So after days of waiting finally I got to go live my vacations! Until a photo-shoot. Not that I didn’t like it, its something I would love to do as my days job, but then cant for now. ‘Commitments’ as we call hold you down!

Anyways, vacation was to start from 27^th November and go on till 7^th Dec. A good nearly 10 days! But just the day before on 26^th I was asked if I could help with a photo-shoot, you can’t deny what you like to do. So a Yes! Went all the way and I went to office next day. Wrapped up within half a day and headed back towards home.

I wanted to head Coorg, 26^th night, use the entire ten days. But then this happened and another. My relatives at whose place I was supposed to go and stay, they came over to our place for a wedding and shopping. Brilliant :|.
Now technically I can’t go to Coorg. Until 29^th as the wedding was on 29^th.
Wow! This was already turning upside down.

So 1^st Dec was when I could actually travel. Well did I just sound too easy there! Well then the fun was about to begin. To be specific it slowly began from the previous night i.e. 30^th November. All were happy, laughing loud and carefree, if only they knew what was coming up.

Cousin Sis with full confidence had asked us to reject night travel and take the earliest bus the next morning. And also assured Oh! Don’t worry there are plenty of cabs available to take you to Bus stop! All were glad with that assurance.
Slowly she started saying as the night grew darker, oh it seems all the cabs are pre-booked and hardly available.
Wow!!

This is where my other lil cousin and I started calling up all the numbers available in the directory to book cabs, while the elder cousin leaves the home assuring, Don’t Worry! :| yeah right!
Finally lil one got hold of one cab facility, at about 10pm, and asked for rates and timings. Fixed a cab at about 4 in the morning. Glad we were that finally some means were booked otherwise we had to look around whom to catch to drop us that early morning to bus stop!!
Phewww!! That was Close!
Or wait!!!

Alarm went off at 3 am. Thanks Sis for doing this, as such morning sleeps were hardly any, cancelling the night travel just made it cherry on top. I honestly didn’t wake up on my brighter side. But anyways good that cab was coming and I thought I could catch few winks before getting on the bus.

3:30am all were up and sipping coffee. As I glided over my casio, it flashed 3:45am. Came out rubbing my hands, Bangalore is getting chilled compared to previous years. I liked it. I like Winters. Took out my cell.

Beep beep beep…..dialling!!

Yesssss….. (after a long ring) a man answered on the other side with a sleepy head. By the way our Bus was at 5:45am, but we had told him our bus is at 5:15am for obvious reasons.

I said…We had booked a cab for early morning 4am around. We are yet to hear from the cab driver.

Ok ok! We will send one. Hang up!

(I was like what the &*%#!! )

Looked at watch and we were still out of harm’s way. But you can’t offer this patience to old ones. Dad came out after about ten minutes, probably his military mind calculated while sipping over coffee that something wasn’t right. I gave him a look, and just as I did, I received a message with driver details.

Call up Mr. Driver. He sounded very much like a drunk kannada movie villain, No Kidding! Felt as if I called him up by mistake, for I had woken him up from his favorite sleep.

Aah! Who is this (in kannada)??
I go (in kannada)…We had booked a cab for 4 and its already 4:15am. Where are you??
Ohh!
(umm... I could use more than Ohh! :|)

Can you please hurry a bit, we have a bus to catch at 5:15am.

Saar! (sir in kannada) I’ll start from Ulsoor in ten minutes and can reach in twenty minutes.

(you son of a gun :|) I still played it like God gave me pills of peace! Assured Dad he’s gonna be here in sometime, considering even if he is half hour from now we could make it to the bus stop. It was about 25-30 mins from our place.

Out of ‘peaceful’ curiosity dialed in again, after about half hour I gave a call asking for the drivers co-ordinates.

Aah!

Where are you, we’re waiting for you!

Saar! I got a call from Cab agency that cab has been cancelled!!

CANCELLED! (you son of ... cursed out loud inside)

Beep beep beep…dialing agency…

I go…What is this Nonsense!!? Who cancelled the cab..

Saar!someone….we got a request for cancelling so we cancelled…!!

You idiots, is this how you work, just wait to see how I am gonna write the reviews of your cab agency over internet!!
(are the exact words that came out)

Gods was still with me and I had still, his pills with me. I was strangely calm still, not that I go breaking things otherwise but yes I was in control I felt.

Dad was...well!! Don’t bother to ask…

He goes, you just give me those idiots number I will take them for a ride. That was for later. 

But now we had to find a ride for the time was exact 5 when I had seen at my wrist.

At times on the main road there are few cabs or taxis parked to be hired. I gunned for the road, Dad ran for his Scooty. By the time Dad made it to the street I had flagged down two cabs with No’s from them. We asked few more, not one was ready to leave their morning dreams!!!

Looked at Dad!
Dad, how about I ride us to the Bus stop and you could come back home by local bus and then later come along with someone and drive the car back home. 

Dad gave a look of ‘We got no other choice’!!

Scooty was a race horse now. By the time we made it home, all my aunties (relatives) were out with their luggage. Tapped on my Punto baby and said let’s do it!! Luckily tank was more than half and was happy my luck wasn’t that bad.

Time: 5:10am

Happy again that it was early morning and less traffic! Cursed the cab guys one last time and then clutched the gear…!!

Am sorry Bangalore traffic police guys for I had jumped the most signals in my entire lifetime for the first time. Thank fully there were no guys from opposite directions. I promise I will never do that again. I promise. (This last part I just made it up :P)

Time was 5:39am when my Punto made it to the bus stop.

Dad hurried the relatives with their luggage to the bus, while I hurried to park the car.

Gave the parking ticket to Dad, waved a Bye!! Off we go!!

Bus wasn’t packed, and so I could use two seats as one ;) had a feeling at the back of the mind that, the start’s been quite interesting, hope it gets better as the morning happens and likewise further up.
And with that I was lost in dreams until a… Stop!!

Contd…!!!