The Riding Experience and the Figure of Eleven!!!! Talking of Cols driving jeep..... my CO while at Tawang, took me for a Div Conference as his IO (i was barely one year old with the single stars on my shoulders!!). The drive to the main road from the Div HQ loc was was a steep climb. Having finished with the Conf, he curtly ordered the driver to hand over the keys to him.... signalled me to sit at the co-dvr seat and a sneer at the dvr to take up the rear.... First attempt at ignition, the engine spluttered, coughed and died down. The second attempt.... slightly more time at the twist of the key - larger splutter, greater cough and a strange cranking before it died down I began a series of hanuman chalisas in my mind. My palm clutched at the grip in the dash board so tightly that i wondered if i had developed the beginnings of Vitiligo... The third attempt by the Col got the engine purring smoothly. And he engaged the first gear..... the counter jerk to a forward moving machine was finally understood by me loud and clear after the physics maam at 8th Std failed to cram the laws of motions into my head!! I often wonder if the acute lumbago i have gone through was a result of this afterall!! Anyways, having over come the starting problem, the next obstacle stared us at our face - the steep climb to the main road!! Col who-so-ever-it-was, with a grim dedication on his face just let go the jeep full throttle forward in the first gear. The veh vrooooooomed, screeeeeeeched and vrooooomed (all in that order) all along the winding 50 mtrs or so length of the road, without once halting enroute. My Vitiligo threatened to spread along the palm upwards!! Having scaled the steep climb, the jeep finally levelled up on the main road. And the Col sniffs.... confirms his sniffs.... looks at me to ensure that i am not smoking, brakes the veh and asks (to no one in particular) - ye jalne ki badboo kya hai? Since not directed at me.... i prefer remaining silent. The driver meekly mumbles - O shaab, hand-brake laga hua tha.... So much so for the Veh Mech to repair the brakes... Unperturbed by the flap the Col who-so-ever-it-was releases the hand brakes and throttles the veh ahead. This time changing gears as if he was a part of the Himalayan Car Rally. Barely into the next hundred metres.... we encounter a rumbler strip speed breaker. But, by then the Col was of a strong conviction that he was a Rally participant afterall.... and he noticed the rumblers a wee too late. The jeep rode on.... thud thud thud thud thud..... And all we could hear with each thud was a - sorry sorry sorry sorry.... And a self-talk - pataa nahi kaise kaise speed breaker banaa dete hain I swear i counted eleven sorrys.... and to confirm my haunch, i visited the site in the evening and made sure to count the strips.... They were Eleven in all!!!
Posted on: Fri, 28 Mar 2014 11:50:24 +0000
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