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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 off the highway. There’s a bus station near the highway from where I can get a bus to my village.”
“Sure, come in.” I unlocked the passenger door and moved my backpack to the rear seat, which was already full of stuff for a month-long trip to Tiruvannamalai.
He had a water bottle and a plastic bag, both of which he placed on his lap as he pulled the door shut and locked in the seatbelt.
“Are you comfortable?” I asked him.
He nodded.
As the car powered up, the audio returned to life and filled the cabin with the melodious voice of Kishore Kumar, a popular Bollywood singer from the 70s and 80s.
Ek ladki bheegi bhaagi si… one of the most beautiful songs of this legendary singer, had me lip synching with it. I glanced sideways. The cop was also smiling and bobbing his head back and forth in rhythm with the music.
