hotel at Muzzafarpur early Friday morning. I freshened up, leaving the family behind at the hotel to relax and take rest, while I went to meet my suppliers and vendors. As is normally the case in Bihar, there were some demonstrations staged by some local political groups, resulting in the offices and factory establishments to close, for fear of causing any possible untoward incident. My suppliers profusely apologised for this unfortunate turn of events and said that the discussion and product samples could only be looked into on Monday. So it was a waste of time spending the weekend in a small town like Muzzafarpur. I took the road map and my eyes fell on the word Nepal and lo - I took a spot decision to proceed to Nepal for the weekend rather than loitering around in Muzzafarpur. The moment I got back to the hotel, I shared this idea with my family and they were naturally thrilled beyond words. This thought was too tempting and so we checked out and were off to Nepal. I say chaps; my family was on CLOUD-9 at the thought of driving down to another foreign country in our Contessa without passport or visa issues.

The only route finder was an old road map that belonged to my Dad, who too was an ardent traveller, who loved to drive down in his own car, than travel in other mode of transport. I guess I inherited that trait from Dad. My wife chalked out the route and kept guiding me, to take up the road to Motihari and then to Raxaul. On the way, we bought lots of freshly plucked Lechee fruits, from a wayside village market, which my dear partner kept peeling and popping it into my mouth at regular intervals. We crossed the Raxaul border and had to report to the Border Security Forces of both the Indian and Nepalese Government and answer to a whole lot of questionnaires in respect of the purpose of our visit, more so since our car bore Tamilnadu registration and we did not have our passports with us. I had to really excel in my PR skills to convince them about our genuine intentions of a visit to Nepal. The time was around 6.00 pm. Finally; we were permitted entry into the Nepalese Gateway. The initial taste of Success brought about a spontaneous outburst from both the boys, who yelled out in one breath YAHOO!!!!! With the old map spread up on her lap, my wife guided the route uphill. We passed through very broad smooth, beautiful Chinese laid concrete roads, (which were in direct contrast to the crater ridden Bihar roads) with serene natural landscape topography and it took us quite a while to come to terms that we were actually on foreign soil. We were cruising between 120 – 130 kmph. after a long time. By the time we started climbing uphill, it was past 8.00 pm and it wore a totally deserted look and the weather too was quite chill, when compared to the humid Muzzafarpur weather. We badly wanted to munch on to something and pulled outside a kiosk from where we could get biscuits, chips, sandwiches, and delicious Nepalese tea. That was the first time we paid in Nepalese currency (100 INR = 160 Nepali Rupees). The feeling was unique and unparalleled as we flaunted bundles of Nepalese currency with a newfound pride. We checked with the local guys with regard to the route and they nodded in agreement. After that we kept climbing up, taking hairpin bends, with ease, passing through small wooden bridges. I somehow got a feeling that we may have taken the wrong route and may have been misunderstood at the kiosk, but then there was absolutely not a soul around except for our vehicle and so we had no choice but to go along. We could spot out silhouettes of rising mountains on either side, created solely from the light beaming out of our car headlamps. There were a few small shack like houses scattered here and there with not even a ghost around. The weather was chill and it started to drizzle too. We kept on climbing up ghat section, we saw some men who appeared to be Nepali soldiers with rifles at different posts. On seeing them, we felt that we were on the right path to Kathmandu. Soon, the road started becoming more and more narrow and we could find no proper road. Suddenly hit gravel road. It was around 11.00 pm, when we reached a place very much on the top of the hill, at a higher inclined plane; where our car refused to climb any further. It was an almost impossible steep inclined curve; the road of mud and gravel started becoming slippery, due to the rain and gave away under the wheels!!! My wife and kids got out of the car thinking, perhaps the reduction in their weight would enable the car to pull up further and take up the steep hairpin bend. It was a tough time negotiating the Contessa through those tricky narrow slippery curves. It was still drizzling and it looked as though it was going to rain heavily, taking a cue from the gusty chilly winds that was blowing. It was pitch dark and we couldn’t see anything if the lights of the car were switched off. My wife and the kids drenched in the rain, started pushing the car upwards, as I accelerated hard to keep the car going upwards, while my family was frantically pushing the car. But the car kept sliding backwards. My wife panicked and she started frantically calling for God’s help. Later she explained that in her fear, seeing the outline of the gorge below and the mountains on all sides, she prayed for dear life and drew courage when she heard the temple bells ringing somewhere. We knew that there was no road forward and since it started giving away under the weight of the car, there was no point of trying to go upwards. As the exercise was futile, I managed to somehow gain control over the wheel and steered it around to bring the car back on a downward journey. We felt that we were lost in the wilderness with nobody to guide us, but we strongly felt God’s grace was there with us - otherwise we would have never been there to narrate this experience, cause a slip would have sent us tumbling down the deep gorge. Later we retraced our path downward, thinking we would perhaps never make it to see Kathmandu. We passed through the wooden bridge and luckily we saw a Nepali guy coming out of a shed. It was like providence to see a person after having undergone the entire ordeal. I stopped the car and enquired whether the road we left behind was the right route to Kathmandu? That man said to our amazement, that it was a very unsafe and dangerous route that we took as it was a place where landslides occur and it was essentially a mining area. He then directed us and we were back on our journey. We had committed some error in locating the right route from the old map leading to Kathmandu. We took the wrong turn from a certain point, which lead us to this treacherous terrain.

