It was raining by the time I woke up to get ready.
Pre-monsoon showers had already arrived and it would rain almost every day, I
was told. The hotel was pitch dark as the power supply had gone off some time
during the night and the generator had not been switched on. As I had to get
ready I walked cautiously to the hotel reception holding the mobile phone to
show me the stairway. I woke up a chap sleeping on a sofa and asked him to
switch on the power backup. In a short while the lights came on and I was able
to make my cup of coffee to start up the day.
I had first met Seju Kuruvilla when he was Superintendent of
Police (SP) of Lohit District of Arunachal Pradesh, based in Tezu, during my
East-West expedition in 2013. The smart and handsome police officer and his
wife Megna, who is an IPS officer too, treated me like family. Since then I
have sought his help whenever a trip to Arunachal was planned, even though he
and his wife are now posted in Daman. This time was no different either.
Despite being on vacation he arranged to get me the Inner Line Permit (ILP)
over a couple of mail exchanges. The ILP is required to travel in Arunachal
Pradesh. Different ILPs are required for different parts of the state. The
duration is also mentioned in the ILP.
The other resource I invariably tap is Rajesh who works for
Arunachal Pradesh police. He had been deputed to accompany me from Tinsukia on
my first drive to Tezu. At that time, in 2013, the border areas with Assam were
disturbed and just a day before I was to leave for Tezu there had been a bomb
attack on the border post at Kakopathar.
Many surrendered militants are housed in a special complex in this area.
The situation was extremely tense and Seju considered it prudent for me to be
accompanied by Rajesh. He was very interesting company and I got to know and
understand the life and people of that area because of his almost encyclopedic
knowledge and keen sense of observation. This time I needed suggestions from
him regarding the road condition, the route and assistance to get the log sheet
attested. I had read about the new bridge over the Brahmaputra that had been
inaugurated by the PM a few weeks before, which took off a short distance from
Tinsukia. Rajesh advised me against taking that since the road condition was
not that good and it would be a longer route. He suggested the route via
Alubari, where another bridge had come up across the Brahmaputra. The bridge
had been under construction when I last went to Tezu in 2015 during the
Trans-Himalayan expedition. In 2013 and 2015 I had crossed the river on a ferry
that was made up of a raft on two wooden boats, powered by a couple of motors.
Swift currents and the sight of a couple of handymen bailing water out of the
boats could be a mightily scary experience r romantic depending on the age and
mental condition of the traveler! When it rains, as it was copiously today,
ferry crossings used to get shifted, even overnight. Rajesh had also spoken to
the SHO of the Tezu police station to do the required attestation.
At the hotel I was told that it would take me about four
hours to reach Tezu, but the decision to leave for Tezu at 4 am turned out to
be a masterstroke. There was hardly any traffic on the road, save the cattle
and horses that freely roamed around. I passed through the Kakopathar check
post without being stopped. When I reached the Arunachal Pradesh border at
Dirak I was asked to park the car and present myself to the post with papers of
the car. After details of the car were entered in a register kept for the
purpose, I presented the ILP too, which was found in order. The road up to
Alubari was quite good and I made good progress. I knew that I had to take a
turn to the right somewhere from a junction, but was not so sure. At that
moment I found a gentlemen shielded from the rain by an umbrella getting out of
his house. There was no sign of any activity at that time off the day; it was
not yet 6 am. Mercifully that person showed me the turn off and for the next 30
minutes travelled through very lonely wooded areas across terrible roads. After
what seemed like an era I reached the new bridge and then there was relief.
Though the bridge has been completed the approach road on the Alubari side is
still being compacted. In another season the access to Tezu would be pucca, I
know. Once I got across the bridge I got excellent roads right up to Tezu and
the drive was sheer magic with tall trees on either side of the road.
When I was about 15 minutes away from Tezu police station I
rang up Ghosh, the SHO, who promised to come over to the station, even though
it was not yet time for the official opening. I was greeted by the constable on
guard duty at 6.30 am and made to occupy a comfortable chair inside the
station. I had done the Tinsukia-Tezu segment of 128 km in just two and half
hours! Ghosh came in quick time, apologized for keeping me waiting and
completed the honors of attesting the log sheet. He also took down my details
so that it would be entered in the station diary. In less than 30 minutes I
started my return journey to Tinsukia, the first corner in the east done and
dusted.
A cyclone warning had been issued last night. Despite the
steady rain I was not inconvenienced. The return journey took a while longer as
villages had come alive and I had to slow down. When the receptionist saw me at
10 am he asked if I was going or was already back! He was stunned to hear my
morning exploit. He ordered an omlette
and excellent pooris with potato curry for breakfast. And I
feasted. Just before noon I was ready to start the next leg of the day’s
journey, which was originally up to Jorhat. Last night, as I was pondering
options I remembered Mr Padmanabhan who was MD of Numaligarh Refinery. He had
played host in Guwahati during my expedition to Singapore. He had then invited
me to spend some time in Numaligarh. I contacted him and he promptly made
arrangements for my stay in the Refinery guest house, despite being on vacation
with his family.
About 250 km remained for the rest of the day. Despite a
leisurely drive and a brief halt in Hotel Piccollo in Sibsagar for a soup lunch
I reached the refinery guest house at 6.30 pm. The setting of the guest house
took my breath away. On the banks of a river, with deer and such other animals
freely moving around, it was a fairytale end to the day. Since light faded very
fast I could not enjoy the sights as much as I wanted. However, it was a
tranquil location to relax the old bones, recover from the hectic schedule of
the past few days and prepare for the toughest leg, Leh.
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