Finally found time to give my 2nd Bangalore update; thanks to my ill health and also today being a Sunday.
I’d like to tell you all that after getting used to KGP life ,Bangalore is a little rude to your wallets. They might get offended for getting empty so frequently !
Yesterday was another interesting day. To start on a bright note, I met two RKites (hallmates) among the alumni, one of them being my ex-wingie. He had some nostalgic talk with me about his KGP days and the rivalry between halls. One of them asked me if Patel Hall was still the most “reputed”. I nodded my head in agreement.
We also visited the Bangalore Chapter KGP alumni meet, where we found alums of various batches together. It was such a pleasant feeling to meet them and invite them to Kshitij 2009. We showed them the documentary about how huge Kshitij had grown in a short span of 4 years.
I had another appointment at 8 pm. After collecting a cheque from him, I started back for Majestic. At Majestic, I went to a Chinese restaurant and gorged upon my favs chowmein n Manchuria.
The day went well. I was quite satisfied. I happily boarded the bus back to Mysore Road. I was looking dreamily outside the window……… people……………….crowds…………..lights………….vehicles,……..…vendors………flyovers……malls…girls……. .. .. … alumni….cheques……..presentations………..publicity……………email ids………………media offices…………… “I am sorry I can’t contribute this time.. I’ve given my word to SF”…..some rapid Kannada….. ! WAIT ! why Kannada now? Then I realize somebody shaking my body. It was the conductor trying to wake me up. I dint realize while looking outside when I had fallen asleep.! Perhaps, maybe it was the lack of sleep over 5 days.
I look around. The bus is empty; with lots of empty parked buses around. The conductor helps me get down and then disappears somewhere. I look at the bus no. …. .. 225 C .. damn.. This culprit bus strikes again. Wasn’t it 226C when I got in? Perhaps, I was mistken! I come out to find myself at the entrance of RAJA RAJESHWARI BUS DEPOT ! The same spot where I had been on my 1st day in Bangy. Perhaps, those who’ve read the previous post would understand the irony of the situation. I look into my mobile for time. It shows.. 00:00. Now this toasted my spirits !!
I come to realize the gravity of the situation. I am here, around 10 kms from my hostel, at 12 midnight, with Rs 2000 cash, my ATM card, a freshly received cheque, with no human living forms in sight, in an unknown locale, in an unknown city…… A shiver goes down my spine….
I walk alone on a dim lit road.. still no humans in sight… the only moving things being visible in the form of street dogs. I don’t remember when was the last when I was such shit scared… I was praying all my gods.. my legs were going numb. I managed to find a main road on which occasionally some vehicle crossed by. I was apprehensive about asking for a drop.
Then I saw 3 people of my age far off, discussing something. I approached them and asked them how would I reach ISI hostel. They were also engineering students. After 10-15 mins of discussion, one of them went into his house, got out his pulsar, and indicated me to sit behind. Thank God !!!!
On the way back, he told me not to venture out at such hours in the night. The area was not safe and no mode of transportation would be available.
My nightmare didn’t end there. He wasn’t allowed to drive a bike on the highway. There would be patrol vans and this guy didn’t have the required papers. So I had to walk 2 kms on the highway again. It was as scary as it could get. Vehicles were zooming past at lightning speed. Trucks were roaring by…cars were zipping by… There was pitch black darkness but for the headlights of vehicles. Far in the distance to the left, I could see a train moving lazily, blowing a loud horn, reminding me of the common scenes in horror movies.
Finally, after enduring what must have been the scariest walk of my life, hushing past some drunkards and tip-toeing past the fierce street dogs, I reached the ISI gate. The sight of the gate breathed life back into me. I felt like a survivor; as if I had just escaped from a crocodile’s jaws. Perhaps, to think of it, anything could have happened. The very thought of all this makes me shiver while typing.
The daily walk from ISI gate to hostel through a jungle, which used to scare my wits out, now seemed like a big relief. The hooting owls and the crawling scorpions seemed to welcome me back. I reached my room at 1:30 in the dark
One more thing..all of you plzz pray that mera bukhaar utar jaye.. got loadsa work to do :(
So this was the 2nd edition of my Bangalore adventures. All I can say is, it was perhaps not the best time to catch up on sleep !
