In my case, I'd my return booked by my parents. The onward ticket was blocked through a telphone call (my usual travels - Puzhekadavil Transport). I was late in doing this and had to take a day off, tickets for the weekend having sold out!
This Travels is much sought after and gets the first preference among the crowd travelling on the Cochin-Bangalore route - for two reasons - punctuality and no freight.
6 PM found me in the worst possible place in Bangalore for one to be caught in normal circumstances - Kalasipalayam - where all the inter-state Travels originate. Fortunately the rain had stopped though it had left its mark in the form of puddles and mini-lakes.
True to its reputation the bus started off punctually at 6.30 PM, more than half its seats empty. That is because people boarded from two other stops. At once the music system on board was activated and it spewed out divine music - Krishna's or Devi's I forget!
It's not easy to make speedy progress during the peak hour traffic through the Bangalore Streets, especially in the Lal Bagh area. However, the competent driver negotiated the obstacles deftly and by 7 PM, we had picked rest of the passengers and were on Hosur Road - the 4 lane Highway connecting Bangalore and Hosur in Tamil Nadu. 80 Kmph on this road is safe and it is a sharp contrast to the rest of the roads!
The major crowd in the bus as usual were software engineers like me, for whom 3 days of home food and comfort is worth the Rs.600/- in round trip travel fare!
Anyway, we were passing Hosur, when the video was switched on - to the agony of those sitting right under the speakers! A Mallu movie came on - one I hadn't seen. I tried to enjoy the movie - love amidst a family feud, a familiar theme, with songs and stunts aplenty.
The bus stopped for dinner at a wayside restaurant - the surroundings pitch dark. The dining house (more a shed) blared forth the latest Tamil tracks (we were in Tamil Nadu now) to shatter the peaceful silence. I'd learnt my lessons and had had my dinner packed, not wanting to experiment with the food.
A couple of small kids ran around the large bus and provided some entertainment. A dog barked. Trucks rushed on the highway at breakneck speed in a blaze of light and sound.
Once the driver had taken his break, we set off - the movie continuing from where it was stopped. Most watched the movie to the end, yours faithfully included. The next logical action was sleep - for those who could get sleep on bus journeys. Being a veteran in this, sleep for me wasn't difficult to get. Moreover this bus was more comfortable than others - in terms of seats and suspension.
The bus halted at a couple of places for the driver to take breaks (it is a long journey - 550 km), but early morning (5.30 AM) found me looking at green paddy fields surrounded by coconut groves - I was in Kerala - why I was in Angamaly, just 30 km from Cochin.
I was home at 6 AM - in time to listen to the 6.05 AM English news on All India Radio - believe it or not, the radio is on in the morning in my home!
I now need to plan for my next trip home - for the next "long"
weekend.