Its an epic trip. An Impulsive road trip with bunch of acquaintances, it involved GrayHound cops , unbearable heat, exceeding expenditures, ad hoc planning, adventure and tribal hunters.
It all started with a lie
Uday and Sridhar ran away on Sreekanth's pulsar. We have decided to chase them and catch them. I just came to hyderabad on saturday after one week of ordeal in east and west godavari districts.
Uday called me on friday night when i was at vijayawada bus station and asked me if i am interested to join them for a road trip. If i was ok, then they would pick me at vijayawada. Without second thoughts , i declined the offer. First they want to me roam in the same region i was escaping. Second reason is, these people are car-people.
On sunday i started getting calls again for the trip. News was, uday and sridhar started off their trip on saturday night, reached vijayawada and washing clothes at a local park, It was decided that a rescue team must start from hyderabad, i got invitation to participate.They have lured me by saying "on bikes". Thats the keyword, bike, after couple of thoughts i said yes.
Later, uday called me in the evening, and convinced me that car is economical than bike. I really didn't understand his explanation. But i know that he is a long driver .. I felt honored to get invitation. And , there is already a bike there, except srikanth all of them are small, i can muscle them out and take the bike if needed, i think i can beat srikanth too. But would not i be cheating my bike?
It become 7PM , YS Jagan Mohan Reddy was arrested, telugu channels started terrorising by saying NH9 is blocked. Nobody was sure if the trip is on or not. But i really want to see the polished, always-formal-dressing, a-man-with-style, who-hates-country , Uday, washing clothes in a park!! Thats something hard to imagine. Finally, the boys arrived, we have so much of luggage which can support a family with kids. We loaded up water at home, adjusted the luggage and set our journey. I was little skeptical on how much longer we can go before we hit traffic jam, but there was none. Clearly, telugu news media cant be trusted. First stop was Green Bawarchi.. After our stomachs and petrol tank are full, then become the phone calls one more time. This time, to all the other guys. I suppose they are convincing their girls on this trip. But i have my phone, my new phone , with shiny black finishing. With 1GHz processor its running smooth, and GPS gets locked in less than 5 seconds.
NH 9 was still under construction then. They are turning the single lane into six lane. Its been a long time, i got myself on it. Last time, when i was on it, i was almost got hit by two lorries and one scorpio. I was really scared of that highway. Its Manohar who is driving. I trust his driving, no sudden turns, no loud music, no aggressiveness and no racing. Our vehicle is Maruthi Wagon R. I dont know much about cars, but this car is not for me. I dont even fit in that. Except that complaint, its a decent car i guess.
I was checking my phone, listening to music and lost in thoughts then dozed off. I woke up with some sounds. It took me a while, to understand that, those are made by manohar , to warn srikanth not to check sms while driving. Cant blame srikanth, he is newly engaged, but made a mental note, not to sleep while srikanth is behind the wheel. In vijayawada we made a wrong turn, i was busy tweeting about my new phone. Aravind was calling the whole night. He was not part of the trip, but Uday and Sridhar are on the way to rajahmundry. Aravind was in rajahmundry then and made arrangements for us in rajahmundry. I have added sridhar on google latitude and checking their locations.
Circling Rajahmundry central jail
Our black car and sun rised in rajamandry almost at the same time. Rajamandry, on the banks of river godavari, athis holy place is a large steam bathtub in summer. Step out of AC and fog accumulates on the glasses. Kerchiefs get wet, shirts get wet , the whole body leaks sweat and there is no way to quench the thirst. Its so irritating and i could not forgive myself for coming into the steam bath with in two days. But, i got my new phone. . I was busy removing sweat off my nose and taking pictures with 5MP camera.
We made halt at Dhavaleswaram bridge. River Godavari runs through the yellow sands. I guess, the heat damaged our brains or else why would we jump the fence to go to the river bank in that heat. I was trying to
remember songs on Godavari, but due to heat, its the railway announcement for Godavari Express that came to mind, that too in all three languages.After a long photo session on the banks, we started off. From here onwards , , wherever i mention photo session, i am praising the photography of the satish
. Manohar could not stand the heat anymore , even with car air conditioner. He removed his shirt and driving. Thanks to his manners , he stopped with shirt. I have checked the last location of sridhar, it was near rajahmundry central jail. Called him and uday, no response. We started curcumfencing the central jail for lodges where these guys might have checked in. Meanwhile we started having breakfast. The hotel was a large hut , where customers are allowed pour sambar as much as they like from a big bowl. I liked the concept, it would have been great if they had extended the same offer to tea.
