Chembur to Nantoor

Chembur to Nantoor

While studying in TISS, i always used to prefer taking the bus to Mangalore than take the train. There was something exiting about the road trip which the train trip did not have. I think it was the route which the bus took and the movies which they played, not that i am big fan of Hindi movies but i guess in that context i did enjoy it a lot.

Diamond Garden, Chembur

This incident happened to me when i had come to TISS for my convocation. My friends mother had booked the bus tickets for me. The bus name printed on the ticket was not a familiar name. Ideal, Southern, Canara, Canara Pinto, Vishal are some names which have been servicing this route for more than two decades now and this name did not match any of them.  I took my bags and called out for an auto from my campus in Deonar, Mumbai to Chembur Diamond garden bus stop where all the long  distance "deluxe" buses stop. Here i would like to pay my respects to the autowala's of Mumbai. Most of them in my experience were gentlemen who were polite and never overcharged. I reached my stop and crossed the road and begun my 30 min wait for my bus  as i had reached quite early (which is quite late in my standards).  My bus was due at 3. It was a volvo service from a non -regular operator.

I kept looking at my watch at regular intervals but as the time approached the bus was no where in site. Three o clock finally arrived but there was no sign of my bus. I panicked and had this gut feeling that my bus had come and went off leaving me behind. I made some frantic calls to the travel agent who gave me the number of the bus driver. I then called the bus driver who confirmed my fears but asked me not to worry as they had stopped at a nearby petrol bunk to re-fuel the bus. I immediately called for an auto and asked him to take me to that petrol bunk. I reached there just in time and boarded the bus much to the relief of the bus crew as they were worried that i had not turned up. In fact the bus had stopped in Chembur for quite sometime just to look for me. Anyway now that i was cosily settled in my seat, i turned on my AC vent and began my 1000 kms journey homeward.

The bus entered Navi Mumbai and finally made our way to the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. The bus touched 80 to 100 kms an hour as i began to enjoy both the movie and the beautiful ghat section of the western ghats. This ride according to me is a must  do for every one. We reached Pune in 2 hours time and stopped in the outskirts for tea. By then we had joined NH - 4 to Bangalore. This is also a four lane express way which is well marked, laid and has beautifully maintained on either side of the road. We resumed our journey and stopped only for dinner at a lonely remote dabha which was clean and new. We again resumed our journey and the crew had put on the second movie of that trip.

Ballal Bagh, Mangalore

Next morning i woke up to the aroma of Goli Baje (A coastal Karnataka snack) which was just being fried. I realised the bus had stopped for breakfast. We were on NH - 17 about 3 hours away from Nantoor which was my stop in Mangalore. I got down and had a stomach full of this snack along with my favourite filter coffee. We then began the last leg of our journey. Soon we were entering Mangalore from Suratkal and the iconic NITK campus passed by.  I called my father telling him that i would reach by 20 - 30 mins. As expected 30 mins later i got off the bus at Nantoor and was met by the familiar dust and humidity of "Namma Kudla" (Mangalore).

All the trips i made from Chembur eto Nantoor  have been quite memorable. I hope i will get an opportunity to travel by that route again :)