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And the road becomes my bride...
Just what we needed; another drive out of the city. We headed
for Ranthambor, 172 kilometres from Jaipur that in turn is 250
kilometres from Delhi. I bought an 800 two months back so I guess
it was time to baptize it with the rain on the highway. After
work on Friday, I picked up Anand from his office at 6:30, then
Devinder from his house and hit the real road at around 9pm. Since
the car doesn't have a stereo, Anand bought along his life saving
mp3 player which served as a huge relief at times.
 We
drove all night. The highway was awesome but theroads deteriorated
in Tonk district. We reached Ranthambor at 7 a.m. and put up at
Jhoomar Baori, a 12-room-hunting-castle-turned-hotel on a hilltop.
It was off season, the sanctuary was closed and we we re
the onlyones there. Our only co-guestswere the monkeys in the
castle who ate up every bit of the chana we fed. The solitude
was nice; the panoramic view (above) from room number 301's balcony
was mind-clearing. You see an open stretch of landscape right
till the horizon with the cloudy sky teasing the hills that were
aching for a touch; and the clouds would comply with a few showers
here and there. We drove up and done into the marketplace which
was very typically rural-townish and didn't seem to want to change
in a long while. Eagerly welcoming dhabas, competing barbers,
and clueless shopkeepers about the latest flavor of brand of peanuts
(for God's sake, give them a break)! The houses here boasted of
Rajasthan through their carved doors and windows, and the trucks
via elaborate artworks. In the evening, we went up to the  terrace
and talked till the wine wore off. Also since no one else was
around,we could afford to be a little boisterous, which somehow
just wasn't possible at TGIF!!
We just needed to get the buck out of the city. We spent around
Rs. 2500 in all, including fuel, in two days which totals up to
what we spend in a bar for 2 hours! The room was for Rs. 600 (a
day) including one filling dinner.
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 On
the way back, we didn't stop in Jaipur, which I wished we had time
for. We drove through to see Amberfort on the outskirts of the city.
There's something about forts that really gets me admiring Mughal
architecture. The tunnels, courtyards, rooms and steps are all so
well laidout to allow access and ventilation. Even today, these
layouts make sense in terms of personal comfort zones. The artwork
and relief on the dome type entrance was similar to the ones at
the entrance of Taj Mahal and also Sikandra fort. Anyways, that's
another mystery but something tells me there's a math to the fractal.
Also there was this sensation that not the entire fort was made
accessible. The place was surelybuilt on top of a labyrinth of getaway
routes and hiding places for the Kachchawa kings who ruled the joint
600 years back. To explain this, the Kachchawas were hindus but
had developed relations with the Mughals for the combined benefits
of life. They fought for the Mughals and in time were rewarded and
had accumulated great wealth.
We fought over the car keys. Devinder wanted to drive because he
loves driving. I wanted to drive because the whole highway experience
was exhilarating for me! Anand wanted to drive because he wanted
to drive. We haddinner at the Subway in Gurgaon, dropped Devinder
and Anand home and I reached at 2 a.m.
One thing about traveling that I learnt from Devinder's father was-
do make it a point to read enough about the place that you are about
to visit before going there. Being impulsive may come across as
adventurous, but there's no substitute for more knowledge. |
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This Car of Mine
 Here's
wannabe me trying to be like auto critic Murad Ali Baig:
On the highway, The underestimated little brat Maruti 800 went
upto 120 kmph (74 miles per hour) and stayed between 80 and 120
for a whole hour without whining, which is fantastic (I felt)
with 3 people (without the AC). The 4-gear, mpfi 800 has improved
quite a lot. Radial tyres and Zen shockers do their bit on these
roads and the engine fan runs the moment the engine heats upunlike
previous versions that would start smoking from the hood. Pickup
seems to have improved, but then probably because it's
new. These may not surprise many, but I personally wasn't aware
of even these changes in my own car till I actually drove on the
highway, first time for me. Hit a long road for hours if you really
want to know your car, thecity tells nothing. In all, we covered
950 kilometes with 53 litres of petrol.
By the way, the gearshift is still as difficult. Some things don't
change, but then there's only so much you get for 2.3 lacs!
Keep your eyes on the road and your hands upon the wheeeol...
 The
truckers on the highway were the most decent drivers I've seen
in a long while; one dipper and they give way.
I learnt quite a bit from Devinder about driving on highways.
Some tips here that I wantto refer to later:
1.Stick to your right while overtaking or wait
on the right. The trucker WILL give way. If he's stalling, it's
only because he's looking for the right time to bank onto his
left.
2. Try to predict the behavior of other drivers in the given situation.
If there's a
truck ahead on the left of the truck you want to overtake, obviously
he can't give you way instantly, etc.
3. Use the dipper at night... chances of it being seen are very
slim in the day time.
4. Backup with the blinkers (emergency lights) on the highway.
5. Go through mud in second gear.
6. Shorts bursts of the horn are not audible to truck drivers...
as the cabin contains a lot of engine noise... so "Horn Ok
Please" and generously.
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