After an hour or so, sridhar called us and gave the address, we went to the lodge, adjusted the whole luggage in the car. Still i have no clue on how manohar was able to fit a luggage weighing mountain in that car. And there is bike parked in front of the lodge, getting it for my self was not so hard then. Everybody wants to get in car except me and uday. Now we are six members, uday, sridhar, srikanth, manohar , satish and me. Sridhar and satish are friends but they are two opposite poles of talking. Satish wont start and sridhar wont stop.
Our next destination is medical college on highway, where aravind was arguing with the clerk to get his certificates. We met him, had a smoke and few soft drinks, then resumed the journey again. Next destination is araku.
On the way to araku, beside the road, we came across a big statue of swami vivekananda. Well, it got to be him ,
nobody used that posture and that color. Uday said ok , so we made a detour to the statue. Its on a small hill, and the statue is about 30 feet height. We exchanged our bookish knowledge for sometime then came down. The road is wide, air is humid and sun is trying to burn us, there is no cloud to give us some protection. Somehow , i drive fast in humid regions, to escape the sweat or because i feel unleashed whenever i am on a trip, i cant say but, i was going fast. First time, i got good impression on pulsar, i touched 90 KMPH but the bike was going smooth. after some time came down to my normal speed.We reached a village called "Murari", which is the name of a movie in Tollywood.
===NH5====
I have never traveled on that road before. Its a wide road, guarded by eastern ghats. The mountains are still green, while me and uday, coming slowly stopping wherever we feel like, the car-boys were impatiently waiting near annavaram toll-gate , in a mango garden. I was learned htat, sridhar had convinced the owner that no fruit will be plucked. And we kept his promise.
The teams have changed from here, manohar and sridhar took the bike and rest in the car. But their luck was bad. Within 10 min , there is a heavy rain and wind is blowing people out of road. Everybody stopped where they were. There were change in plans due to heavy rains, we went to the nearby village to have Mirchi. After that , we started again, the aim was to reach araku before night falls. But it was already 4 PM then. We have added each other on Google latitude, so there are no more where-are-you-i-am-here calls.
I was enjoying the drive except for music. There guys really have a crappy taste when it comes to music. And they find my music-taste boring. But no worries, i have my phone. I was busy tweeting, taking pics and browsing. When it became night, we were not even close to vizag and no idea how long it will take to reach Araku.
We had to make another halt at pendurthi, a small junction before reaching visakhapatnam. We were all hungry, as cigarettes does nothing to hunger. Manohar went for shaving. There we had shopping.
The road is wet, bumpy and its night. Precisely, the right combination I dislike. But can't refuse the offer to bike-riding. After all, that's my thing. This time, Sridhar is accompanying me. He was a radio jockey at his home town. Considering his talkative nature, he must be a successful RJ. I proposed a singing competition, not that I am good at singing but to I want to let the villagers acknowledge our presence with raised eyebrows.
It was like driving in graveyard. The trees guarding the border line between fields and road. Rain must have heavily poured there a couple of hours before. With hills watching over us as we zoom in, the movie " Hills have eyes" flashed in mind. I told myself that govt of India never conducted nuclear tests in that area. And the knowledge of anthropology assured me that tribals in that area are not cannibals. But still civilization is miles away, that thought never comforted me.
The fallen branch which blocked sixty percent of the road added fuel my thoughts. I have slowed down for the car to catch us. Everybody in the car fell asleep except uday. After we crossed the obstacle, uday told me that he would use the handbreak to stop the car and we should jump in it leaving the bike, if something happens. Well, he too must have felt the eyes of hills too.
"Why did he say so?" , sridhar asked me from behind. What can i say? I could have told him about the cannibals but I chose to gave a more realistic and less scary answer, "in case somebody attacks to rob us", gladly I didnt get the question, " who might do that?"
We woke up the watchman at a small toll-gate then took a smoke-break. The pitch dark
blanket of clouds covered the sky, devouring us any kind of natural light. We chose to kill the artificial lights of vehicles to match with darkness of nature and started searching for matchbox to light cigarettes. When the knuckle cracking, yawning and chatter ended, we realized that we are on a small road-bridge and water is flowing underneath. We listened to it for a while and started chatting again on how beautiful everything around is. Is it beauty, or we are just talking something to keep away the graveyard silence? Cant tell.
