Day 3. The Mystery of the MISSed Calls!

TOYOTA Leh Jayenge
Day 3. Srinagar
The Mystery of the MISSed Calls!
17th May 2010 Monday.

Whose call was it anyways?!

What a lovely morning it was! The serene environ of the Officer’s Mess at Udhampur was worth getting up to. The sky was overcast and the heavenly breeze augured a beautiful day ahead. Thanks to Colonel Bajpai’s hospitality we enjoyed a sumptuous breakfast of freshly made Masala Omlettes served in the rooms in true army style.

Nisheeth who had turned in early for inexplicable reasons the previous night got up leisurely and asked me what I was doing up so early. I told him it was all about slogging and blogging!I was loving all this as the weather was so inspiring.

Nisheeth ventured out with video camera to catch some animal action. What he actually captured were some birds and a cat having fun (?)! Any excuse to go after birds would do for him, I guess!

After saying our goodbyes and Thank you’s we had packed our bags and were ready to depart on our first leg for the day, to Batote, en route to Srinagar.

Leg 1. At the Wheel, K.C. ( Kinda Crazy)

The mist was settling in and it was fabulous weather as in the early morning. We left at 9.30 am and headed along the valley overlooking the Tawi river. The valley was green and bedecked with flora and fauna which blended beautifully with the frothy flowing river going downstream. Just an hour away from Udhampur, the view so fascinated us that we had to stop and take some pictures. That’s where I lost my Uninor cap in the breeze and watched it helplessly float down towards the river.
An hour later after crossing the famed Patni Top and Kudh,we spotted a picturesque location to appease the craving of N.K ( Naughty Kid)who wanted tea so we decided to stop. The restaurant , Motimahal International was located at Tringla in Batote. V.S. ( Very Sexy) couldn’t hold himself back when he smelt some fresh Pakoras. They turned out to be the onion kinds and with the light drizzle, seemed to just blend perfectly. The plate ordered was polished in less than a minute. K.C ( Kinda Crazy) then handed over the wheels to S.W. ( Simply Wild) for the second leg. The distance for the entire 3rd days stretch was 240 km and we had aptly decided to switch legs after every 60 kms.

Leg 2. At the Wheel S.W.

The music and Shekhar switched on simultaneously. Then a funny thing happened. Nisheeth got a call but no one spoke. When asked, he said it was a wrong number. Surprisingly this had been happening over the last three days and uncannily, only with him. The mystery of the MISS(ed) calls deepened as it happened yet again! Nisheeth protested that they were blank or calls he preferred not to answer in our presence. We wondered why!

We then entered the Jawahar Tunnel, 2.5 km in length, and emerged only till we saw light at the other end. The road so far had been fine till after the tunnel when the same became slushy and undulated probably because of the heavy snowfall a few weeks earlier. Nisheeth in the meanwhile was hungry again and wanted to stop for lunch and Shekhar said he would, but after the tunnel. Nisheeth was cribbing that that would be too long so Shekhar stepped on the gas pedal much to the chagrin of Nisheeth who agreed to stop and eat at the next good place. Soon after the tunnel though, fortunate for him, we spotted a Punjabi Dhaba overlooking the valley. We were actually all ravenous and lunch was ordered. The menu was Rajma Chawal, Aloo Chola and Egg bhujiya with Parathas laced in ghee and deep fried.But who cared! It all tasted delicious. It had started to rain so we decided to have a strong dhaba cup of tea and then headed forward. Vijay was next on the wheel and we had less than a 100 km to go now, to Srinagar.

Leg 3. V.S. at the Wheel.

Vijay got a straight stretch soon after with beautiful tree lined avenues and with the rain persisting the greenery all around looked inviting. Since we were all enjoying the drive and the music, it suddenly dawned on Shekhar that Nisheeth was to take the wheel next. We stopped and Vijay promptly handed over the wheel and wished Nisheeth luck.

Leg 4. N.K. on the Wheel

Fortune favours the brave and it was another bad day in store for Nisheeth it seemed. After barely 10 kms, we ran into the heavy Srinagar traffic. It was 5 pm and offices had just gotten over, as if waiting for Nisheeth to drive into town. Cursing his way through, we finally made it to Vijay’s daughter and son in law’s
( Raghvendra and Rakhi ) mansion like residence on Gupkar Road, a VIP area, adjoining Farooq Abdullah’s residence.

The weather was chilly now and the rain added to the chill factor. As we got off, it hit us and we scampered to find our woolens. Except Vijay. Nisheeth who was concerned, questioned him as to why he wouldn’t wear something warm, When Vijay replied he was comfortable without it, Nisheeth did some arithmetic and thought he knew the reason. What transpired remains a mystery as well. Garmi kahan se aayi, was his persistent question. Vijay retorted yeh dil ki baat hai!

The house, owned by royalty before, was beautiful inside out. A colonial mansion, huge in size but warm to come to. We were told it was more than a hundred years old. After freshening up we joined Raghvendra and Rakhi and some invited guests who had come for dinner. We added to the evening by presenting them with some Chivas and Absolut to keep the evening warm.
Despite the cold weather, the setting was outdoors and when Vijay walked out, Nisheeth jumped out of his skin when he saw Vijay in a short sleeved T-Shirt while everyone else including the invitees were well clad.And it was 12 degrees Celcius! Vijay again reacted by saying ‘andar ka mamala hai!’

The dinner followed and it was an exotic mix of Kashmiri delights and some amazing desserts. A quick round of liquors signaled the end of the day. It was truly an end to a wonderful day and evening!

The mystery of the MISSed calls and Vijays immunity to cold remains unsolved. More later!