Episode 1: The Traffic Cop

Photo by Victoriano Izquierdo on Unsplash

A couple of hours after leaving Pune, I found myself waiting at a toll booth on the Pune-Bangalore highway, some 120-kms south of Pune. I was on my way to Belagavi (earlier known as Belgaum) which was the first stopover in my journey to Tiruvannamalai.

There was a long line of cars ahead of me and the tollbooth attendant seemed to be rather slow, but it didn’t bother me because I was on holiday, there was good music playing on the stereo, and there was no pressure to reach Belagavi by a specific time.

But! And there always is a "but"... a traffic cop walking toward your car is never a pleasant sight anywhere in the world, especially when he is looking straight at you and walking with long-strided determination.

I frowned. I wondered if I’d broken any traffic laws. I had neither sped nor jumped any red lights, and at 10:00 in the morning, there was no question of my headlights being turned off in the dark. It was all good. But that didn’t prevent me from becoming restless as the cop closed in. I ran a checklist of the car papers in my mind. Registration documents — check. Insurance documents — check. PUC — check. Driver’s license — check. All the papers were in place.

Keeping my eyes fixed straight ahead to avoid eye contact with the cop, I continued to stalk him with a sideways glance. My adrenaline rose, teeth clenched a bit, the eyes squeezed smaller, and I started scratching the little stubble I’d grown to appear tough on the road.

Knock! knock! 

I looked up, feigned surprise, and pressed a button to roll down the window.

“Yes, sir,” I asked, or maybe squeaked. I don’t remember.

“Where are you going?” He asked me.

I was not comfortable answering that question. He may be a cop, but he was also a stranger. I was driving solo and long-distance, so I wanted to be prudent.

“Is there any problem with the road ahead?” I asked politely, evading the question.

Next Episode Episode 2: A Swarm of Bikes

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