Now that the festival season is over, and there is a slight nip in the air which means winter is coming. Life is back to school, classes and work.
Last month we went to our home town. It was a long road trip to Muzaffarpur, Bihar from Navi Mumbai. We travelled a distance of about 1825 kilometres from one side. Little Miss loves travelling by car and the roads are good so it was fun most of the way. On every road trip of ours, I’m reminded of Dil Chahta Hai and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara.
No road is long with good company.
We started early morning from home to avoid the usual traffic in the city and it was a good decision. We took the Samruddhi Mahamarg because it really cuts down the travel time. The expressway can get monotonous because it’s just you driving on and on.
Our monotony was broken by a weird flapping sound coming from the back of the car. We stopped to inspect but at first noticed nothing. I thought bumper had broken but when I went down to look, I saw that one of the rear tyres was damaged and the rubber was making the flapping sound.
We had encountered the usual problem that occurs on such long highways, that is damage to the tyres. We had been driving non-stop for quite some time so maybe the heat had caused this. Hubby changed the tyre and we moved on. Of course, since we had no spare tyre anymore, we moved ahead at a slower speed and hoping and praying for an uneventful journey ahead.
Upon exiting the Mahamarg at Nagpur, we tried finding a tyre shop but since it was next day of Diwali, and at many places Diwali was being celebrated that day too, we found no open shops. Somewhere along the highway, I saw one open tyre shop and we asked there. They miraculously had car tyres at their other shop, this one was meant for trucks, and they asked us to wait for 30 minutes while someone fetched the tyre.
It was already over 10p.m. but we decided to wait because it was imperative that we get a new tyre before moving ahead, otherwise we would have to spend time in the market in the morning. The new tyre was purchased and changed and the spare tyre promptly put back in the boot and then we moved on. We reached our hotel at around 1a.m. and then had our dinner and crashed for the night.
The next day, we left after breakfast and comparatively the journey was quite uneventful. As soon as we entered Uttar Pradesh, the festive feeling in the market was another level. Though Diwali was over, the shops were still decorated and everything looked bright and colourful in the evening because of the festive lights.
Bihar was another story altogether. As Chhath Pooja was in a few days, the state was decorated in all it’s glory. Bihar becomes a million times more beautiful during Chhath Pooja. To me, it seems that divine feeling of Chhath resides in the air.
We reached home at around 1:30 a.m. and had our dinner. We had to start our preparations for Chhath from next day and with that beautiful thought we drifted off to sleep.
Chhath was of course beautiful, with family present and all the melodious songs playing from every direction. Little Miss too enjoyed being at her home because there was so much more room for her to walk around and play.
We started our return journey the next day after Chhath and that too at 4a.m. which is a time I don’t like to find myself awake at. But the upside to leaving so early in the morning is that you avoid the hustle of market areas and crowded roads and reach the highway on time.
It took us two days to reach our home in Navi Mumbai, and thankfully there were no car problems during return journey. On the return journey on Samruddhi Mahamarg, we saw a truck ahead of us, swaying left and right in its lane. I was too glad when we overtook the truck safely and when I saw in the rear view mirror, the truck had stopped. Maybe the driver was feeling sleepy. I’m just glad nothing untoward happened.
A few days back I read in the newspaper that car accidents have increased by 16% as compared to last year on Samruddhi Mahamarg. The biggest reasons are tyre bursts and overspeeding. That’s why it is advisable to maintain proper speed limit and also to take frequent breaks so that the tyres don’t heat up.
Another pro tip: always look for COCO pumps or Shell pumps because they have the most maintained and cleanest toilets.
This post is a part of Real and Rhythm Blog Hop hosted by Manali Desai and Sukaina Majeed under #EveryConversationMatters blog hop series.
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