I try to look into the left mirror to check the rear, but I can only see Rajdeep’s t-shirt. I adjust it on the move and ride ahead.
The traffic has now thinned, the traffic lights are gone and there are manned highway crossings near the villages which are buzzing with early morning activities. There are bazaars which are being set up, a rickshaw cart ships hay and there are trucks resting on the road sides. All of these look stationery, as we ride past them.
On a highway I love the trucks the most. They move steadily and dont complain.
Whereas it is the buses which honk and whine.
I love the white cars, which look bright in the sunlight.And then there are the oversized trailers,which, when you overtake, you seem to be doing for a long time.
I ride the motorcycle at a moderately steady pace and it must have been quite a while that I last changed gears.And then as I think about it I see a culvert rising ahead.
The clouds beyond the bridge have turned dark and heavy.I know that both of us are thinking about the impending rain. Being on a motorcycle and during the monsoon season we were hardly left with a choice.Speeding up was not supposed to help as the rain territory was up ahead and needed to ride through it.And staying put would have slowed down our progress even further.
We pause briefly while keeping the engine running.
“Shall we ride ahead?”, I ask.
“Yes”, Rajdeep eggs on as we resume the ride.
Once in a while we see milestones that indicate that we are around 1900 kms(and it keeps changing) from Bombay.Actually, the road that we are on is the Calcutta – Bombay road and which, most know to be one of the elements of the Golden Quadrilateral. It moves down South from Kharagpur and branches into NH60, which in turns connects to the NH5 to Chennai.
The ride has not stopped.
Nor have the clouds rained.
Apparently our decision to ride ahead was prudent.
We are drawing to a close of the first part of this narrative as I can see Kolaghat’s Sher-e-Punjab on the opposite side of the highway.But to reach the place we need to take an exit around a kilometer from where we are and then turn back.
The parking lot appears crowded and we get to park in a corner. We clean up the layers of dust from our faces and look up for a seat and wait until we find one.