Finally we were on the right path, as we could see better roads and army men in their raincoats on their routine beat patrol. They stopped our car and enquired as to where we were proceeding. We furnished the details and narrated that we had lost our way. They were quite helpful in giving us proper guidance and we were allowed to proceed on our trip. Finally, around 2.00 am, we reached Kathmandu and checked in at a 3 Star Hotel - Blue Diamond. We got a very comfortable and cosy double room. The Manager of the hotel was kind enough to arrange some food at that unearthly hour, which we gulped ravenously and the next thing we knew was that we hit the sack, longing for a good tight sleep, only to wake up with renewed energy in the morning and go around to see places in Nepal. Next morning, we woke up at around 9.00 am to see the snow capped Himalayan mountains in the horizon. It was a fun filled and enjoyable weekend at Nepal. Our family was so happy that the Indian rupee had more value in Nepal and we were proud to have more foreign currency. We had roasted wild boar with rice wine. We had a guide who works with NGC. So he took us to a lot many places and we had exotic Nepalese food not to forget the Farmer’s meal. We also met the Princess ‘Kumari’, who is considered as a child god. The boys and my wife were on a shopping spree. The Nepal setting was itself so serene and that it made people lazy as we saw lot of locals loitering around or idling their time sitting on the pavements or on the steps. It was the era of the erstwhile-assassinated king and his family, who were then ruling Nepal and the Nepalese were enjoying a peaceful lifestyle. We bought Kukris, wooden masks; an assortment of Nepalese specially carved curios and went to the Casinos at night. We made some money gambling, which we spent on shopping. We went to Buddhist temple where Lord Buddha’s bones are said to have been kept. We bought genuine rudhraksha and went to the famous Pasupathi Shiva temple. We witnessed the beautiful sunset amidst the snow-capped mountains in Pokra. The boys longed to get a view of the Yak and Yeti It was real fun for the entire family throughout the weekend eating Nepalese delicacies and making merry.

We slept early on Sunday and started early on Monday morning at 4.00 am back to India. The boys were a little bit off moods as they suddenly found all good times come to an end. Nevertheless, they soon got over it and started to enjoy the picturesque natural scenic beauty as we drove along back to the border cruising at the usual 120 – 130 kmph. highway speed. We had good sumptuous Nepali breakfast at a wayside restaurant and soon reached the Indo - Nepal border by around 9.00 am. Bade farewell to Nepal and it was wonderful to be back on Indian soil. We reached Muzzafarpur and checked in to the same hotel. Relaxed for a few hours had a good lunch and set out to meet my suppliers and vendors. I finished my work by 6.00 pm came back to the hotel, freshened up and then we were on our way back to New Delhi.

