One of the most "memorable" journeys I had in Kerala, was made yesterday. The plan was actually quite fantastic (and realestic). A 7:00AM departure from Thrissur via Kuttippuram, Thirunavaya, Puthananthani, Kozhikode City, and to reach Perambra by 10:30-11:00Hrs. A quick brunch at XYL QTH and then drive up the Kuttiyadi ghats, Mananthavady, Kaatikulam, Bavali, Mysore, Bannur and Bangalore. With a departure from Perambra at around 1:00AM, we should be at Bangalore at dinner time at least.
It was after crossing the Kuttipuram bridge we came to know about some impending "dangers". There was a road-block protest planned completely using social media in protest against the brutal killing of a girl in Jammu. This was more of a "whisper campaign" and the police looks like were caught in a surprise. We hit our first road block near Thirunavaya. It was just a group of men (it was always young men), not holding any party flags etc. who just stopped all vehicles. I made a phone call to Malappuram Dt. Police control, and they just noted down my message. Spent around 10 mins there, and we drove on to Puthananthani. But from what I could gather from the locals more road-blocks are getting setup at various parts of the district. The police too had now come to realise the over-all game plan and seems to have got their act together (more police vehicles on the road).
We were driving at a quick speed and approaching a place
Venniyur, when I heard a "cracker burst" sound from my Mahindra Quanto. Parked the vehicle and did a quick check on the four tyres. None of them have got burst. So decided to drive on. But I realised that the pulling power of my vehicle has come down and thick black exhaust is coming out of the vehicle. I decided to pull towards the road side. It was around 08:30AM and no shops in the vicinity had opened up. Rumours of a
harthal was also gaining prominence. There was a way side tea shop owner who helped us out. Over a glass of tea he managed to summon a local mechanic. I also raised a call on the Mahindra Help line, who said that they would send some one in another 15-20 mins (their feedback call came around 3 mins after I made the complaint). The local mechanic arrived and asked us to bring the vehicle to a work shop which is not near the main road. There he removed the "Intercooler" Top cover and identified the problem. A huge hose pipe connecting the engine to the Turbo charger had come out. This would be the third time my Mahindra Quanto has been landing me in a tough spot, and this Intercooler mechanism was the root cause on two such occassions. At this time, I really cursed myself for opting for a Mahindra vehicle. My Maruthi Wagon R was put to use for nearly 8 years; but not even once did I have to stand on the road due to engine troubles etc.
The local mechanic fixed the problem, but the "check engine" light still glowed. He said the vehicle is in a drivable condition so I should go forward towards Kozhikode. In the mean while a dealership in Kozhikode had sent one of their boys towards our location. He was on a bike, and he said there are multiple protests and he is getting delayed. The local mechanic just took Rs.100 for the hard work he had done, and bade us good bye. I started driving towards Kozhikode city, and voila after around 5 mins of driving I found that the "check engine" light had died out. The vehicle has recovered, and I could increase the speed. Mean while the Mahindra dealer's chap had managed to reach a place
Kolappuram. I asked him to wait there. There was another road block on the way, and we had to take a detour. The police too were now out in full force. They were able to reach the trouble spots quickly, and they were dumping the chief trouble makers into the jeep and chasing away the rest. Looks like it was only in Tirur-Thanur area there were more severe L&O problems with stone throwing and injured police men.
At Kolappuram we met the Mahindra dealer's man. He pretty much double checked what the local mechanic had done, and he also did the scanning using an electronic device which he had. He reset all the error flags and said that was all to be done. Apologetically he said Rs. 500/- was their service charge. No point in making fuss with this young chap, so I paid up and moved on. It was at around 12:30 noon that I pulled into a hotel at Ramanattukara. Had a very delayed breakfast, and moved on. After crossing the bye-pass road XYL took over, and by around 1:30PM we were at her home. I was so tired by then that I slept off till around 4:00PM.
Started the Bangalore leg of the journey at 4:15PM, and there were road blocks again at Niravilpuzha and 4th Mile. But here again the police presence was high, and the protestors requested vehicles to wait for 3-4 mins and then allowed them to go on. It was at 6:15PM that we reached the Karnataka forest check post at Bavali, and the barrier remained firmly down. The forest guard politely said that 6PM was the cut off time. I used all my Kannada speaking skills, explained the situation on the way, and the guard then just allowed us to drive on. He saved us, or else it would have been a longer drive via Tholpetty-Kutta. The guards here are generally strict; a relative of mine who tried entering from the KA side was stopped. He finally had to get back to Mysore (to stay at a good decent hotel), and restart the journey the next day. We pulled into Chitravana Resorts for dinner at around 08:00PM.
Re-started the drive at 09:00PM and we were welcomed by one of the harshest rain fall ever. Right from the ring road at Mysore it was heavy rains and severe thunder & lightning. We decided to take the Bannur-Malavalli route. The road has been re-laid and there are good reflectors out there, and this helped us. There was darkness all around, heavy rains with lightning striking quite close to the ground. At times we even thought of stopping the vehicle, but then decided to move on. From Malavalli onwards it was slightly better. It was not raining on this area, and there was less traffic on the road. Luckily the road condition was good. Road widening is happening, but the areas where work is being done is clearly demarcated. At around 11:00PM we were approaching NICE road. For me, I was just waiting to get home. At 11:20PM we passed through the toll booth near Electronics City. There was this nasty hump on the down ramp towards Hosur road. It is never marked out clearly and it is quite big. Saw this at quite close distance, and braked hard. The brake shoes sqealed, and I could sense the smell of burnt rubber. All I required now was a flat tyre.
Finally I pulled into my home at 11:30PM. May be what ever we had to bear, we had finished that in Kerala itself. It would have been more "challenging" if the Turbo charger decided to go kaput between Mysore-Malavalli when there is also heavy rains to add to the fun. Today's news papers had more detailed report on the
"protest through social media" in some districts in Kerala. The police and the state government also seems to have clearly identifed the
modus operandi and the involved parties.