Chronicles of Himachal, Ch-2

The tragedy
The bus was ready and so were the people inside. I could feel the rush inside of me. Standing outside the door, I gazed at the stairs. They were covered with blue carpet. I stepped inside the bus. It had a peculiar smell, smell of adventure perhaps. It was around 8 in the night, when the engine roared and we took off towards our destiny. Was it good or was it bad, it was yet to be discovered. 

I sat with Khando, a girl with an independent mind and a sanctified soul. Her experience and knowledge made her the perfect candidate for the Columbus of our ship. Behind me was Verma. Her look was just a cover, for what she was capable of could instill fear in people. Beside her was Tanya, the girl with the power of persuasion. Her voice was an enchantment which could make men believe that sun can rise from the west. On our right was Indirayani. Her strength, both physical and mental was unbeatable. She was our Iron Lady. Lastly, I was there.

On our way the bus stopped for a break. By this time we were out of Delhi, on a highway, savoring food that we always dreamt to have together. Our platter had rice, curry, chappati, rasgulla, and everything nice. Then we filled up our stock with candies and bubblegums, a basic necessity and went back to the bus and on our way to Himachal.

At 1 in the night while everyone was asleep, the bus stopped for refueling. Since I and Verma were awake and hungry again, we grabbed a cup of vanilla ice-cream from a nearby stall. As we stepped outside we could feel the cold breeze right on our face, a reminder that we were approaching our destination.

The bus seat was comfortable but unlike others I found myself in a position where I could not sleep no matter how hard I tried. So I gave up on sleeping only to become a protector to all the four sleeping beauties.

It was 2 in the night. Out of the blues, the bus stopped again, but this time in a police station. On its entrance gate the board read " Punjab Police, Kurali". Must be a routine check, I thought. The time passed but the bus was still there. After a few minutes the air conditioners stopped and the mosquitoes buzzed with happiness. The passengers inside were in deep sleep. The deathly silence was at first disconcerting, but as the time passed this silence broke. A few people now started realizing that something was not right. They went down to check what it was, for the bus to stop for so long. Although I was a silent observer witnessing everything, I had no intention of getting down the bus and into the darkness awaiting outside. Instead I went to the driver. "My master is on his way. There is nothing to worry about." he said. With this I went back to my seat. I turned around, only to find that Verma had her eyes wide open. She asked me what happened and I told her what I knew. We waited for an hour, but nothing changed. We went to the driver again. He kept on repeating - "My master will come and will get us out of this place".  Now we were worried. The driver pretended to know nothing and we were left in uncertainty.

It was 6 in the morning. Now everyone was awake and on their toes. Although there were many people on the bus; a college group, a family and some solo travelers, none of them had any information about last night. The 5 of us were anxious and went to the driver, this time with a plan to interrogate him firmly. He had no answer. All that he said was "My master will come and get us freed". His words were just the same every time. We were aggrieved at the situation and at the nasty driver who pretended to know nothing. We reckoned that it was useless to talk to him so we went to the policemen this time. They were nice people. "We regret that this is happening but the rules are meant to be followed. We can not let the bus leave until he pays Rs 56000 fine. The driver is not licensed. All we can do is offer a cup of tea to all the fellow travelers." they said. Now this was interesting. One our very first trip, we were caught by the police, who offered us tea. A memory that can not faint for the rest of our lives. The hot cup of tea was indeed refreshing and a perfect way to start this extraordinary day. 

We knew waiting in the police station would not bring us any fruit. We had already wasted a lot of time. The five of us, along with another college group of 10 students decided that we will leave and take local bus to travel till we reach Himachal. At first, the thought of leaving the safe ambience of the police station was a bit daunting but we were left with no choice so we took off for another adventure, a life-changing one this time...