After returning home from Sumay-uncle’s house, I went back to university, feeling happy to reunite with my friends after two months. Spending time with them helped lessen the sadness from my strained relationship with Pranshi. I chose not to talk about my heartbreak and focused on enjoying myself and my academics.

Despite Pranshi’s attempts to contact me, I remained angry and stopped responding, leading to her eventually giving up. Our second year of college began, bringing new teachers and syllabus which was pretty exciting. However, the hostel rules felt restrictive. So, four friends and I rented a house near a cantonment area, bought second-hand motorbikes, and enjoyed our freedom. We spent our time cooking together, hosting parties, and and talking about everything till late night. Life felt awesome.

23 September 2017: I can never forget this day

On 23 September, it was Rohit’s birthday, and we wanted to do something special. Instead of the usual fancy restaurant treat, we decided to go on a road trip to the beautiful hill station of Dalhousie, often called the mini-Switzerland of India. Rohit generously offered to cover the hotel expenses.

Filled with excitement, we packed our bags after college on Friday and got ready for the trip. Since we had three bikes and six people, two people shared each bike. At 6 PM, we set off on our first road trip together, heading towards Dalhousie. The cool breeze on the highway, surrounded by tall eucalyptus trees, made the journey feel heavenly.

At 10 PM, we reached Pathankot, the border of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, just 50 kilometers away from Dalhousie. Our excitement was uncontrollable, and we joyfully screamed in anticipation of our destination. After a delicious dinner at a restaurant, we resumed our journey.

a scary encounter

As we rode ahead, we entered a forest area, which turned out to be a wildlife sanctuary. At first, we didn’t feel unsafe, but then the heavy rain started pouring down. With no shelter in sight, we continued bravely. Thankfully, after about 10 kilometers, we found a closed shop with a large roof, providing us refuge from the rain.

After waiting for about thirty minutes, the rain finally stopped, and we decided to continue our journey. However, our excitement had dampened as we were completely soaked and shivering from the cold. After riding for about 4-5 kilometers, we spotted a big creature with shiny skin crossing the road. As we got closer, we realized it was a python, its swollen stomach indicating it had recently gobbled up something. This sight made us nervous and scared.

To make matters worse, the rain started pouring heavily again as we were about to ride up a hill. Despite the unsettling experience, we pushed on, trying to stay composed. However, the presence of animals near the roadside added to our concerns. We came across a group of foxes walking down the road as we passed. Suddenly, one of the bikes developed issues, raising our worries. Thankfully, our friend Shubham, a student of mechanical engineering, quickly examined the bike and fixed the problem with the chain. While he was doing that, I noticed a signboard in the dark night, and upon approaching it, I realized we were in an area known for leopards and bears.

Filled with fear and desperation, my only wish was to escape that situation as quickly as possible. We had all lied to our parents, pretending we would travel by bus. Deep down, I regretted the lie, thinking it might have caused our current plight. Doubts consumed me – What if we couldn’t find the hotel? When would this nerve-wracking journey end? The uncertainty crippled my courage, and fear gripped me tightly.

My friend Nitin, who was riding with me on my bike, also seemed nervous and asked silly questions. After that scary moment, we continued our journey. To calm myself, I started praying and quietly repeated the “Hare Krishna Mantra” while riding the bike. It was a new and frightening experience for me.

endless obstacles

I used to believe that the journey itself is more enjoyable than reaching the destination, but that belief was challenged during our trip that night. We were anxious to reach the hotel as soon as possible, but it seemed the obstacles were endless. We encountered a check post where the police stopped us and asked for our identification. Sadly, nobody except Shubham had their driving licenses, and we didn’t have the insurance papers either. I only had my learner’s license as my driving license was still being processed. The officer was upset and fined us a substantial amount. We didn’t have enough money to pay the fine, so we begged him to be understanding. Fortunately, he reduced the fine, but it still meant we lost a significant portion of the money we had with us.

After passing the check post, we decided to take a short break, but it wasn’t a relaxing one. One of our friends became upset and started shouting, expressing regret over the decision to go on this trip. He was quite frustrated and exclaimed, “We shouldn’t have come on this trip. Whose idea was this, anyway? I just want to go home now.” We made an effort to calm him down and empathize with his feelings, trying to understand what was bothering him.

