IC R-7A
6:05 pm I'm running towards R-7A, trying to avoid the puddles on the runway.My Thoughts: Wow I'm going home early.. I'll probably log in once I reach. It's alright I'm not wasting any time..Trees might fall later on, buses might be cancelled, electricity cables dangling dangerously , . .. Besides, I'll probably reach in an hour.
6:10 pm R-7A is flying down with small stops along the way at signals.
Some kannada song playing
My Thoughts: Umm..Am I gonna use conditional compilation for that bit of code.. or should I do it in a better way..
6:11 pm Our pilot , as if, possessed by evil spirits decides to abandon the usual route and takes us left, left ( which is actually going back ), right , right, maybe one more right... The worst mistake ever. We are surrounded.
Drizzling slightly. Getting dark. Headlights being switched on.
My Thoughts: Darn
6:15 pm Everything's come to a standstill.
My Thoughts:Whhhhat song is this??!!?? Bhaiya, FM 91 nahin hai kya !!
6:20 No sign of any movement except on the sidewalk where all the drivers have gathered to 'survey' area and discuss the situation. Our driver doesnt understand Hindi or English. The only other passenger is some guy in a red shirt who also doesn't understand anything that I speak...
I'm dumbfounded, literally!
My Thoughts: Aaah the comforting voice of Darius. Hey you from the next bus ( which was an inch from ours) stop peeping in.Idiot. Okkk now that I'm stuck might as well call and message a few people and spread the joy... oh no! Commpleeetely dead??!! .. Shit What was that secret Nokia code to get 'reserved' battery backup.. *211#?..*112#?....%^@%$!#$#@ !
6:30 Now completely dark. Headlights have been switched off as if ppl have parked their vehicles for the night.
My thoughts: I'm not scared of staying out after the sun's gone down..no not at all. Mr. Driver you are so screwed for taking this deviation.. If anything happens I'm gonna get you fired. Are you both deaf? Someone reduce the radio's volume.. my ears hurt and I'm feeling pukish.
6:40 I have finally expressed my unhappiness over the situation and my intentions. Bet they din't get a word.Both of them join the others on the footpath.
My Thoughts :Aaha, almost forgot.. I have somebit of payasam left.. Now where's that spoon. Umm ..
oh your back..( looking from the corner of the eye ) yes .. I'm having payasam. No. I don't wanna share any!!
7:00 Engines starting!! Lord be praised atleast we moved 2 meters. Engines switching .. after a whole lot of contemplation.. almost like not wanting to switch off. I've finally reported my whereabouts to my family using the driver's cellphone.. ( I love you Mom .. forgive me for anything bad I might have done .. ).
My Thoughts: Why can't people keep chargers handy? Maybe I can open up my laptop and kill time... On second thoughts don't wanna do that in this sidey lane with all kindsa ppl, dont even wanna look outside .Sigh.. Darius don't leave me, the only hope of keeping my sanity. Oh man I've been sitting on this moist seat. Great! my pants are wet now.
7:05 An hour past the take off. The roads are wet. People staying close by have come out of their homes to watch the mela - inclusive of road side ice-cream stalls and bonda walas. Standing in groups of 2/3 either discussing the graveness of the matter or plain amused. Bhaiya, how bad is the jam ahead.. how much Time will it take ?... Huh? What? ..No no.. I know the Time is 7:05 .. I was asking.. oh well chuck it!
My Thoughts: I could have fixed that bug by now and even finished reading the Ramayan. My mood going the lowest of all times and finally hitting the ocean bed. I feel hijacked.
7:30 Jam busters On radio:The whole city is frozen blah blah.. tell us something we don't already know. We have probably moved another meter. But *ANY* movement in the forward direction is a step towards liberation. My legs have begun to hurt & so has my back. But after a point in time everything sinks in and thats when you reach a state of mind thats almost void of any feelings. And after that whatever happens seems to happen for the better, coz maybe nothing could get worse. Yes I'm drawing a parallel with life... a little bit of philosophy creeping in there..
My Thoughts: Oops what if I need to go to the bathroom now.. I don't right now.. but what IF !! Don't think about it.. don't think about it.. Hmm.. good song.. Woh Bheegi bheegi yaadein ... Ya right... a smile.
8:00 Moving at a snail's pace we each a crossroad. No one wants to yield. SKS Tours and Travels to God's own country.. I'll never forget that name. Man, They were a unit! Coming on the road perpendicular to ours they were in no mood to leave any space, their buses all lined up one behind the other like elephants in a line with each holding the others tail. And they take their tours seriously! Beating up anyone who tried to break their line of buses, be it a cyclist, a pedestrian, or our own driver.
My Thoughts: At last, I see a cop ! Are you gonna do something about this?.. Are you gonna get us outta this hell... oh .. or...are you just gonna speed home on your cheetah print motorbike...
8:20 Meanwhile people from our side of the road decide it's time to do take the situation into their hands. I thought our freedom fighters were courageous. These guys were well.. maybe not courageous.. but desperate.
Line up across the road." Either let us pass or pass over our dead bodies "..Whoa
My Thoughts: Jeez this is fun ( Enthusiastically looking out of my window ) OMG.. Don't run over the poor guy.. oops . Sumone move him out. He'll get run over!!!
8:30 We finally cut into the road, only to find more traffic and uglier..This was a 2-way.
My Thoughts : I'm beginning to enjoy this. We've made it thru the narrowest road in Bangalore, this shouldn't be that bad... THUDD!!
8:31 Our driver has banged into some dude from SKS.. The next thing I know.. there are about 5-6 guys who've come to his window seeking revenge. The other dude in our bus ( red shirt ) is trying to save the driver from punches and pulling at the door from the inside so that the driver isn't mercilessly pulled out and thrashed.
My Thoughts: I'm not gonna die in a riot. I have two options... run outta the other door? Uh oh not possible the SKS bus is standing an inch away and any movement from my side will probably drive them into a frenzy. Only other option... hide under one of the seats in the back.. Third option.. where did that come from. We can say " shoo shorry" which will be beneficial to all.
8:45 We have moved past the terror zone without being hurt terribly. Only the driver's cheek is a little sore I suppose.
My thoughts: Thankful and a little amused, to my surprize. I'm not the same girl who freaked out in Goa.He he
9:00 Same spot. People from the otherside had now decided to lay down their lives for the cause of ..wotever. Some techie thrown off his bike after being hit by a bus coming from the opposite direction. I guessed techie coz he had those small earphones on, and generally coz he looked Sodexho-ish. Maybe he also had a laptop, which was probably why he was so pissed and was screaming at everyone around. Or maybe he was bugged coz he could have been in office fixing some bug instead of here !
My Thoughts: Buddha smile. God save.
9:15 Fiiinnnallly.. We reach the Richmond road fly-over.
My Thoughts: Free roads.. This is a free country. Where the heart is without fear and the head is held high.
9:25 Reach DC!!!
My Thoughts:Here I come DC loo.:D ( Me dashing forward.. rather emerging victorious .. imagining myself waving to the imaginary crowd that's gathered to honor us.)
9:30 DC Reception.. What the bus to IISc has left? Let me call him.. darn my cell is dead.
My Thoughts : I'm gonna write a blog about this.
posted by Joviel @ 5/28/2005 01:49:00 PM
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