An Unforgettable journey (Part 2)

Continuing with where i stopped yesterday, the bus is now a few kms away from Koduru which is the check post. This is the place where Prasad said he would get down. As mentioned before, I get up and reach the front of the bus. Suddenly, the bus takes a left turn and stops at a dhabha for dinner. Whoa!!!!  Now what???? I look at Prasad. He is surprised to see me behind him. Probably he was wondering “what a glutton this guy must be”. I look at him saying, “Let’s get down here and see how we can go ahead”. He is shell shocked for a while. Nevertheless we get down and we find ourselves standing right in the middle of the Highway asking every passing vehicle for a lift. The time is 7 55 pm. I ask this guy (Prasad), “Why are the vehicles (some were autorickshaws) not stopping?” to which he answers, “This stretch is considered very dangerous. Just a few days back, a murder took place in this part of the highway and it was committed by a hitch-hiker. Well, this statement made me shiver. I started praying fervently to the Almighty. Just then an empty auto came and stood next to us. We asked him to drop us till the check post (Koduru).We got in and I asked him in telugu (yeah yeah...i can speak Telugu…I am a multilinguist u see) where he was going to. To my utter amazement and joy he said, “Sir, I am going to Gorantla”. Well, his words came like a blessing in disguise. I told him to take us to Gorantla.  Now, we would not have to wait in Koduru to catch some vehicle to Gorantla. The journey began. The driver turned out to be chain smoker. Whenever he would have to light a new cigarette, he would leave both his hands from the handle and light the cigarette. Amazing feat but damn it at what cost??? He was enjoying it anyways. We had taken the right turn and were 20kms away from gorantla. The road was thin, rough and curvy. The driver drove at top speed. It was pitch dark outside. The auto had very dim lights. The guy next to me i.e. Prasad looked at me and gave a cruel smile. It appeared so atleast. He had braces and was tall, dark and by no means handsome. In short he looked like a villain straight out from a Telugu movie. It is said, “Vinaash Kale Vipaarita Buddhih”. I started imagining, just in case this guy tries attacking me, how do I defend myself. Probably the karate coaching that I undertook during school days could come to my rescue. I was no fighter by any means. I started thinking of critical points of the body which I could attack in order to defeat him. I was thinking of every possible means of defense. The time was 8 25 pm and we reached the Gorantla circle. Surprisingle , the auto driver charged just Rs.20 per head i.e a total of Rs.40 only. We got down and again waited for another vehicle to cover another 25kms to reach Puttaparthi. The setting in Gorantla circle was sending chills on my spine. There was a small tea shop and some village youth were drinking and smoking in a corner. Prasad seemed to be a better person and it turned out that he was actually a nice guy. At 9 pm, a bus came and we got into it. This bus had come from Bangalore….What crap!!!!!! I was told that the bus from which I got down at the dhabha was the last bus……The conductor tells me that they have now introduced a direct bus to puttaparthi from Bangalore at 5 45pm….great…..i finally reached my hostel SAFELY at 9 45 pm. Prasad and I had become friends…….

I reach the hostel and come to know that the warden is out of station and I wouldn’t have faced any problem even if I had joined the next day……wow……..and I had taken all the pains to reach on time……the cost of sincerity I guess……………..

An Unforgettable journey (Part 1)

I still remember, as kids in school, we were asked to write essays on topics like this (an unforgettable moment, an unforgettable journey etc etc). At that point in time, in order to score good marks , my mom used to give me a couple of essay books, ask me to skim through such topics, mug a few good lines and vomit them on the paper. I remember once asking my mom, “Amma, I have never had any such experience. How can I write? “To which she would reply, “U can write when u get such real experience in your life. For now, take help of these books.”

Coming to the actual point, yesterday’s journey from Bangalore to Puttaparthi was a journey that will remain etched in my memory. I was returning to my hostel after attending my cousin’s marriage.I reached Majestic from Electronic city by 3 pm and on reaching Majestic, I realized that the next bus to Puttaparthi is only at 5pm. I then immediately went to the railway station to check if I can catch a train. The station was jam packed. The reservation counter as well as the unreserved tickets counter had queues which were almost a 100 meters long. On enquiring, i understood that the this sudden rush was attributed to the people wanting to travel within the state for celebrating “Dasara” festival. I would have to wait for atleast an hour and half. So, I returned to the bus stop. It was 3 30 pm. I still had time. So, I kept my luggage in the cloak room and went around Majestic area exploring the place. I came back by 4 45pm and the bus was standing. All the while the only thought that was lingering in my mind was, “I must reach hostel before 10 pm.” I boarded the bus and it was only then did I realize that this was a shuttle bus service i.e. it would stop at every possible place and I could reach hostel by 10 pm i.e. it would take 5 hrs to cover a distance of 140 km…I had no other option.

Fast forward to 7 45 pm. I still haven’t reached the Andhra border; the bus is now taking a right turn from the highway to enter the town of Bagepalli. The bus stop arrives, the driver gets down to have his cup of tea, the conductor is casually chatting around and catching up with friends. The guy sitting next to me is talking on the phone in fluent English. He finishes his conversation and I try to strike one with him. He is some research associate in R V Medical College in Bangalore working on cancer treatment. He is a native of Puttaparthi, name’s Prasad. He too wants to get home fast as this bus would reach only by 10 45 pm. Now that was a bouncer ball. The engine cranks back to life at 8 pm and we hit the highway again. Prasad tells me that the bus would stop for dinner again for half an hour at a place called “Koduru” which is the check post. He is gonna get down there and change bus or catch an auto to another place “Gorantla” and from there use some other mode of transport to go to Parthi. Koduru is atleast 5 kms away. He gets up and is about to leave. As he takes leave and goes to the door, my mind starts analyzing pros and cons of me following suit i.e. how about joining that guy and I instinctively get up and join that person……………….well what happens next is an experience of a lifetime.The experience had a mix of emotions: fun, thrilling, scary and adventurous.What happened actually after that???Did i get down from the bus???Was that guy some bad guy(goonda)???? 
watch out for my next post ............picture abhi baaki hai mere dost………….