Target Mahabalipuram...
Today all of us woke up at 10:00AM, filled with enthusiasm in anticipation of the long ride(About 120 KM) to Mahabalipuram. We stuffed our stomachs, starting with all possible yumm bread items available at the Hot Breads, chocolate Croissant being the prominent one and finishing with coffee. That was our Brunch for the day. Then some investigation regarding the route to Mahabalipuram and the joy ride started at 1:45PM with Tabassum & Manju on one bike and Aarati & I on the other. We all were taking turns to ride the bikes. We took some short breaks in between for photo sessions, the prominent photographers being Manju(The professional) and Aarati(The budding one). But by the end of the Pondy trip, Aarati emerged as a tough competetor for Manju. Our journey towards Mahabalipuram continued with some breath taking scenic views all through our route. The ride was silent in between because of the empty road. Aarati cud not bear the silence and decided to play Antaakshari with herself. She even sang the "TITLE TRACK" to decide who will start the game, She or Aarati? After some time we 2 ran out of good songs. So, Aarati started singing "Evergreen Title Songs" like Washing powder Nirma and Mann ki shakthi, Tann ki shakthi Bournvita and that too non stop in a loop.
Tragedy Strikes...
Everything was going fine when tragedy struck. Somewhere at a place called Kadapakkam, I tried to overtake the other bike which at that moment was being ridden by Tabassum. Aarati was still singing the Bournvita song. Suddenly it sounded like a Remix version of the original song "Tan ki shakthi, mann ki shakthi Bournvitaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa". That was when I realized that our scooter had hit the other scooter. I turned back and saw both Manju and Tabassum lying on the road with their face down and the scooter over them. By the time I parked my scooter and reached the spot, around a dozen people were already there helping them. In no time they came with water and cool drinks. Manju looked alright with only one scratch on his hand but tabassum looked in serious condition with a bloody chin and arm. We took her to a small tea shop type hotel on the road side. People around us came with cool drinks for all of us and offered to take her to a near by clinic. The shop keeper refused to take money for the drinks. Then guided by 2 young men, we took her to a clinic which was about 2 KMs from that place. Both Manju and Tabassum were given First Aid by the doctor. The 2 young men who brought us to the clinic offered us all possible help and even helped us in getting the medicines. We all rested there for some time, took a snap of the doctor along with the 2 guys. These people were not less than saviours for us. We thanked them and continued with our journey. Now I and Aarati took the driver's seat on the bikes. Tabassum was my pillion rider and Manju Aarati's. It was already 4:45PM and we looked at Tabassum enquiring if we should continue our ride towards Mahabalipuram or Return back to Pondy. We chose the first option. On our way , before the accident site I found my cap lying on the road(It had jumped off my head on our way to he clinic). Iss moke pe humaare guest ne ek dialouge maara "Yahan ke log kitne achche hain. Topi bhi nahi uthaai, wahin ki wahin padi hai."
For the remaining journey it was decided that Aarati and Manju will always follow us and we wont ride fast. We realized the importance of the scond decision after just half an hour. First we bought milk for tabassum as suggested by the doctor and again commenced our ride to conquer Mahabalipuram. We had hardly travelled for 30 mins, one more tragedy. The rear tyre of the scooter on which I and Tabassum were travelling punchered but thankfully we were riding very slowly. So, nothing serious happened. We checked the tool kit of the scooter but no use. We could not see a single shop on either directions. Manju and Aarati went in the direction towards Mahabalipuram while we 2 waited there. That was when I came to know that after the accident Tabassum was sad and concerned of one thing in particular. How wud she have Tequilla shots? Really serious matter. To console her maine kaha(Serious expression ke saath) "Koi na koi raasta zaroor nikal aayega". And didnt we figure out a way later in the evening..:)) While waiting for the other 2 ppl, Tabassum did time pass by drinking the milk we had bought for her while I tried out my hands on Photography and Videography. Manju and Aarati managed to find a mechanic who came along with his assistant and repaired the bike. And helped us in finding a place to get "Desi petrol". By this time it was 6:00PM and still around 40 KM to reach Mahabalipuram. And now we needed to travel even more carefully and slowly as the replacement tyre was not in a good shape. We were able to convince Tabassum that it wont be a good idea to go towards Mahabalipuram now. Here I wud like to quote one particular statement made by Manju at that spot "Dont you think these bad incidents are indicative enough for us to go back". We turned our scooters back and started to ride back towards Pondy, aborting our trip in between and leaving Mahabalipuram unconquered. But as I always believe and have experienced "The Best part of any Trip with my friends is the travelling part" and we had travelled enough and enjoyed(Did we?).
The Slow Musical Ride...
After 3 hours of slow ride,during the course of which I was kept entertained by Tabssum's songs, we reached back to Pondicherry. Went directly to Hotel Ajanta and had dinner. It was there that we came up with innovative ideas of how Tabassum can have tequilla shots without her injuries affecting her?:) Sorry, its impossible to put in words the fun and laughter we had dicussing the topic. Later had Ice creams from the parlour of the same hotel. Returned back to our room by 11:00PM. After some talks, laughs, snaps and videos all of us slept off.
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