My Roads to Insanity

Its been long long long life that I have had until now. Twenty six full years and some days. Unbelievable. A Zillion thoughts and dreams have caressed through my heart until this moment I write. Ok. Here it goes.

This is my third blog. The first I forgot the password and the second I am not gonna mention for various reasons. Please those who know about the second blog keep it to yourself. Its a request.

Actually I could spend a lot of idle time in the last one week. Idle time in the sense not sitting at home and watching TV or chatting but spend a lot of time doing nothign and then suddenly do everything at one go. It is totally uneasy to think you goto a place at morning 11 and then spend the whole day doing nothing except giggling, gossiping, talking, cranking the phone and suddenly at 7 your work starts and you hit the sack quite late. Infact many a trips of mine were spent idle like this. Now I am gonna write an interesting part of my idle wilderness. Whenever I travel and get a day or two break inbetween I would go out into the town and check about the er........nightlife of the town. Many towns where I go night life don't exist. In some places night life is horrible.

I always remember when this place Warangal whenever I think of night life. Sorta this is evening life story.

It all happened when I was sent to Khammam, Warangal and Karimnagar on one single go to load some granite blocks. The khammam part of the job got extended from one full day plan to the next day afternoon and I coolly without even remembering missed the Warangal bus. All Andhra intra state esp district buses are rickety with no radio, no dvd players and no fukin anything. Also their telugu would make u feel shivery at times. I loathe them.

I missed the bus to Warangal and was forced to take the train from Khammam to Warangal by name Krishna express. By God's grace I found one middle seat in the middle of nowhere. The train was horribly slow n I landed in Warangal station at 6 15 forty five minutes behind schedule and my connection bus to Karimnagar had just left. Now the ordeal started.

I was in a desperation to reach Karimnagar by night so that I can see the loading by morning and to make things worse I was carrying solid cash worth lakhs and I was terrified to wait for the next bus which was scheduled to come at 8 30 PM hopefully. Boring and clueless i wandered out in the bus stand and found a jeep fella willing to carry me for 600 bucks. Hmpgh 600 bucks with this I will go home and come back n I was mutterin to myself oh my God and smiled my best smile (the cash thing in the hindsight) and slowly walked to the auto stand. Of the ten to fifteen who were around one was willing to take me for 250 bucks. 250 bucks ah ok. Make it 200. He agreed then one of those Journeys of my life begun.

I took the auto. He first went to a tea shop where we had a cup of tea some biscuits and lit cigars. It was around 7 and the night slowly set in. I was slowly getting scared of travelling alone in the midst of the naxalite heartland with cash in an auto. The stage was set for a big thriller but it was not gonna be one. I slowly suited myself to the middle point of the auto. The journey was around 2 and half hours. We spoke about many things. Politics, movies etc etc. He spoke about Chennai that he saw when he was 21 (he was around 45 when we met) where he had come to try his luck in movies er.... and failed.

It was a naxal heartland where kidnapping for money, killing for the same, holding buses for ransom or money or just snatching away money is common. Not many get reported. I say this because I have had some instances of experiences with some guys who are in some way very highly knowledgeable with these things. I slowly in around 45 minutes of time found the auto driver to be trustable and we spoke about our family, business, our past love, friends, movies at large etc etc.

We drove for more than two and half hours and reached Karimnagar. Until I got to the border of Karimnagar I had a fear deep inside my heart. The deal was for him to drop me in Bus stand from where I would get in touch with my supplier. But the auto driver insisted that I contact the supplier and he leave me at the supplier's place or my hotel. He even saw me eat in a very good veg restaurant which was 2 kms away from bus stand and was waiting till my supplier came which was around 10 15 in the night. He saw I am in safe hands and walked away to his auto.

I then remembered he had nor eaten and offered to take him for dinner. The selfish mind of mine was hurt deeply by the fair show he had did to me and I wanted to pay him a hundred bucks extra too but he insisted sir you had promised me two hundred and two hundred it will be. He insisted for 5 misn like that and finally I got some biscuits and chocolates for his child and sent him off. I noted down his name and vowed to look out for him each time I come to Warangal. I bid him byee. I was so moved by his courtesy to see am safe and a poor uneducated man's big try to see that his guest is honoured and treated safely and also by my senseless selfish acts.

I next day travelled to Warangal and searched in vain in the auto stand to thank him. He was not found. I never found him in my two days stay at Warangal. I have travelled to Warangal four or five times after that but I never could find the auto driver. Slowly his face had faded in my mind, I remember him vaguely with his red towel around his shoulder. Slowly his voice has stunned itself into silence and his words haved failed my memory. But till I die his act of friendship would live with me. I wish I meet him one day. I bumped one day to his brother who promised to bring him to my hotel, which never did happen.

It has been more than two years since I travelled towards Warangal and I look forward to the place again and once more to that friendly auto fella and go around with him again. Hopefully......

There are many such incidents in our lives where some acts of kindness stand beyond compare based on the situation. Sometimes a stranger whom we might never meet again in life acts more than a friend or brother or well wishers. Those times they are on par with G O D.

Rest in next blog folks.