Just returned to "civilization" tonight.
Had been on a field trip. To Motihari. In East Champaran district. Which is in Bihar.
And I must say THIS. I am DISAPPOINTED.
Bihar - the very name evokes images.
Not positive ones.
So, thus pre-decided subconsciously, I stepped out of Lok Nayak Jay Prakash Narayan INTERNATIONAL Airport yesterday - this airport caters ONLY to domestic flights, btw.
Outside, waiting for my cab and driver I am an eyewitness to a heated argument between a lone, hapless Ola driver and a crowd of other 'regular' taxi wallahs.
Mercifully, my driver - Ramashesh - turns up and I do not know whether the Ola chap got trashed or not.
My destination is Areraj, near Motihari, 170 kms north of Patna.
My client and I are keen to reach soon. There's work to be done.
So, as I said... I'm disappointed.
Not with the roads - of the 170 kms, we saw bad/pot holed roads for perhaps 3 kms. As for the rest, no jokes, the roads were SUPERB. Maa Kasam!!
I'm disappointed. Not with the food in the roadside dhaba (NEW Lalan Singh's Dhaba) but yes, child labour persists in abundance (fabulous dahi, by the way, the best I've EVER had)
I'm disappointed - not with the people. It was a technical discussion on damage to HT Transmission Cables due to floods. The discussions were deeply technical but conducted in a professional and knowledgeable manner. Civilised, too. None of the brash braggadocio that one has heard Bihar to be famous for.
Yet, I'm disappointed.
We return to Patna.
It is 9:30 at night.
We've been up, awake, on the go since dawn.
We know Bihar is the "new" Gujarat. Prohibition state.
And we are blasé.
We're tired. Thirsty. And confident. This is, after all, Bihar.
The land of the lawless.
Booze ought to be available. On tap. For a price, of course.
We've earned the right! Damn it.
Didn't we trek, wade through knee deep water in the Budhi Gandak River, trudge through slush and muck, all of 9 kms? One is thirsty.
All that one needs after all this... A stiff whiskey.
No.
Na da.
Nothing doing.
Not available.
Not for money. Nor for love.
Tchah!!!
What BIHAR.
Give me Mumbai any day.
With lousy roads.
Screwed up traffic.
Rude assholes.
Give me THIS hellhole.
Where, when I'm tired
Daroo milta hai.
Who wants Bihar with its superb roads, fine people and all that.
Bimaru Bombay is "home", sorry, mariyal Mumbai
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