Soon we reached a village, where shops are about to be closed. While having little chat with the shopkeeper who served us badam milk, he asked " How could a bunch of guys enjoy Araku without lady-companionship?" It looks as if he could arrange that if only we asked him. Luckily, none of us asked him.
A roof over the head
No rooms available at Tyda APTDC hotel, the manager or watchman who ever he was assured us that rooms will be available at the next place. Driving on a ghat road at night is more trickier than at day. Light beam from other vehicles will warn us about the opposite vehicles but unlike in day , its hard to estimate the surroundings.
There in only one room available at Anantagirihills APTDC hotel but they checkout is 8 AM and the room rent is Rs 1800. We decided to test our luck at Araku which is 25KM away.This time me and manohar took the bike. It became hard for him to ride on ghat with a heavy man in the back. I guess for the first time, my weight helped me.
It was a non-stop journey till Araku. Its past midnight by the time we reached araku. All the boys except for me , uday and manohar were sleeping. Me and manohar went to a lodge to enquire, returned disappointed, and started searching for another lodge. But the car is not with us, we went back to check what happened, . We found the car with lights and engine on and everybody including uday were asleep. I woke him up and made him sit on bike while manohar took the wheel.
Finally got in to a cheap lodge, the room is little dirty , and can accommodate only two people. Nobody was in a mood to complain, we checked in, plugged in mobile chargers, decided to wake up at 8AM and started snoring.
To my shock, others in lodge are already playing cards with alcohol early in the morning. While we are having breakfast at the small hotel, uday and srikanth went to the APTDC hotel opposite to our lodge. For one hour rest of us were eating whatever is available to eat and these two didn't show up. We were losing time and I was losing patience and prepared a search team as there is no cellphone signal n that area.
Satish and sridhar went inside to "fetch" them, but they too disappeared. The hotel is too big with a swimming pool. I am sure, if I get in there, after sometime, everybody would be searching for everybody. So I stayed out. Srikanth and uday came out after finishing their photo session in different angles and poses at a same location. I felt irritated, because just before breakfast we have discussed the plan for that day and they have spoiled it. But, at that time, I gave all of them only " acquaintance" status, so could not display my irritation.
We threw everything back in the car. I have heard stories on how manohar packs for a trip, and all of them are true. We had, torch lights, many pillows, many blankets , one water can, multiple phone chargers, 6 spare cell phones, pens, books, stove ( they told me that sridhar would cook upma, but it didnt happen as there were no cookery) , cigarette lighters, air pillow , and many more . At Araku everybody wants to ride, I don't want to be the greedy one so I let others have the bike, so I was struck in the car with "things" around me.
Fake arrows
We headed towards "chaaparaayi" , a large granite rock with water flowing over it, and people can slide on it. Its just a big naturally formed slide and cant understand why everybody were excited about it.
Me and uday were on bike again. We stopped for cigarettes and car zoomed away. The way to chaaparayi is beautiful. We came a village called "jaipur". We took pictures of the Jaipur milestone ,joking on how everybody will be confused once the pic is uploaded to the Facebook. Little we know that the same night I would lose my phone saving Facebook friends from confusion.
I was sure that our car people didnt notice that milestone. I agree that its safer in the car, but we would be missing lot of fun. A/C with closed windows and high music is as good as a home. And what's the point of going out if one confines self to indoors.
After Jaipur, the road gets divided. We took the left turn to go to Chaapaeaayi. Right turn leads to orissa.
Before jumping on the rock, we have ordered "Bongulo chicken ", chicken prepared using a bamboo instead of a bowl.
I wore my new shorts which i bought a couple of hours before embarking on this trip. At once, i understood that, they are of cheap quality and wouldnot last long. So, i didnt got onto the sliding rock. Eventually, i become the security manager for the phones and cameras. Luckily , satish also with me, so i pulled myself out of photography competition.
I started enjoying my-time. I was walking around the place, observing the people. Most of them are from nearby villages. Tall and bulky trees covered what is beyond the rock. Its hard not to see green color. Soon , an old man appeared near a tree, nailed a paper plate on it and spread out few arrows and a bow. Three arrows for Rs. 10. I tried, but none hit the paper plate which is the target. We had Bongulo-chicken, then everybody took turns to show their archery skills. None was better than me and none was hilarious than Manohar. The old-man started puffing the local made marijuana. According to him , marijuana is a local business, and police dont do much about it. Few years back, i have read that , Naxalites plant marijuana in green belt. Well, Araku is green and Araku is a naxalite area.
