A Fortuitous Journey

Just fresh out of the COVID 19 lockdown each one of us wanted to get some fresh air away from our residences. We discussed on a small one-day trip with just four of us to the nearby hills. But then we shelved the plan and made a bigger one with a larger group of people and a longer duration. Yes! We precipitated this fortuitous journey upon ourselves.

This trip was an extraordinary journey in every aspect with overwhelming experiences to share. From asking people to join, planning and to the most tremendous one being the execution part. Eight of us volunteered to go on this trip and just one week before the trip, we all had our fingers crossed that none of us should dropout from the trip. There wasn’t a single day without the ‘Goa-trip-meme’ being shared.

The final day arrived when we all had to start our journey in the evening at 4 pm. Everything about that day was very distinct. The start of the day itself indicated that something unexpected was at store for us. It had to start like any other regular working day. As an organization we are helping the health department to vaccinate people against COVID 19. And I was on duty for the same on that day. But at 4:30 am in the morning I receive a WhatsApp message from a colleague that I am not to leave from home until further notice for the vaccination drive, as the doses are not yet allocated. I waited for the further instructions still in bed. At 7:30 am I was asked to reach the vaccination camp by 9:30 am. Due to some reason I got late and was leaving from home at 9:30 am. That moment itself my conscience kept repeating that something about the day was to go wrong because I have a track-record of never being late to work.

And right when I thought so, I see a message on the WhatsApp group one of our members backing out from the trip on THE day stating his wife was not well. We had planned to cover the trip in pairs, and we were eight of us. If even a single person backs out, then his travel buddy also had to face the brunt. He said he will drop me at the district office and rest of us will try to find an alternative. One of our members had to take his bike which wasn’t in a condition to risk it by riding on the mountains. Some how we made the arrangements and yet we were short of one helmet. So, we had requested that member who backed out, to at least lend his helmet for the trip. By then we were delayed by two hours from the scheduled time. We were to leave at 4 pm but it was 6 by the time we started, and we still had to collect the helmet on our way. We planned to complete our journey and reach the destination before it got dark but what happened next, screamed unpredictability at our faces.

When I called for the helmet, he said even he was coming along, and he backed out from backing out! He joined the trip with his four-wheeler and that way, all our planned members were intact. So, four people on two bikes and four people on two cars. As planned, we were split in pairs. In all this drama we missed the daylight and it already started getting dark. Slowly and steadily, we drove through the mountains as rain hammered us all the time. It was pitch dark throughout the way and I was enjoying the luxury of the car in such a weather. We halted at a few spots for a quick snack and puff and continued our journey.

When we were just two kilometers away from our destination the most inconceivable incident happened. As we were slowly moving towards the guest house where we were to stay, the car in which two of our members were travelling stopped abruptly and started taking a U-turn. We wondered what’s happening and our members who were on bike said there was a landslide, and they could literally see the earth above us sliding down. The rain still coming down hard on each one of us, the most affected being the ones on bike. We hurried backwards and our members on bike taking the lead. The panic button was pushed to next level when one of our members on the bike went to check the land ahead of us. When she placed her leg on that part of the land it actually slid away! We unanimously took a call to stay put. Our members on the bike were soaked from head to the tip of their toe and the weather on the mountains during the night is piercingly chilling. They parked their bikes at one corner and came to sit in the car with their rattling teeth and shivering bodies. We turned on the heat in the car and all four were huddled in the back seat.

You can actually see the forced smiles on our faces while all this was happening!

We were all so sure that it was the last moment alive. It felt like we were counting our last few breaths of our lives and any moment another landslide was going to sweep us all away. We were actually repenting our sins and wrongdoings. We recalled all our loved ones and the moments shared with them in our minds. We promised each other that we won’t blame anyone for the menacing situation we all fell prey to. Right then we got a call from the members who were in the other car. They had stopped a little ahead of us and out of our sight. They said they had called the helpline number at Dehradun, and we were patiently waiting. It was doubtful for us whether we would survive the night and see the next sunrise.

Right then one of our members said that we should inform the guest house people about our situation and that suggestion came as a bright ray of hope to fight the death that was gawping at us. In the next ten minutes people from our guest house came to our rescue. We were stuck between two landslides, and they helped us cross one of it by giving us instructions at every step. We were scared out of our guts even while crossing it because the rain was still being very ruthless. We all safely reached our destination eagerly waiting to express all the emotional roller-costar that we experienced. One of our members who was helping us out from all this was still stuck at the site waiting for the rain to show some mercy. We were all happy that we were safe but at the same time our throats were going dry with fear of what would happen to that one member along with the cab driver. It felt like the pouring rain was in sync with out thundering hearts. Almost after three hours of anticipation we saw our member and the cab driver safely climbing the stairs of the guest house.

The next two days were like icing on the cake. We enjoyed every moment in the mountains and lived those moments to the fullest. Like someone told me that the mountains in the North are lethally beautiful. We actually experienced it. And yes! We live to tell the tale.

We live to tell the tale.

Each time I recall this encounter my mind voice repeats this Tamil line, “Yamanukke dimki koduthuton! (Ha ha, we fooled the Yamraj himself!)” with a thankful smile lingering over my lips.