13th Feb
Tring tring … tring tring; It’s my phone’s alarm. It’s dark outside; there is only a dim light of a street lamp entering the room through the tinted glass of my window. I switch on the light; the eyes take some time to adjust to the sudden burst of light. The empty whisky bottle is lying in a corner and the plastic glass as if drunk; is banging himself against the wall.
Smoking a cigarette also doesn’t make the "morning-ritual" easy, it’s too early for the stomach I guess.
Here I came to shit, but only farted.
Had come happy, but leave broken hearted.
I tie my bag on the rear seat of Chavi (my Bike) and start riding. It’s 5 AM now and I am headed to Pondicherry. I will be passing through Hosur, Krishnagiri, Thiruvanamalai, Gingee and Thindivanam. In total about 300 Kms.
Chavi is happy to be out at this time, she always is. She must be feeling cold for she coughs a few times, but only to remind me of the ‘off’ fuel tap.
There aren’t many people at this time on the road, only a few call-center cabs, sleepy looking car chasing dogs and a few joggers. It’s foggy this morning and I see my ghostly looking shadow in front of me in the air every time a car approaches from behind.
At 6:30, I am welcomed by the humble looking orange sun in Hosur. There is a small shop open and I drink a cup of tea boiled to sticky sweetness in an alluminium vessel. A dog standing next to me wags his tail and I share my bun with him. Chavi looks at me with an “I am hungry too” look and she is also given a tank full of petrol a few minutes later.
The sun glitters on the chrome of Chavi and she is happy for she knows it’s time I open her throttle. With increased visibility we speed up a little and reach Krishnagiri at 7:30. At a small shop I decide to eat something. A loaf of bread is gulped down with a bottle of local cola named “love one”. The air is filled with sweet smell of burning wood used in chullah, a farmer is going to his fields and another one returning, elderly women broom their courtyards, a few crows nibble at a dead rat and kids go to school on their bicycles (occasionally waving and smiling at me). I notice, all of them have green color bicycles. Must be some “go-green” concept.
With a few breaks, I continue riding further. Chavi isn’t too happy now as there are a lot of potholes here. Still, she doesn’t complain and continues.
Why am I going to Pondicherry? This is where I was last year when lot of things in life started getting worse. This city has a lot of memories buried under it’s sandy beaches, a lot of emotions drowned in the it’s waves. They have to be revisited.
Early morning, the breeze blows,
I, on the bike weep…..
Ride to forget the sorrows,
To heal the wounds so deep…..
Thanks Chavi, for being there,
Far, far away, take me somewhere…..
At 11 AM, having crossed paddy fields, coconut grooves, hay laden bullock carts, farmer’s bent on their waists in their fields, herds of goats, Luna’s driven by men wearing lungi and no slippers and lot of kids going to school on their “green bicycles”, I am now about 250 kms away in Thiruvanamalai.
I stop for a small break at a road side shop to rest my sleepy buttock and am told that the green bicycles are donated by Government to school kids.
Crossing Thindivanam in a hurry with a quick lunch, at 2 PM I reach Pondicherry and check in at a hotel on the way to Cuddalore and freshen up.
Evening is spent at Chunnambur beach and then at Kailash beach, both on the way to Cuddalore.
Chunnambar beach is also known as Paradise Beach and is reachable by a short ride on a boat. Kailash beach is not popular among tourists; it is basically a fishermen colony. I sit alone for a while and read “Khalil Gibran” until the visibility forces me to close the book.
At Kailash beach I meet a fishermen named Suresh, we talk about various things. He understands Hindi (which is rare in Tamil Nadu) because he has spent some time in Mumbai as a construction worker. I am invited for dinner and I humbly accept it. He says he leaves for fishing at 3 AM and returns at 6 AM, I promise him to meet tomorrow morning at the beach again. Dinner is a very delicious fish curry with rice on banana leaf. We eat sitting on the floor. The house smells pleasant with freshly burnt incense sticks. His family is poor but very generous. He has 2 kids and they both go to school. They don’t have green bicycles.
At night I go to ‘Le Café’ on the rock beach. I buy a cup of black tea with no sugar and sit on the rocks with a cigarette. I take every sip slowly; very slowly with closed eyes, humming the song “Lehron ki tarah yaadein, dil se takraati hain” (like waves, the memories crash against my heart). With every sip my face is sprayed by salty water from the waves crashing against the rocks.
It was the early morning mist in Shimla which was on our faces when I and Paree (my lost love) had gone to Shimla together.
The last one year has been painful. Oh, the heartache, those sleepless nights, the feeling of being lonely, the unsuccessful search for peace.
With time, I hope, the sharp painful edges of the rocks of memories will smoothen, like the waves have smoothed these rocks on this beach.
A little far, under the dim light of a street lamp a couple sits, lonely, without much talking, hand over shoulders, enjoying the breeze and togetherness. Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day.
Buying a bottle of port-wine I go back to the room and sleep at about 2 AM. Chavi is parked outside. Thankfully this place is not very cold. She will be comfortable.
14th Feb.
With sleep deprived and wine rich red eyes I wake up at 5:30 and go to Kailash beach to meet Suresh again. The morning is so beautiful on the beach, the colors, the music of the waves, the smell, the feel of sand under the feet.
I watch the sunrise and click a few photographs and after a few minutes see Suresh return on his boat with a net-full of fish. It hasn’t been a good catch today. I share a cigarette with him and bid farewell to him. I give him 2 T-shirts which I had purchased yesterday evening for his kids. He refuses initially but later respects my feeling.
I walk on the streets of the fishermen colony for a while and am offered a cup of tea while taking photograph of a girl making Rangoli in front of her door. This kind of hospitality has died in big cities. How good are these people, how much love they have within.
I buy a lotus from a old lady and gift it to my beloved Chavi. She is happy. A tear trickles down her cheek. I kiss her gently on her belly.
Later in the Noon, I spend some time walking on the streets of the French colony (while Chavi enjoys sunshine at the hotel) going over lot of things in my mind, realizing a lot of things about life, love, money and happiness. How mad have we become running behind the worldly things. We have forgotten to live and to love. Most of us are dead already and waiting to die. How true is OSHO in saying “Everyone wants to be somebody … but no one wants to be nobody”.
I visit the Aurobindo ashram and am filled with a peaceful feeling. A little later, I eat Chicken Salad at ‘Le Café’ as lunch and enjoy the sea and the crowd again for some time. There are lot of couples here today with red roses in their hands. With moist and closed eyes I picture Paree with a red rose in her hand. She is smiling, she must be happy. I go over the last Valentine’s Day and let the tears roll down my cheeks until the waiter comes with the bill.
AT 4 PM I go back to the room to start back for Bangalore. Chavi is happy to see me and starts in half-kick.
I get lucky to see a “KA-03” Tempo Traveler in front of me just after coming out of the city. This becomes my ‘escort’ for the rest of the journey and with effortless driving and just 1 break, I am back in Bangalore at 12 midnight. I drink the leftover of yesterday’s wine and sleep. At 3, I am awakened by a dream. Paree has sent me a Valentine’s gift. I try to reenter the dream but it’s difficult now.
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