The Car Drive

The time flies, or that’s what they say. I am positive of the fact that you would have come across this statement, at least once in your lifetime, if not more.

Also, I have heard people telling; “Time is the best doctor”, and to a great extent, that is indeed true. But having said that, there are some experiences that one undergoes, which change DNA of ones psyche and leave their mark for ever.

When I was young—during my graduation days, I also had to see through an incident, which had a lasting effect on my thinking forever, as a person.

It was spring time, of the year 2006. We had just finished the 3rd Semester exams, of “Batchelor of Engineering”, only the day before, and now we had about 15 days at hands, before the 4th semester would have kicked off.

I was staying in the college hostel and would visit my family—which was about 1500 Miles away from the city I was studying in—only twice a year. First visit was during the festival season and the other, when we would get our summer holidays, between an even to odd semester.

The current vacation was relatively a shorter break and hence I and three of my other friends—Sam, Jon & Rob— decided not to go to their respective families this time around, but instead hit the road and to and visit a lake, which happened to be a huge tourist attraction of the area*—as it was situated amidst the best of what mother nature could provide. Situated around 120 Miles from our hostel. The lake was surrounded with hills from 3 sides and a jungle as its shield from the fourth. The only approach terrain, to the lake, was crafted through this thick jungle.

Our plan was for one night & two days, in which, we were going to setup a camp, by the lake, and spend the whole night dancing and singing around the bonfire.

With a plan on mind, we started for our destination, on a rented car at 6 AM in the morning. The condition of the car was a clear depiction of our financial state, as that was the best we could arrange, in the limited money we had. Sam took the wheel and I sat next to him, whereas the other two i.e. Jon & Rob settled themselves in the back seat.

By the time we covered 45 Miles, the clock was lurking on the 8 AM mark and we decided to pull over to the very next restaurant we might see, on the highway. Within the next two minutes, we saw a Dhaba (North Indian restaurant) on the left, and instantaneously as decided before, we pulled our car over to its parking and went into the restaurant.

Only after making us all feel at home, the waiter informed that the only offering he had for us was seafood, at the time. Chicken and all other cattle based meats had been removed from the market, due to outbreak of an epidemic flu.

We were left with not too many choices out there and hence had to settle with whatever was at hands. We all ordered a fish curry and a prawn based starter with some Indian bread. After eating our tummies to our heart’s desires we hit the road again.

Rob was behind the wheel, this time around, as he was the only person who had the skills & prior experience of driving in the hilly narrow roads. We would come, only a few miles from the restaurant and all of us felt a wobbly sensation and a sudden break. Since I was sitting in the front seat without a seatbelt, my head banged against the dashboard, as a result of this sudden breaking. Rob on the other hand, had his seat belt fasten and thus escaped the head collision by a whisker.

Jon & Sam also jumped from their back seats and bumped against the backs of the seats in which I and Rob were sitting.

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