On
2nd October, Piyush (my running friend)’s drawing room at Ahmedabad the
scenes were reminiscent of a raucous joint family having lunch. An outsider
would find it hard to believe if he were told that these were a bunch of
runners who had just finished 330Kms of run in the last 6 days and were just
back from a heady Gandhi Jayanthi celebration at Sabarmati ashram.
My
affair with Dandi started, I remember, in 2009 when Lathabehn (I didn’t know
her by her name then) a Sabarmati ashram staffer and a devout Gandhian, had
told us bunch of trainees from IIPA on a training programme with Ahmedabad
Municipal Corporation that Gandhiji with a band of 78 chosen satyagrahis had
walked off the bridge for the 231 mile Dandi yatra with a vow not to return to
the Ashram till India attained her freedom. I had silently vowed that day that
I would one day do this journey between Sabarmati and Dandi.
I
had broached this subject with Piyush bhai and he got working on it in right
earnest. He single handedly set up the entire itinerary with relatives and
friends to host us for the nights. The journey was planned with about 60Km to
be covered roughly each day and the distance to be covered in 7 days. The plan
was to set off on the 26th September so as to reach the Ashram on 2nd
October morning in time for the Gandhi Jayanti celebrations at the Sabarmati
ashram. I set up a page on Facebook for the event and over time six people
expressed interest in joining for the trip. Of the six registrants, Bala from
Chennai and Jaikant Kumaran from Bangalore
I
had a tough time convincing my boss for granting me 9 days leave for the event.
He relented but not before taking a promise that I would not insist on running
the Amritsar Lahore run planned for 9th November later in the year.
For me Gandhi came above everything else and I gave up on Mohd. Iqbal in favour
of the Dandi yatra.
Frequent
phone calls were made between Piyush, Bhupendra
and myself to finalise the splits, support for the run and places of
stay. Vineet Agarwal, a Delhi Hyderabad
A
few days before the run, Kalyanibehn (Piyush’s wife) and Banu, my better half
got into the act of preparing food to supplement the runners diet in between
meals. Since our train was early in the morning, Biscuit (my four year old
Labrador to the uninitiated) was left at Mathew (my Jeeves)’s place the
previous night, but, not before I argued with wife to keep him till morning so
that I could drop him after his morning walk in the Golf course. I need not say
who won the argument. We set off at the appointed hour and the train was on
time. I must digress and explain how the Gandhian traveled AC class. My own
Kasturba (nee Banu) set this pre-condition for accompanying me on the trip. I
don’t know how the original Gandhi would have got around it, I simply brought
peace. Kasturba would definitely have not used Gandhi’s non-co-operation act on
him, surely! I am sure he would have been stumped if she had done a Gandhi on
him. The mineral water bottles were much smaller issues after having given in
on the bigger issue of class of travel.
Piyush
was getting delayed as some important work held him back in Ahmedabad, he
planned to still reach Navsari (rail head to the Dandi beach about 17 kms away)
the night before the run. The train journey was quite eventless but for the
competition between the Rajasthani mother and daugher duo and my wife on who
was carrying more food. My wife was impressed with the multi stage container
with the Rajasthani duo. I know the likely next purchase for Dhanteras. Piyush,
his wife and Son left Ahmedabad at 3PM and we were regularly in touch over
phone. Bhupendra, his brother and Sister and Aparna were to leave Pune at 6 in
the evening. Piyush on reaching Navsari finding the places of stay near the
station very costly for the Gandhi wannabees settled for the waiting hall at
the station. When I got to know this, I was elated and knew that this would be
my kind of run. Our train reached Navsari on time at 2:15AM. After a round of
tea (Piyush’s life giving fluid) we stared catching up with each other between
slapping away the insistent mosquitoes. After dithering for sometime, I decided
to put in a few hours of spinning on my charkha while waiting for the other
runners to arrive at 5:30 on the morning. I did not change into Khadi and spun
in my jeans and T-shirt itself on the waiting hall floor with old newspaper for
covering the floor. The station did not have any monument indicating that this
was the rail-head to the famous Dandi. A mention on the station name board was
all there was to tell the visitor of this. We must put up a suitable monument
on the station commemorating the Dandi march (I hope my railway friends from
Western Railway are reading). The other runners Aparna and Bhupendra arrived
and we changed into our running gear in the waiting hall itself. The luggage
was trussed up on the top of Piyush’s car (the packing of the stuff on the top
of the car would improve during the course of the run and would be later
perfected after Vivek joined us at Bharuch). A big banner with Gandhi’s photo
was put up on top of the vehicle. Since the party was too big to get into the
car, we hired an auto to take four of the party and lead us into Dandi.
