Friends,
The space taken up by the luggage
surprised me as I started loading the car on 15th evening. It was
also a mix of voluminous and heavy pieces. The oxygen cylinders were heavy and
could ‘jump’ around while the fuel cans were bulky and light. During the drive
from Cochin to Bangalore the luggage shifted quite a bit causing discomfort.
Therefore, it had to be rearranged. I took out most of it and reorganized it;
those that were needed after Nepal were tucked deep in. Miraculously I managed
a tight fit – the luggage remained ‘in tact’ through the drive today.
Bangalore Mirror had sought an
appointment to cover the journey. Thinking of an 8 am getaway I had asked the
reporter to come to the hotel at 7.15 am. Aby John and Vipin, Fb friends, also
wanted to come around and spend some time with us. Lal’s friends dropped in. Shibu Verghese and his wife, Smitha, (HVK
Forum) came by too. Photography sessions were many. Despite the best of
intentions we could leave the hotel only after 10.30 am. Breakfast had been
done. But that almost fully digested in the busy Bangalore traffic; woes were
compounded by missing a flyover and getting caught by traffic cops for alleged
overspeeding. Baiju was at the wheel and we were conscious of the fact that the
toll gate near the airport is a vulnerable location. The speed was under the
prescribed 80 kmph and yet we were waived down. I made a big scene with the
cops and insisted on either speaking to the Commissioner of Police or being
arrested. The cops were not interested in both. Their recording showed that we
were driving at 90 kmph! When I challenged the calibration they pointed to the
certificate of calibration displayed prominently under the camera. It was
blatantly wrong. Another fact is that they were on the prowl primarily for vehicles
from outside the state; those that would not challenge them. I threatened to
get the Press involved. After arguing for many minutes we walked back to the
car, when one of the cops came and enquired of the branded car and our
objective. When they were explained he wished us Bon Voyage and send us on our
way. We were able to motor along comfortably on the Hyderabad highway only by
noon.
All through the drive fans of Lal and
friends were phoning in. Media wanted a slice of the action too. Asianet will
be covering the journey through the 75 days with live footage and stills. Time
had to be found to shoot and deliver that too. Activity on Fb was going viral.
Friends requests, comments and mails poured in. After a while I found it
impossible to make individual responses to comments and mails.
Accommodation was arranged through
batchmates in Railway Officers’ Rest Houses (ORH) in Hyderabad, Nagpur and
Chhatarpur, where we would be staying for the next four days. During the drive from
Cochin, Baiju had a light cough and fever. He attributed it to tonsillitis.
However, on the way to Hyderabad his condition worsened and by the time we were
half way through medical was considered necessary.
Before seeing us off in Bangalore Shibu
had suggested that we carry jump start cables. Lal also wanted SD cards for the
GoPro cameras. Shibu, through the network of HVK, arranged to get them
delivered to us in Hyderabad. Contact details were given to us. Sreekanth, the
contact in Hyderabad, was in constant touch. We had a surprise caller in Md
Abdul Kaleem. He suggested that we have dinner together. Baiju’s condition was
not such that we could accept the gracious offer. However, he offered to take
us to a hospital. Sreekanth, after delivering the cables and the cards, piloted
us to the meeting point with Kaleem. The sprightly 70 year old on his bike took
our breath away. The ex-army man gave precise directions and guided us expertly
to the hospital in Begumpet. He stood by Baiju’s side as he was examined by the
night duty doctor and medicines were prescribed. An intravenous dose of
medication was administered and Baiju felt better almost instantaneously. The
doctor prescribed antibiotics, cough syrup and antacids. He also suggested that
in case either Lal or I start cough we should immediately start the prescribed
dose of medicines.
Close to the KIMS hospital was the Bowl
of China, where we decided to have dinner. Over sweet corn chicken soup and
fried rice we listened in wonder to the exploits of Kaleem. He had recently
travelled 30,000 kilometers on his bike all over India for 119 days! He also
told us that all his four children were comfortably settled abroad and his wife
had migrated to the US. He had all the time to indulge his passion for travel,
he said.
Kaleem insisted on taking us to the
Railway ORH. We were tired by the time we reached the rest house. We let Baiju
have a room to himself. Before hitting the sack we agreed on leaving by 8 am.
Of course, Kaleem insisted on being there and taking us out of the city and
pointing us on to the highway. However, before we turned in we got feedback
from folks in the HVK Forum about the road condition from Nagpur to Chhatarpur.
I decided to tackle that the next day.
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