Travel Diaries
Yeh! We are going on a Road Trip- our very first one. Sounds exciting! When do we start? What should we take along- food, water. Check the tyres, fill petrol from the trusted petrol bunk, carry required documents. How long do we drive at a stretch? Take advice from the experienced. A lot was running in the mind.
It was the 2nd of May, a Tuesday I remember when the alarm went off at 4:00 am. Wake up, Wake up! Radhika's wedding day it was. She was a colleague of mine and a friend. Radhika was getting married to Stephen in Gulbarga, Karnataka around 200 kms from Hyderabad. I quickly took a shower and began getting ready for the wedding- picked up the easy-to-wear saree from my wardrobe cause I usually take at least half an hour to drape one, the jewellery: ear-ring, bangles those which went along with the saree, footwear. We were going to attend a Pentecostal wedding for the first time and were curious how it would be.
Our target was to get going by 5:30 am but somehow it got delayed. After having said a prayer we stepped out and began locking the door when my hubby mentioned he hadn't brushed his teeth. Another five minutes were gone. Finally, by 6:10 am we were seated in our Datsun and ready to hit the Old Mumbai Highway.
An hour later, we were away from the metro, the high-rise apartments and shopping centres and welcomed by the fields and villages. Breathing fresh air after a long while... such a relief from the noisy, polluted city roads. Though my eyes were on the road most of the time, I took them off now and then to look at the fields, orchards, herds of cattle on the way. There were many mango orchards. I had thoughts of stopping-by to get some, unfortunately we did not. By 7:30 am we stopped at a motel for a break. I was glad to have prepared some ghee parathas. They tasted great with steaming chai. The place was packed with only a few people and being dressed for an occassion only drew many stares. It was time to get going.
The next three hours was a non-stop drive on the highway which had too many diversions. Luckily, there were no toll booths on the way. We reached our destination on time to attend the wedding.
The bride and the groom and many in the crowd were clad in white. The service ended with the Preacher advising the couple never to divorce or take dowry which impressed me a lot. Hadn't heard these Do's and Don'ts in most Christian weddings. We attended the reception. greeted the newly-wed couple and hurried to start back. We wanted to be home before dark.
It was 2:30 pm and the heat soaring. We stopped under the shade to update our dear ones who were anxious about us and our trip. Back on the road and the weather changed all of a sudden. Dark clouds and a drizzle gave us hope of a pleasant weather. The drizzle turned into a heavy shower moments later. Driving in the rain was quite challenging. Mind you we were first timers on such a road-trip. I took out the manual, changed the settings on the dashboard to clear our view. Meanwhile. a police stopped our vehicle and verified the documents. Thank God we had them all :).
The pleasant drive lasted only half an hour after which the clouds went out of sight giving way to a clear sky and sunshine. The weather turned warmer than expected. There wasn't much water to quench my thirst. My eyes were looking out for lassi or juice stalls along the road. In a place called Zaheerabad, we found one lassi shop. The lassi tasted of many things: ice-cream, yogurt, roohafza and many nuts, almonds. A flavourful lassi it was. We stopped again to have sugarcane juice. It was the best one could have for Rs 10/-. There was this free watershed where I filled one of my water-bottles. Thanks to Telangana Govt, the water tasted like bottled mineral water.
No more stops or breaks we decided as we started again. And this time, it was how to over-take the carriers, trucks, buses ahead. With the highway under construction, vehicles speeding in both directions had to travel on the same narrow lane. We had but no option to patiently drive the rest of the way. The journey made me appreciate those who drive everyday for a living given the patience and concentration that goes into it. Some sights were saddening though- people defecating in the open, under-developed condition of villages just an hour away from the urban, modern society show the gap.
Thank God for the wonderful trip. Journey is more than just driving from the source to the destination... its what you see, what you learn, what you take back home after its done.
It was the 2nd of May, a Tuesday I remember when the alarm went off at 4:00 am. Wake up, Wake up! Radhika's wedding day it was. She was a colleague of mine and a friend. Radhika was getting married to Stephen in Gulbarga, Karnataka around 200 kms from Hyderabad. I quickly took a shower and began getting ready for the wedding- picked up the easy-to-wear saree from my wardrobe cause I usually take at least half an hour to drape one, the jewellery: ear-ring, bangles those which went along with the saree, footwear. We were going to attend a Pentecostal wedding for the first time and were curious how it would be.
Our target was to get going by 5:30 am but somehow it got delayed. After having said a prayer we stepped out and began locking the door when my hubby mentioned he hadn't brushed his teeth. Another five minutes were gone. Finally, by 6:10 am we were seated in our Datsun and ready to hit the Old Mumbai Highway.
An hour later, we were away from the metro, the high-rise apartments and shopping centres and welcomed by the fields and villages. Breathing fresh air after a long while... such a relief from the noisy, polluted city roads. Though my eyes were on the road most of the time, I took them off now and then to look at the fields, orchards, herds of cattle on the way. There were many mango orchards. I had thoughts of stopping-by to get some, unfortunately we did not. By 7:30 am we stopped at a motel for a break. I was glad to have prepared some ghee parathas. They tasted great with steaming chai. The place was packed with only a few people and being dressed for an occassion only drew many stares. It was time to get going.
The next three hours was a non-stop drive on the highway which had too many diversions. Luckily, there were no toll booths on the way. We reached our destination on time to attend the wedding.
The bride and the groom and many in the crowd were clad in white. The service ended with the Preacher advising the couple never to divorce or take dowry which impressed me a lot. Hadn't heard these Do's and Don'ts in most Christian weddings. We attended the reception. greeted the newly-wed couple and hurried to start back. We wanted to be home before dark.
It was 2:30 pm and the heat soaring. We stopped under the shade to update our dear ones who were anxious about us and our trip. Back on the road and the weather changed all of a sudden. Dark clouds and a drizzle gave us hope of a pleasant weather. The drizzle turned into a heavy shower moments later. Driving in the rain was quite challenging. Mind you we were first timers on such a road-trip. I took out the manual, changed the settings on the dashboard to clear our view. Meanwhile. a police stopped our vehicle and verified the documents. Thank God we had them all :).
The pleasant drive lasted only half an hour after which the clouds went out of sight giving way to a clear sky and sunshine. The weather turned warmer than expected. There wasn't much water to quench my thirst. My eyes were looking out for lassi or juice stalls along the road. In a place called Zaheerabad, we found one lassi shop. The lassi tasted of many things: ice-cream, yogurt, roohafza and many nuts, almonds. A flavourful lassi it was. We stopped again to have sugarcane juice. It was the best one could have for Rs 10/-. There was this free watershed where I filled one of my water-bottles. Thanks to Telangana Govt, the water tasted like bottled mineral water.
No more stops or breaks we decided as we started again. And this time, it was how to over-take the carriers, trucks, buses ahead. With the highway under construction, vehicles speeding in both directions had to travel on the same narrow lane. We had but no option to patiently drive the rest of the way. The journey made me appreciate those who drive everyday for a living given the patience and concentration that goes into it. Some sights were saddening though- people defecating in the open, under-developed condition of villages just an hour away from the urban, modern society show the gap.
Thank God for the wonderful trip. Journey is more than just driving from the source to the destination... its what you see, what you learn, what you take back home after its done.
Nice write up. Expecting a lot more.Good to see you back. Keep writing bud .
ReplyDeleteThanks Ebb :)
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