This is a picture of a signboard and that is no rocket science. It is a very simple signboard, like the ones you usually notice on a highway or a road indicating places. Mostly at a four-way junction in small towns. When you see it, it is nothing but a small directional piece of junk. But on 19th September 2009, this particular signboard had played a very important part in my life. Well, some more people were involved in it too.
Well three Red Chillies employees Nikita, Farhan and I were going on an office roadtrip from Mumbai to Bangalore. The show had something to do with IPL, so we had to stop a lot in between and shoot different stuff. After spending the first night at Belgaum, we hoped we would reach Bangalore the next night, but in between because of our break journeys at Hubli and Gadag, we got late for our next pit stop, Davanegere. Now none of us had been to Davanegere ever, our only knowledge about the place was that it was somewhere on NH4 and it's about 200 kms before Bangalore. We left Hubli around 5ish and it became dark soon. Because the road was getting repaired that time, we couldnt use the highway, like it should be used and drove at a very normal speed of 50 km/h. It was about 8 o clock when we started getting impatient and every little bit of light which we see on the way we thought it was Davanegere.
After we crossed Haaveri, there were no lights on the road, no signboard and it was pitch dark outside. We thought we will find some localite on the roadside and ask them but for one hour there was not a single human being to be seen. Nikita kept calling one of her friends, I was trying to concentrate in google maps, Farhan was trying to find a signboard and our driver Krishna was drowsy as hell. At about 10 pm, we found couple of guys on bicycles, local workers returning home after a hard days work. We tried asking them the direction, but neither of us knew Kannada nor they understood us. Krishna, who hails from Hyderabad came to our rescue and asked them the question in Telegu and what they said was "In about 10-20 kms there will be a left for Davanegere, if we miss that, we have to find our way out". Everyone were on their toes waiting for the left turn.
30 minutes have passed and almost 30 kms we crossed, but there were no left turn. Poor Krishna wanted to pee for almost one hour. Finally around 10.30, Krishna gave up, he stopped the car and went to pee beside the road. After he finished, he came back, put the car lights to upper and in that blur light all of us shouted in joy. We could see the signboard which says Davanegere on our left. We got down, tried to find the left only to find a small village road deviating from the highway. I took this snap before leaving, we took the left and in fifteen minutes we were in Davanegere. Had Krishna not stopped that day, we would have wandered for some more time.
The picture is not just a snap, it is a memory of those three hours of my life. I will never forget the left turn to Davanegere ever. The picture made the story worth telling
Well, I never believed in the phrase which says that a picture used says thousand words, I've always felt and I still feel that a picture needs at least hundred words to describe and explain many things. A picture completely misses to show the anecdote that is associated with clicking that, the moments that made that picture memorable and I feel that those are more important than the picture itself. Sometimes the stories are so awe-inspiring that the picture stays us forever in our mind.
Like it happened now. I was looking for a topic to write my blog on. Just closed my eyes and this picture was in front of my eyes, and I was like 'bingo', there's another untold story. But before I start telling my story, I want you guys to have a look at this particular photo and tell me what do you guys think about it. What story does it tell you? The guy in the photo is one of my closest friends, infact no less than my brother Manmeet Singh Gumber. What will possibly be the reason of him standing there with a Rs. 50 note in his hand and a glum face???
Well if you guys are done guessing, Let me come to the point. Let me take you back to 2009. To be exact 20th January 2009. Manmeet came to Kolkata for the first time to visit my house, which is at about 40 kms outskirts of Kolkata. So after we spent some great days at my place, a day prior to his departure, we went to do some shopping in Kolkata, we roamed around the whole day, ate a lot and came back to Sealdah station to catch down Diamon Harbour local at 6.00pm. Because Sealdah is the first station when the train comes to platform, the daily passengers jump up to the train to occupy the better seats before everyone else. So seeing this 'jumpy act of bravery' by the dailies on other trains, the Sikh blood started boling in my otherwise pure vegetarian friend, and he prepared himself to jump in and get the best seat.
Now as I was a daily passenger myself for sometime during my college days, I knew the rules of getting in a South Bengal local train and I had told Manmeet, not to perform any such stunt. The train came, full of people and same number of people were waiting at the station to board the train. I told Manmeet to wait, let me go in and keep a seat for him. But Mr. Gumber, just to prove his courage, gave it a shot. He actually got up fighting through the flow of descending people. He came up to me smiling and in his eyes I could see that self satisfying smile. But it lasted less than a fused filament does. As he touched his pocket he realised that his wallet has been picked and apart from the money all his cards and papers are gone with it. The whole journey back home was a nightmare for him as he was figuring out what all were there.
The next morning he woke up and came up to our terrace and he had the 50 rupee note with him. Apparently that was the only form of money that was left with him after the incident. Though the incident was not funny, his expressions made it funnier and decided to capture it through his own camera. There he was, standing on my terrace, my friend with only piece of Gandhiji he had. Unforgettable one, isnt it?
