Chachan and I went Trekking...(Part-1)

Characters making their appearance in this tale:

1.Drill Saab- no intro required,co-ordi,final yr IITian.

2.Dy. Drill Saab/Johny Depp/Kaanta- As the last name suggests, tough as a thorn.

3.Ration Kada(Ration shop)- He was the one who made our loads lighter.slip him a fifty and you could have 2 kilos off..kidding..nothing worked

4.Shuttle- plays the game.loves to eat.Loves to fib.

5.Bob-From wild-wild-west..shuttle ka sathi. Romeo..

6.DK Bose- He packs,unpacks,irritates,tells nice stories....yaaawn..

7.Pack Mule-the name has nothing to do with his IQ which is quite strong since he has cracked JEE..its just his other qualities..

8.Dude- the eldest member of the group. At 27 he is still romancing ladies in our French class.

9.Remo- old co-ordi...the kewl dude.

10.Jhansi- loves his food..senior to the btechies..with a kaamedy mind.

11.Brainy- senior from Hall-3..

12.Chinky- senior..jovial..wise..his wisdom pours out through his spectacles..

13.Kaanta2- very kaanta..finished 2nd in half-marathon..jolly guy..

14.Trekker- the future of trekking club. He has dedicted his life to trekking.

15.Chachan- IIT mein sathi..

16.Mawe- That's me.

Dedicated to @

I even earned a nick-name on this trip 'cos of you 

Part-1

THE FLARES ARE-A-FLARING 

"Bon@#$%%e what have you guys bought? Why have you bought Diary-Milk when I asked you to buy Five-star? And why is the channa all squishy? Cdn't you have torn some packets and eaten and checked? And where are you guys? Why aren't you at the SAC and packing?" it was Kaanta shouting through the mobile.

 I rubbed my head. Now what could this idiot want? Me and Chachan had finished almost the entire shopping-list for the trek earlier that day. The Lion(guide) was in his den and I was flooded with work. It certainly pissed me off. What Five-Star?What channa?And how the f#$k could this junior be swearing at me?

"Wait I'll come there"

Now to slip out without the Lion noticing. I pedalled furiously to the old SAC. I entered to see almost the entire gang present surrounded by rations. Kaanta was bent over a kerosene lamp pumping furiously.

"Bon@#$%%e tu kis ko gali detha hai re? Aur kya kah rahe ho? Hamne pura saman kareedh liya tha na?(#$$$ Who do you think you were swearing at?And what are u saying?Haven't we bought all the stuff?) I cdn't bear to think a junior could swear at me.

"Saale tum logon ko kisne bathaya Dairy-Milk lane ko?meine kaha nahin kya ki 5-star chahiye?Aur ye chana khake dekha kya?Saare karab hein"(Who asked you to buy Dairy-Milk.Hadn't I asked for 5-star?And had you eaten this chana before buying?Its all squishy)

Now how the hell could I know this guy had a fancy for 5-star? I liked Dairy-Milk. I looked around for Bob who had told me we could get anything. He was hiding and shoving in rations into a polythene, not even daring to look in our direction.

"Arre Bob ne bola tha kuch bhi la sakthe hain.Aur hum packet wali channa kaise kholke kha sakthe hein? Aur tumein kya lagtha hai?-ki mujhe aur Chachan ko koyi kam nahin hai.Udhar lion meri sir kha raha hai(Bob had told us we could get any chocolate.And how could we open the channa wich was in a packet?Do you think me and Chachan are jobless?) The voice levels were raising. We both were shouting now.

"Saale Dairy-Milk agar ek bar garam hota hai to karab ho jata hai..koi nahin kaatha use..feink dethe hein. Aur chana bilkul dry hone ki check karna chahiye.."(Dairy-Milk once it gets a little warm as what would happen when we set off would get bad..people wouldn't even eat it then. They would just throw it off. And the chana has to be checked to be perfectly dry)

More shouting. We were both eye-balling each other now. Ration Kada and DK Bose came to seperate the two of us. Ration Kada explained that in IIT gali-wali(swearing) was considered normal between senior and juinior either way. 