DAY1
I
was eyeing the route to see if it was barefoot friendly. After a not so good
road for the first few kilometers from the station, the road was a perfect
beauty all the way to the beach. We saw the place commemorating the making of
salt by the Mahatma after the epic march and quickly went through the museum.
After the mandatory photographs, the runners got restless to start, mindful of
the Sun stealing up on our back. The caretaker at the place was apologetic that
he could have arranged a press party if we had told them in advance. We were
very particular right from the beginning that ours would be a private run and
Press would be kept at bay. To me the run was not to give any message to the
people but to relive the journey, get to know colleague runners and feel the
transformation of the self internally. I had no delusions that we neither had
the stature nor the experience to give any message.
We
set off with our vehicle following us. I set off at a brisk pace and Piyush
joined me, Aparna and Bhupendra brought up the rear. Bhupendra’s brother was at
the wheel. After a bad initial stretch of a few Kilometers leading to the main
road, the road was a beauty and I did my baretop act of taking off the T-shirt.
The school kids on the way and villagers waved to us and it was a merry start.
Sun was warming up and a 7AM start was going to hurt us. Piyush and I took a
break at the road leading to the highway not sure if the vehicle would find the
way. We boasted to the Tender Coconut seller and the cobbler next to him. They
were suitably impressed and the tender coconut seller offered to fill up our
water bottles. This has been the running theme on all days of our run
hereafter, the roadside shops and houses plied us with water and good wishes. I
felt like we were living off the name of Gandhi. After a wait of about an hour
the party got together and we ran for another hour to reach our breakfast
point, a Malyali shop where we only took tea and milk to supplement
Kalyanibehn’s Thepla ( unleavened bread of Jowar and Wheat flour with salt and
spice) and chilli pickles to go with it. The sweet dish was the powerful ladoos
whose ingredients and recipe are still a secret. After having run the earlier
trip from Ahmedabad to Dakor on these Ladoos, I can only vouch that they rest
easy on the stomach. The kilometer sign near the Dhaba (road side eatery) on
the highway read Surat-28K. We had an interesting discussion between the local,
Piyush and the Blackberry toting youngsters the distance to our first night’s
stay, Khamrej chowk. It turned out that the distance to Surat
and Khamrej chowk was same as we were to bypass the city of Surat
DAY2
I
woke up to my mobile alarm at 2 AM and started on the spinning wheel. Piyush
had woken up before me and Bhupendra woke up at 3AM. After an hour of spinning
I had the first use of the loo and the bath. I located a water cooler and
filled up my bottle for hydration while spinning. The picture was complete,
minus the Active Darshan channel on TV and Biscuit lying near me. Slowly one by
one the other inmates came to life. Aparna had instructed us to wake her up
last. I and Bhupendra went down to tying up the luggage on the car top. After
the first day’s fiasco when essential items were stuck inside bags trussed up
on the top of the car, this day we removed all eatables and a change of cloth
in a separate bag to be carried by Banu. Despite having made solemn vows to
have an early start, it was 5:45 AM by the time we all came down. After the
mandatory group photo in front of the Gandhi banner, we set off for the day.
The gateman made a special concession for us in letting us off before 6 AM as
the temples did not permit opening of gates before 6 AM. Few other pilgrims
with flag staff also left for their walkathon. Bhupendra and Archana (who don’t
take tea or coffee) set off on a brisk walk while rest of the party stopped at
a road side stall for tea for Aparna and Piyush and milk for me. Shortly Banu
and Kalyanibehn joined us for tea. After hurriedly finishing my milk, I set off
on a run, I wanted to put in some Kms before the Sun got his act together. I
crossed Bhupender and Archana in a canter. Bhupender joined me, but, not before
I had secretly tried barefoot for a few paces when no one watching or so I
thought. My soles were still sore from the pebble and heat treatment of the
previous day. I meekly got my feet into the slippers. He gave me a stirring
account of his Thar 160K run. It was very inspiring. A man who has gone through
so much must be like ice-berg in situations which could be trying for any
lesser mortal. No wonder he was so cool, he never once looked at his watch and
never exulted after every passing kilometer or despaired at the distance left.
