9th june 2002.
The city of marseille was left behind once we found our way out .The road ahead was hilly and Akshay was hesitant to drive .Rahul jumped to the wheel...we had no other option . pathak was navigating ( he is too good for the job )...i sat behind him and akshay besides me. Leaving the city below us and the sea by our side, we moved on... towards heaven (!! its seems to fit here...u ll realise )... towards Cassis.
It had been rainning all nite but the day ahead of us was sunny ...perfect setting for a beautiful climax of trip so beautiful ....so filling ..almost like a symphony (u'll realise my sentiments once you read ahead )
Once out of cassis...we were moving down hill...Rahul..overconfident of his driving skills was moving us at 90 kmph.We asked hm to slow down ...reminded him that we r not setting ne records.....that we can afford to change our plans ...that ....for god sake SLOW DOWN ! !.
He did .
It was ...a peugeot 306 van...10 :27 am 9th june 2002 ...La coita France....a sharp turn and an inevitable mistake.
I saw it coming ...i knew it wd have been a narrow escape ...It was not ! !
It was like being thrown in a time stream ...no destination ..no beginning...but a complete fall....It was dark ...and there was a mystical cloud of dust ....
The first thing i asked myself was weather I'm in heaven or I'm in hell....I had to ....but I saw pathak ...coughing and trying to break out of car. I was sure i cdnt be dead (I and pathak cant be together in heaven or in hell ! !).. logic prevailed ......i saw akshay coughing heavily. I asked myself again...is rahul alive (dead .....was wat i thought ..forgive me for that !!!)....he was not ...air bags had saved his life .. and pathak's.
Twingo is a 2 door car ...we all moved out finally . I stood there gasping for life ... I saw a cycle stopping ...a mobile ... a call for help....a man ...his wife .. a child crying in her arms ....a kid besides her ... and flashes
Flashes of Facts ..realities ..consequences in front of me ...not in my eyes ...rite infront of me !!. I saw a broken car .. damaged beyond repair ...my worthless credit card ... our return train in nite for paris to be caught from grenoble... akshay'face (he was to be the official driver...rahul was underaged..and akshay's licences at car rental)... police sirens ...interrogation...a crate of beer in the car ...our refusing to know any french ...pathak's contact in the embassy .....insurance of the car ....my broken glasses ...The symphony (our trip )...a trip that could never be (completed)....a weekend that it was .....a week that it had been ....the game we had played... the game ....not a draw but a tie .
The police was cooperative and we were left at the station to find our way back. We realised that nobody had dire physical injuries... but a lot of psycological (and financial) trauma .
It took us three trains and five hours to reach Grenoble ..only to find the car rental office closed. We were left... shocked... with cancelled tickets and aching bodies... to discover consequences. Pathak returned to paris... I and akshay stayed to complete the formalities .
We were back in paris by 3 pm on Monday . I had to miss my office and an important meeting. I m just glad we didnt miss anybody...we are all back in one piece .
This is how it ends... or should i say forced to stop ...plans that worked out (we didnt return the car after all)...plans that didnt.....the Incomplete Symphony ...... " dil chata hai " with an anti climax ...the week that should have been......the weekend that it was...the week i ll never forget ! !
Ashish
