The morning sun seemed to flirt with my skin as I exposed my face to him. He came with the subtle morning breeze, gently caressing my eyes, arresting my senses. I surrendered, closing my eyes, thoroughly enjoying the 7.45 am of a Sunday morning.
We were driving on the freeway, the NICE road, towards Tumkur. It seemed like we were flying! Dad and mom were talking about the statistical improvements of the flourishing freeways and so was my brother- driving, humming and thus multitasking. Talking about my brother, he is a fine driver, passionate about his driving skills. He talks. About family gossips, about music, about all other time pass topics, cracking jokes, making us laugh through the journey, making it pleasurable. Music turns him on while he drives, without which he finds driving, the hardest thing in the world. I was not listening keenly, as I was busy in capturing the scenes on my phone. Though I knew my 2 megapixel camera could not show it as good as my eyes did, it was irresistible, and I thought of giving it a shot. I finally took a few pictures, which later on my phone, looked average.
I badly wanted to watch the greenery and enjoy the scenic beauty, but my Sunday-morning-sleep- deprived eyes craved for a nap. The wind from the open window also seemed to agree with it. But I was stubborn on watching the greenery, mainly because I love watching them, they are soothing to the senses, and I miss them terribly in the busy Bangalore city.
Tomorrow, back in Bangalore, you cannot watch this kiddo! Open your eyes and postpone the drowsiness… you can find better times for sleeping…..
And so I heard myself waking me up.
We stopped for breakfast at the Agarwal Bhavan, a new fast food joint on the outskirts of Bangalore on the Bangalore-Tumkur road. We finished our breakfast and here to mention, the tea was exceptional!! And praising it to be the best tea I’ve ever had in my life, would not be an exaggeration. We again started off, refreshed and recharged!
As we drove, my brother changed the music with the changing hues of the mild sunlight. KennyG, with a melodious saxophone and guitar, was being played. And it perfectly matched my Sunday morning travel mood! The mild warming sunlight, the light breeze, the drive, the green reaching my eyes through the open window, the lingering taste of the world’s best tea, the flying strands of my silky hair……!!
Wow….!! Now that’s how I define PERFECT…!!
We drove along the villages, visualizing the real India. The fields, the people working there without the Sunday hangover, the cattle, the huts, the grass, and not to forget, the love of the villagers for their animals! And that’s when I realized, that the heart of our country is our villages!
Then came the other part of the journey.
The temple we were visiting was a few kilometers away from our actual native town, connected by muddy, narrow and irregular village roads. The roads were so irregular that the car could not be sped over a 20 kmph. The drive through those roads was like a rollercoaster, shaking us up in all directions hurting my mom’s back and upsetting my tummy. There were too many unexpected dips and humps, and rain had created enough of water pits. For the first time in my life, I considered fastening the seat belts as an option….!! It spoiled all the fun we’d had so far in the journey. But still, the fact that the bad part did not last as long as the good part did, somehow convinced me.
It was a blend of good and bad moods, perfection and imperfection, fun and irritation, smooth and horrifying roads, and such other eccentricities.
We finally reached our destination, at 11 am, four long hours of journey just travelled!!
I got down from the car, staring at the tall pillar of the temple, stretching and yawning.
We decided on leaving the luggage in the car, and I had this habit of keeping my phone handy. I picked up my cell phone from my bag and stared at it…..
There was no network…..!!
Damn!! How can I spend a whole day without my phone!!??
I cursed the network, replaced the phone back, and diffused among my relatives for further talking. And smiling!! J
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