A true yogi at work, it was a learning experience. After some time he wanted to
slow down, and I carried on. I crossed Banu and Kalyanibehn taking their
morning walk. After a good run of close to 2 hours, around 9 AM, I spotted a
restaurant and waited there for others to join for the breakfast break. By and
by, others joined and we settled for a Gujrati dish of Fafda (Piyushbhai
corrected us that what we were served was Papdi) and their special Lassi. Our
Dandi T-shirt was drawing admiring glances from fellow diners. Virender,
Bhupendra’s brother and stand-in-charioteer, is an interesting personality. He
was keeping the volunteers in good spirits with his jokes. He had special
liking for Coffee and Coke. He settled for Bhel-puri at this place. His
extrovert nature would come to the fore in future exploits of his. He proved to
be an invaluable asset in keeping the spirits of the group high. After
breakfast, as per the previous day, Aparna and I started off on a slow run and
Piyushbhai and Bhupender settled for a brisk walk. Today’s lunch break was at
Ankleshwar a distance of 42 Kms from Khamrej where we started day-2. Between us
Aparna and I were eating up Kilometers and she made interesting company for
conversation. She wished for a canal for a dip and lo and behold at KM 17, a
canal where a lady was washing clothes and her son playing appeared. We lost no
time in getting into the water. I told Aparna, that my wife would look for me
at every watering hole as I never miss a chance to take a dip. The steps were
well laid out and it felt good to cool the head, I call this dunking the CPU so
that the mind remains cool. Soon, my wife and Kalyanibehn joined followed by
Piyushbhai and Bhupender. We had a good half an hour of cooling off. The poor
lady was slowly displaced to the edge of the washing stone (A live demo of the
Arabs and the Camel!). Aparna and I set off again and had the best run till
then, non-stop run (run-walk that is) from KM17 to KM2. Aparna seems to have a
mole on her tongue (or seems to have goddess Saraswati residing there) as all
her wishes/predictions about the next canal etc. were bang on. I asked to wish
something good for me also when the going was good. She asked for Rs. 5 crore
instead (that’s what I call dreaming big!). Poor Aparna was ribbed about it the
whole of the day and probably the rest of the run. I met a walker on the way
who was on a pilgrimage and had been doing about 40K per day for the last 10
days. Since, Aparna crossed me while I was talking to him, I left the
conversation mid-way and raced past her. We passed the Industrial area, and as
per Aparna’s precise Calorie loading schedule, she started looking for a Coke.
She spied a road-side shop and got a Coke for herself and a cold mineral water
bottle for me. I suppressed my Gandhian instincts and filled up my bottle (I
must remember to carry some money!). Thereafter, we stopped at KM2 from
Ankleshwar at a road-side shop under a Neem tree. The man sitting there tried
his English-Vinglish on us. I also let loose my half-baked Gujrati. The lady
was kind to let me fill up my water bottle. I established contact with our
vehicle and sought directions. After much exchange of calls back and forth we
reached another shop, I shall call this Aparna’s Bread-batata sandwich stall.
The guy was preparing bread pieces for making bread-pakoda. Aparna simply
gorged on the plain bread stuffed with batata without letting him to value-add
them into bread pakoda. I asked him to name this as Aparna-sandwich. Then there
was the incident of slithering creature, which a local described as Mausi of
Snake, which Aparna absolutely abhorred and was scared stiff much to the
amusement of the young kids there. The temptation to reach the lunch venue and
manage a bath was too tempting and we started off on foot. There were varying
accounts of the distance to the Ragini theatre the landmark near where we were
promised our nose-bags. We didn’t know where Bhupendra and Piyush were left
behind. That was our longest walk and coming after the grueling 42K, we were
finished. Piyush and Bhupener did the smart thing of getting picked up by our
car. The vehicle went for a check up for a failed electrical contact. My wife
seemed to have over-done the repairs for loose contact enroute. A nice
refreshing bath had us forget the morning grind. The typical Gujrati lunch in
ample quantity served with a smile (even though we were 3 hours behind
schedule) made us all over eat without a care for the distance of 15K to
Bharuch awaiting us in the afternoon. The love and affection showered by the
family was infectious and we extended our stay a few more hours. An interesting
discussion on deifying Gandhi but not following his tenets (a.k.a. Lage Raho
Munnabhai) ensued. Reluctantly and with heavy stomachs we pulled ourselves away
for the run to Bharuch. We walked the 3K to the main road. The road from
Ankleshwar to Bharuch was very narrow and crowded. I managed to put in a few
short sprints but most part was done by walk. The Sun set and the weather was
nice. We were received by our vehicle near a Hanuman temple enroute, where our
pictures were taken and the Pujari gave us Prasad (Mango bites, I have
christened him the Chocolate baba). He said the toffees were more hygienic than
conventional Prasad. The 2K bridge across river Narmada was really choc-a-bloc
and we somehow crossed it. I and Bhupender did a sprint and I was able to do
most of the stretch from Ankleshwar to Bharuch, barefoot. Our welcome to
Bharuch retiring rooms and rest house at Railway station was grand. After some
confusion over room allocations we finally settled for the night. I skipped
dinner in deference to the heavy and late lunch. We were able to wash all our
clothes thanks to a big and clean bathroom and lot of place to dry clothes.
