We believe in Angels

Cyrus Dadachanji & Mohit Midha
26^th March, 2007, Lumbini-Ramnagar

Today is the 12^th day of our journey. It began like any other day, at an unearthly hour. By 7 a.m., we were off from Lumbini, headed towards the Indian border. There's a nip in the air, as we line up on the road outside our hotel. Spotted pigeons, attracted by the warmth of the engines made themselves comfortable under our vehicles, until we were asked to roll.

The roads in this part of Nepal are absolutely fabulous. They are well surfaced, free of gravel and the signage is more than adequate. Before long, we were cruising along at a steady pace on the East - West Mahendra Highway. This highway, as its name suggests connects the Eastern part of the country with Mahendra Nagar on the Western Border.

The conversation on the radio veered towards our comments on the Nepal section of our journey and the impeccable organising by the Nepal Team. It also became apparent that Aimee, the lady with the angelic voice that we had heard yesterday ran an orphanage with her earnings. She is in great demand in Europe and other countries, and uses the money she earns to fund the orphanage. What better way to find inner peace.

By now we were around 140 km along the way. There were small hamlets with hard flooring and that had roofs along the highway. As we were soaking in the scene, the first distress call came. One of the cars had a puncture. The Service Team rushed to fix it and in 15 minutes we were on our way again.

Over the next few kilometres, we passed through tall forests of Sag trees and arrived at a beautiful cable-stayed suspension bridge. The Karnali bridge is one of the longest of its kind in Asia. It was a beautiful sight, with the convoy passing over this gracefully designed engineering marvel, while a river flowed gently below.

The banter on the radio focussed on cricket with good-natured ribbing, as the World Cup is currently in progress and four of our country teams are participating. While we were discussing the possibility of forming a world-class SAARC cricket team, we received the next call. A tyre had burst, leaving another participant waiting for support. Thankfully that was the only damage done to either the vehicle or its occupants. Unfortunately, we were in an area where we were prone to attacks from insurgents, and sitting ducks for them, in case they should decide to ambush our convoy. Our security guards could breathe easy only after the tyre was fixed and the convoy moved on.

It was late in the afternoon that we sped through the Bardia Wildlife Sanctuary. Normally, private vehicles are not allowed in the sanctuary, but then you can't stop a seven - nation rally can you? So, we enjoyed a fast rive through the protected area and emerged without even having seen a rabbit. Can’t blame the animals though, as this is one of the most densely populated game sanctuaries in Nepal.

It was just before sundown that the convoy screeched to a halt again. Our Marshall Renuka turned her acre around and sped off in the direction in which we had come. Apparently one of the cars in the tail end of the convoy had minor mishap while trying to save a deer that jumped at the car from an embankment. Once again, the occupants emerged unscathed, but badly shaken. Our Service Team inspected the car and ensured that it was road worthy before we took off again.

We arrived at Ramnagar to the clash of cymbals and drums. Our hotel has beautiful premises with streams water bodies and a fabulous view. After a brief cultural dinner and warm, welcoming beds, it was time to call it a night. I said a silent prayer thanking whichever angel was present above for protecting all our partners and keeping us away from harm. It was only this morning that I realised - it was the 13^th of March.

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