Wayanad 'Blues'...Chapter 1 - The Bumpy Ride..

Thursday - 3:20 pm (Sidz Place)

Sam : 'Sorry guyz...Got caught up !!...Chalo letz move...We r already running late'
Sid : 'Hmmm...Called up Debi...Hez takin a cert xam of sorts...Wll b free by 4 pm...We r gonna b late nywayz...!!' :(
Prutz : 'Yaar...Letz go to Debiz ofc...Wll wait fr him der....Derz no oder option !!'
Sid : 'K..Letz move den !!'

Thursday - 3:45 pm (Accenture - Bang 4)
Sid (On Call) : 'Dude...We r waitin outside ur ofc...Aur kitna late karega ??'
Debi (On Call) : 'Bas yaar...Nikal raha hun...Almost done wid d xam...Giv me 5 min !!' (Hang Up)

Thursday - 6:15 pm (Somewhere on Mysore Road)
('Du Hast' playin ...)
Sid : 'Phew...Hell of a ride guyz...Hav been drivin at 120kz/h ...Em lovin it !!' :)
Prutz : 'Yeah ...Wanted a break badly...Em lovin it too !!...Btw Debi seems to b lost somewher ??'
Debi : 'Dudez...I thnk I flunkd d test !!'
Sam : 'Whaaaat ??'
Debi : 'Yep...A frnd hd called...I dint make it...Nywayz big deal...Dey wont kick me out...!!':)
Sid : 'Guyz...Datz Debi...Yo dude...Lov dat attitude !!

Thursday - 7:45 pm (Cafe Coffee Day - Near Gundulpet)
Sid : 'Yaar aur kitni duur hai...??'
Sam : 'Shudnt be much far frm here...But shud b fun frm here on...Bandipur s rite next !!' :)
Sid : 'Whoaa...Hav never driven thru a jungle at nite...Saala bhagwaan bachaaye'
Sam : 'Yep...Jus dont forget to switch off ur engine nd lights whn u c some wild beast on d road...Nd ya dont honk too !!...Dey kinda take it personally' :)
Sid : 'Ya rite ...Wll remember dat...Of all ppl I was d one pushin to leave early...Aab tak pahunch gaye hote !'
Prutz : 'Hmmm...Datz true !!...Chalo no point wandering around here...D road ahead doesnt seem much convincin either...Letz move !!'

Thursday - 9:30 pm (Somewhere inside Bandipur forest)
Sid (Turns off d lite music playin) : 'Dis s scary boss...Guyz dint bargain fr dis...Itz pitch dark, visibility almost zero and thick forest on both sides...And itz chilly outside too...!!'
Sam : 'Ohhh Shit...Ws dat a leopard...???'
Prutz : 'OMG...I saw it too...Shit man...Jus crossed d road...Cud clearly c d spots !!'
Debi : 'By d luks of it...Seemed like a kiddo...!'
Sid : 'Kiddo may b...But a leaopard alrite...Letz get d hell outta here man...!!'

Thursday - 10:15 pm (Bandipur - Mudumalai Near Karnataka/TN Border)
(After a few more sightings of Bison/Elephants)
Sid : 'R we thru wid d forest ??'
Sam : 'Bas thoda aur...Fir we hit d Calicut road enroute to Sultan Bathery !!' :)
Sid (In conversation with the forest official) : 'How far s Sultan Bathery frm here??'
(Forest Ranger seems unfazed and murmurs something in Tamil)
Sam : 'I guess he says itz nt far off...We shud c some sign board on d Calicut road !!'
Sid : 'Ya rite...Hope we make it to our resort today !!'

Thursday - 10:45 pm (Calicut road - Near Sultan Bathery)
Prutz : 'I guess we took a wrong turn and came via d road to Ooty...Shud hav taken a diversion at Gundulpet I guess...Messed it up !!' :(
Sid : 'U mean we cud have skipped d forest ??'
Prutz : 'Nope...Bandipur - Mudumalai - Muthanga ...All r parts of the same forest area spread across 3 states...We took d longer route via Bandipur...Shud hav taken d by-pass via Muthanga...!!'
Sid : 'Ya rite...Datz y d resort owner was sayin dat we wll make it in 5 nd half hours frm Bang...Ofcourse we took d wrong turn...!!' :(
Sam : 'Leopard sighting already nd we havent reached yet...Luk at d brighter picture guyz...Shudnt be far frm here...!!' :)

Thursday - 11:30 pm (Sultan Bathery)
Sid (Asking a passer by) : 'How far s Meenangudi frm here ?'
Passerby : 'Straaaiit road...(in typical Mallu accent)'
Sam : 'We r in Kerela alrite!!' :)
Sid : 'Ok...Shud c some signboard somewhere...Seems to b a big town !!'
Sam : 'It is...Call up Vanchy (resort owner) and tell him dat we r on our way to Meenangudi.. Will call again once we reach Vazzavetta...!!'
Sid : 'Yup...Em doing dat!!.. The route map says we take a left at Golden Bakery in Meenangudi for Vazzavetta'
Sam : 'Yep...D resortz 3 kms frm Vazzavetta'

Friday - 12:15 am (Vazzavetta - Near Wynberg Resort)
Sid : 'D resort guy asked to wait here...Itz inside a coffee plantation..he wll guide us to d place !!'
Sam : 'Itz late...Shud hav been lazin away at d resort by now!' :(
Prutz : 'Guyz em dead tired !'
Sid : 'Ya..U temme...I em d one drivin here !!' :(
Debi : 'Chill Guyz...We r all gonna hit d sack once we reach d resort...Atleast we made it till here !!' :)

To Be Continued ...