Chapter 4_Puri-fied

Chapter 4

Puri-fied

We took the right to Puri – quite curious about the unusual 2-hour prediction for a mere 50 kilometers. We didn’t have to wait much long to quench our curiosity – every 100 or so meters there were a set of ten humps on the road. After a couple of kilometers, our backs started aching, and we had to resort to experimentations. Khan tried the ‘I don’t care’ approach where he would ride quite fast, as if the humps never existed. Thorappan implemented the ‘stand and deliver’ model where he would stand on the foot pegs and ride, whenever he came across the humps. I resorted to the ‘okay let’s be friends’ method where I would slow down and gently float over the humps. Mahesh attempted a unique technique where he would curse the humps and ride over them (I guess he was hoping they would sink beneath the ground on hearing his curses!).

After about some 90 minutes of road research, we reached the entrance to the city. The roads were deserted, but brightly lit. We had a photo session there and then proceeded to the Oyo room we had booked. ‘We reached the room, unloaded our bags, did our avalokanam and slept’ would have been a nice ending for the long day. But no, the hotel guys messed it up. They refused to accept our booking, citing some technical issues and asked us to get the very same room at a higher price, without involving Oyo. After about 20 minutes of negotiation, we decided that we shouldn’t give in for such fraudulence. After all, as our Mahesham said, ‘road trips are like this’. So we booked another room on Oyo and proceeded towards it. The receptionist at this place was fast asleep and we tried all means to wake him up, but in vain. The main gate, which was locked, and the reception had a distance of about 50 meters and there was no way he could hear us. The contact numbers (both displayed in front of the hotel and the one provided by Oyo) didn’t work either; obviously. I contacted Oyo and explained the situation. I had a query as well, “can we jump the gate and wake up the receptionist?” The reply was quite interesting – “sir, I understand that you have been travelling and you must be very tired. Please do what may be required of the situation” (in other words, “please jump the gate!”). Thus we went in, woke up the guy, checked in and went to sleep? Nope. The check-in process took us around 20 minutes and the guy refused to give us the room key (to unload our bags) until the process was over. Those twenty minutes were more dreadful than the time we spent on the Rajamundry or Visakhapatnam bypasses. Finally, we were in our rooms and I unloaded my bag into a small wall cupboard in the room. Down came the cupboard!

After about some 90 minutes of road research, we reached the entrance to the city.

After sorting out the mess in the room, we went out in search of food. At 2 AM, the options were plenty; obviously! We rode to the railway station, hoping that there would be a food stall inside. Nope, there was none open. There were a couple of chaiwaalas outside the station and we happily filled our stomachs with chai and biscuits. Thus another day on road, yet another tiring but adventurous one, came to an end. But that’s okay, tomorrow is a rest day! Puri it is – music, waves and …!

The rest day started off late. The day’s priority was to get the bikes serviced and so we went hopping from RE to Bajaj to KTM. Khan’s Himalayan was unlucky as the required spare parts weren’t available at the Royal Enfield service center. The news of a 2019 model Dominar hadn’t yet reached Puri Bajaj and we had a good time teasing the distraught Mahesham. Thorappan received royal treatment at KTM, him being the only customer there. The showroom manager, who introduced himself as a ‘prematurely retired rider’ engaged us during the one hour we spent there.

At around three, we were at ‘Baron – the British Bar’, a palace heritage hotel by the beach, for lunch. It was a British-themed restaurant with contemporary décor. Sakthi, a native of Puri and Khan’s classmate in Chennai, joined us there. The food was too good and so was the ambience, that we couldn’t resist ourselves from a pint of beer. I had decided to stay away from such temptations during the trip; but the balcony facing the Bay of Bengal, the cool breeze and the company were worth some relaxation. Needless to say, we had a nice time in Britain.

Later in the day, Sakthi offered to take us for a drive around Puri. He was now our host in Puri! We got some rest after returning from Britain and Sakthi picked us up at around 6 in the evening. Soon after we started off, a black cat crossed the road and the seemingly terrified Sakthi immediately stopped the vehicle. “That’s an omen; this is the first time in my life that a black cat has crossed me,” said Sakthee. There was ‘pin drop silence’ inside the car. We could see that Sakthi’s eyes were red, like plums, and we guessed it. Thorappan and I had a hard time controlling our giggles.

At around three, we were at ‘Baron – the British Bar’, a palace heritage hotel by the beach, for lunch.

We were on the road to Konark. The fields and forests on either sides were flooded. It had been raining heavily in Puri until a couple of days back. Sakthi narrated how the city had just recovered from the havoc created by the Fani cyclone. Fani wasn’t the first cyclone to visit Puri either; the 1999 Odisha cyclone had been even worse. The fact that people were migrating out of Puri due to such natural calamities, brought a sudden gloom into our minds.

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Out of Curiosity...

Odisha is a state vulnerable to tropical cyclones. The 1999 cyclone was the worst to strike Odisha in the 20th century. The high storm surge, strong winds and torrential rainfall killed around 10,000 people. The surge (coastal flooding) brought water up to 35 kilometers inland, carrying along with it coastal debris and inundating towns and villages. The surge combined with heavy rains to produce widespread flooding, damaging around 1.6 million homes.

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… but the balcony facing the Bay of Bengal, the cool breeze and the company were worth some relaxation.

We took a detour from the main road. There was a narrow road going into the forest. We drove for about a kilometer before we reached a temple. There were a few people there. Further ahead, the road came to a dead end. We got out of the car. It was pitch dark outside. I could feel the sea breeze and hear the waves roaring. I guess we were on a small hill; a sandy one, which descended into the sea. A low boundary wall was constructed at the edge of the hill. I sat there, gazing into the emptiness that spread before me. I looked up; it was one of the most beautiful night skies I had ever witnessed. There were hundreds or maybe thousands of stars out there. With every blink of my eye, a few disappeared and many more appeared. Thorappan joined Khan and Sakthi for a roll. Mahesh too lit a cig. I lay down on the platform; my hands folded behind to cushion my head; I made myself comfortable. Mahesh played a Malayalam melody on the Bluetooth speaker. At times, Mahesham does the right thing at the right time, and I love him for that. This was perhaps the ‘mood on’ that I see in a lot many WhatsApp statuses these days. I knew that I had to seize these moments. Of course, the whole trip is supposed to give you a good time; but there are rare moments like these when you could actually feel a sort of liberation; when the world around you, with all its worries, ceases to exist. You need to enjoy such moments, make the most of them.

Thorappan too came and lay down beside me. Mahesh was sitting at my foot, relaxed, looking at the skies and taking slow drags. Both of them were in their own worlds. Khan and Sakthi were standing near the car and engaged in a deep conversation, perhaps about their college days. I closed my eyes. The cool breeze, the sound of the waves and the music – perhaps this is the definition of ‘bliss’. Slowly, I slipped into an enchanted nap – puri-fied.

(to be continued…)