Day 2. No Lassi. Just Rajeev Darling!

TOYOTA Leh Jayenge
Day 2. Udhampur
Lassi Ki Talash
16th May 2010 Sunday.

No Lassi. Just Rajeev Darling!

A night at Hotel Jewel in Karnal revived all of us, especially since all of us slept well. Day 2 was a Sunday so we took it easy since the roads would be relatively free of the usual traffic. We were up at 7 am and ready by 8 am. After a light breakfast we were all set to leave by 8.15 am.

Leg 1. At the Wheel N.K.

Nisheeth was the first to take the wheel and we hit the Karnal to Ambala highway. Shekhar had rearranged the luggage space and got rid of the extra boxes and stuff that was redundant.

However, as we left,our navigator Shekhar scanning the route map casually mentioned that Kurukshetra was on our way to Ambala, barely an hour from Karnal. Vijay and Nisheeth in unison expressed their desire to catch up with mythology so we had a consensus and took a detour to enter the hallowed surrounds of what is folklore in mythology……….Kurukshetra, the battle ground of the fabled Mahabharata. Owned by King Kuru and identified by Lord Krishna when a farmer killed his son and used his body to block a breached dam, the ideal spot for the Kauravs and Pandavs to confront in battle, an epic of unparalelled proportions. We hired a guide and asked him to take us on a whirlwind tour which he did. We visited Akshay Vraksh vatika, which supposedly has immortal trees aging 5000 years plus, under which Lord Krishna shared his jewels with Arjun. We then visited the Brahma Sarovar where Lord Brahma emerged and created the world. This was followed by a visit to Ban Ganga, where Arjun shot an arrow into the ground to get water for Bhishma Pitamah.

The temple of the Ban Ganga had a huge statue of Lord Hanuman, at the entrance which was imposing and impressive. The visit was a diversion well worth it. Some pictures were taken by Vijay, Nisheeth and me for the record.

Nisheeth by now had consumed most of his two hours and was still upset with the way traffic treated him, despite being a Sunday. The widening was still continuing on this stretch so we were crisscrossing just like the oncoming traffic. Since breakfast was frugal, we opened up the packed goodies given by our spouses and thoroughly enjoyed the Mann ( jaggery pancakes) and the Laiya
( Puffed Rice masala). By 11 am or so we were almost at Ambala and I took over the wheel.

Leg 2. At the Wheel K.C.

It was a hot day, with temperatures touching 45 degrees plus. But thanks to the cool confines of our amazing Fortuner which has a multi ducted, very efficient Air Conditioning system, we were quite oblivious of the vagaries outside. I was fortunate with the road conditions as almost the entire stretch spanning cities like Sirhind, Ludhiana and Phagwara was connected with sprawling highways. This is the engineering and Textile belt of Punjab. The radio FM reception was erratic on the highway,so Shekhar switched the music to some amazing and pulsating stuff, ranging from Dire Straits, CCR, Santana, Doors, Madonna, Abba, Cliff, BoneyM and more! The road was good. The music was even better and I had fun at the wheel, touching 150 km an hour on the wide and clean highway stretches. Sunday helped as traffic was sparse. The Fortuner truly responded and drove like a dream. The amazing thrust while overtaking is testimony of its powerful 3 liter Diesel engine.

As we crossed Ludhiana, we spotted a Monte Carlo Hosiery and Woolen factory outlet. It looked interesting so we stopped to have a look. And in the bargain, picked up some very reasonable woolens, loungewear and tops for ourselves and our respective spouses. Since the highway stretches were still clean and we had lost time in Kurukshetra, we decided to press on and I was enjoying the music and the drive so although my two odd hours were up, we decided to switch when we stopped for lunch. Nisheeth wanted to have Lassi ( Yogurt shake) desperately which can actually make you drowsy and lethargic. But since he had completed his ‘shift’ he could well afford to! However despite our serious and persistent search en route we couldn’t find the right place for the Lassi so we settled for stopping at the Orchid Cabana Hotel on the highway, between Phagwara and Jalandhar. The property was new and beautiful. The ambience was pristine and the break did us good. The surrounds were so inviting that trigger happy Vijay wanted to use his camera skills to have a photo session which included the supermodels……….us that is……..some bonsai’s, stemmed glasses and the waiters jacket as a backdrop! Figure that out yourself!

