Where is our Destination?

It has always been my desire to travel through a village gazing at the green pastures that act as a therapy for our pooped eyes after watching the chaotic city life. So with this desire a gang of friends including me embark on a journey during a chilly Bangalore morning. Our DESTINATION for the day is a small hill in Tamil Nadu (TN), a few hours from Bangalore City or Bengaluru (as some highway signs display).

The bus stop is located at a chaotic traffic junction and it is almost peak hour in the IT city. While we wait for our bus, I look at the numerous zooming vehicles transporting people to their DESTINATIONS and wonder, “Where the hell is our world heading, at such a brisk pace?” We get into the bus that will take us to Krishnagiri, a small town in TN, our first pit stop.

The TN government bus that we are travelling has in-house entertainment system in the form of a DVD player and television sets to entertain the passengers, and the bus conductor (and maybe the driver also!). Today, the movie on offer is a quite old movie (a little bugging one) but nonetheless, we are entertained, to watch a movie on the road (forget high-tech mobiles or iPods). As everyone onboard gets glued to the screens, the chaos outside the bus intensifies as more vehicles start hitting the road.

As we move on, I watch people of all ages rushing to their DESTINATIONS (which only they can tell) and this is truly a hectic sight. I feel fortunate that today, I am not there in that rush, as I am trying get out of this mess for one day. We are on the highway and Bangalore’s love affair with traffic jams comes to play. At this juncture I start criticizing the people in power, because there is a road construction going on here for long time now. You may start wondering as to which road am I talking about, no prizes for guessing , it is the ever busy Hosur Road part of the longest national highway NH 7.

Elevated highway or ‘Expressway’ as many people term it in the hope that one day it will be an Autobahn (Germans watch out!). The construction of this road is adding more chaos to this road and the deadline keeps extending… (God alone knows till when). This makes the Autobahn dream a little obscure! But, I would be very happy if finally we can have at least a decent road (minus potholes) to commute after all the uncertainty.

Fortunately, after some time the road is quite empty and our bus starts zooming ahead and the cool breeze is very relieving. I see the numerous townships coming up on the outskirts, which would hopefully decrease the stress on the city’s dying infrastructure. Further, I see the BMIC Bangalore-Mysore expressway and wonder as to when it will be put to use, helping people to commute better to their DESTINATIONS.

Now, I see the sign displaying Karnataka’s boundary with Tamil Nadu and I am emotionally touched to leave the place where all my near and dear ones live (this happens always with me). Here we are in the land of temples and politics, the Hosur town welcomes us to this land. The huge manufacturing plant of Ashok Leyland acts as the banner displaying the kind of development this town has undergone. I just hope that the authorities here craft a planned growth or else Hosur may end up in a mess like its big neighbour. The town is full of activities and many bikers without their helmets are seen in a hurry to reach their DESTINATIONS.

As we leave Hosur the bus goes through many villages, where everyone is dependent on agriculture and the temperature is soaring. These are the villages where most of India lives and dies. Here the farmer is working hard on the field to produce food for his compatriots, who are busy working in their air conditioned offices for their clients in the West (no offence to anyone).

So, here we are in Shoolagiri and I savour the Tamil Nadu cuisine. The bus makes a stop at this place and I can see a typical village life in front of eyes and I start comparing it with the city life on various parameters. Flowers and foods dominate this region and most of the locals are from the farming community. As we leave this beautiful village, I see small hills nearby and wish if I could build a house on one of them to enjoy this beauty for a longer time.

After some more time we are in Krishnagiri, a new bus terminus is built in this small town and it looks neat and tidy. We get down from our bus and I start gazing at the buses to know their DESTINATIONS out of mere curiosity. Krishnagiri is a major stopover for all buses that are going towards Bangalore from TN or vice-versa. This place is also considered as the birth place of the ‘King of Fruits’, the mango, it is also the main crop here. We get into another bus that will take us to our next pit stop.

This is Tiruppattur, a small town in Vellore district. It is sweltering hot in this place and we are on foot. Located in this place is the beautiful Sacred Heart College with a vast campus and a splendid infrastructure. The road in front of the college is the highway which is always full with whizzing vehicles carrying people and goods, in a hurry to reach their DESTINATIONS. The bus from here takes us to the climax.

The bus from Tiruppattur makes its way through the rugged roads of our villages and here I am surrounded with the best our mother nature can offer. I see real trees instead of concrete jungle, I see farms instead if garbage, I breath oxygen instead of carbon monoxide and yes, this is what I wanted to experience, ‘Welcome to the Village’.

A little further we reach the small hill called Jalagampari (it may be a little hard to pronounce), we climb this hill in order to have a better view of the environs. At this point my heart is filled with happiness, now that I have reached my DESTINATION for today. But, my journey still continues ‘Swiftly’ to reach my FINAL DESTINATION….