Forty
two years ago Cheltenham was a small town and did not have the
Authority to take a Driving Test and issue a Driving License. For the
purpose residents of Cheltenham had to apply to the Gloucester County
Office. Accordingly, Triloki had applied to them for taking the test
but had been told that there was a very long waiting list and he was
being given an appointment after about two months. Since we had very
limited time at our disposal in UK, Triloki picked up the phone and
called up the Gloucestershire Office.
Triloki
spoke with the concerned Officer and told him that he had only a
little more than two months in the United Kingdom and he wished
to tour the country by road.
"Would
it be possible for you to allow me to jump the queue and take the
Driving Test as soon as possible, keeping in mind my special
circumstances?" asked Triloki.
The
County Official heard the full story patiently and then asked, "Mr.
Nagpal, do you have a valid Driving License issued in your name by
your country?"
Triloki
said, "Yes indeed, I do have a valid Driving License issued by
the Government of India"
The
County Official said, "Good, in that case your Indian License
can be used in the UK during your stay of two months and you will not
need to take a test here."
Triloki
was quite surprised by this information and delighted too. This
was like an unexpected windfall. But then there was one glitch, the
Indian driving License had been issued in Hindi. Triloki therefore
disclosed this to the County Official.
The
County Official said,"Oh Dear that is a matter of concern, but
Mr. Nagpal, by looking at the License can one make out that it is a
Driving License and not a Dog License?"
Triloki
told him that there were a few diagrams on the License by which one
could conclude that it was indeed a Driving License.
The
County Official then said, "Well then Mr. Nagpal, that settles
it. You can use your Indian Driving License here. Enjoy your stay,
Good Bye"
So
apparently all that drama at the car rental place in Cheltenham and
our slow drive down the countryside to Stratford Upon Avon on the Red
double decker Bus, had been quite unnecessary. But then these
incidents had added to the adventure and excitement of our
lives. Besides, I am quite sure that my story would have remained
quite mundane and insipid without these stories within stories.
Right? It was actually a case of "Much ado about nothing"
and also "All's well that ends well".
Armed
with our new powers to hire a car legitimately, Triloki approached
Budget Rent a Car and chose a beautiful silver coloured Vauxhall Viva
for our trip to the Coast. We were going South of Cheltenham to
Weymouth and Southampton. We were again going to be five of us,
Francis, Sushma, Vishnu Arya a new entrant, Triloki and I.
It
was decided that I would be the Navigator. In those days one had
never even heard of the GPS and Tom Tom were the drums by which
people in Africa communicated with each other, by beating of the
drum. Well that is what I had read in Phantom and Tarzan comics! A
Navigator had to depend upon a huge Map which had all the roads,
lanes, rivers and villages/towns marked in great detail. The map
would be of an enormous size and one needed to be quite deft with
folding and unfolding the map. One wrong fold would mean a lot of
minutes lost as well as a lot of patience lost.
Reading
the map was a tough job, one had to watch the road, look out for
turnings, keep spotting beautiful areas, NEVER, ever make mistakes,
particularly if the car was being driven by the spouse. The war that
took place if a turning was missed or a wrong turning was taken can
only be understood by much married readers!
I
agreed to take the risk so that I could get to sit on an individual
seat in front and would not be squashed with two others if I sat at
the back. Oh well, never mind, I was selfish, and no one will grudge
it now after so many years. What do you think?
On
a bright and beautiful Saturday morning all five of us set out to see
the wonderful beach at Weymouth. The drive was pleasant, as we
usually took the "A" roads which were well known for their scenic
drives. We drove past the towns of Yeovil and Dorchester.
Thomas Hardy had lived in Dorchester and the town of Casterbridge in
the "Mayor of Casterbridge" was actually modelled on the town of
Dorchester.
Weymouth
is situated at the mouth of the River Wey on the English Channel. The town is very aptly named, isn't it? This port was the place from where in 1635 one hundred people set
sail across the Atlantic Ocean and reached the East Coast of North America.
The town in which they settled down was named Weymouth by them
and is situated in the State of Massachusetts.
THE BEACH, SEA AND ME |
There
was a funfair near the beach and as the day went by more people came
to the beach, spread their towels, put up their beach umbrellas,
applied sun screen and then lay down to read their books, or frolic
around in the water. None of us were interested in swimming, so all
that we did was watch, watch and watch. This beach was very different
from our beaches in India. There was no narial pani wala, no chana
zor garam wala, and no balloon wala too.
TRILOKI AND I |
Being
eternally broke people as far as finances were concerned, we did not
venture towards any of the money spending events. We just walked past
interesting scenarios and buildings and after having our dinner
returned to our car.
Did
you think that this journey was going to be uneventful? Of course
not, no story is complete without its surprise element. As we left
Southampton en route to Cheltenham, we suddenly heard the unusual
sound of a car's horn being blown at the highest pitch for a very
long time. Yes of course, it was someone shouting at us verrrry loud
and harsh. Triloki had taken a turn without putting on his indicator
and therefore there was this huge bombardment. Drivers in UK use the
car's horn only to let out their steam on an erring driver. I thought
it was a very practical and decent thing to do as the tongue does not
lash out, no unparliamentary words are used, the Blood Pressure does
not get erratic and the end result is the same, the pleasure of
having shouted is achieved.
We
were properly chastised and drove back to Cheltenham safely.
If
the story so far was good and interesting, then I will look forward
to taking you with me on my next journey to the most wonderful city
of London. Did you know it's streets were paved with gold?
London...the city of the Queen, Lords, Ladies, Dukes, Duchess,
scullery maids, Sherlock Holmes, James Bond and what else? Oh yes,
Oxford Street, Pall Mall, Piccadilly, Trafalgar Square, the
Thames and its Embankment, London Bridge, Tower Bridge and the
wonderful Westminster as well as its Abbey. What is London without the Oval and Wimbledon and its numerous parks?
London is the city from where Great Britain a tiny little country, became the greatest Empire in the World, over which the sun never set. That I agree, was once upon a time. Yet, even today, it is the most bewitching city in the whole wide World. I shall take you there with me in my next story.
London is the city from where Great Britain a tiny little country, became the greatest Empire in the World, over which the sun never set. That I agree, was once upon a time. Yet, even today, it is the most bewitching city in the whole wide World. I shall take you there with me in my next story.
Dus ve daniya- that was Russian, Namaste, phir milenge
jaldi se! Do wait for me... I will be back sooner than you think.
6 comments:
Sudeshna Chakraborti said,"Delightfully interesting".
Sangeeta Azam said," I find this blog sweet, funny and very interesting. My favourite line is " never ever make mistakes, particularly if the car was being driven by the spouse..... Dus ve daniya....!!!
Sunita Kapur said, "Read it, enjoyed it! As always.."
Bidisha Som said,"could feel your excitement...as we also love exploring Europe by car....read your other articles too and loved them."
Anil Lal said,"Great Journey this journey was never mentioned before on our meets"
Very interesting. Enjoyed reading it.
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