Late night fiasco, Part- II

...Continued

THE JOURNEY

Villagers (in chorus): We told you not to go there. At last you came back to us.
Me: Big deal! No problem whatsoever. We're going back home.
Villager1: Come on. Don't give up so fast. We'll take you to the place you all have come to see.
Villager2: Yeah yeah. We'll take you there. You don't even have to pay us until we get you'll there safely.
Villager1 (pointing towards the hill): Can you see people with flashlights on top? We took them there.
Me: Where? I don't see anybody. Is something wrong with my eyes?
Me (beckoning to Sankarsh): Dude come let's get the hell out of here before they strip us threadbare (Old Suresh Gopi dialogue) in the jungles with their weapons and stuff.

As we all stood there contemplating on how to scoot from the clutches of the two morons in front of us, the headlight from the distance reappeared all of a sudden. They had been stalking us for so long and had probably realised what was happening. The villagers fled towards the fields by the roadside, figuring out their game was up. The cops, instead of pursuing us, took a nosedive with their bikes into the fields (an unusual, unmissable feat). This gave us time to escape from the place ASAP.

With our hearts beating faster than it would have if even the voluptuous Kim Kardarshian was to stand in front of us wearing skimpy clothes, we headed towards the exit. It would have been a totally different story if the cops had taken off to pursue us instead. I could notice the fear on everybody's face.

The best suggestion I could make was to tell everybody to get home immediately and catch up on some sleep, but, except for Khader, there were no takers for it. They all wanted to roam some more. So, the next best suggestion I could make was to go to Nandi Hills, around 20 km from there. I knew the fort gates weren't going to be open until six in the morning, but we had no choice. If not Skandagiri for sunrise, then at least the good old Nandi Hills we thought.

Another short break for snacks, another fuel fill-up in Sankarsh's bike and another session of discussing the agenda later, we found ourselves on the winding roads which led us to the top. It was almost 3 am as we reached somewhere near curve 35  (of around 48), where another unexpected event awaited us.

Around a dozen bikes and half a dozen cars came stampeding downhill shouting what we least expected to hear. All we could hear was- Cops! Cops! Cops! As if the cops were after their blood like some freaking mutated vampires. Well, we poor souls had no other option but to follow suit. The herd mentality among us Indians is unprecedented I must say. Also, we had no intention of getting beaten black and blue on our derrières for no fault of ours (though we were not sure why they should do this to us).

On reaching the foothills, I casually asked one of the shopkeepers why such a ruckus is being created by the cops. He said it was all because some miscreants had created some problems a few days ago on the hills. The guy also mentioned an event that happened in front of him where a car turned turtle while manoeuvring at high speeds. The forest department too was extra cautious about people entering the hills at such odd hours.

"The price innocent people like us have to pay for the misdeeds done by some overexcited eccentric hooligans" I thought. Turning such a calm, conducive place into something which needed police protection 24/7. The cops just seemed to be so ubiquitous in these parts of the district.

So, to say the least, this is how our ambitious night (mis)adventure turned from disaster to double disaster in a few hours.

THE RETURN

Well, with sleep getting the better of us, we had to leave for home sweet home. A novel way to waste a lovely weekend, we concluded. Vowing never to indulge in such spontaneous, erratic stupidity, I took over the bike from Sankarsh. As we entered city limits I realised the bike behaving in a funny manner. It tut-tutted to a halt for err- any guesses? Yes, the fuel was over once again!!!!! That too at five in the morning.

A perfect garnish to the dish of hopelessness (as if the dish itself wasn't enough) that we had churned out staying awake the entire night. What a way to end it. A total fiasco!!!

  **THE BEGINNING**