Tiruvannamalai Beckons: A Swarm of Bikes
Chapter 2/17
This is the 2nd part of a 17-part serialised travel story.
You can read the 1st part here: Tiruvannamalai Beckons: The Traffic Cop
And if you only need to refresh your memory, then here’s the last paragraph from the previous post.
Knock! Knock!
I looked up, feigned surprise, and pressed a button to roll down the window.
“Yes, sir,” I asked, or maybe squeaked. I don’t remember.
“Where are you going?” He asked me.
I was not comfortable answering that question. He may be a cop, but he was also a stranger. I was driving solo and long distance, so I wanted to be prudent.
“Is there any problem with the road ahead?” I asked politely, evading the question.
A Swarm of Bikes
“No, I need a ride back home. My duty just got over and my bike was in the garage for servicing. How far are you going?”
His round face, earnest eyes, and the simple way in which he laid down his cards with no silent threat to comply helped me lower my guard.
“I am going to Belagavi, but will stop for lunch at Kolhapur.”
“Can you drop me about 40 kilometres from here? You won’t have to get…