The shadowy roads.

The shadowy roads.
It was the time of summer; the golden sun had turned the green forests into the golden forests. To be precise, the season for adventure had begun.
I and my friends, Anuj , Sonia, Rohit and Rinny were all desperately waiting for this perfect time to feel the rustle of dried flowery petals under the bare tires of my beloved Blackwagon, that’s the name I’ve given to my Scorpio. The name “Scorpio” is in itself a perfect match to my adventurous nature. It was a gloomy morning and I was checking with my Blackwagon , “ Hi Babit, all set!”, Heaved with Rucksack, Rohit seemed like perfectly equipped with all the gears for the journey. Soon all of us were cheerfully joining hands and were ready to set some new unforgettable glimpses in our memories. I could feel the cascaded wind blowing on my face, messing up my hair. Rohit was seated beside me, and the three girls were all silently throwing their glares on the sweeping landscapes waving their bodies along with the wavy turns on the landscapes. I could feel the grip of my tires on those snaky roads as my feet pumped the accelerator.
The road now turned into a pitch where I could see its meeting the horizon. The weeping willows had blossomed and were pouring us with their pink petals along with the wind blown due the rush of the Scorpio.
The roads were all sprinkled in pink and seemed like heralding our entrance to their shadowy world. I could feel the rough surface of my tires rolling on the soft carpet of flowers. The destination planned was Samsing Suntaleykhola, a remote place of North Bengal, and we’d heard that it’s the place where both the hills and the plains start and end. I am an artist and so is nature, we have so many things in common; hence we share each other’s grievances. I believe to be a social traveler and my friends too support me in this philosophy of mine where we try our best to convert our traveling expenses into a contribution to save the measures responsible for the safe existence of the environment. We never plan our nights, our days arranges us for its nights. Now the night was covering the bright sky with its dark veil. The green tea bushes were becoming invisible and the roads could no more be measured. We always prefer a home stay, a village’s house where we mingle with their culture, taste and tradition to experience a new feeling of refreshment. But at that moment the journey was still left and the day had no time to arrange us for its night. All of a sudden Rohit murmured, “Someone is waving”. And I saw a dazzling face of an old man all wrinkled revealing his passed barriers of life. Sonia asked to halt and without any further question I stopped, the man ran around us from right to left just to pop in his head through the window of the driving seat. “What’s the matter?”, I questioned. I was slightly moved by the worried expression of his face. He gave a quick look at the ladies seated behind and then at Rohit, and finally confirming something asked us haphazardly “, Where are you coming from and where do you want to go?”, The two questions were thrown simultaneously in such a manner, that it perfectly showed that the man didn’t want any answer. Anuj interrupted in our silent conversation and gave the answers. The man said that there was a strike on hills and no vehicles were allowed to run, he also told that a vehicle tried to do so and it was randomly bashed and also the people inside it were wounded because it was stuck in a mishap between the two political parties who were against each other. The incident had happened just few kilometers ahead and it was still getting worse. Rinny insisted on taking a turn, but the man again said that the incidence has put fuel in the fire and on every corner the barricade has
been stood, So even on the way which has been passed falls under the same jurisdiction and they’ll stop every vehicle trying to get out either. Rohit roared in frustration, “But we do not belong to this region and are innocent.” I agree, but fire never bares innocent,’’. The crowd is now out of control and even the Police force have been stoned and wounded.” The man suddenly pointed towards some far distance on the road, where all of us could see several lights marching down towards us, making grunting and roaring sounds. The old man without any request opened the back door, banged it and pointed us to take a right turn, towards the dark jungle. No sign of roads, or trails, I could only see the bushy wall standing right in the front of my vehicle, glowing in their green colors in the yellow light of my Blackwagon. “I know a way out from here without passing the barricade or the crowd but we have to drive through the jungle to reach that jungle trail”, the old man said. We all were stuck and were questioning with our eyes to each other and as I got the same answer from everyone, without any word I drove towards those bushes making the rushing sound of the body of my Scorpio against those dense bushes, I could feel the dried twigs breaking and giving the way through them to my strong bull finding no other options. I felt like I wasn’t driving my vehicle, but instead the vehicle was driving us as we had all gone blind. The quiet ambience of the jungle was all echoed with the roaring of my Scorpio. Suddenly out of the blank Rinny threw a question, “Is there any chance to encounter any wild animal? Till that time I was not worried at all about it and precisely, even the question didn’t bother me, as I had pictured the biggest animal as a common leopard and my Scorpio was enough to fight for its size. “Yes, Elephants!” replied the old man, and It was like a stone breaking the hallucination. The mercury level of my worry suddenly rose to the highest level. I had heard elephants squeezing the vehicles with people in it. “How far is the trail? When will this blind road end?” Rohit murmured. All of a sudden the bushes were finished and there came a rough, muddy jungle trail, it looked like some vehicle had moved on that trail years back. The man showed us the direction and now it was a bit easier for me, as at least I could see the surface of the trail. Every shadow looked like an elephant to me, and every rustling sound of the jungle seemed like the trumpet. The old man then told that it was the restricted area and if we’re caught then we would be imprisoned. There was not even a single narrow escape, as we were all surrounded by uncountable risks. I was praying hard to let the time pass quickly so we can take out some resolution. After about an hour I could see some lights twinkling in far distance. The man replied that we were about to reach a forest village and we could stay there in a house for a night and in the morning when situation would be calmed, we could move ahead. The most healing revelation of that old man was that he belonged to the same village and we were about stay in his own house for that particular night. As we reached his small but cozy house, his family members treated us like we were the part of their family and had stuck in that unwanted situation. I slept like I had not for years, and in the morning I checked Blackwagon, all dusty and muddy like a forest hunter. The old man informed us that now we could move ahead as the situation was fine.
That was the most adventurous experience I ever had with my Scorpio and friends. The unforgettable memory of those shadowy roads still makes me feel like I have not yet reached my destination.