I hoped this terrifying night would end soon as we were just 20 kilometers away from our destination. It was already 1 o’clock at night, and the roads were completely empty, with only a few trucks passing by. Along the way, we saw mud heaps and large stones that seemed to be a result of landslides due to heavy rain. Despite this, we kept going on our journey. I kept telling myself, “Don’t worry; everything will be alright. Have faith in Krishna; He will protect you.” I also remembered Gurudev and Srila Prabhupada during that challenging time.

Then, all of a sudden, Shubham’s bike suddenly made a loud noise and came to a halt. His bike broke down and it didn’t move further. It seemed like a serious problem this time, and he couldn’t fix it on the spot. We were now stuck, still 10 kilometers away from the hotel we were supposed to reach.

Amidst this situation, my phone began to ring, and it was my mom calling to check if I had arrived at the hotel safely. Feeling the pressure to reassure her, I decided to tell a little white lie. I claimed that I was already at the hotel and that her call had woken me up from my sleep. In reality, I was far from the hotel, dealing with a broken-down bike and feeling unsure of how we would reach our destination now. The weight of our circumstances was heavy on my mind, but I didn’t want to worry my mom further.

Amidst the tense atmosphere, we gathered around Shubham, attempting to assess the issue with his bike and figuring out our next steps. The road we found ourselves on was unfamiliar and seemed completely deserted, with no signs of nearby mechanics or repair shops. The only sounds that filled the air were the buzzing of insects, the croaking of frogs, and the constant roar of a waterfall beneath the hill.

An Unexpected Blessing

Despite Shubham’s persistent efforts, his bike remained unresponsive. The sense of helplessness began to sink in as we realized the magnitude of our situation. It was then that a sudden idea sparked in my mind. Turning to my friends, I suggested, “Let me go ahead and see if there are any ropes or tools available.”

Without wasting any time, Nitin and I rode my bike for about 50 meters and stumbled upon a small temple dedicated to Lord Shiva and a nearby cow shed. Hoping for a stroke of luck, I instructed Nitin, “Go inside the cowshed; there might be a rope there.” To our relief and amazement, Nitin discovered an unused rope lying near the cows. Excitedly, he called out to me, “Chirag! I found a rope!”

We rushed back to where Shubham was stuck and started implementing our plan. We carefully fastened the rope between the two bikes, making sure it was secure enough for the towing. The atmosphere was still tense, but now there was a glimmer of optimism that we could overcome the challenges before us. With Nitin on the back of my bike and Shubham’s bike in tow, we slowly set off on our makeshift journey. The sound of the waterfall roared beneath us, acting as a constant reminder of the challenging circumstances we were facing.

A Thin Line Between Life and Death

As we were riding cautiously, we faced a sharp turn, and suddenly, and to our horror, a large truck appeared seemingly out of nowhere. I reacted swiftly, slamming on the disc brakes, but my bike skidded dangerously close to the edge of the cliff.

In that terrifying moment, it felt like time stood still. I thought to myself, “This is it; I’m going to die.” Fear engulfed me as I closed my eyes tightly and held onto my bike’s handle with all my strength. The proximity to the cliff was nerve-wracking, and my mind was filled with thoughts of the worst possible outcomes.

However, after what felt like an eternity, I realized that we were somehow safe. It was as if a divine force had intervened, sparing us from disaster. I couldn’t comprehend how we managed to avoid falling off the cliff, but we were still standing on the road with our bikes, unharmed. It was a surreal and miraculous escape. In a daze, we looked at each other, speechless and in awe of what had just occurred. My heart continued to race, and it took a while for us to find our words. Eventually, we got off our bikes and stood silently for a few minutes, trying to process the near-death experience.

finally we made it

Feeling immense gratitude, I couldn’t help but thank God for protecting us in that critical moment. Gathering our courage, we decided to press on and continue riding towards the hotel. The journey had been filled with terror and unexpected challenges, but we were determined to reach our destination.

As we rode on, the rain persisted, soaking us to the bone. The temperature dropped to a freezing 4 degrees Celsius, and we couldn’t stop shivering. But the thought of finally reaching the hotel kept us going. Finally after enduring all the hassles we made it to the hotel. A sense of relief calmed our fast beating hearts and we smiled looking at each other.

It was around 2:30 at night; it had been my life’s longest and most frightening night. After changing into dry clothes, we all collapsed on our beds. We didn’t want to talk about the hardships we faced.

But the problems were not over yet. We still had a broken-down bike to fix and arrange money for the rest of the trip.

Stay tuned to find out what happened to our trip…