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Sorry guys . I was quite busy with work and it was a total pandemonium. I had to finally force myself to take a break and go in search for the virus , "start-writingolum bloggy" . I'm back , all charged up and full of ideas and threads. This blog is for all those who visited my site while I was away. Especially for Arackal,Tisha, Jibish, Divya, Aarti and Veena.
A Bus Trip to Milestone It all started after I got a realisation that I have not done anything crazy since my Leh trip. An adventure trip sounded interesting and I just jumped for it. I worked continuously for 48 hours without sleep, caught a flight and reached Banglore just in time to catch the bus. Since I was late, I did not have choice for selecting a seat. Co-ordinators asked me to feel comfortable in the corner back seat. I acted as if , anything and everything was fine with me. Back seat which was a 5 seater had only 2 people, Bindu and Karthick. I moved to the other corner and tried to catch some precious sleep. Bindu and Karthick felt sorry for me as I was without friends. They tried their best to involve me in their talks.
"Hi, I'm Karthick "
With a smile and handshake , "Sojish"
"Su ???"
"So Jish"
"Sujaesh? " "SO JISH ... Leave it . Its okay ... just call me 'so K' ."
"Thats sounds easier. So K. Is it okay SoK ? "Yes , its okay" Henceforth any reference to "SoK" means its a reference to me myself. Hey Bindu and Karthick, I am so greatful to you guys for making me settle down so fast.
I was about to catch some sleep again when a huge hunk , Samar and his girl friend Swathy joined us in the back seat. I was really cornered now, but little did I care. All I wanted was some precious moments of sleep.
Backseat bumpy ride got difficult, as I realised that my legs have suddenly grown longer and it doesnt fit between the seats. I counted atleast 30 potholes and bumps , each marked with a cry of pain in knees. After 30 I lost the count.
Half way through the journey Swathy and Samar shuffled their seats , such that Swathy was near me. The chivalrous me gave her as much as space as possible, that someone looking from front could have mistaken me for a nail in the corner seat. Yes , I was nailed , but little did I care. All I wanted was some precious moments of sleep.
4 am in the morning , and I'm trying desperately hug the sleep fairy , while the tightly packed bus was dragging us along. Bus stereo suddenly started blurting out a horrible collection of Himesh Nasal-miya. After 30 minutes of ear piercing Himeshiyum, Samar became angry and that made sure that stereos remained silent for the rest of the night. But the damage was already done. Samar and Karthick became fully awake and charged up now . They started having a heated discussion on an interesting topic, "Intel Pentium 8 and its architecture" . 4 AM guys ..!!! Are you out of your minds? " Before I could get any more sleep , morning came . Damn the morning. Bus stopped near a small township, Sagar in Banglore-Goa highway. We were told to freshen up and have breakfast. I slowly got up from seat . Yeah, I still have my knees intact ( crammed seating has made it a bit rusty though ) , and my spine almost cried out with happiness in the newly found freedom.
I got out of the bus and slowly limped to the hotel where others headed to. It took me some time to realise the fact . There is no hotel . There is simply NO Hotel . I could see the rest of the gang crowded inside a public toilet in a corporation bus stand. Gimme a break !!
The mail from cordinators came to my mind, which clearly stated , "We are not service providers, people expecting services are asked to contact the commercial outdoor clubs". I gulped my initial aversion , and walked straight to the enclosure. There was a solitary wash basin at the end of a row of urinals. Public walked in , relieved onself , and went . There I was, near the washbasin, with a tooth brush in hand , toothpaste foam in mouth and an idiotic smile on face.
Swathy , Samar and their friend Neeraj invited me for breakfast in a near by Tea Shop. I just had tea , and spent the time getting to know each other better. That helped . The rest of the bus journey was spent chit-chatting about the adventures we were into.
Samar is a biker. Swathy loves to be Samar's pillion , but he never lets her be one. Samar has a Bullet ( bull 350 ) and does frequent rides with a group of friends. He got interested in the talk when I said , I got Leh'd ( Slang - for crossing world's highest motorable road , K-top in Leh, on a bike) .
"Thats great yaar. Which is your bike ? "
"Karizzzzma"
"Wow . Thats a good bike man" I gave a smile. Every time I talk about my bike , Karizma , it fills me with an air of pride.
" Neeraj, lets do a bike trip to Kerala yaar . SoK , will arrange everything. "
"Yeah , why not ? Just come over guys, I'll arrange everything. Btw Neeraj, which is your bike ?"
"I got a Hayabusa"
Wooooooow .
I wanted the "wow" to sound a little excited, but it sounded like the air of pride was woooshing out of a punctured tyre. I tried to concentrate on the wrecked hindi music that was being played , but the wooshing sound as the pride left me was a lot louder.
The ghats and forest of Shimoga provided beautiful scenery and that kept us charged up through the later part of journey. Whenever we hit a pothole or bump, all 3 bikers cried out in unison , "God, Wish we were on our bikes".
That evening we all reached the destination. The 14 hours back-breaking bus journey has come to a halt. As soon as we got down from bus we were asked to strip , put on the life-jackets and cross a 50 meter wide creek of murky waters.
Though I couldnt cross the creek , I was still happy . I had already crossed a major milestone in my life.
"Be confident in talking to strangers or people whom you are meeting for first time".
Ever since my friend JSR urged me to start talking to strangers it was a challenge for me. And today I can sleep peacefully, because I've done it. (But Neeraj has a Hayabusa yaar . Wooooooooooooshhhh )
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