The Drive

Nothing can ever beat the pleasure of a long drive on a smooth highway that takes you away from the hustle bustle of the city life and into the serene beauty of nature. So, on one of those lazy Saturday evenings, Sam decided to take a drive to Nandi Hills. Sam's sister, June, his mom and I decided to tag along too.

The alarm went off at 6 in the morning.. Snooze till 7.. after the morning chores and a healthy breakfast, it was back to bed till 12 noon. Bangalore weather, of late, has never been friendly to travellers. The morning weather greeted me with a dull blue sky, mostly occupied by rain clouds and the morning sun only being allowed a sneak peek into the ground once a while. I was hence very apprehensive of the travel plan to the hills. Nevertheless, we decided to go on.

The journey began at around 4 in the evening. It was a relief to find very few vehicles on the roads. A few minutes into the drive, with Flo Rida playing softly on the radio, gentle showers poured itself on us. Amidst the crooning of the tyres against the rain, we reached the Air Force base when, to our excitement, an IL 78 of the Indian Air Force whooshed over us across the highway. That view coupled with the sounds of the massive jets was simply tantalizing. We then passed by the International airport and finally into the quiet boulevard leading us to the base of the hills.

We came across a troop of monkeys lazing around on the parapet walls lining the road along the hill. All they did was look at us in unison with their visibly tired eyes, maybe after a long day of monkeying around. A few curves and then a few bends and we finally parked beside a garden housing the well know summer residence that Tippu supposedly once used to relax in. What then followed was a mixture of satisfaction and disappointment. Satisfaction because we made it despite the odds of the weather, disappointment because that satisfaction did not last long.

We gradually walked over the rocks towards the spot which gives a panoramic view of the city outskirts besides the chill breeze and calm, seemingly unknown to city lifers. We waited as June payed her respects to the Gods in one of the temples. Then, the skies opened and misty drops of water fell over the rocks in a continuous drizzle. If it wasn't for our concern for Sam and June's mom, we would have navigated ourselves to the famous Tippu's drop enjoying the feel of rain on us. We had no choice, but to turn back and shelter ourselves in a tea shop opposite the temple. As we waited in vain for the rains to show mercy on us, we ordered for tea which took about as much time as the rains to stop. The waiter however, justified this delay to his preparation of "special" tea for all of us. Well, in reality, I can prepare better tea.

With no respite and dusk soon falling on us, we made our way back to the car. Should I now say the drive down was more enthralling than the one to the top.? Well, I believe, it definitely was. It was dark, the woods a pale grey outlined against the indigo sky. The cicadas absolutely quiet, the ambiance was reminiscent of the Silent Valley. One particular curve gave a brilliant view of the city lights. We halted, walked up to the edge of the parapet and stood there looking at the the distant lights of the city on the horizon-shimmering through the humid air, of the highway we navigated on and of the vehicles making their way into and out of the hill below us through the woods. It was akin to a deep blue canvas, painted with dark shadows of hills on either sides and a thousand spots of glittering white and yellow in between. The experience was simply Priceless.

The journey that we embarked on finally had come to an end. We slowly and silently made our way back to the car and set our course to the very horizon that mesmerized us, back to the hustle and bustle, to the stress and disturbance of our daily routine, contented enough to have had the time to break free of it and experience what nature has to offer us. It was indeed a day well spent, memories of which will last a lifetime...

Cheers..