THE PROS OF TAKING RISKS – ENROUTE BANGALORE

We touched down Pondicherry on the 16th night which was falling on Monday of 2016, thinking to leave for Mumbai the next morning was more exhausting as I had to be at my desk on Friday. While my body was longing for bed and my eyes deprived of sleep, the tallest needle of my clock was on 2 in the morning while I was still stuffing my bag. 

I had scheduled my route to Bangalore in the am and halt overnight. Like usual I opted for couchsurfing for my stay and ended up hunting down a Bengali couple Mr. & Mrs. Tautik Das, fortunate enough?  

With a lack of rest, drive appeared to stretch my road. The dense road and the windy weather made it even more soothing to my eyes to shut to dream.

To my fortune, I soon found a stall for quick refreshments. Without a second thought, I stopped and asked for a coffee. Whilst I was finding myself a corner to sit I noticed that the stall was run by 2 ladies, who were constantly staring since the time I believe I parked my bike & sought for a coffee. With their enigmatic look assured me about my take on gender equality.

With the thought of getting my eyes awake from yawning, I grab the damp red plastic chair close to running tap, splashing water on my face felt like taking a shower in cold water. The cloudy weather made the afternoon sky appear more peaceful surrounded by green nature. As I was awaiting my dose of morning shots, I paused & enjoyed what my eyes witness while not on the bike.

I was soon served with coffee and perfectly rectangle-shaped biscuits picked from one of the glass jars aligned in front of their stall. Those 2 women came sat beside me but didn’t dare to interrogate me yet. But as they sensed I’ll be done with my cup they broke the silence and asked me where I was heading in their broken English. A bit about my family, my traveling alone, bla bla bla. It was not even an hour that I spent there, still, when I was leaving they came to me and told me to be safe. Not sure whether they do this to all their customer or I was grateful for my small talk which made the difference. Strange things happen all the time, isn’t it? 

I was almost nearing the Tamil Nadu border (Husur), and the time was about 5:10 PM. I was hungry by then and it was another 60 km to cover my destination. I took a break with another cup of filter coffee and this time biscuit was replaced with South Indian Parotta. While waiting for the food I was checking my Facebook and my eyes were caught on out breaking news.  

What’s that? 
A riot in Bangalore, related to the Kaveri river. Lots of busses and cars even bikes have burnt into ashes. I started to get worried obviously about my bike. I tried getting in touch with few friends in Bangalore to get to know the real situation, can’t really rely on news channels…yes you know it what I’m trying to refer here. But in this case, it wasn’t any different from friends than news. Now, what to do? It was already getting dark and I’m just at the border area, I can’t even detour within the time I have. 

What did I do?
I just relaxed and start enjoying my coffee, which obviously didn’t last long. Then calculating what are the pros and cons of my plan. There was hardly any pros. It was absolutely uncertain whether I would be able to get through. Because the fight was between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and I was entering from Tamil Nadu. The situation was like all cars entering Karnataka from the south were getting attacked. The only hope I had was my bike registration number. It’s West Bengal registered. But again no guarantee in heat of the moment anybody would notice that. Will they? 

There were so many things to be considered, joining date where the company wasn’t ready to reschedule, I was running tight with my budget so taking an extra day to halt would be more expensive. Of course, one would say its a matter of your LIFE. Well for me I was more concerned about Avvy’s life. Above my head, on one hand, angel and on other demon were dancing with their opinions. Why it has to be so difficult? 

Another 15 minutes. I took the hard call, typical me. ‘Stick with the plan’ like Fast Five movie. I hop on my bike, took a deep breath, and told Avvy, ‘It’s you and me, always’. 

The more I was getting closer, the more I was facing check post with so many cops. Some of them removing the number plate from cars that were coming from the Tamil Nadu. I was well aware that point of time my heart was beating faster than usual. But I kept moving forward.  

I was almost inside the city now. Just passed a bus, completely burned. But I can still feel the heat of the giant fireplace, even wearing this riding jacket. What the unusual part was then that from South to North Bangalore I reached in just half of an hour. Whoever knows the place can relate it. Well, now I can say I found the pros of taking the risk.  

The bad news was my mobile battery completely drained. Somehow I was sure I was close, but couldn’t figure out the exact house. Soon I picked up my phone to take it off the flight mode to avoid trigger calls from my friends, and as usual, missed calls alerts kept screaming in along one notification from Mr. Tautik Das too. When I ultimately reached, they were also surprised that I am made it home. 

I settled down in the guest room, got freshen up, spending the best part of staying in couch surfing. Stories to share with each other over food and drinks. Their house was really beautiful and commendable hospitality as well. They maintained their place aesthetically. One of the best things I found there was their dining table which can take you back to your memory of the college canteen table. They were very much like a minimalistic lifestyle. 

It was a really long day with a lot happening. Sleeping time now. Will start the journey tomorrow to Belgaon in the next chapter. Keep reading.