Trip to Nellore- Part 1

This week, I was recollecting a crazy thing that I did some months back; about 3 to 4 days before I left Chennai. Bank exams were never my cup of tea, thanks, to my ever existent enemity with numbers. So most of the exams(infact all of them) that I had attended did not take me to the interview board. But S bank was special I qualified directly for the interview since they did not conduct a screening test and so my qualifications saw me through. But the venue of the interview was not disclosed till about a week before the date of interview. It came as a real shocker to me as the venue was Nellore in the neighboring state of Andhra Pradesh and above all the date was in the middle of the week which also happened to be my last date in the company I was working in since I had resigned due to various reasons. I could not take leave, and I could not rely on the buses/trains as the distance was more than 200 km and most of all I was in the night shift. So what was I supposed to do? My dad had taken pains to get the application posted and he wanted me to attend the interview though he didn't force me to do so.

This, along with a spark of adventure, prompted me to do something really crazy. I decided to go by Two wheeler. I contacted a few of my friends to accompany me since it would be too risky riding without sleep for 200 kms on a stretch and then again the same distance by return. None of my friends were available for the trip and so i had to take the call.

Sep 17 2009- 7 AM-Home Chennai- I had just returned from 12 hrs of work in the night and was tired but had work to do. I asked my mom(My parents do not know about this till now) to pour Glucose into a bottle full of water and she also packed up my lunch. I got ready, dressed up, but the one big problem I had was the hair as I had not cut it for nearly 9 months, I decided to go ahead without a hair cut. I started off at 8.00 AM from home. My interview was in Nellore at 2.00 PM. It would take 4 hours atleast to reach the place.

I visited the nearest ATM and withdrew cash for the fuel. I filled up the tank with petrol in Koyambedu which is the official Moffusil Bus depot of Chennai and then began the longest ride of my life. My two wheeler was a second hand Bajaj Platina. It was without documents as they were with the bank.

The first stop was Red Hills, I reached the place in 30 mins, had my first gulp of Glucose water which relieved me of any sleep that was threatening to come out.I then continued on my path for another hour or so till I reached TADA where the Number plates of the vehicles told me that I had reached AP border. The fear of being stopped by the police was lurking in my mind but I was not stopped anywhere. After crossing TADA which also happens to be the place nearby Sriharikota, I realised that I was almost travelling alone on the road except for a few stray vehicles. All of a sudden a group started crossing the road. I was traveling at 90 kph. I applied the brakes..........

The predicament

Deepan sat on the bed deeply immersed in his thoughts early in the morning. He had been cheated again by some people he had trusted. This had been happening ever since he set his foot in this new city. Born to middle class parents to whom their eldest son was the apple of their eyes, Deepan had always been always pampered and spoonfed almost throughout his life except, for a certain period of time where in he had to take up the mantle of being the "Man of the family", when, his father was working in another town. A middle class upbringing always has its own set of flaws and strengths which make or mar an individual in the future. One for example, is the fact that children are extremely aggressive at home and when it comes to the life outside, they become extremely unpredictable. They become very much hidden in their personalities and are very much vulnerable to frauds. They start searching for reactions and tend to enter what you call depressions. Deepan also was one such kid who always wanted to go the simplest way possible even if it is the longest. He did value his principles however unrealistic and impractical they had become. He trusted people though not blindly, to an extent more than what is required. The biggest problem that Deepan faced was that he was extremely unpredictable in voicing his dissent. He usually took time to come out of his shell and this resulted in a lot of losses for him. But having said that, many a time he had taken decisions which were hasty so one could say that the delaying habit he had acquired now should serve him good. Inspite of all that, Deepan's main problem was his inability to strike a balance between the two. The present situation was even more difficult, as Deepan was in an environment that required the toughness and smart attitude of a seasoned professional even to survive. He knew that these people around him had the chance to cheat him the way they had done but he did not take the ultra most care to avoid that. The result was that he had to loose some valuable money that he had saved for his daily bread. Now his only questions were about his ability to learn from this and his next course of action to get his money back. He had little time left and his mind was searching for ideas. What next????