My proclivity to start the
day early is a disturbance to my hosts. This day was no different. Thulasi and
Nandini insisted on a cup of tea to warm up the insides. I did not refuse the
morning offering. In fact, Nandini gave me a flask full of tea for the journey.
Thulasi had bought peanuts and figs for the trip. He also gave me a couple of
bottles of wine to last the next few days in India! The car looked ready for
the longest drive of 875 kms I would be undertaking on the twin expeditions,
after its wash the previous night.
I start the day early,
between 4 and 5 am, for three reasons. One, the roads are relatively free at
that time of the day. Two, it is less tiring driving early in the morning than
during the peak morning hours. Three, it helps to get to the next destination
faster so that I get quality time there for sightseeing, socialising and
documentation. However, the early drive also has a few downsides. Truck traffic
is most indisciplined at that time; most of them don’t have lights or
fluorescent stickers at the back. I have been lucky to avoid bumping into them
at high speed on numerous occasions. Broken down vehicles are left even in the
middle of the roads without any warnings boards. Traffic police leave steel
barriers on the side of roads unwarned, to restrict speed. Avoiding all these
and also motorists coming from the opposite side on the wrong lane need a
combination of skills and prayers. The road upto Srikakulam was brilliant. But the
above mentioned challenges almost derailed my drive, as I narrowly missed a few
trucks and barriers. Such instances reinforce the belief that you are in the
prayers of wellwishers and family.
Surfacing was the casualty after
Srikakulam and road works after Bhubaneswar made progress tardy. Despite all
that I reached the second Hoogly bridge after 5 pm. I had arranged to meet with
my good friend, Kaushik Nandi, at the exit of the bridge. I have, over the
years, valued the affection and support of the family. By 6 pm we reached
Garden Reach, headquarters of South Eastern Railway, where I was to halt the
night. The room on the third floor of River View officers’ rest house offered
brilliant views of the Hoogly river. In
a while we were joined by Gopal Mohanty, an integral part of all my expeditions
by way of logistics support and emotional motivation. He retired from service
as Chief Operations Manager of South Easter Railway.
After scheduling the South
East Asian journey I had rung up Gopal Mohanty for assistance with accommodation
in Kolkata, Malda and Guwahati. He told me that the date I had planned to be in
Kolkata was, coincidentally, the IRTS Day, when a major function was organised in
the Belvedere club of Eastern Railway. I was overjoyed for it would provide an
opportunity to renew old contacts and meet with former bosses. The function
brought together officers of South Eastern and Eastern railways. It was a
lovely gathering of stalwarts, young and old, and their families.
Unfortunately, I could not stay long as I had an early start once again on the
morrow. I carried copies of “Record Drives…” for distribution.
The drive from
Visakhapatnam to Kolkata was scheduled in the itinerary as the longest in the
twin expeditions. It took nearly 14 hours in transit for 875 kms. I did not
stop for any meals en route. It was tea, peanuts, avulose unda and toffees all
the way to Kolkata. And, of course, plenty of water. I did pull up a few times
to take short rests in between. Whenever I feel sleepy I pull up and rest for
about 15 minutes. That is extremely refreshing. These power naps have to be
practiced so that you can leverage the best out of them.
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