Three principal reasons defined my travel to Bangalore - Drive, Drink and AeroIndia.
As a passionate student of Military History and with an interest towards most things military AeroIndia has long been something I have been wanting to participate. The biennial event sees the best aircrafts of the world come together and is a showcase of cutting edge defense technologies. I could not get the tickets for AeroIndia 2009 and had to watch the flying displays from near the Yelahanka lake. This year I was determined to visit the AeroIndia in its entirety. Thus I had no qualms in dishing out 1500 bucks for a business visitor pass. Convincing a friend of mine to fork out the same money was also easier as he too turned out to be an aviation enthusiast.
Ever since I was transferred out from Bangalore to my home town of Cochin, I had been under a self imposed dry spell. Thus it was with great anticipation that I was returning to Bangalore, the home of Kingfisher, the land of Vijay Mallya - the beer king of the world.
The drive is simple. Ailing from a severe dose of wanderlust and an almost incurable desire for long distance biking, the 560 km drive from Cochin to Bangalore has been one which I have been musing on for ages and contemplating rather seriously ever since I got my bike in September'10. Having tested out my endurance in progressively longer stretches of ride I had put myself through a regimen of physical fitness to enable me to ride out such a long distance without any physical debilities.
Thus it was that on the morning of 10th February 2011, I started on my drive to Bangalore. After a night of fitful sleep hampered by extreme excitement for the drive I woke up at 3 to find a home in darkness. The power was out, and so was the inverter battery so the morning ablutions and the last minute finishing touches to the packing was done by torch light. After a quick run to the temple to pray for my safety during this drive I finally got ready to leave by 0415.
Saddle bags tied, boots and jacket worn, gloves on, engine idling for a couple of minutes, my drive to Bangalore started at precisely 0430. The odometer reading was at 5735 kms. I had filled the tank to the full two days ago so I was confident of a few hundreds of kilometers without a need for refueling.
The morning drive had been sheer pleasure. Steadily increasing my speed from 45 kmph to around 65 kmph as I left Cochin City boundaries.The good roads and sparse traffic at such an early hour enabled a very pleasant drive. Ripping past usually clogged junctions I soon passed Mannuthy on to the Trichur - Palghat stretch. Advices received from frequent travelers of this road indicated that this would be the worst stretch of the road on the way to Bangalore. However I found it a breeze to drive through and even the Kuthiran pass was crossed quite comfortably swerving past trucks moving at snail pace to cross the pass. Offering a coin to the Sastha temple at Kuthiran, the deity who watches over the travelers of this treacherous mountain pass. By this time dawn was breaking and I took my first halt in more than an hour to take two poor shots of the dawn sky. At the 2 hour mark I had reached Vadakkencherry.
A friend of mine had suggested Vadakkencherry Aaryas and Avinashi Aaryas as ideal halts for breakfast and lunch. Since the Aaryas at Vadakkencherry was not open at 0630 I continued on looking out for some decent eatery. As the dawn broke up into a bright morning I spotted a hotel near Kanjikode with a magnificent view of the sundrenched hills nearby. After a leisurely breakfast and a refueling I set out for the next stop.
Crossing the Walayar Check Post and the final bridge on to Tamil Nadu I was as ever surprised at the shocking change of ecology from Kerala to Tamil Nadu. The dry lands had begun. Driving a bit more cautiously through roads being repaired and widened I finally took the left turning at Ettimada towards the Amrita College of Engineering. A nephew of mine is studying there and I had planned to meet him up at his college. Anyway I am driving down this road. What is a half an hour of deviation to spend time with family?