So much for my theory that Dairy-Milk was the better chocolate. We both cooled off and I realised he was probably right. I didn't know how Dairy-Milk worked after heating and cooling. Whereas he with his loads of trek experience probably knew. And if the 3 kilos of chana were bad it had to go. Trekker and DK Bose were asked to go return the spoilt items. Me and Chachan would again go the next day and finish the shopping-list.

Meanwhile now that our argument was over, I joined Kaanta where he was working furiously with the kerosene stoves. He showed me how to remove the dirt from the nozzle and get it working. We worked in the flares of the kerosene stoves. There is this thing about Kaanta-he is dedicated to what he does. Infact after the swearing episode, I learnt a lot from him and gradually felt my anger for him fading away. There was something about this trek. By the time it finished, I would come to be thick friends with the ones I hated in the beginning..We finished with the kerosene stoves and divided and packed our rations. I had a whopping 7.9 kilos. I showed-off my heavy ration packet. As far as I knew only Pack-Mule and Trekker had more. What an idiot I was to show-off.

SETTING OFF

Finally the next day we were all packed and ready. After seeing off the Roop-kund group we picked up our bags two each-one for the 'seniors' who would be joining us later on in Rishikesh. So carrying our bags and half-draging the extra-ones we waited for rickshaws. More than half the IIT-junta was leaving for mid-sem breaks and rickshaw wallahs made a bee-line for easier passengers. Who would want to take-on tons of camping equipment? So it was that most of us began our trek from the SAC itself dragging those heavy bags till the IIT gate. Lucky Roop-kund people-they got a damn vehicle right upto their buses.

RACE ON?

After waiting for nearly an hour the Qualis and an Omni we booked quite on-spot arrived at the gate. We got in and began the drive to Lucknow. Me and Shuttle with most of our luggage in the Omni and the rest in the Qualis. As we zig-zagged through Kanpur and out I could see half of someone's arse hanging out of the Qualis and few of someone's limbs hanging out too. It must be a tight squash in the Qualis I thought. I must be in a quite luxurious position even with the gear lever of the Omini being furiously shifted between my legs and Shuttle squirming with his long legs in the Omini front-seat. As we whizzed past what looked like a family on a motorcycle, with papa-jan trying acrobatics, I remarked to Shuttle about the poor state of affairs in the North what with no road-rules being followed. As we neared Lucknow it was all silence in the Omini. We were upto figures like 5 kms in 10 min.-in Lucknow traffic. It was a tight squash. As we neared the railway station with only seconds to spare, Shuttle offered to run and stop the train(do whatever he could). We screamed to a halt at the railway station and like commandos we burst out, each carrying a heavy rucksack and half-carrying, half-dragging atleast another. We ran to the 3rd platform to see the tail-lights of the train moving ahead of us and Shuttle screaming, and running alongside the guard-car, pleading, begging for the train to stop. Now when has that caused a train to stop?

It didn't and we were left stranded on the 3rd platform. Ration-Kada and me went to pick up the left-over bags from the taxi. As we trudged with the heavy bags we got a call from Kaanta to tell us that there was another train at platform 5. So it was more running like mad to platform 5, where we found a train-only it wasn't the one we needed.

"What?At platform 5? We are at platform 5.Where the hell are you guys?" Ration-Kada was trying to make sense of what Kaanta was bellowing from the other end.

More suspense as RK tried to block out the combined noise of the crowd and listen. He dug the mobile into his ears. I felt that it couldn't get more inside. I was wrong; pressed it in further.

"Oyye!! Mawe hurry up. We are on the wrong bloody railway station.C'mon" RK proceeded to run back to the exit on a mad run.

What?Wrong railway station?What the hell did he mean?Has RK gone mad?I followed him anyway and more running ensued. It was only as I ran that it dawned that there were indeed two railway stations in Lucknow. Which idiot designed it that way I wonder. And both having trains going whichever way. Not even the seperate one for local trains mind you. What bloody craziness. We found a coolie mid-way and shoving the luggage into his trunk we ran like crazy with him following. Everyone else was on the train weren't they and what crazy luck if we were the ones left off? All because some idiot had thought of two stations. As we reached platform 5 the coolie suggested we run ahead and stop the train for a few seconds. We ran like crazy, quite bollywood-filmy-like, arms-flailing..screaming for the guard to stop. He must have felt some pity 'cos he asked us to calm ourselves and get into the nearest compartment. We got the coolie to throw our bags in and we jumped in as the train started off. Seconds later we hear more shouting and see Kaanta again running filmy-like to our compartment. What drama. The guard must have seen enough for the night. He jumped in, took a few seconds to catch his breath.

"Are all of you here?" Kaanta asked.

"What are you saying? I thought all of us are on this train"

"Call the others to confirm"

"Wait I'll call Chachan". With that I dialled his number.

"Hello Mawe.You guys ok?Me on the train".

Thank gooodness, they were safely on. The whole gang was probably there with them.

"So you are all safe na? Which compartment are you guys in?"

"What do you mean all?Only Pack-Mule and I are here with three bags and a set of sleeping-mats. We are probably somewhere in the middle of the train. Are all of you towards the last compartment"

"WHAT??Only you and PM are there?Only me,RK and Kaanta here.Where are the rest of the guys.I thought we were the last to board?Are they in compartments further ahead?"

"Mawe only Pack-Mule and I are here. And no one has passed us ahead".

"Shit!!!..wait there then. I will call you when I know something".

I relayed the news. WHAT ON EARTH HAD HAPPENED? WHERE WERE THE OTHERS?KAANTA HAD RELAYED THE NEWS ABOUT THE PLATFORM TO EVERYONE.Another call confirmed it. The rest were stranded on third platform itself. I looked at my mobile. It showed 'DS calling'..

"Hello"it was DK Bose/Trekker on the other end."is DS with you guys?"

"What do you mean? You are calling from his mobile and you ask me where he is?He is not here. Isn't he supposed to be with you guys?"

"No he is not here. His mobile is with me. So he cannot call any of us. I thought he would be with you guys".

More drama. WHERE ON EARTH WAS DS?Kaanta had had enough.

"You guys go on. I will gather the others and follow somehow" he looked out. The train was pulling out and we were among a lot of criss-crossed tracks. It must have been somewhere on the outers of Lucknow railway yards. We were moving slowly. Kaanta jumped out onto the tracks and was lost in the darkness. I felt more respect for this guy.

In the middle of the night we regrouped us and Chachan and PM. They told us that DS had been found with the others. We went to sleep. Dude would be joining us from Moradabad. We were to be awake to show him the compartment. I don't know what woke me a few miles off Moradabad. I woke up Chachan and we had tea as the train rolled into Moradabad. The others were asleep. We saw Dude as the train rolled in and shouted out to him. As the train stopped he didn't appear among the crowd that rushed in.

"What's taking this idiot so long?"

Dude reappared at the window."Why aren't you guys getting out?"

"What the hell are you saying? Get in you idiot before the train leaves" I was sick of everything and didn't want further weirdness.

"What are you saying? DS told me I was to wait with you guys here in Moradabad?"

"We are going to Roorkee you idiot. What are you blabbering" By now the others had woken up.

"Iam saying the truth. DS asked me to wait with you guys here"

Ration-Kada took my mob and called DS. After a few minutes he bellowed.

"Everyone out! They are on a train right behind us. And it doesn't go to Roorkee. We have to wait for them here".

There was a mad scramble for shoes(damn them hunter shoes.They were always hard to be worn in a jiffy.),socks and our luggage. Within seconds four stunned guys and Dude stood on the platform with the luggage as the train started to pulled out. It was lucky that Chachan and I had been awake to see Dude and to get him to spurt out the news. WHY ON EARTH HADN'T SOMEONE CALLED US AND TOLD US ABOUT THIS IN THE FIRST PLACE? Maybe our mobiles were out-of-reach. Within an hour the other train arrived and the whole gang was together. We boarded a bus to Haridwar where Kaanta2 was to join us. We hired a bus from Haridwar to take us all the way to Uttarkashi, picking up the 'senior' gang on the way at Rishikesh.
A word upfront about the bus-drivers and conductors in Uttarakhand. They are about as devoid of a sense of humour as donkeys are of intelligence. I have never seen such sullen,surly idiots. I wonder where they have lost that precious factor. Maybe with each bump that their rickety buses take enroute, some of their brains and their sense of humour is knocked out.
We were enjoying the ride now, cutting jokes, even with the bus conductor trying his maximum to make the environ as sullen as the insides of his dull brain. We watched the beautiful countryside slip by and the bus started winding up the hills towards Uttarkashi. Valleys slipped by and we saw the Ganga far below winding down the valley. Grinding down hill-sides, twisting,turning, churning, in a hurry to get somewhere. Turbulent waters and torrid. The hill-sides were beautiful and everywhere there were beautiful flowers blooming. We passed a few suspension bridges too. Wonderful specimens of engineering.

CATS HAVE NINE LIVES...US?
The bus was taking a tight right-curve high up in the hills when we felt a violent shake and felt it come to an abrupt halt. The initial notion was that the driver had applied sudden brakes-for what we didn't know. We scrambled out of the bus and only then did we realise what had happened. The bus was indeed taking a turn, but as it had done so a bolt from the steering-assembly had fallen off and instead of steering it had headed straight off the road. The violent jerk we felt was not the brakes-the driver explained that he didn't get any feedback from the brakes; it was the bus hitting a cornerstone on the road and it had taken the full impact of the bus. The stone had split open and the bus lay with a wheel over the ravine below. It was a deadly drop down to the ravine, far,far below. But for God's grace there wouldn't have been enough left of us to put into coffins. I felt a cold chill down my spine. I thanked God that I was still alive.
"Aaaaawwwesome!!" that was the giggly chick who had laughed hysterically all the way. I wondered whether this idiot even knew what had happened or whether she cared to find out. Or was it that her vocabulary was limited to 'awesome' and 'chooo chweet'? She jumped out of the bus and proceeded to laugh hysterically and walked down the road with her seemingly lost-his-head boy-friend.
We sat on the road-side. The driver started to wrestle with a wrench. My attention turned to a 'trendy' baba who had moved over and sat on a stone further up the road. He had straight, white hair and beard, wore a pair of dark spectacles and had on Aiwa head-phones. Probably was a pilgrim. But it amused us to see a 'trendy' baba. Meanwhile the driver was huffing and puffing with the wrench. I knew nothing of steering-assemblies and stayed out of it. After a while we noticed 'trendy' baba had joined the driver and within a few minutes had the steering ready.
"What if the bolt again goes loose. Iam not getting back on this bus" it was an anxious passebger airing his views.
"Arre, you wouldn't understand it is being further strengthened by a double-nut. It will never come out. It is a matter of engineering, you wouldn't understand. I can assure you that you will come to no harm because of it" that was the baba talking.
I felt new respect for the man. He single-handedly gets the steering assembly ready and now he talks engineering too. This must be some learned person on a pilgrimage. I walked upto him as we were getting onto the bus and shook his hand.
"Thank you for everything".
"Why are you thanking me for?"baba asks
"Well for what you have done. What do you do? I mean normally"it semed stupid to ask a baba what he did. But I had to know who this man was.
"What I do? What I do is what you had to do and failed to do"
I wished I could evaporate. I had been in this position before too where I was found lacking in practical engineering knowledge. Its alright to be speaking of stress and fluid flows but if you have to call a mechanic to figure out what is wrong with your car I figure you make an oaf of an engineer. I had tried to bridge the gap before but it never was enough. I still had his hand in my grasp and it felt uncomfortable. All I wanted was to be miles away from this situation. My head hung in shame. I could see my friends noticing my predication and a few diving away to escape the same fate.
"Let this be a wakening call for you"the baba proceeded.I nodded.
"What is your name sir?" I simply had to know.
"My name?Why do you want to know my name? You would forget it after sometime anyway"
"No I won't. Not after what has happened anyway"
"What is in a name? A name is just a puff of air, right? A puff of air that is here now and then gone. If you want, to remember a name, remember always the name of God if you can-if you can......."
We shook hands on that and climbed back onto the bus, the words of the baba ringing in my ears. I returned to the teasing looks of my friends but those words rung in my ears far thence. I still remember them now and a promise to myself still pending...
We continued on our way and reached Uttarkashi after a break enroute where we had hot pakodas and tea. It was night by the time we reached Uttarkashi and we trudged up to our rooms and feel asleep...