Laksmi and a Drive from Hell

It is very late. We have been driving for hours. At one point the highway road sign states that Nagpur is 108 kms away. Further along the same highway, another sign reads, Nagpur 140 km. It seems we are getting farther from Nagpur the further we drive towards it.

Driving through the high plains at night the temperature is plunging and certain spots feel like a full winter blast of wind. We are many kilometers from Nagpur and the road is getting very dangerous. Potholes begin to attack in the dark and they are difficult to detect with the inadequate headlight of the rickshaw. Trucks are driving erratically, playing insane road games with the oncoming traffic.

We are forced off the road several times for our safety. One truck enters our lane to pass the truck in front and inexplicably turns off his lights. Shocked, I pull the rickshaw off the road until it has passed. Yet another truck drives with his tail lights off in the foggy night so that we encroach a few meters to his tail. Then there are the people. One old woman is staggering towards us in the middle of our lane like living dead. I have to swerve to avoid hitting her given my limited visibility.

This is night driving in India at its worst. It’s a gauntlet of murderous trucks and death seeking pedestrians and animals along a stretch of road seemingly smoothed by a cheese grater. I dream of Laksmi waiting in Darjeeling and continue forward in our mission against poverty.

Posted at 11:00PM Jan 04, 2007 by D Bums Comments[0]