We started enquiring for a nice place to stay. In this context, nice means, cheap and big. And we got what we are searching for. Huts. Very large circular huts with attached toilet, built opposite to the petrol bunk at araku. They can accommodate at least 10 members and rent for one day is just Rs. 400.
AK-47s
We bought alcohol, cigarettes, snacks , tea and went to a place which we found exotic on the way to araku from chaaparaayi. By the time we reached there it was around 9PM. Thanks to Manohar, we have torchlights to check our way to go down from the road to a lonely spot just to have drinks.
I sat facing the mountain. When i first saw Jurassic Park, i thought all mountains are hibernating dinosaurs which might wake up at anytime. As i was seeing the mountain, i thought the same for the zillianth time. The moon light was good, the silhouette of the mountain is attracting my eyes. Of course, one more thing is constantly demanding my attention, my new phone. The smooth black finishing was shining in the moon light. Everybody were taking alcohol and except me, i had chai. I expressed my wish to walk all the way down to Araku in the moon light, and sridhar hung up on that. He became adamant , Uday had to change his voice modulation, for him to abandon the idea of night walk.
We have decided to leave and started packing things. At that we heard a sound from a distance, everybody pointed torchlights in that direction, a man shouted at us to switch off the lights and about 10 people with AK - 47 guns surrounded us before we understand whats happening. The mighty assault rifiles made us to show respect for the people who are holding them. Thats a naxalite area, they could be naxalites, or police. One fellow said "Sir, they had drinks", the usage of the word sir assured me that, they are not bandits at least. They started questioning if we had any girls with us. Then they revealed that they are from greyhounds, a subdivision of AP police to tackle naxalites.
Luckily, the profession of Dr. Uday, created a good impression. The man leading them , was not rude to us but a little harsh. After few minutes, a police next to me started talking to me, in a non-threatening way. Suddenly, the SI become cool and started patronizing us. I was expecting that, they would ask bribe, but they left. We started resuming the packing but our brains still working to comprehend what had happened. Then i have realized that my phone is missing. I was holding it when Greyhounds came, but didnt thought about it since then. After painfully unpacking everything, we concluded that the phone is missing and Greyhounds might have nicked it. I doubt the police who talked to me.
On the way back to hotel, we stopped at the railway gate and waiting for the train to go. The local Jeep fellows told us that, the greayhounds noted the car on the road with twigs on it and stopped at half a KM distance and tracked us. So, for sure they knew we are civilians.
Everybody become silent and uday asked if i get attached to my gadgets. It took all my willpower from not to laugh at his face. His intention is to console me a bit, and i have to respect it, i said no, and turned my face to window to exhale the smoke and laugh.
There were cement benches forming a circle before our hut, we sat there smoking and drinking for sometime, while everybody was trying to either console me or trying to create a hope to find the phone in the morning. Its hard to digest pity, when you dont feel hurt. I sat there patiently , listening to their kind-words, and thinking how to manage my credit card bill which went high and what mobile i should buy next. I took sridhar phone,
fast towards banglore. He didnt pay attention to the surrounding or milestones and not to his phone either. After half an hour , he called us, realized his mistake and returned. I proposed to resume the journey while chandu was returning. Raju didnt have faith in chandu it seems, he said he would wait for chandu and bring him and and asked us to move forward. So Srikanth and Raju waited there and the rest i.e me , Nageswar, Sridhar and Mahesh , continued to Avancha.
It was not that difficult to find the Statue. Its among the green fields. There was a farmer , taking care of his cotton plantation. One acre of land might yiled anywhere between one ton to two tons. The market price of one quintal raw cotton is about 3500. Due to lack of water, they could raise the farm in one season only. It means a small farmer with 10 acres of land shall get minimum 3.5lac per annum.
and told us that they are out of milk. The owner of the hotel, a lady in her early fifties promised us to make black tea, but the cattle is full of tea with milk and she served us in the cups where villages get tea in glasses. Surely, we were treated well.
Genetically , the bird must be a relative to the Hen. It has long legs and could not fly. I noticed its tongue when it bit me. The ropes with which it was tied are hard to untie. Raju had to use his teeth to untie them. Finally, the bird was free. When everybody was waiting for fly like a pigeon from the hand of Nehru, it jumped from my bike and ran in to woods.