Literally a prison for its inmates, the Amrita College has multiple gates with sentries and a railway level cross as a secondary barrier. The inmate was standing near the innermost gate of the college and perhaps due to an inter collegiate fest, "Anokhi" being conducted there was able to come to a distance of 20 feet from the gates. While watching out for any wardens or sharp shooters looking to shoot down any inmate trying to escape, I talked to my nephew and was soon on my way. The time was now 0830 and within a short time I reached the L&T Highway bypassing Coimbatore. Accustomed to the dense traffic of Kerala's highways the near empty highways of Tamil Nadu were a welcome change for me. However the joy of driving down this level, straight and near perfect stretch of road was marred very soon on the approached to the town of Avinashi where due to ongoing road widening process a very long stretch of the road was under construction. Traffic was thicker here due to the inter city traffic of buses heading to and from Coimbatore, the short haul trucks working on the road project as also the long distance trucks. Weaving my way in and out slowly for some time I passed Avinashi. Though the eye was on the lookout for the Aaryaas restaurant mentioned earlier, nothing of note was seen.The grueling traffic hampered by road works continued for a few more kilometers out of Erode when suddenly the 4 lane highway started. Now this was a heavenly stretch of road, with proper medians, regular truck lay byes and even neat bus stops! Never having driven through such an excellent stretch of road before I revved my Hunk to a speed of 80 kmph. Hardly any jerks on such an amazingly well laid out tarmac saw me maintaining the speed comfortably. Nearing Tirupur I finally saw the roadside Aaryaas and after a refreshment and toilet break continued my drive.
The long stretches of nearly empty roads are always conducive to pragmatic and philosophical thoughts. When one is driving on one's own such a long drive is one of total solitude. While several people have questioned me on the boredom of riding alone, I have never felt loneliness in solitude. The only fear was that of any accident or mechanical faults which could leave me stranded in want of help, but that is risk I had decided to take, placing faith on God to keep me safe.
The excellent roads, steady speed, sparse traffic, everything kept the ride eventless, however the steadily increasing soreness of one's posterior was starting to make itself felt. With a calculated progress of 50 kms in an hour, I had planned on short water breaks every hour and a longer break every two hour when I would give a status update to my parents. A delicious black coffee at a hut like roadside tea shop sustained me at around 1030 when I passed by Erode. From the plains as I neared Salem the terrain became more and more barren and the rocky hills scattered on the approaches of the Salem gave some interesting scenery.
Driving down the NH47's last few kilometers I entered Salem city at around noon looking for a place for lunch. The sun was excruciatingly hot and the shade of the hotel provided a welcome respite. A light lunch was chased down by two deliciously cool Maaza - mango drink and about a quarter of an hour of rest. Having learned from the manager of restaurant that the way to Bangalore was along the same road as I came from I soon set out for the NH7 stretch of the drive at 1230. The road was again of stellar quality and the placid ride continued with the warm food and cool drinks within giving a steady defense against the sleepiness of driving through such traffic free roads. If the Coimbatore - Salem stretch had been defined by the 50km spaced towns like Avinashi and Erode the 200 km odd road to Bangalore from Salem was defined by 50 km spaced destinations like Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri and Hosur. The drive past the barren rocky landscapes was interesting but the pain in the joints were becoming more and more pronounced now. The 5 Star chocolates which I had stocked up earlier served me well at some of the water breaks. Having read some books about how veteran soldiers are distinguished from novice soldiers based on the contents of their pockets, veterans would have pocket full of chocolates, the novices would have pockets full of bullets, and also having learned about the energy concentration in chocolates which are particularly vital in cold terrains, I had stocked up the chocolates to serve nourishment purposes in case I am in stretches of road with no eateries around.
Nearing Krishnagiri and entering the Golden Quadrilateral road from Chennai to Bangalore I watched with dismay as my fuel tank started edging near empty. The steady speed of 80 kmph which I had maintained from Avinashi onwards had apparently not been quite good for my fuel economy. Realizing it would be absolutely stupid to enter Bangalore City with fuel tank nearing reserves, I decided to tank up at Hosur. By now the legs and buttocks were positively screaming in agony and I spent nearly 10 minutes sitting at the fuel station to rest up my muscles. Leaving Hosur at 1530 I finally neared the outskirts of Bangalore at around 4 PM.