Thus ended Day2, another 57K licked! We now look forward to the arrival of
Comrade-ian Vivek Prasad on Day3. His train arrival time gave us an excuse for
late start again.
DAY3
Welcome
to the most eventful and grueling day of the run, literally the hump day. We
were all enthused by the fresh pair of legs and vigour Vivek brought to the
team. I took of my slippers and started barefoot (Did I mention, my trusted
hawaai slippers broke down on Day2, and I had to use my wife’s pink slippers
thereafter, if my daughter had seen me in them, I would have been dead meat, my
running friends were more charitable and tolerant). My wife seeing me running
barefoot comfortable offered to and took away my slippers (watch this seemingly
good Samaritan act of my wife as it has painful consequences for me).
Bhupender, Vivek and I took the pole position and Aparna and Piyush brought up
the rear. I was in a very chirpy mood, with good road below my soles, the Sun
still an hour away and a fresh COMRADE-ian for company. After about 8K, where
we got on to the highway, Piyushbhai just came from nowhere and whizzed past
us. Piyush had asked the vehicle to bring up the rear with Aparna. Though
tempted to follow Piyushbhai, I stuck with Vivek for the valuable inputs I was
getting from him. He had a very steady metronome kind of regularity to his
running and compared to my loud mouth he was a man of few words. I was still
watching out for the Blue top which Piyush was wearing to see if I could catch
up with him. He was unstoppable today. It was nice to see him come to form
after two listless days, it was a typical Sehwag kind of run. All good things come
to an end, the road got from bad to worse and it was getting torturous for my
soles. But, my slippers (even if pink) were stuck in the Car. The bad roads had
one positive though, one of the sugar cane laden truck, spilled some juicy cane
on the stretch of bad road and Bhupendra picked a few for us. The bad road with
angry stones was not ending anywhere soon. Vivek and Bhupendra with their
shodden feet had put in a good gap with me. Virender suddenly appeared out of
nowhere with a plastic cover with goodies for refreshment. Finally the really
bad stretch ended and I could sprint to Bhupendra and Vivek who were taking a
sugarcane break. I also had a refreshing break with sugarcane. Virender did us
a good deed by reaching Piyush and tempting him with a tea-break. Nothing else
could have stopped Piyush that day! Virender had a knack of managed free rides
from locals and as he puts it, he exploited Gandhi’s name to the hilt. Once
halted, Piyush settled for a brisk walk and we three caught up with him.
Thereafter, I and Vivek went on with my newly learnt run-walk strategy learnt
from Aparna the previous day. I thought I had modified it for the day for run
in the Sun and walk in the shade. Independently, it seems Aparna also invented
it. Piyush and Bhupender settled in their brisk walk. There was no detailed
plan for the day about breakfast and other breaks. Virender forced a lunch
break about a Km from Amogh. Meanwhile, the vehicle had got a flat tire and the
ladies managed to get the type changed with the help of a friendly truck
driver, I am sure the smiling Gandhi on top of the vehicle must have done his
bit. The spot chosen was bang on the highway and we rested for half an hour to
45 minutes before the vehicle and Aparna joined us. We had a sumptuous lunch of
Theplas and laddoos and stretched under the tree on Polythene bags for a rug
below unmindful of the speeding trucks whizzing past us. Bhupendra did a few
stretches and sped off after the lunch break. Our tea break was at Jambusar, a
distance of 13K. I and Vivek started on a slow jog. We spied a hand-pump within
a few Kms of our run. We all stopped for a good wash and dunking of my CPU as I
call it. I also saw the beginnings of sweat rashes all over my arms and neck
and shoulders. I and Vivek continued our run-walk strategy, more walk than run
to be honest. He bore my constant chatter stoically. The wives meanwhile got
the spare wheel attended and kept us company my meeting us every few Kms. I and
Vivek were the first to reach Jambusar cross and we stole a nap on a concrete
bench under a Neem tree outside the district offices. The others reached after
about an hour and after the mandatory tea break, we set off for the last inning
of the day. We embarked on what we thought was 24K of run. Piyush took off at a
good pace and I excused myself from Vivek and went with him. The next 7-8 Kms
was ehhilirating running with Piyush, It was inspirational to see a 53 year old
coming up with such reserves after a speedy 25K in the morning and a lesson on
endurance running. We stopped at a Hanuman temple for water more than darshan.
We could have done with his leap instead of our now painful plod. At around
12K, another break was taken where we got fresh corn and tea for tea-drinkers,
but, biggest of all the shocking news that another 20K was left for our halt
for the day. The lights had come on and the traffic was menacing. Vivek could
not handle all this, coming after a night of journey, he settled into the Car.
