Anyways, there was quite some time left to kill and a couple of used this to investigate the availability of some other better bus service. But there was no change in luck on that count.
I then went about in search of water and some mint to give me solace during the trip. After I returned to my seat, there was a request from one of the parties to get Filmfare or Stardust or something of that ilk. Coming as it did from one of the most knowledgeable people in the touring party, I was actually surprised.
After I got the magazines demanded by others as well, all of us finally settled down for the journey to start. The bus did start at the indicated time of 5 PM. By then, all the seats were occupied and a handful of people were already standing. I guess that is a price one has to pay if you can go to Chennai from Tirupati for Rs.62!
Anyways…our seat was right behind the conductor’s seat and while people were getting tickets, I thought I heard a couple of “Kalahasthi”s being mentioned. The bus halted at a Railway crossing and at that point I asked the conductor which route the bus was taking. His reply was “Kalahasthi Tada Padi” and on being further questioned about the travel time, he said it would be around 4 hours.
Great! I avoided the trip to Kalahasthi and this bus was anyway going by that town. Was I to feel bad about it or should I feel happy that even when I didn’t want to go by that route, I was still being made to at least pass by and have a darshan of the Gopuram?
By the 20th minute of the journey, I started getting all sorts of body pain due to the ergonomically challenged seats. My friend sharing the seat was in no better state and both of us decided to take turns in leaning forward, just to let the other person gain a 4% increase in comfort levels. We are both of average height and not that wide (perhaps deep, but not wide, if you know what I mean), yet sitting in those seats was getting to be painful.
The bus was ambling at a steady pace and with the fading light, the driver couldn’t really go at good speed due to the poorly lit highway, that seemed to under construction for a good portion. We finally reached Tada at 7.15 PM and were informed that there was going to be a quick break.
My friends and I literally ran out of the bus to stretch ourselves. I just couldn’t stand for even a minute. I kept walking around, started bending my back in all directions, lifted my legs, stretched them towards to the back etc etc. If I hadn’t done any of those, I am sure I would have died of cramps.
As a blessing in disguise, the supposedly short break went on for almost half an hour. We had actually stopped at a wayside stall selling “purotta” and the likes. So, we had to make do with our biscuit packets and water and stick on to the “dinner at home plan”.
The bus finally started around 7:45 PM and we reached the Koyambedu bus stand at around 10 PM. A total travel time of 5 hours! Once we crossed the Padi area, my friend made bookings with a Call Taxi and the four of us headed towards Besant Nagar/Indra Nagar were feeling relaxed.
But unfortunately, it took that confirmation some 20 minutes to materialize. We were waiting at the bus stand eagerly looking at every yellow colored Omni van with the desperate hope that it was our taxi. Finally we got a call from the taxi driver and an Indica showed up.
After dropping off everyone, mine became the last stop and when I stepped in to my home, the clock had moved beyond 11 PM. I had a quick change and a quicker dinner, giving a quick download of the trip to my parents. I was in no mood to go to work the next day, but then, there was Ramadurai’s Griha Pravesham to attend to in the early morning. And this house was at Perungalathur and those familiar with the topography know that its practically at the half-way mark on my way to office. So, it would require a Santa Singh to actually go that far and then come back home and since I am not one, I went to the office, a tad later than usual.
All in all, the trip was definitely an enlightening one for me. One that made me wonder if I was leading a very extravagant life!
[Concluded]
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