Friends,
I
had put on the switch for the geyser last night. But, the tap yielded only COLD
water. So I used the cold water only for the absolutely essential activities
and decided to leave early. By 3.45 am I came out of my room and could not see
my car – it was enveloped in thick fog. Nevertheless, I loaded the luggage and
primed the car. For a few minutes I sat in the car wondering what to do. I
decided to take to the road, for some progress is better than no progress at
all. Getting to the highway was okay. After that the swirling, thick fog and
deviations without warning boards were a definite hazard. Once, I even reached
the precipice of an unfinished bridge. Reversing from there also had its
problems for the fog impeded visibility in the rear. Poor road warnings and
lack of signages for diversions made progress very tardy. Walking speed is all
I could achieve – I was reminded of the drive from Jagatsinghapur to Paradip. I
somehow managed to drive behind a police patrol jeep for a while and a couple
of trucks for a fair distance and reach Kachugaon police station at 6.25 am,
almost 2 hours behind schedule. The drive through the Srirampur check post
presented no problems and I was in the New Alipurduar railway station by 8 am
for attestation. The delay was maintained because I went to the Alipurduar ORH to
freshen up and rest a while.
I
made up some time on the Falakatta–Malbazar route to Siliguri. Soon after
passing Siliguri I was overcome by sleep. I pulled up on the side of the
highway and slept for about an hour. I passed the West Bengal border at
Dalkhola. I stopped at the integrated check post there and located the officer
in charge. While the primary intention was attestation I was also interested in
understanding how the integrated check post functioned. The officer was happy
about it, but I did not think it was being operated in the manner in which it
should be. The driver or attendant had to go to multiple counters for clearance
– it defeats the purpose behind the integration. It should be a single counter
clearance, which will free up time and reduce corruption.
I
reached Purnia by 3.30 pm and Khagaria by 6.40 pm. The road condition was poor from
Purnia right through to Patna. The saving grace is that one can safely travel
in Bihar at any time of the day or night. The route I was traveling by was out
of bounds in the night before Nitish Kumar decided to clean up the act. At some
point on the route to Patna from Khagaria I was tailing a jeep. My headlights
were on. A person suddenly emerged out of the running jeep in the rear, stood
on the footboard, opened his fly and started letting go, either completely
oblivious to the vehicle he was showering his waters with or in a deliberate
act of exhibitionism. I slowed down to avoid the spray but filmed his act all
through! Having done his bit, he nonchalantly zipped up and went back to sleep
in the rear seat and closed the flap of the jeep. Stressful situations are made
less so by such impromptu situations.
I
reached Patna by 11 pm. JD was waiting at a vantage point on the highway to
direct me to his house, where I was to spend the night. Mrs. Goswami had waited
up to meet me on arrival. I felt bad having inconvenienced them. Hot soup and
fresh salad were served, which is what I had ‘ordered’ during the day when I
was driving. They attended to every detail and confirmed when I would leave in
the morning. I insisted that they do not wake up before I leave. They would
have none of it. JD even insisted on leading me on to the highway to Mughalsarai.
What can you say of such people, whose hospitality is natural and not a bit
forced? I was happy that I had not bypassed and driven on to Mughalsarai. Time
went by in conversation and it was well past midnight when I hit the
comfortable bed.
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