Aparna with good company from Bhupendra was doggedly eating up the miles. After
the break, Aparna and Bhupendra sped off and Piyush and I took almost a Km to
pass them. We had another good stretch of steady running (Piyush claimed 12k/hr
and I guess we were going at not more than 10k/hr) for another 8-10K. Piyush
again stopped for a tea-break and the frequent tea-breaks meant we were running
out of reserves. We had interesting conversation about his foray into running.
The support team in the car was also getting restless. The ladies particularly
were angry that we would again be bothering our hosts for the night late into
the night. We somehow limped till a petrol bunk in Vadu, village and requested
the host to pick us up from there. Aparna and Bhupendra caught up with us while
we waited for our host to come and get us. We promised to start from this point
the next day. It was past 10PM and we were seriously worried about recovery for
the next day’s run. Piyush enthused us by saying that rest of the days were
below 50K. We were taken to Runu village about 3K from the petrol bunk where we
broke for the day. The smiling faces of the hosts despite the late hour lifted
our spirits. After a good bath we had a sumptuous dinner. The host was the
brother-in-law of Piyush’s business associate at Ahmedabad. I was really
feeling weighed down by such love affection and hospitality from perfect
strangers. Old man of the family, a retired doctor, who practices both
allopathy and ayurveda kept up steady conversation and made us feel perfectly
at home. He plied us with extra helping of Shrikhand (all the while saying that
he cannot have it as he has diabetes). I can now believe when we hear that our
elders treated guests as Gods (Atithi Devo Bhava!) They have given us the main
rooms and to my surprise and shame next day, I found the hosts sleeping in the
drawing room. They were up early morning next day and gave us a warm and
affectionate farewell. The host dropped
us at the start point wishing us godspeed. Thus ended the most grueling day of
the event, Day3, 76K done!
DAY4
We
had no pretensions of an early start after the grueling day3. Elaborate
farewells and photo session ensured we could not start till 6:30AM. Thankfully,
Piyushbhai promised that today’s run was only 43K. The tentative plan was to do
the 30K to Borsad by lunch and keep the balance 13K to Dharmaj for the night
stay. After the previous day, this looked like cake walk. All runners were
rearing to go. Ladies in the crew vehicle, leaving Virender behind the wheel
started their morning walk. Vivek and I brought up the front. This day, I asked
him to speak up and we had very interesting discussion on Gandhi, societal
inequalities his experiences during walk for the Vidarbha farmers with an NGO.
The road was good and I was able to run barefoot for the most part. At around
17-18K we merged into the Vadodara-Borsad main road and decided to wait for our
colleagues for breakfast break. I managed a visit to the temple nearby. We all
had a sumptuous breakfast of Bread-bhajiya. As has been the usual pattern, I
and Vivek decided to run. I spotted markings on the road where every 50 mtrs
was marked, this to me was a good incentive to keep running. The Sun was very
severe and my rashes had become very pronounced by then. Aparna had assured me
earlier that she had similar problem on her hands and they went away with some
medical soap and protection from direct light. On my part I have not been
complaining in front of my wife for the fear of being plied with Citrizen
tablet. Vivek stopped for cold water at one way-side shop. What is Coke to Aparna,
cold water is to Vivek. I was again the sponge, not carrying any money and not
being strong enough in refusing. What would have not I given for a canal with
gushing cold water. Though my nirvana was not as instantaneous as that of
Aparna, few kilometers ahead we spotted a canal, where a raucous crowd was
bidding farewell to Ganpati. I and after much prodding Vivek got down to taking
a dip. After the break within the next few kilometers when we were one Km from
Borsad, Vivek spotted a student’s hostel with lush lawns and a tap. We decided
to take our lunch break there, leaving 14K for the post lunch session. The
vehicle joined us, my wife was agog with excitement, thsy had been stopped by
an Anganwadi enroute where teachers had heard of our expedition and they were
plied with tea. We laid out our wet clothes to dry and rested under the Neem
tree after a good lunch of Theplas and laddoos. Aparna managed a small shower
under the overflowing over head tank, herself comparing her pose to Zeenat
Aman’s of ‘Satyam-Shivam-Sundaram’. We had interesting discussion on Secularism
and intolerance. Aparna and I were quick and vociferous to shut out strident
arguments by Virender. Piyush and Bhupender moved over to the verandah for a
quiet nap. Everybody appreciated Vivek’s choice of the camp-site. The run post lunch was not as taxing as the
previous day and we were secure in the distance left. Google maps and local
knowledge was checked repeatedly to avoid a goof up. Since Piyush’s friend was
to reach the temple (Jalaram Bapa, temple at DharmaJ) at 5:30PM, we set of
3:30PM itself. Within 2K of the start,
Piyush and Virender stopped at a restaurant stopped for tea. The break was
aborted as the hotel had no tea/Coke. Piyush and Aparna gave a look as if to
say who gave this guy the licence to set up shop. I saw a board indicating
Rajkot, 215K, and became nostalgic. My first posting in the Railways was Rajkot
and I remember the Alfred high school there which I visited and it’s Gandhi
connection. It was here that he refused to correct his spelling of ‘Kettle’
(hope I have got it right), despite his teacher prompting him many times. I,
Piyush and Vivek led now with Aparna and Bhupender bringing up the rear. Piyush
bhai took a boiled-egg break (I found his third secret recipe after tea and
tobacco) to tackle the balance few kilometers. Bhupender ran past us and we
made no attempt to catch up. I and Piyush finishing the distance sedately
walking. I must say I find walking with Piyush at his pace more taxing than my
slow run. We reached the temple ahead of his contact and spent time with
Piyush’s friend’s local contact who came with his cute little daughter. My wife
and Kalyanibehn followed pretty soon. We had a brief interlude taking
photographs with the young girl. I forget her name, but she was in 2nd
standard and her birthday was in November. Vivek and Aparna steamed in and
Virender went up to them and ran back with them as if finishing a marathon.
