The Long and Winding Road
Heads bowed down in shame, we walked back to the rental.
Little croco guy asked for ID proof and before I could take out mine, DT offered hers. The guy took DT's pan card and locked it, before DT could say anything.
That's when it struck us. The guy was keeping it as a security. DT was worried. When she expressed her concern, the guy expressed an even bigger concern about his car.
The car came. i10 was now replaced by Swift. It was a bit bigger than what I had in mind. But that's all he had.
DT's friend had strongly suggested to take photos of the car before we start off. We went one step further and made a full length documentary of the car's damage (the rain did add to the effect). I wondered why the guy was so worried about this car. The guy asked to take a video of the fuel reading. I did. Then, he said to return it with the same amount of fuel we took it in.
I got in, took the car from the narrow lane and reached a wide place only to realize I cant see the sides. The seat was way too low.
Called the guy asking about any way to lift the seat. Did he have cushions? He said he couldn't leave the place. No one else was there.
After 15 min of rambling, I finally summoned the courage. DT's purse and mine were all that we had in the car. I took both and put them beneath me. And prayed that the cops would not stop us and ask for my license. If they did, the conversation would go something like this:
"May I see your license, please?"
"Err... One second." Open seat belt. Lift myself up and take my purse from beneath and show the license.
That should be enough for the cop.
DT's friend mentioned petrol pumps are few and a rare sight in Goa. Panic mode on. We had 2 days of travel ahead of us. Better to fill petrol now itself.
It started pouring. I fiddled with the switches and finally, got the wipers working.
Next action item. Take the car to the petrol pump. Only one problem. Where was it?
We checked Google maps and went in circles for 30 min. When we asked people for help, everybody gave us directions to some circle and right or left from there. Goa is full of circles. After some more circling around, we saw a pump and drove in.
And then, we set off to the Basilica of Bom Jesus with Google maps as our guide.
We went on roads, either side of which were paddy fields. It was so beautiful to see.
Map kept pushing us towards narrow roads. The roads kept getting narrower. I shared my doubt with DT. To this, DT replied Google was showing this direction. Google would find a way. Google is all we had now.
Again, we kept going in circles. Finally, we reached a point where the wall was dilapidated and we couldn't move forward. I had stopped at a curve. On one side of the narrow road was a paddy field, with a cow calmly grazing by, unaware of the tension we were in. There stood a test. I had to reverse the car in that narrow lane. I should have just gone straight back out. But no! I decided to reverse the car and then drive straight out.
DT got down to ensure we didn't hit the car anywhere. And I reversed in full speed and one tyre went down in the paddy field. Yep! The car was stuck with one tyre in the kandam.
Thanks to the progress our country made in the past 2 years, my first concern was for the cow in the field. After seeing that it was unaffected by this noise and action, I decided to check the car.
DT suggested, all the while praying silently that her request would make sense, to simply reverse the car out of the field.
Paulo Coelho words echoed in my mind, "And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it." I wondered if he has had a tyre plop into a field. Even if I wanted to just get the tyre out of the field, the laws of physics and gravity were at war with me. Not even having SRK say it, would change anything. Rajnikanth... maybe.
I confirmed DT's worst fears.
There was no go. We needed to call out for help.
"Heeelppp! HEEEELLLPP!"
Let me pause here a moment. To the men reading, who thought that this is expected since a lady was behind the wheels, there is only one response.
And for those who didn't think anything, you are definitely a rare breed and you have my utmost respect.
Little croco guy asked for ID proof and before I could take out mine, DT offered hers. The guy took DT's pan card and locked it, before DT could say anything.
That's when it struck us. The guy was keeping it as a security. DT was worried. When she expressed her concern, the guy expressed an even bigger concern about his car.
The car came. i10 was now replaced by Swift. It was a bit bigger than what I had in mind. But that's all he had.
DT's friend had strongly suggested to take photos of the car before we start off. We went one step further and made a full length documentary of the car's damage (the rain did add to the effect). I wondered why the guy was so worried about this car. The guy asked to take a video of the fuel reading. I did. Then, he said to return it with the same amount of fuel we took it in.
I got in, took the car from the narrow lane and reached a wide place only to realize I cant see the sides. The seat was way too low.
Called the guy asking about any way to lift the seat. Did he have cushions? He said he couldn't leave the place. No one else was there.
After 15 min of rambling, I finally summoned the courage. DT's purse and mine were all that we had in the car. I took both and put them beneath me. And prayed that the cops would not stop us and ask for my license. If they did, the conversation would go something like this:
"May I see your license, please?"
"Err... One second." Open seat belt. Lift myself up and take my purse from beneath and show the license.
That should be enough for the cop.
DT's friend mentioned petrol pumps are few and a rare sight in Goa. Panic mode on. We had 2 days of travel ahead of us. Better to fill petrol now itself.
It started pouring. I fiddled with the switches and finally, got the wipers working.
Next action item. Take the car to the petrol pump. Only one problem. Where was it?
We checked Google maps and went in circles for 30 min. When we asked people for help, everybody gave us directions to some circle and right or left from there. Goa is full of circles. After some more circling around, we saw a pump and drove in.
And then, we set off to the Basilica of Bom Jesus with Google maps as our guide.
We went on roads, either side of which were paddy fields. It was so beautiful to see.
Map kept pushing us towards narrow roads. The roads kept getting narrower. I shared my doubt with DT. To this, DT replied Google was showing this direction. Google would find a way. Google is all we had now.
Again, we kept going in circles. Finally, we reached a point where the wall was dilapidated and we couldn't move forward. I had stopped at a curve. On one side of the narrow road was a paddy field, with a cow calmly grazing by, unaware of the tension we were in. There stood a test. I had to reverse the car in that narrow lane. I should have just gone straight back out. But no! I decided to reverse the car and then drive straight out.
DT got down to ensure we didn't hit the car anywhere. And I reversed in full speed and one tyre went down in the paddy field. Yep! The car was stuck with one tyre in the kandam.
Thanks to the progress our country made in the past 2 years, my first concern was for the cow in the field. After seeing that it was unaffected by this noise and action, I decided to check the car.
DT suggested, all the while praying silently that her request would make sense, to simply reverse the car out of the field.Paulo Coelho words echoed in my mind, "And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it." I wondered if he has had a tyre plop into a field. Even if I wanted to just get the tyre out of the field, the laws of physics and gravity were at war with me. Not even having SRK say it, would change anything. Rajnikanth... maybe.
I confirmed DT's worst fears.
There was no go. We needed to call out for help.
"Heeelppp! HEEEELLLPP!"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Let me pause here a moment. To the men reading, who thought that this is expected since a lady was behind the wheels, there is only one response.
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| Ithreykku cheap aano ente male readers...? |
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