Bangalore traffic scenario is pretty good on holidays. Today, being a national holiday, I expected the roads to remain jam free and convenient for cycling.
I had chalked out a rough route for the trip yesterday. The idea was to cycle through some bits of greenery. Mahadevpura constituency has methodically got rid of any stretch of greenery. Last week I had cycled to Hoskote junction in search for the same, yet greenery eluded me.
Today morning, right when I woke up, I found the sky to be gloomy. There was a constant drizzle. It must had been so for hours – that’s what the wet landscape viewable through my bedroom window suggested.
At around 9 o’clock, the drizzle had subsided. The sky was still gloomy. I decided to get out anyways.
The target was to go past Sarjapura railway junction. I took the Outer Ring Road and then Sarjapura Main Road. The last time I was here, some three years ago, it was to shoot a video for our band. Back then, the area was barren. Three years later, the area was unrecognisable.
This is Ugyal during the video shoot three years ago. The railway track he is standing on is close to the Sarjapur railway junction. I am sure that the barren background is no more barren. P.S. We did not use any footage from this Sarjapur session.
The first signs of greenery were on State Highway 35 – one that connects Sarjapur Main Road and Varthur village. In fact, this was the best stretch of road that I have traversed in the entire course.
I paused for a break and took a few snaps. I realised the amount of sludge I had traversed through. (I had not strayed away from the main road, not even non-metalled sidewalks and service lanes) My road bike could have easily camouflaged itself with its cyclocross brethren.
A farmer’s shade. This area is home to quite a few International schools.
That’s not a cyclocross bike and no, I did not participate in a cyclocross event.
Bangalore real estate is visible near the north-west horizon.
Towards my right (south-east), the foliage of a forest flanks the landscape.
The best stretch of road I had encountered in the entire route.
The greenery did not last long. I could soon feel that I was approaching Varthur village. The sludge had reappeared.
The sludge re-appears near Varthur village.
Later, somewhere on the Whitefield Road, I saw a few school kids cleaning a different kind of sludge. This reminded me that it was the 1st Anniversary of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
School children participating in Swachh Bharath Abhiyan.
En route, a Volvo driver crossed me. While passing by, he pointed at me and gave me a look that was a cross between ridicule and pity. I knew that he was reacting to the sludge on my back. I smiled at him and shook my head.
