It was a holiday and Ghanu, the driver and I were relaxing. Suddenly he was apprised about a job. There was a family that wanted to go on a trip and the travel agency had been unable to arrange for a proper jeep owing to the tourist season rush. Hence, as a last resort, they had called for our ambassador car. I was very irritated. I had been jolted from my reverie and my mood became testy. However, nothing could be done. We just had to go.
The family turned out to be nice. There were two children and four adults. I made some quick mental notes- relatively few passengers and a day-long trip to some famous places in and around Ajmer. Mt. Abu in Rajasthan had always been a famous tourist destination and I loved travelling around. I had been to Jaisalmer, Jaipur, Bikaner and Pushkar. This would be my first trip to Mt. Abu and I was excited. From what I overheard, one family lived there and the other was visiting from Delhi. The two families were related.
One of the men was very angry with the delay and as soon as we reached the house, the six passengers got onto the car to start the journey. However, after a little while, one of the women started feeling sick. This happened despite the fact that she had popped in her motion sickness medicine before starting the journey. We had to stop for her to relieve her nausea.
This continued throughout the rest of the trip. Although this dented the spirits of the young passengers the woman endured her plight with courage. She said that since they were already a long way from home, there was no reason to stop. Her condition worsened when we started ascending the mountain range but she still braved it.
However her husband (who the others addressed as uncle) was very irritating. He tried very hard to strike a conversation with Ghanu. 'How long have you been driving; from where do you belong; is there any other job that you do- his volley of silly questions was unrelenting. I wondered if he would remember the answers at all. His questions only distracted Ghanu. However, Ghanu was smart. He replied in monosyllables and kept driving erratically, just as I had taught him. This kept the people in the car on tenterhooks for they felt that they might collide into any oncoming vehicle very soon. Eventually, the man left Ghanu alone. Probably he realised that his questions might distract the driver to the extent of causing an accident.
They kept complaining and said they were feeling suffocated inside the car. This was despite the fact that the windows were half open to let in the autumn breeze. Whenever the car halted and they stepped outside to roam about they would feel much better. I just couldn't understand what all their complains were about. They were having enough fun it seemed. We made stops at all the famous spots on Mt. Abu – the Dilwara Temple, the Nakki Lake and some more places that I can't recall. They had lunch at some local restaurant and the children went horse-riding. The woman who had motion sickness also felt better whenever they were outside the ambassador. I seriously wondered why they were constantly complaining inside the car. I concluded that in a small cramped up space, there will be a feeling of unease. It is inevitable and therefore one should bear with it. After all everything can't be perfect in a road trip.
They ended their trip with a sunset view at sunset point. It was one of the most famous tourist spots on the mountain and it was good that they did not miss it. Sitting on the hillside, munching on peanuts they witnessed an ethereal sunset. As soon as it was over, they dashed back to the car because the journey back would take more than 4hours. When we started back, they were all tired but satisfied. The children soon fell asleep. They looked like two little cherubs. I have to admit though, the group was overall friendly and polite, and unlike the silent faces we usually had. The constant chatter of the children was a welcome change from the usual dead-faced passengers that we had on a daily basis.
The journey back was not without problems. The car started having engine related troubles from the very beginning of the return journey. The darkness had fallen fast and the roads were now pitch black. The car had to intermittently halt owing to some engine glitch or the other. As the darkness around was almost menacing the halts were petrifying for the passengers. They got their worst scare when the brakes of the car almost failed while we were going downhill. They were all frightened for their lives.
On top of this, Ghanu had taken a drink or two and now his tongue had loosened up. He eventually blurted out to them that this was not any ordinary car. It had the unusual job of ferrying victims of road accidents to and from the accident site to the hospital morgue. I could feel the unease settle down amongst them all. Whispers started that the driver somehow never seemed to need any light while repairing the engine faults. Even when the breaks had failed, he worked on them in complete darkness. No torchlight, or candle light, nor even the light from a matchstick or lighter. The driver always seemed to have a blank stare at the road. Was it possible that he was possessed? Or was it that any soul was trapped in the car and was creating trouble for them? I nearly choked with laughter as I overheard all their assumptions.
The frequent halts were delaying us. The passengers also made an unplanned stop at a roadside hotel to have food and freshen up. The car still felt stuffy in spite of the cold night breeze. The highway was dark and night traffic meant trucks and lorries. And all this was making the adult passengers very nervous. The mood inside the car was very somber and uneasy. No one was chatting or making comments. All of them were now praying. The intermittent brake failures coupled with the knowledge that the car was used to transfer dead bodies had made them turn to the Almighty. They urged the higher power to save them from any unpredictable peril. To my surprise, the journey after that became much smother.
We reached their destination very late. Their family members were all standing at the gate anxiously waiting for them. They were supposed to have returned by 8 pm but now it was well past midnight. One of the men stopped praying only after all the passengers had stepped out of the car. He was the last one to get down. Suddenly there was loud crash which took me by surprise too. The axle of the car had given way and crashed down on the road beneath. The car was immobile and only a tow truck could move it now. Can you imagine what would have happened if this had taken place on the highway? Or while we were plummeting downhill on failed brakes?
No tow company was open at that time of the night, which meant we were stuck in front of the house for the rest of the night. The family was kind enough to offer Ghanu food and water but he had to stay with the car for the fear of burglars. When everything and everyone had finally settled down for the night, I heard Ghanu grumbling to himself. He was sure that the boss would be angry and would reprimand him for blurting out the secret of the car. He was sure that the travelers would ask for a refund of the money for all the troubles they had faced. Eventually, tired from the events of the day he dozed off.
So what about me? Well, Ghanu does not know that I exist. I sat in the back seat and reminisced about the entire day. It had been fun indeed to have a set of different passengers for the first time since I had been a passenger in this very car. After my fatal bike accident with a truck on the highway, they had put me in the back seat to take me to the morgue. I had kind of liked the cozy seats and so now I accompany the other souls that travel in this ambassador after their time on earth is over. Apart from Ghanu, these tourists were the only living souls that have travelled with me in a while.
By: Gargi Bandyopadhyay
Also Read: Give your Home a Summer Makeover
Also Watch: