‘Wake up, wake up, wake up. It’s a brand new day, wake up wake up wake up. It’s a beautiful day, wake up…’ alarmed my annoying mobile at 4 AM. On any other given day right after 2 ‘Wake up’ calls the device would have ended up at the service center. But today was something special, not a whimsical wish, however, a journey that had my peace of mind for the past few days. An encounter with the 2700 ft. pilgrim site called Pavagadh (World heritage site) had become an ultimatum.
Add to that who doesn’t like a chocolate topping over simple vanilla ice cream? Everyone likes something extra, right?! For the same reason, I decided to reach my ambitious destination through my cycle & climb to the peak barefooted. There was still a problem: How the hell was I going to get the permissions of my parents? I decided not to ponder it & keep them in dark while drifting towards a morning walk, a big morning walk!
I escaped my messed up room & home like a ghost with my bag & some essential stuffing. Carrying mobile, camera, I-pod, 3 bananas, a water bottle (leaked one), a book, a pen, Rs.100 & ATM card seemed like I had all the perfect components to come back in 1 piece. Just like that, I bolted on my vehicle like a cyclist on Tour De France. Astonishingly the dog, newspaper & milkman were all wide awake to do their job by now. Especially the barking dog that practices singing 24*7, typical wannabe singer.
It was quarter to 5, an Indian chilly morning & believe me if Lance Armstrong was there he would be proud of my speed. The one thing that scared the hell out of me was those drunken truck drivers, their driving pattern as straight as a zigzag puzzle. I seriously didn’t want the next day newspaper head line to be “INNOCENT TEENAGER RAMMED BY GOD KNOWS WHO”. I tried to concentrate on my I-pod and the song ‘By your side’ by Tokio hotel. Talking about dark nights, I had no idea where I was heading & this is maybe what they called pitch black nightfall. But the sight over my head was breath-taking & so friendly. I never knew that moon could be that large & stars so bright, numbers obviously well beyond my mathematical knowledge. The hairs on my body tilted making me wonder if I was becoming Super Saiyan??? Nah, but I was getting in sync with nature or so I would like to assume….
“Phaaat” cried the front tire & I fell ass to the sky & head under the ground. Just kidding but the cycle was punctured due to rough driving on the bumpy road. I felt betrayed & whined like a kid whose lollipop was stolen. My sight, dream & vision were all blurring but the I-pod now dismantled from my ear in speaker mode yelling “Kings & Queens” by TSTM. Wasting less than a moment to tie up my cycle, I ran with all my belongings towards the destined location. Bolt ya watching me?
I reached the willing destination but still had a mountain to climb. I decided to sit at the infamous place & later get my cycle fixed. But for now I had this sight for which a book would be undersized to describe, so let picture tell the story…