Our first major halt was at Patna, where we had our dinner and then continued to proceed to Varanasi. After we left Patna, we took a different route to avoid the craters and potholes and somewhere along the way, we were stopped by a police patrol party and the DSP advised us to go back and stay at Patna and travel in the day time, as it was absolutely dangerous to travel with family at night in that stretch of 120 kms road, on account of a very high probability of getting waylaid by armed highway robbers and dacoits, risking the lives of the entire family. Even trucks & other vehicles pulled up in a long line, reluctant to cross this place. I had to be in New Delhi on Wednesday and so there was no question of staying back at Patna. The DSP finally agreed to allow me to pass through, though at my risk and said that he would alert the police patrol in the area. The adventurer in me churned inside me & I drove with a determination to face whatever hurdles may come our way. My dear wife was reluctant to the idea of driving at night in that dangerous route, but the boys were only too thrilled to encounter the bandits in flesh and blood!!! My wife disguised herself like a Sardar with the false moustache and beard, which my son had bought from a roadside hawker at Red Fort, New Delhi and she used the shawl as a turban. The idea was to give the bandits an impression that the car was full of male occupants. She was trembling amidst chanting mantras and praying to all possible deities that came across her mind, to ward off all evils! To top it all, she had a small penknife in her trembling hands, to defend herself from the dacoits. My sons were ready to face the robbers, with the leather whips, (hunter) they purchased from Agra and the Nepali Kukri.. I chuckled myself silently, seeing the entire preparation and my wife’s naivety, all that I could do was to only boost their morale. There was not a soul around on that stretch of road. It was pitch dark, the only light being from our car’s headlight. I decided to pace up the road and cover as fast as I could, cruising at the usual 120 – 130 kmph. All along my wife, having exhausted herself calling all the Gods and Goddesses, then began to regret why on earth she ever married me and why the Gods stood as mute witnesses to our marriage, – had we not got married, she would never ever had to face the dacoits, who would in all probability, molest and kill her and her sons etc, etc, and so on and so forth. I had the dual task of putting up with all this rhetoric and histrionics, plus focus on the highway and muster all courage to handle any kind of emergency situation that may arise. As we crossed half way, we could sense another car following us, by virtue of their headlamp beams falling on our car. My wife’s chanting, regretting and crying almost ceased, when she realised that we were being followed. We were expecting the worse to happen and I steadied at 140 kmph, leaving the car following us, way back behind us. The car behind us was trying to keep pace with us, but in vain. Finally, by the grace of God, we crossed the stretch without any incident whatsoever and when we pulled over into a petrol bunk, the trailing car also pulled over. It was then that we came to know that they were also a family and wanted us to keep them company on that pitch-dark risky road. Both the families had a good laugh as we thought them to be the dacoits and they wanted to be close to us in an emergency. We heaved a sigh of relief, when we reached the petrol pump after crossing the check post, ending the treacherous stretch of road. That was some adventure I swear.

After refreshing ourselves with some hot coffee and biscuits, we set forth to reach Varanasi, which we did at around 3.30 am. The Kashi Vishwanath temple was heavily guarded with armed policemen and we were stopped at every junction, questioned and screened, before we were allowed to enter the precincts of the temple. We were however fortunate to have darshan of the Lord, as there happened to have a marriage, to be solemnised at 4.45 am. and hence there was this unusual activity. The boys were fast asleep in the makeshift bed in the rear seat made for them and so they could not partake getting darshan of the Lord. I then got my quota of zarda paans made at Varanasi and we then left Varanasi for Lucknow at 4.30 am. Two hours later, we halted by a water body, completed our morning ablutions, freshened up and the got going. We had poori / alloo subzi for breakfast and then went on to have a sumptuous lunch at the 5 Star Hotel Clarke Avadh. From Lucknow, it was a non-stop drive to New Delhi, stopping occasionally for biological breaks, tea and dinner breaks. We reached New Delhi at around 1.30 am on Wednesday.

Summing it all up, this was an excellent business cum pleasure trip with the added last minute bonus of a foreign trip to Kathmandu, Nepal.