I was quite looking forward to the Elevated Highway going into Bangalore as the sheer prospect of avoiding the extremely crowded Hosur Road was quite welcome. The 15 rupees suer fee is a small price to pay to avoid what used to be an hour of traffic blocks to reach the Silk Board Junction. I did however miss the Silk Board Junction from where I hoped to enter the Outer Ring Road and instead found myself at Madiwala. A quick direction enquiry found me driving down the Sarjapur Road which was familiar to me from my days in Bangalore two years ago. The two years had however changed much of the roadscape but somehow through a sense of the roads which survived for the intervening years I managed to get to Outer Ring Road at Sarjapur Junction. A very literal sense of accomplishment had come over me as I drove past the Salarpuria Softzone and other IT buildings near Bellandur, the sites where I started my professional career. Though reminiscing about those days would bring me trouble from the heavy traffic it was with great joy that I took the U Turn from Marathahalli and drove up Varthur Road to go near my friend's office at Whitefield. At 1630 I reached my friend's office at Whitefield, tired, exhausted, joints all sore, and my face and exposed fingers caked with a blacking residue of the 560 kms of the road I drove through.
The final drive to my friend's house via a myriad of incomprehensible short cuts was naturally excruciating for me, but the prospect of next day's Aero India and the three bottles of Kingfisher Strong Beer I drank up at night gave a pleasant close to a day which was started with much anticipation and saw the anticipation bearing fruition completely.
Driving down the NH47's last few kilometers I entered Salem city at around noon looking for a place for lunch. The sun was excruciatingly hot and the shade of the hotel provided a welcome respite. A light lunch was chased down by two deliciously cool Maaza - mango drink and about a quarter of an hour of rest. Having learned from the manager of restaurant that the way to Bangalore was along the same road as I came from I soon set out for the NH7 stretch of the drive at 1230. The road was again of stellar quality and the placid ride continued with the warm food and cool drinks within giving a steady defense against the sleepiness of driving through such traffic free roads. If the Coimbatore - Salem stretch had been defined by the 50km spaced towns like Avinashi and Erode the 200 km odd road to Bangalore from Salem was defined by 50 km spaced destinations like Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri and Hosur. The drive past the barren rocky landscapes was interesting but the pain in the joints were becoming more and more pronounced now. The 5 Star chocolates which I had stocked up earlier served me well at some of the water breaks. Having read some books about how veteran soldiers are distinguished from novice soldiers based on the contents of their pockets, veterans would have pocket full of chocolates, the novices would have pockets full of bullets, and also having learned about the energy concentration in chocolates which are particularly vital in cold terrains, I had stocked up the chocolates to serve nourishment purposes in case I am in stretches of road with no eateries around.
Nearing Krishnagiri and entering the Golden Quadrilateral road from Chennai to Bangalore I watched with dismay as my fuel tank started edging near empty. The steady speed of 80 kmph which I had maintained from Avinashi onwards had apparently not been quite good for my fuel economy. Realizing it would be absolutely stupid to enter Bangalore City with fuel tank nearing reserves, I decided to tank up at Hosur. By now the legs and buttocks were positively screaming in agony and I spent nearly 10 minutes sitting at the fuel station to rest up my muscles. Leaving Hosur at 1530 I finally neared the outskirts of Bangalore at around 4 PM.
I was quite looking forward to the Elevated Highway going into Bangalore as the sheer prospect of avoiding the extremely crowded Hosur Road was quite welcome. The 15 rupees suer fee is a small price to pay to avoid what used to be an hour of traffic blocks to reach the Silk Board Junction. I did however miss the Silk Board Junction from where I hoped to enter the Outer Ring Road and instead found myself at Madiwala. A quick direction enquiry found me driving down the Sarjapur Road which was familiar to me from my days in Bangalore two years ago. The two years had however changed much of the roadscape but somehow through a sense of the roads which survived for the intervening years I managed to get to Outer Ring Road at Sarjapur Junction. A very literal sense of accomplishment had come over me as I drove past the Salarpuria Softzone and other IT buildings near Bellandur, the sites where I started my professional career. Though reminiscing about those days would bring me trouble from the heavy traffic it was with great joy that I took the U Turn from Marathahalli and drove up Varthur Road to go near my friend's office at Whitefield. At 1630 I reached my friend's office at Whitefield, tired, exhausted, joints all sore, and my face and exposed fingers caked with a blacking residue of the 560 kms of the road I drove through.
The final drive to my friend's house via a myriad of incomprehensible short cuts was naturally excruciating for me, but the prospect of next day's Aero India and the three bottles of Kingfisher Strong Beer I drank up at night gave a pleasant close to a day which was started with much anticipation and saw the anticipation bearing fruition completely.
