| Burp!
As we drew closer to Sunday - I kept glancing at the rising mercury with alarm. I would eye the "Raining in Mumbai" thread with a tinge of envy, then came the "Raining in Bangalore" thread and I was fuming. I had a few words with the guy up there "Arrey Mian - gusse me aaye kya - light le lo jee. Hum Hyderabadi kya kiye bolkey aisa pareshaan karey? Aisey tejj lightaan lagake apunko pareshaan nako karo bhai."
Every Hyderabadi knows that the big man is a resident Hyderabadi and addresses him as such - like a brother-in-arms, a long lost childhood mate. Every conversation with G is on a personal one-to-one level. Perhaps it is the influence of Sufiism, perhaps it is endemic in the air. I do not know. Every time I listen to the Kirtans written by Badrachala Ramadas (while in jail for having stolen 10000 mohris to built that temple at Bhadrachalam) - I am struck with the ease and familiarity with which he addresses his lord, he asks him (or rather Sita) "uska baap ka jaagir tha kya? ya sasur ne bhejaa tha?" Well to cut a long story short, my mate in the heavens heard me (and the other guys on TBHP) and Sunday dawned with cloudy skies, cool breezes and a few scattered drops of rain. Perfect for a drive! THANKS big guy - we owe you one. Next time dude, can you also manage to get Arun out of bed?
MC, DS and I were to meet up in Greenlands and we did. The crowd of vehicles parked three deep on the road outside the CM's place (no, that is not a handle on TBHP it refers to the Chief Munhoos of A.P.) made us thank our stars that we were not gonna be in town that day.
Next stop - S.D. eye hospital. Most of the gang met up here. Almost everyone was in the Tee Shirt and passers-bye were openly gawking - gleaming cars, guys decked out in smart uniforms and some glamourous women thrown in.
After waiting for stragglers - we pushed along to APPA circle - I entered it and took the right to the J.H side - whoever mentioned that the APPA circle has changed and unrecognizable was surely understating it. A few hundred yards and I realised my mistake and took a U-turn to catch up with Himanshu, Rajesh & others. I was confronted with a mystery - the rest of the gang led by Avi left S.D. eye hosp about 5 minutes before me and they were nowhere to be seen! I need not have worried - they took a detour to pick up Fazal and Devidas.
After exchanging pleasantries and getting nasty looks from the traffic cops on duty there, we pushed along only to stop again after about 10 minutes outside a shell petrol bunk. A few snaps of the train of cars and re-fuelling etc. we got underway. The leaders took off and the rest followed at a more sedate pace, Nazim was nursing his Zen along while he found his feet. DS running in his lovely Linea (Petrol Emotion Red). I hung back, ostensibly to keep the flock together but it was more a ploy to see how the Linea behaved on the road. I must say that I am impressed - very impressed! It moves neatly from standstill, at the 80 to 90 kmph mark that DS held it at throughout - (great discipline and self-restraint @ DS) the Linea is very planted and stable (did I get the impression that the car was getting impatient and was straining at the leash - eager to get going?).
Next halt was in Vikarabad town for re-grouping and to imbibe a cuppa tea and pick up some refreshments for the day. The road to Anantagiri is uncrowded and clean, the weather too permitted me to enjoy the pleasures of driving with the windows down and enjoy the sun-roof for the first time. Anantgiri was unexplored territory for all of us and we were depending on KKNavin (who was in Vikarabad) for directions, he however played truant and we were left to fend for ourselves. We took a detour to the staff quarters of the Sanitorium and thereafter took a long halt at a clearing in the middle of those lovely woods which provided an great photo-op. (We were asked if a 'phillum shooting' was going on - we quickly pointed out Rajesh as the hero waiting for his heroine).
The woods with the damp soil and cloudy skies were absolutely wonderful and no one was too keen to move, we however managed to drag ourselves out thanks to Yash who stopped a few of the locals passing by and asked for directions to the nearby lake. Hats off to Yash - he asked 3 different guys - just to cross-check! By the end of it, Yash had precise directions - drive 10 Km to the west, turn right and drive 7 Km, turn right again onto a track and you are there!
