The driver drove a little ahead in order to turn back. From a slight bend in the road I saw a dot of white coming towards us and a sound I never thought I would be so delighted to hear. It was them. They had returned...to rescue us.
The driver jammed the brakes and suddenly a flurry of voices were heard. Familiar voices and faces that I had missed in the last few hours. From behind the wheel Rjmpb squinted at us. I tumbled out from my seat and felt my roomie S fling herself at me and give me the biggest hug ever. Suddenly it was all alright.
We were all going to Sumur now. Back to the Tehsil with a plank for a gate and Noddy for a Tehsildar. A and Ron would go ahead to get the bike fixed while the rest of us, six of us would stay back at the Tehsil. Finally things were back to normal.
Upon arriving at the Tehsil, Rjmpb went to meet the Tehsildar while the rest of the gang stayed back in the car. Since I was the only one who had spoken with the Tehsildar , I took it upon myself to introduce Rjmpb to the man. A and Ron moved on ahead and we went through the planky fence into the Tehsil
( Side note : Rjmpb while on vacation, tends to forget all issues that deal with hygeine and personal grooming. As a consequence, he had dispensed with the need to use a razor or for that matter a shampoo for the past couple of days.)
Noddy Tehsildar looked up as the two of us walked in. I was this time, free of all encumberances save my cadre mate of course. I announced our arrival with my deepest voice ,"Mr G, IAS, Rajasthan Cadre"
(Side note 2: Rjmpb is referred to as Mr G in company and he happens to be a cadre-mate)
Tehsildar Noddy got up from his swivel chair and moved forward jerking his head vigrously.I took a look at the picture "Mr G, IAS, Rajasthan cadre " presented. Unshaved, matted hair and jeans that were torn at the knees.
Mr G however was living the IAS bit to the hilt. After the intital introductions were over, he even began to discuss the revenue working of the district. Tehsildar Noddy and his staff answered and more tea was ordered for.
Fifteen minutes later another occupant of the SUV, who got bored of the whole process of sitting outside decided to come in and make acquaintance.
(Side note 3: While at the sulphur springs at Panamik, the group had pushed R down a wet patch, and he was carrying memories and remanants of the sulphur springs and a lot of clay on his track pants.)
R walked in looking very interested in the Tehsil. This time round Rjmpb decided to do the introductions. " Mr R, IAS , Karnataka cadre"
Tehsildar Noddy stared at R's tracks and almost stopped with the nodding. Now that some time had elapsed the clay had dried and caked into brown splotches along the length.
We all sat around drinking tea and asking wise questions dealing with adminstration. Tehsildar Noddy looked hard at each one of us answering politely.
In between he would speak up checking" are you ALL in the IAS?"
And grimly we would all reply "Yes"
Two more rounds of tea were ordered , this time with freshly plucked apples. The Tehsildar sipped his tea and stared at R's tracks. No one from our village ever made it to the IAS. We nodded politely and Rjmpb offered useful advice as well.
A couple of hours later A and Ron came back with a functioning bike. We thanked the Tehsildar and his staff profusely and said good bye to Sumur.
(Side Note 4: The story doesn't quite end here. On our way back, the SUV had a flat at Khardungla. Yes at the highest motorable point in the world. It was late in the evening , 18000ft high and bitterly cold. But we survived that and lived to tell yet another tale. A brought back a few snaps of the lone motorcycle fixing shop on the other side of Khardungla and I leave you here with a few images)
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