1200 KMS IN 24 HOURS - CREATING MIND BODY FUSION!

I have often worked with extremities in my life. Most of them were crazy and the crazier they got - the more I respected myself. How much my mind could take? And how much my body could take? Foolhardiness comes easy to children and youth - it is the elixir of joy for many - as it was for me. But, trying to do at 56 - many would think I had gone bananas. I, however, prefer to eat them.

An opportunity came to traverse the northern Karnataka. I didn't miss it. My scorpio moves like a gazelle - I think it has fused its functions with my mind. I drive it subliminally and at the end of every journey I observe that I DIDN'T DRIVE AT ALL.

We left at 1 a.m. and we were in Chitradurga at 4 a.m. The drive was a breeze. As we moved into the Chitradurga - Solapur road; the lorries travelling kept increasing. But it wasn't much of a bother - you soon get acclimatised to such vagaries and take them in your stride. Just before Bijapur a traffic jam developed up. We were delayed by almost one hour. Someone told me - sometimes these last hours or even one day. A chill went up my spine. So this is one problem with this highway. But the wonderful co-operation of the lorry drivers saw it cleared through very quickly - and that is a plus point. By 11am we reached our destination.

We started back from KAGGODU - the village near Bijapur, which we had visited, by 3pm. We decided that we will travel back to Bangalore - via Hubli, in effect adding 100 Kms to our route. Initially the road looked wonderful - but then at places it was totally ruined. And we had to go through the small towns [as no bye-passes have been built yet]. We reached Hubli by 6-15pm and had to again pass through the city.
Initially it was very fine road - then came the problems - at many places the road doubling work is being done - two railway crossings cause traffic jams. Time slowly crawled on us - as at times we moved at a snail's pace. The most discomforting thing was the sign DIVERSION AHEAD is improperly placed. At some places, it is just at the juncture and sometimes deep inside. So, in effect destroying the purpose for which it is put.

My colleague, Raja, thought it was time for supper at 9pm. The dal fry and the egg burji is usual for us at Dhabas. The tea was good. As time passed, sleep tried to catch up on me. I stopped for two short naps of 5 minutes each - but they didn't help much. So I took a power nap of ONE HOUR and the last 120 Kms were a breeze. At 3-15 am I reached home and the speedometer read 1198 Kms. I remember, while I was driving the last phase of my drive - SOMEONE PATTED MY BACK AND SAID `WELL DONE'. I suddenly understood I had the energy to go out and seek more challenges. It was the perfect fusion of my mind and body.