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. That railway line is close to the Sarjapur railway junction.](http://sauvikbiswas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/11110880_1064110666951367_8308223750859616085_n.jpg)
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.
The greenery did not last long. I could soon feel that I was approaching Varthur village. The sludge had reappeared.
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.
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.