It was immediately declared by Avi that Yash would lead the convoy and he did this brilliantly, warning the vehicles behind him about oncoming dangers and maintaining speeds appropriate to the situation. Great job @ yash. The rest of the gang followed Yash in a neat orderly line, I was watching the odo and as 10 Km came and went - I was getting antsy - but at 13+ Km .....bingo a cross-roads of sorts, marked by a single shop with Kingfisher boards and the gang turns right onto a lovely winding road through some scrub and woods. We pass a few interesting looking streams with promising picnic spots along their banks. We finally find the road branching off to the right and set off over it, the cars gingerly making their way over a real kutchha road (unfamiliar terrain for us city-slickers) thankfully the previous night's drizzle ensured we did not kick up any dust.
The path led us up a bund and a drive along the top of the bund led to a concrete road leading down. Off the concrete road to the left and a bit of sanitised & safe 'off-roading' later we were at the water's edge. The cars formed a neat circle and we were set for the day - the kit came out, fishing, archery and shooting! Unfortunately, the fish failed to bite inspite of telepathy, lucky charms and screams at them to "get on with it and bite". The shooting and archery seemed to have better results with the pellets and arrows hitting the target often enough.
One bright spark amongst us (yours truly) being swayed by the widespread opinion that Hondas are bullet proof, wanted to test this belief by training the guns on Arun's dutiful steed, however saner counel prevailed much to Arun's relief. Looking back though - shooting Arun would have been just retribution for him cozily snoozing in bed while we were up and at S.D. eye hospital at the crack of dawn. Arrey kya hai yarron? Dimaakh ko kirkirree, aadhi raat mein neend haram kar diye. Yeh koi tiyam hota kya? 9.00 baje!!
Secure in the knowledge that I had enough back-up in the form of so many petrol & diesel heads I decided to switch off the ESP on the Laura and try out the spins. I wanted to do only one just to know whether it does it - but was egged on by the photographers and videographers - aww who can resist that! The Laura does the spins - but very reluctantly. A slide however was out of question - or so I thought!
The fact that our anglers did not land anything for lunch meant that we had to head back pretty soon. As Fazal pointed out - the next headland to right from where we were, is a perfect spot for a picnic - complete with cooks & supplies - wonderful - a cook-out in the great Hyderabadi tradition - in the Mango season it should be even more fun. A biryani & mango meet! I can hardly wait for my benishaan/banginapally, himayat/jehangirs and chinna-rasaalu this year.
We set off reluctantly - the more green out of us - picking up our litter and bagging it for proper disposal. A quick regroup and head-count at the X roads (with that solitary shop) and we were off. Prabhu was first, I was next and was glad to be behind the master so I could watch him (keeping up with him is well nigh impossible - this I know from watching him in action earlier). Avi and Getsurya were far behind us. A few Km down the road there is a right followed by an immediate left. The Laura took the right with aplomb and in the middle of the left the Laura, having it's heart in its right place and, having heard getsurya's farmayish for a slide - obliged!
There I was in the car with nothing working - no steering, no brakes, no engine braking - nothing. I was airborne! Damn, where is my Pilot's license? Hey car, forget it, get back to ground man, I do not have a license to fly.
My first thought went back to the go-karts and their slides (I tend to slide at the innermost left hander at runway9). Relity check - come again - here I was in a car that is too expensive to crash. The fields beckoned, only problem with the fields - this huge ditch that looked like a grave for cars between me and the fields, so that was clearly not an option. A few desp moments later something works (after the car gets onto the right shoulder). Yippee Skipper - the rudder works now! Right ho! Lets use that rudder to give the old gal a heave ho to port. We right our direction away from that ditch but hey ......what happened to the brakes? who stole them?
There I see it ...this huge slab of stone glaring at me through the windshield it's green painted top telling me to STOP! The Laura however, is trained by the Germans to stop at red not green. True to its training, it goes ahead. My choices? Turn left, or right, or to take it head on. I do not know why but, I decide to let the Laura take it in the middle and brace myself for the crash - and wait for all hell to break loose as the air-bags deploy.
