The NBA’s tagline “Where amazing happens” is queerly apposite for the sibling states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. In a little over 30 months here, if there’s one thing the stretch of National Highway-58 from Modinagar to Roorkee has never failed to deliver, it’s an amusing surprise. Having grown up in a township connected to the capital via vast expanses of UP’s villages, the likes of ‘Swapnadosh va Gupt rogi mile- Hakim Usmani, har mangalvaar’ were not too surprising. But the first few bus rides across the aforementioned road brought quite a few revelations, like highlighting the movie tastes of the towns along it, for instance. Pyaasi bhootnis, jawan chudails and teesri aurats dominate the theatres, with even titles like Maut ka naya avatar and Anokhe karishme grabbing the coveted A-ratings. Even more intriguingly, the tickets in black for these very movies are seemingly sold by ten-year-old kids. The government doesn’t lie about fast-track growth at all.
After sleeping through the entire duration of my four-hour flight, and spending the afternoon watching some electric business quizzing in the capital, I was in no mood to give in to Morpheus anymore for the bus ride to R. With a jovial ten-pointer for company, the god-awful traffic jams were seen through, and the battle-hardened bus emerged through the Meerut bypass with purpose. The bus' bulbs were switched off as the road’s dim yellow lights were gradually overpowered by the side-show. Radisson Punjabi Dhaba could mislead many, while Rosetta Inn has already claimed numerous such victims. One would be led to believe Jain Shikanji is a chain of highway restaurants, but these were just the lower tiers of the cake. The battle was hard-fought, but Patiala ke puraane Pandit ji ka mashoor Vaishno dhaba finished only as the icing. The proverbial cherry on the cake had to be ‘New Sher-e-Punjab New Super Deluxe Super Star Dhaba’.
Now you have a lot more to look forward to on those rickety rides. Cheers!
P.S. - No, I’m afraid Murti Hot Hot Khana Khajana Vaishno Dhaba can’t be taken in, to avoid any suggestions of favouritism.
8 comments:
Speaking of 10-pointers, how is /she/ doing? Or rather, is your phone still intact?
P.S. Let's put up all quizzes on the group. I'll be taking a break from the net for a few days, so expect my quizzes to be late.
You noted them all down, Murtha? Or do you simply trust your memory as you do with, say, 97202...
@ Rapster
My phone number is still very much intact. Call me to find out. :-/
@ Kondrews
Mr. Chatterjee is proof: he's the jovial ten-pointer.
I love the names! Are they really for real? Like all of them?
You go to Delhi often. Take a bus for a change and find out for yourself!
If you look real close, there are some even more amusing names on those posters. Ask Prondu/Bansi/Dela/Sunky for details. :)
Isn't it Rosette Inn? Or does my memory fail me? :)
@ Lefty
Shit. I forgot to ask what you meant here.
@ Tazo
Besides the point. But, I faintly remember Rossetta, but that may be because I pronounce it that way anyway.
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