Here again we managed dormitory with the beds laid out in a row. We used the
rope we used to secure luggage on the car to set up a clothesline and washed
clothes. We visited the temple. Strains of devotional music was very
refreshing. We were invited to eat at a special hall where tables were laid out
with Army jawans. The food was unlimited but the vegetable was very spicy.
Khichdi was very nice. We turned in early. Iti Day4, another 43Km licked!
DAY5
We
were determined to have an early start come what may. We packed bags and
trussed it up on the car and asked the support team to follow us after an hour
or so. We had a good chance of hitting the road at 05:15AM. Piyushbhai got out
his headlamp for lighting up the way. We set off finally at 05:25AM our
earliest start to date. I and Vivek led from the front. I settled for a
barefoot run. The blister between the big toe and first finger on my right foot
making wearing of slipper painful. I used Vivek’s paper tape to truss up my
foot and on Aparna’s advice taped up the offending part of the slipper strap
also. Piyush brought up the rear, after the lights improved, Piyush came ahead
and we two ran in tandem. Piyush today did the Gandhi act and we two baretop
and Piyush in his minimal footwear and I barefoot make a good twosome. Our fist
stop was Tarapur about 18K for breakfast. Original breakfast at Tarapur was
scheduled for 10:30 AM at Tarapur and Piyush tried to re-schedule it. Finally
we settled for a Bhajiya-bread breakfast by 8:15AM. Piyush’s friend and our
host for the day came and I did the unpardonable act of showing Piyush the
watch at 9AM for the promised start. Piyush was very angry and I also felt bad
at having to depart so early after his friend had just come all the way to meet
us. The tyranny of the Sun was too fresh in my mind. We set off at 9AM and
Piyush also reluctantly followed. Today, I, Vivek and Aparna went ahead and
Piyush and Bhupender settling for a long walk. This was Piyush’s practice for
his Bhatti mines Ultra of 160K the next week. A word about Archana, she is on
the heavier side in the conventional sense to be a runner of any worth. But,
what she lacks in shape, she more than makes up with her grit and
determination. She has been steadily increasing the kilometers every day. She
dutifully plugs on her walkman and walks for hours. An example for attitude!
Within a few kilometers into our run, we came across the first canal. Not
knowing if we would get any more the three of us took a break for a dip. Piyush
and Bhupender plodded on, what sense of sacrifice and determination. Canal was
welcoming and we did not want to leave but 13K was a tall order if we did not
work doggedly, Piyush and Bhupender having gone ahead also put pressure on us.
Our lunch stop was planned at Limbasa village a good 13K away. After a few kilometers there were lush fields
on either side but, for quite a distance there was not a tree on either side of
the road and the Sun took its toll. We realized the importance of trees to keep
the temperatures in check. After a grueling 4-5 Kms we stopped outside a water
resort and sanctuary. The messages painted about planting trees there on the
benches struck an immediate chord. It was as true if not more as the Ten
Commandments. Thankfully after a few more dry kilometers we encountered wet
lands with water birds and lush paddy fields on either side of the road.
Pictures of the various water birds were depicted on sign boards and we could
see families in cars probably out for a weekend (remember this was a Sunday!).
