A night under the sky of the borders of Karnataka

 Somewhere on the borders of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, lying below the sky on top of a public Transport bus, there I was counting the stars and wondering whether it can get anymore beautiful. The Borders of Tamil Nadu are closed between 9 P.m to 6 a.m.

It was 7 p.m and we were already running late to catch the last Ooty bus. I was hellbent on not staying back. We had almost exhausted all options looking for the last vehicle to reach Ooty, as no driver was ready to leave for Ooty at night. After roaming around for a while we finally reached the Bangalore bus stop and booked the last S.O.T.C bus to Ooty. We booked the tickets and left for Ooty. As we were so tired from travelling for the entire day in Bangalore we dozed off in the bus. The bus driver switched off all lights and almost everyone dozed off. The clock hit 12 p.m, it was getting hot as I tried to open the window of the bus, I realized the bus is not moving. I came out and was shocked to see the driver and 3,4 other buses and cars parked over there and the drivers were sitting out almost about to doze off.

As my friend stepped out of the bus agitated over the fact that we will be off our schedule for our trip she started arguing with the bus driver, to which he replied "Madam, border cross nai kar sakte. Ye jungle area hai is wajah se border band kar dia jata hai raat ko after 9 p.m. *facepalm*. Thats when it hit me, no wonder no other drivers were ready to eave for Ooty after 7 p.m.

The routs from Ooty to Mysore passe through Bandipur and Mudumalai National Parks, and the gates to that remain closed between 9 p.m to 6 a.m. Bandipur and Mudumalai are located in the lower reaches of the Nigiri Biosphere Reserve, which is part of the Western Ghats biodiversity. 

There we were in the middle of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu Border trying to figure out what to do, as my friend grew impatient, she forced me to any car that would pass by for lift. As I stood at the road I saw a car "Maruti 800" pass by. I waived my hand and stopped the car. The car stopped, as the driver lowered his window I noticed four dark fat guys. As thoughts started slipping my head, I cam back to reality and asked them, "bhaiya, kaha ja rahe ho". They didnt reply any thing and seemed very drunk. As I asked again I noticed neither of them understanding my question, I thought to myself, rehne de bhai Idhar hi rukte hai. I just avoided speaking any further held my friends hand and just started walking back to where the bus was parked. The car left as I notice someone from behind telling me "boss dont ask for lift to such random stranger" I said okay and went back to the bus. Standing there I noticed the bus had a ladder behind it to go on top. I looked at my friend and told her, "chalo lets go up", we climbed the stair and went up. The blanket of blue sky, the breeze blowing through the leaves and the stars. 

As I lied down there I thanked God for making me miss the earlier busses that would have made me reach on time as I would have missed this moment. That night I had the best sleep I could have.

We woke up at 7 a.m, to the bus starting and moving. We reached Ooty at around 9 a.m.