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 5th to 3rd to 2nd 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 5th to 2nd to 1st, 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!!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment