Another car adventure enroute to Sabarimala

Swami Saranam Ayyappa

Yet another road trip. Yet another adventure.

It was November 2013. I had upgraded to a Tata Indica Vista. My friends called me a Tata fan. I was, but also those were the best in class in terms of leg space and very reasonably priced.

I had been to Sabarimala twice before. Both times I had avoided the the Mandala Maasam as it is too crowded. This time’s plan was no different.

The difference being , we planned it to be a road trip. Me, Venkat, Kettai Athan and Yogesh (my nephew / Kettai Athan’s son). Kettai Athan would not be able to climb the malai due to a knee problem.

We were to reach Ernakulam via Guruvayur where Suri Chittappa and his son Kumar were to join us. On our return, we were to drive to Tirunelveli where Kumar’s wedding was scheduled the next week.

A lot of logistical support was provided by Mr H V Kumar who is also known as the Human GPS and the Hivayking Club There are multiple ways to reach Ernakulam. We chose the route via Mysore - Bandipur as it was supposed to be scenic. We were hoping to see some animals as well.

As the constraints of the fast was still active, breaks for food consumption were limited. My normal power nap breaks while driving didn’t result in any delay because Venkat would take over and continue the journey.

The first day’s target was Sringeri. It was reached without fuss. The next day’s target was Guruvayur. Bandipur had to be crossed before sunset as per the rules then since it is a forest zone. In the rush to meet the deadline, we hit a speed breaker in full speed in Mysore. We stopped immediately and checked the vehicle. It seemed fine and so we proceeded.

The Bandipur zone was crossed just before sunset and we entered Kerala into the border town of Gudalur. 10 mins later the car sputtered to a halt.

The axle shaft had come off. This had to be due to the impact with the speed breaker.

Luckily for us, we were not stuck in the Bandipur forest zone. Veerappan was not alive but his men could have been. There was also the danger of wild animals.

Anyways, here we were stuck at this town in the night and no one to fall upon.

Did I say no-one? Swami Ayyappan had his hand on us and help came in the form of the Hivayking Forum.

After couple of failed attempts with mechanics who didn’t have the parts or some other reason, a fellow Hivayking club member, Shibu Varghese reached out. He knew a mechanic there ,Kuttan and asked us to leave the vehicle with him and proceed on our trip. I wouldn’t have done this in any other scenario.

Placing our trust in god and the club, we took up a room for the night and early morning headed over to Ernakulam. We couldn’t say hello to Guruvayurappan as it would have delayed the primary goal of the trip - The Sabarimala trip.

The darshanam happened smoothly and we reached home , satisfied spiritually but worries about the car persisted.

In the meanwhile , further drama unfolded with my car.

Jeep Captain as Shibu was fondly called and his team managed to help procure spare parts on a bandh day in Kerala. Anybody with the slightest inclination of how Kerala works, would know the significance of this achievement.

Kuttan with Jeep Captain. My Indica (MH04FR0918)

I wasn’t expecting to get the vehicle soon. We had to attend the wedding as well. So I started making plans of coming back to Gudalur after the wedding and then take it back to Mumbai.

When we came back home after the darshan, I got a call from Jeep captain telling me that they were on their way from Gudalar to Ernakulam to deliver the car. I was speechless.

I hadn’t met Jeep Captain or any of the guys mentioned in the FB screenshot. But here they were, spanning the length of the state to deliver a vehicle , spending their precious time and money. (I paid Kuttan for his time and the spare parts, ofcourse but I do not remember asking Jeep Captain about the fuel expenses from Gudalur to Ernakulam)

This was the team that came home to deliver the vehicle. I can’t thank you guys enough for the same. Hats off once again.

We were overwhelmed. However the drama did not end here.

Remember Kumar. His wedding was scheduled in couple of days. We were to drive down the day after our darshan. Suri Chittapa, Kumar and the rest of them had a train ticket on the same day.

A Kerala bandh was declared the next day. We came to know about this around 8pm.

Mumbaikars like me, may not imagine the seriousness with which a bandh is taken in Kerala. The enforcement starts at 6 am and continues till late evening. Non-cooperation is not taken kindly.

We were dead-tired from the hike up the temple and back but what had to be done, had to be done.

We decided that we cannot risk the groom not catching the train and the wedding getting pushed. Kumar had recently purchased a car and this was a great time to put it to good case. Annan took over the reins of Kumar’s car. I was handling my car.

Since we HAD to get some rest, we slept off.

We started at 2am and crossed over to Tamil Nadu at around 5.45. Only when we entered Tamil nadu, we breathed a sigh of relief and promptly broke for coffee, idli and medu wada.

The rest of the journey went as per plan and we reached Mumbai after the wedding after some temple halts at Thanjavur and Tirucchi.