Presently we reached Limbasa village and my wife went out and got buttermilk
for us. We scouted for a lunch spot. The suggestion to have it in two batches
was shot down by Savitribehn(sorry, Kalyanibehn) who insisted on waiting for
her husband to come. This gave more material to Aparna to rib Piyushbhai when
he arrived later. We walked for about a kilometer to reach Princy hotel (no
name board, only word of mouth). The owner was an interesting personality who
gave us hot rotis and good food. Aparna had a run in with a few peaceful
lizards cooling themselves near the wash area.Piyush and Bhupendra wanted to
continue their walk after the lunch and we lesser mortals, at the hotel owner’s
suggested retired to a temple for our afternoon siesta. The heat was unbearable
and the canal nearby though presently occupied by buffalos and kids was
inviting. We waited a while for the food to settle before we took a dip. Water
was very turbid but beggars can’t be choosers. We received a phone call from
Bhupendra asking us to start early. We set off at 4:30PM after taking tea
offered gratis by the priest, the today being an auspicious full moon day. I
settled for a barefoot run and Vivek and Aparna asked me to go ahead. The road
was good and kilometers fell quickly. The Sun was also not as potent after a
hard day’s battle with our determination. My rashes were chafing and I
seriously thought of consulting my doctor over phone. Bhupender on reaching
Matr called me over phone and gave me directions. Bad news awaited me as I
entered the APMC market complex which was to be our place of rest for the
night. The party was sitting on floor outside waiting for the meeting to get
over. Our wives were invited to join. I joked that Kalyanibehn lost a chance to
become sarpanch of the village. Now the bad news, the toilets were very bad and
would definitely not do. We explored if we could go ahead and manage some
temple at Kheda which was a further 7K away. Piyush bhai got working on his
mobile and Kheda was fixed as the place of stay. This meant 7K less for the
next day. Piyush bhai also toyed with the idea of completing the balance 42K to
Ahmedabad from Kheda in the night itself. Kalyanibehn vetoed it and I also was
not in favour as the yatra was to be during day even if we have no audience to
preach to. Now for the task of breaking the news to Aparna and Vivek when they
enter Matar. I told them as diplomatically as possible. Surprisingly, they took
it sportingly and we set off immediately. We also got an idea which gained
instant acceptance from everybody that we run through to Ahmedabad the next day
without stopping at Aslali village where some reception was planned for us for
the next day night. The thought of bath and a night at Piyush’s home swung the
decision and Aslali host was informed accordingly. Our host for the night, the
same person who had the breakfast programme changed at the last minute, was
very accommodative and shifted the dinner venue to the community hall at Kheda.
Children and families came and feted us and served us food. Despite the
mosquito coils, the winged creatures and mosquitoes bothered us. Very soon,
sleep took over and before I knew, it was 2AM on the last day. SO, thus ended
DAY5, another 50K done!
DAY6
While
there was excitement of finishing the run successfully and only a marathon
distance left between us and the Ashram, there was a tinge of sadness at the
event coming to an end. We had actually started to enjoy the company and the
bunch of runners had become a well knit family now. I must acknowledge the
excellent biscuits (Thekua it is called) brought by Vivek which had become my
morning starch loading before the run along with Kalyanibehn’s laddoo. The
highway was very smooth (Baby’s bum by Barefoot Ted’s reckoning or Hema
Malini’s cheek if you prefer Lalu’s simile) and I enjoyed my barefoot run.
Today I did a Piyush of Day3 and shot off. The start was 6AM and I was
determined to put in as many kilometers before Sun woke up to realize it. Even
though the highway was narrow, the drivers were accommodative to this baretop,
barefoot runner. I took my first break at KM7, met Banu and Kalyani walking
further down. We had planned this day to have a working breakfast around 9 AM.
