A trip to Chandigarh with family was on the cards for a while now. On Saturday we finally decided that the Sunday must be utilised. To meet the people mentioned here. The drive up north is nothing like the one I made through the UP highways earlier this month. NH 1, 22 and then 21... smooooth it was! Here I also take a moment to thank the people who were behind the completion of the Panipat flyover. Somebody should really bless those souls. That patch used to take a minimum of one hour. Now you don't even get to know when you cross Panipat.
We had left our place at 6:00 am, had our breakfast at one of the dhabas after Karnal, and were at our destination by 11:00 am. My brother believes we lost a minimum of a half hour each way because the driver was too scared to push beyond 90 kmph. And seriously... at one point a merc overtook us from the left while we were at 90ish, and it didn't just overtake, it whooshed past. Must be at least at 140-150 kmph.
Buji and phuphaji were the happiest to see yours truly. Well, to see her whole family to be honest, but of course, I'm even more special now that I reside too far. :P
The two recently became great grandparents. They were delighted to talk about the little baby girl who is actually the first girl in their immediate family.
A nice, elaborate lunch, lots of talks, heat switching to nice rain, and it was time to move back home. The drive was obviously tiring. Dust storm was going crrazy too.
But oh, I have to mention this: I realised that the Volvo drivers' way of honking is very different from that of the Haryana Roadways guys. I mean, I always knew it, but it got registered strong this time. I can now differentiate without having to look. :) And while I am on this topic, I should also mention something that I forgot to write about in the Rishikesh travelogue. During the first traffic jam on our way back, there were a lot of trucks around. We were talking and listening to music when we suddenly heard a LOUD nagin theme music playing somewhere. It took us a moment to figure where it was originating from. It was a truck's horn. The driver did it so flawlessly that we were plain amazed. It was incredible! Talent in the truest sense of the word.
Back to NH 1. I was way too disappointed when I stopped the car to click some massive sunflower fields because all the flowers had turned the other way at that hour. And there were too many bees for me to go too far into the fields for a frame or two. :(
During the entire journey, Pa gave rest to real estate, insurance, relatives, and the works, and went on a trip to his childhood and the farmlands of yesteryears. Some stories I had heard earlier, and many were new too.
The perfectly smooth drive back home got fucked when the driver turned towards Rohini instead of ISBT from Azadpur. Annoying traffic. Lots of it. :|
Still managed to be back by 9:00 pm. Had a yumm day. Monday morning told me that it wasn't that yumm for my back. But whatever. I was happy to have met my favourite people. :-)
We had left our place at 6:00 am, had our breakfast at one of the dhabas after Karnal, and were at our destination by 11:00 am. My brother believes we lost a minimum of a half hour each way because the driver was too scared to push beyond 90 kmph. And seriously... at one point a merc overtook us from the left while we were at 90ish, and it didn't just overtake, it whooshed past. Must be at least at 140-150 kmph.
Buji and phuphaji were the happiest to see yours truly. Well, to see her whole family to be honest, but of course, I'm even more special now that I reside too far. :P
The two recently became great grandparents. They were delighted to talk about the little baby girl who is actually the first girl in their immediate family.
A nice, elaborate lunch, lots of talks, heat switching to nice rain, and it was time to move back home. The drive was obviously tiring. Dust storm was going crrazy too.
But oh, I have to mention this: I realised that the Volvo drivers' way of honking is very different from that of the Haryana Roadways guys. I mean, I always knew it, but it got registered strong this time. I can now differentiate without having to look. :) And while I am on this topic, I should also mention something that I forgot to write about in the Rishikesh travelogue. During the first traffic jam on our way back, there were a lot of trucks around. We were talking and listening to music when we suddenly heard a LOUD nagin theme music playing somewhere. It took us a moment to figure where it was originating from. It was a truck's horn. The driver did it so flawlessly that we were plain amazed. It was incredible! Talent in the truest sense of the word.
Back to NH 1. I was way too disappointed when I stopped the car to click some massive sunflower fields because all the flowers had turned the other way at that hour. And there were too many bees for me to go too far into the fields for a frame or two. :(
During the entire journey, Pa gave rest to real estate, insurance, relatives, and the works, and went on a trip to his childhood and the farmlands of yesteryears. Some stories I had heard earlier, and many were new too.
The perfectly smooth drive back home got fucked when the driver turned towards Rohini instead of ISBT from Azadpur. Annoying traffic. Lots of it. :|
Still managed to be back by 9:00 pm. Had a yumm day. Monday morning told me that it wasn't that yumm for my back. But whatever. I was happy to have met my favourite people. :-)
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