Strange Saturday

MORPHEUS: Do you believe in fate, Neo?

NEO: No.

MORPHEUS: Why not?

NEO: Because I don't like the idea that I'm not in control of my life.

-          From ‘The Matrix’ (1999)

Although the Indian Railways have earned a notorious status for trains never being on time, few ‘elite’ trains like Rajdhani, Duranto & Shatabdi are an exception; all other trains stop to let these trains pass through and stick to the schedule. So when the Shatabdi I was travelling from Hyderabad to Pune reached full 50 min late at midnight of Friday and Saturday, I should have guessed something was wrong. If not with the train, with me.

I walked out of the station booking a cab on Uber. I hardly get surge pricing in Pune, but that day I was forced to book at 2.2x! I went ahead consoling myself that at midnight even the auto rickshaws would charge a bomb.

Of late travelling had been hectic and so I had a packed weekend of household chores. I decided to start with getting my bike wheel checked; it was losing air every couple of days. I opened my gate and noticed that it had broken off its hinges! I had occupied the brand new house for not even 2 months! I went to the tyre service centre and was advised to  change the tyre as there were multiple punctures. I had not even run 3000 kms on it!

We decided to go to the movies. IMAX had recently opened in Pune and I was keen to check it out. So I convinced my daughter to watch “Doctor Strange” instead of her demand for “Trolls”. For the first time since I started booking tickets online couple of years ago, I got a 10% off “Visa Blockbuster Weekend Offer”! Unfortunately we could get only the front row. Although the IMAX experience was far better than the normal 3D or the 4DX, we had to literally look upward so as capture everything that was happening across the screen. Added to that strange things were happening on the screen like buildings tumbling, flipping over (a la Inception, but on a grander scale) depicting the parallel dimensions and time that the mind and matter can foray into.

After this mind-numbing experience, I decided to go and collect my cycle from Decathlon, Wagholi. I had given it for servicing last weekend & then I had gone on tour. Usually, I cycle to Decathlon give it for service, shop around for an hour & the cycle is ready to be delivered. But this time despite keeping it there for a week, I got a call couple of hours before I had decided to take delivery, that there is a major problem on rear hub & cassette. On arriving at the workshop, the specialist explained that he had to replace the entire rear rim & hub assembly. Now this double wall flex aluminium rim is supposed to last a life time! Also I had not been doing those fully day cycling expeditions ever since my family had shifted to Pune a year ago. Neither was I doing off-roading. I had gone off-roading only twice in my life: Once when I lost my way to Lavassa and forayed into the forests & hills and another when the Hotel in Italy was offering a cycle to go around & I deliberately rode into the forest cos they forbid me from riding into the snow-capped mountains.

So how on earth did this failure occur?! Apart from this he had replaced the rear tube and did a complete “14 point check-up”. He handed me a fancy bill of Rs.3,500! That’s the amount I generally shell out for getting my car serviced!

It was 8 in the evening & I was at the extreme east of Pune at  Wagholi. I had to cycle to the extreme west of Pune to Dehu road, a little over 37 kms. Not at all a demanding task with the cool night breeze and listening to the stand-up comedian Aditi Mittal that I had downloaded the previous day. Half an hour later, cycling by Phoenix Market City, I found the rear wheel punctured! That was strange, with a brand new tube put in an hour ago! I looked around for a puncture shop. There were none. I contemplated pushing the cycle back to Decathlon. I wouldn’t be able to make it before closing time. I decided to walk towards home. I found a few puncture shops for bikes and cars. But none of them were willing to mend it for me, despite me offering a higher price nor by listening to my plight of having to go quite a distance back home. I took a detour off the main road to try my luck in some local basti. I found a proper cycle shop with puncture mending facility. But the service guy had left for the day. It was close to 9.30. My chances of finding a shop open was slowing diminishing.

Finally, as I was walking by Yerawada jail, I found a shop! The young lad there quickly jumped into the job. There were 2 holes – both on the rim side and not on the tyre side! Was Decathlon using sub-standard stuff? I took a mental note of raising a complaint. I paid the guy, thanked him profusely and started. Within 2 minutes the front wheel started wobbling. Another flat tyre!

I rushed back to the shop. The guy was starting to close down for the day. But did the job for me.

I decided against cursing my cycle: It hadn’t cheated on me on more enduring journeys like Lonavala, Lavassa, Sinhagad… And I was determined to do a Pune-Mumbai-Pune soon.

It was 10.30pm. I had informed my wife about the delay. She insisted that she’d come pick me & the cycle. I wanted to enjoy the night ride. After a short debate, I told her to come halfway upto my office.

Finally we met up at the office. I dismantled my front wheel, shoved the cycle into the car and drove back home. After a cold shower, I collapsed on the couch with a bagful of junk food, and started watching ‘Evil Dead’ on television. It was midnight.