My wife was to pick up bread and keep sandwiches ready to hand us over on the
run. There was some mix up about the place to stop. While I thought it was KM20
(22 to destination) or Narola cross, which was a further 9K away, as instructed
by Piyush to his wife. I took my breakfast at KM 19, and sped off. Piyush had
briefly caught me around KM 15 but I was in a zone that day. When I reached KM
27 (15K from destination), I got a call from Piyushbhai to wait for him. This
was equivalent to what Virender did to Piyush with offer of Tea on Day3. I had
already taken a break to fill up my water bottle. I told him the location and
landmark and settled under the tree. We informed the people in the Car and
people following of the intended stop. Piyush bhai settled and started
refueling with tea. He also ordered for lunch for 9 people. Between us we had
forgotten to tell Bhupender of the intended stop and he crossed us. He went on
to Narol cross. Instead of asking him to return back, we decided to cancel the
lunch order and reach Narol cross and wait for all to assemble. We asked the
people in the car to go home as escorting in Ahmedabad traffic would be
difficult and we could anyway get all the support needed from the road-side
shops dotting the road on either side. We finished all the bread in the car and
sped them off. Vivek and Aparna looked in a bad way. We stopped for a fresh
lime drink at a road-side shop. Aparna’s knee was showing up and she popped a
painkiller. Vivek was absolutely uncommunicative and plodding like a convict on
his walk to the gallows. He felt short changed because of the cancellation of
lunch. After another stop at a shop for some more fruit drinks, Piyush bhai
ordained that we should walk along the Riverfront. This turned out to be a bad
move, with no shade for long distance and no shops, the 7K looked very
daunting. I and Aparna tried to run as that was less painful than walk. Vivek
was constantly falling behind and really looked bad. Piyush and Bhupender had
gone ahead. We took a call to get out from the riverfront and take the city
roads. We first wanted to get some food and drink into Vivek. His eyes were
glazed, we did not want to send him by Auto as this would spoil his final
moments. We settled at a Café Coffee day outlet and they ordered a sandwich and
iced tea. I was really conscious of my pink slippers and khadi shorts now. I
was afraid if the girl at the counter would exercise the option of ‘right of
admission reserved’ on me. There was an interesting interlude here, much
similar to the scene where Charlie Chaplin makes as if to eat a shoe (in the
movie Gold rush, I think). The guards at the CCD were sitting to their lunch
just outside the glass door where we were sitting. Aparna was giving them a
look of absolute hunger and I am sure they would have ended up with a tummy
ache. I told her they must be thinking that people have more exotic food inside
the glass door. The classic case of grass being greener on the other side of
the Glass door. She also did a similar hungry kid act near a fresh fruit vendor
who was selling cut fruits. We all got some bananas where even your Gandhian
joined. Aparna also got her favorite sandwich. We then walked on egging Vivek
with each step. We made an interesting group wearing the Dandi march T-shirt in
the afternoon Ahmedabad crowd on a Monday afternoon on the busy Ashram road.
There was another good news awaiting us. Lathabehn my friend at the Ashram was
to be away on a village visit and I was sad that I wouldn’t be able to get my
wife to see her. Lathabehn called me and informed me that her village visit
hass been cancelled and she would meet us at the Ashram. Meanwhile Piyush and
Bhupender had reached. Kalyanibehn and Banu reached the Ashram with home cooked
food for us. My wife located Lathabehn and was enjoying all her attention when
we reached the Ashram. We finished the Pulao which was to do for our late
lunch. I then went to the workshop to meet the manager, where the charkhas are
made, though I had forgotten to get mine for servicing. The next day was to be
a holiday for the workshop. We had an elaborate photo session and I even
managed to put in a few minutes of spinning at the ashram charkha. We got to
visit the Gandhi’s room. We were specially invited for the next day’s function
at the Ashram. We attended the inter faith prayer meeting at 6:15PM where Banu
got to sing a few devotional songs at the request of Secretary, Ms. Aashiya
Desai’s invitation. We returned by BRTS bus, (self, Aparna, Bhupender and
Piyush). But for a run in with a young boy who stared at Aparna and got a
mouthful, the journey want eventless. We took a bath and after a simple but
satisfying meal of Dal, Roti, Bhindi sabji and jeera rice we settled for the
night. The meal was reminiscent of a Joint family at dinner with everybody
sitting on floor around the food. We joked about the wake up time for next day
and who is game for the 7K run for the morning function at the Ashram.
DAY7
We
reached early in Piyush’s car in informal dress but we carried our Dandi-run
tops, just in case we were asked to put them on. The director’s speech made a
detailed reference to our effort and it was loudly cheered by the appreciative
crowd. The all faith prayer meeting and the lecture on Gandhi’s eleven vows by
the Vice Chancellor of Gujarat Vidyapith thereafter was very gripping. Even
though I could not get it completely as it was in Gujarati. After a song by
inmates of the Sabarmati jail, the programme concluded. I had the satisfaction
of spinning at the programme on my charkha. A very satisfying and elevating
event for me. Piyush bhai then took us
to a Jain shop for purchasing footwear for us (the minimal wear which he was
wearing during the run). We reached home and as the time neared for departures
we got restless and tried to prolong the inevitable. I, Vivek and Aprana went
to the mall across the road for drawing money from the ATM. We settled accounts
and had a small ceremony of giving 5-star chocolates to the participants. After
a relaxed lunch we could no longer postpone the departure and all the people
came to the road to put us in an auto. I invited all of them for a friendly
marathon on my highway at Hubli. We wished Piyush all the best for his Bhati
Ultra of 160K coming up the next weekend. As I go to press, our man has
completed the 160K run in record 25 hrs and 2 minutes. Hats off Piyush. I have
really returned a much more chastened runner and a more mature person.