The spouses were keeping track of our movements and missing being with us. Then Nisheeth ( over a fabulous lunch of Chicken Khurchan, Meat khara masala and some arhar dal ) wanted to share his thoughts on this ‘men only ‘ trip. He said he had done it for the first time and was loving it. Asked if he missed having his wife he went into a hilarious philosophical discourse which had us in splits. It was something to with tiffin carriers and you would have to ask him what he meant! Some of this was cleverly captured on tape in a string operation by yours truly! Post Lunch it was Shekhar to take over and we left just after 3.30 pm. Nisheeth was still deprived of his lassi which he still figured would be available at some ‘Haveli’ food court down the road but that was not to be as it never appeared. So Nisheeth never got to drink the potent white stuff.

Leg 3. At the wheel, S.W.

This was the stretch from Jalandhar to Pathankot, about 120 Km and we had to get off the highway at Jalandhar to get on to the state highway which was also under extensive expansion. What amazed all of us throughout our drive in some parts of Haryana and all of Punjab, was the very serious focus on highway development and the war footing on which the job has been undertaken.

The single carriage stretch on the state highway however was very frustrating as we had to tail slower trucks, buses and other forms of traffic. However Shekhar deftly maneuvered the black beauty which powered on over undulated road surfaces, unmetalled patches and more. Sitting at the back were Nisheeth and Vijay, were not quite enjoying the proceedings. While they were being shaken and stirred at the same time ( unlike Bond’s Martini), they held on for dear life and asked for the music to be toned down as the faster it got the faster they were being tossed around. Maybe the Caribbean music got to Shekhar at the wheel!

Vijay was craving for his black sugarless coffee and we for our tea and then the oasis appeared. A Nirulas, just on the outskirts of Pathankot around 6.15 pm. A few bumps and back breaking jumps later we were there with Vijay crawling out of the back checking if all his bones were intact! It was a happy and colourful outlet
( perhaps due to it being a Sunday) and we ordered our respective beverages, with Shekhar opting for a Chip Chocolate ice cream. The staff at the Nirula’s outlet was headed by one Rajeev, who would actually put Bobby Darling to shame! And when we asked if we could take photographs, he promptly checked his(?) cap, and cozied up to Vijay for a group. Wonder if the ‘Very Sexy’ plastered on Vijay’s back had anything to do with that!

It was getting dark and we were entering J&K so we decided to leave thereafter without wasting time.

Leg 4. At the Wheel, V.S.

We crossed over into J&K just after Nirula’s and had to show the Vehicle papers and Driving license to the border authorities, this being a high risk area. The initial 10 minutes were toughest on the SUV and for Vijay at the wheel. There was a non existent road, apparently under repair and the potholes also appeared from nowhere. The apathy and abject poverty, as we crossed into the state was apparent and visible. However full marks to the SUV for shielding us from the aftershock of the surface we were traveling on . The suspension and road holding ability is to be commended.
It had now become dark and there was no illumination. The road meandered into half made and unmade stretches, which tested Vijay’s driving skills to the full. He did a great job and considering his was the toughest stretch of the day, didn’t mind doing what he was. We took a turn at Samba, from the highway we were on, leading to Jammu. This was a sort of by pass to Udhampur our final destination for the day. While it was a winding hill road, we had to miss out on the scenic surrounds as it was pitch dark. The road as before, was bad, with large patches of unpredictable surfaces. Shekhar and me tried to figure out for the first time, how the GPS worked and while we did mange to get a hang of it, realized it was not the best to have on board. Some of the info being displayed was incredulous, so we let it be. We would probably test it on the next stretch as so far the signage and Shekhar’s navigation skills was adequate to guide us along.

We finally made it to Udhampur at 9.30 pm and looked around for a decent place to eat. It being a Sunday, it was all quiet and peaceful. We spotted a small Hotel with a Restaurant ( Samrat) and settled for some Tandoori Chicken and Butter Chicken for the Dinner menu. A sidelight was the T-20 finals which were being telecast on the television set in the lobby. While we watched Australia precarious against England, we saw some late stage heroics after they were 8 for 3!

We then headed for the Officers mess in the Military Hospital campus where we were scheduled to stay for the night. Vijay’s old friend and schoolmate, general AK Singh in Lucknow had helped work this out and Col Bajpai was ready and waiting when we arrived at 10.30 pm. He also had his roots in Lucknow ( Kanya Kubj College lineage) so we chatted on a few common subjects before we thanked him for the courtesy and apologized for spoiling his Sunday evening. We got two very comfortable suites and after watching England overwhelm Australia with a comfortable victory, retired for the day. A wonderful cool breeze which was blowing translated into good weather for the morning and first at the wheel tomorrow, I was looking forward to the day ahead!