Hey what happened? Where are the fireworks? Who stole my 15 seconds of fame? I hear a muffled thud and the milestone disappears. I hear some scraping noises from the underbelly of the Laura - no thunks clangs or bangs just some krrrrrr screeches. I blink - I stare in amazement at my instruments - no lights - by all accounts that place should be lit up like a christmas tree by now. My mind goes back to the view of the undercarriage of Lauras at the workshop a few days ago. Clean man - I mean the bottom of the car is clean, it is fully cladded, no protrusions at all - Thank ye, ye gods @ Skoda. Aah there is one light - the ESP off light! Damn - Damn - my poor dear and I enjoyed our little "lets not be such staid & boring creatures - let us let our hair down for once" moment by the lake-side that we forget to to switch the damn ESP on again.
Quick to seize my chance, I accelarate slightly to see if the car moves. It does - with no protests. A quick look in the RVMs shows a lot of dust, some scrapes on the shoulder around the grave of that mile-stone. Avi and Getsurya in the right hander - slowing down and in front of me this guy on a bike gesticulating wildly at me. (Getsurya - this guy was wet - both front & back!) I nod to him, give him a lill bow, wave my hand at him to say 'sorry mate' and get going, I have switched off the ICE & A/c. to listen to the car. Nothing unusual. Prabhu is now at a crawl, I reach him and signal him to move - get out of the place ASAP, no one hurt etc. He gets the message and heads off to Vikarabad. At the pre-determined re-grouping halt at Vikarabad - I get off and check the damage - 2 plastic dummies between the auxillary driving lights (fog) and the grille have disappeared, the number plate is scratched and bent, the underbody shows some light scratches - no dents - no indentations at all! Wow - I am impressed and tell myself "This is not a car - it is a tank!" Burp - oops pardon us - my Laura and I have our stomachs full - reduced the distance to Tandur by 1 KM!
Now of course, I pass on into the hands of Skoda's famous A.S.S. wonder what surprises they have for me. (I hope my bank is not bankrupted by the bills). My son has not seen the damage till now, I hope he does not go ballistic when he does. He is extremely possessive of 'his' cars and hates it when they get scratches etc.
Lessons learnt - 1, Check instrument panel before heading off, 2, never underestimate the other driver (esp. pros like Prabhu), 3. never over-estimate my own driving skill, 4. never overestimate the car's capability, (it might be a tank - but it still has its own limitations) 4. a highway free of traffic is not free of it's own dangers, (ripples, undulations and reverse cambers/banking abound on our roads). 5. Change tyres every 2 years or three from date of manufacture.
We head off to Tawakkal - just for future use guys - 'All seasons' is better. After a great drive - a decent lunch - no it was not good by any stretch of imagination but the company made it great! MC gets a new title for his sheer energy - 10000 wala-ladi (after those firecrackers that people let off @ diwali). Convo flowed freely, I missed the singing as Vijay (Hillram's son) and I were having a ball in the children's play area. You guys better thank me for missing the singing session - my braying would have ended the meet much earlier!
All good things must come to an end including TBHP-Hyd drives, so we pay our dues to Tawakkal and each of us heads home. I take the left at APPA and see a couple of cars parked, I tell myself - looks like our guys - I then see two black T-shirts and know its us. I pull over to see it is those two old cronies - Brajesh and Sai, thinking I would be interrupting a quiet conversation between old buddies, I wave and am about to drive off when something catches my eye and I yell ****** ****. The bonnet of Sai's Innova is crumpled, sheared off etc. did I catch a glimpse of tears in Sai's eyes? Perhaps, and I would not blame him - to see that immaculately kept innova in that state I too was forced to yell. I get off, we just stand around. Sai tells us he was about to overtake a truck, when the truck stopped suddenly, Sai managed to swing out and avoid major injury to himself and his beloved car. There is nothing much to do, we start Sai's car and get going, Sai & Brajesh head off to Harsha to drop the Innova off. Sorry about your car @ Sai, anything I can do?
The mehfil-e-khaas sounds good. I second Himanshu's suggestion that we rent transport for this event so we can enjoy the classy evening without hassles of driving, parking etc. + arrive in style in immaculate clothes.
I agree with the comments on the Spark - man that car lived up to it's name "Spark"
Signing off now.
Cheers,
Last edited by Ravveendrra : 16th March 2009 at 23:55.
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16th March 2009, 22:11
anyone else there? 
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