Typically, I focus on sharing my own experiences, but this time I’m utilizing my platform to recount a past experience my wife had. I’ll be narrating her story in the first person.

I’ve got a hilarious tale to share with you – one that’s not my own, but my wife’s unforgettable adventure from way back in 1996. Picture this: a summer day, she around 10 years old, her little brother just 5, and the regular plan of visiting her Nani’s house like they usually did on Sundays.

Most of the Sundays we would frequent to my Nani’s house. And this Sunday, like most of the other Sundays we got up, had our breakfast, and started for my Nani’s house at around 11/11:30 am. While on the way our parents changed the plan or maybe that was the plan, and we (my brother and I) came to know on the way. They told us that we are going to a place called “Shakumbhari Mata Mandir” which is about 80 Km from our place. It is located in a village called Jamsour near Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh. So, my dad’s scooter instead of stopping at Nani’s house it straight headed for the mandir.

The journey was going fine until we took the right turn from the Dehradun-Saharanpur highway. It suddenly felt like the roads disappeared from below the scooter of ours. We could hardly see the black tar of the road. The road, or I should say the route, was all dust, dirt, and gravel. The way to the temple was quite scenic as it was covered with dense forest from both sides. While my parents were discussing the quality of the roads, I suddenly realized that there were no other vehicles or not even any other human being seen around. I even asked my dad if we had taken the right route as it seemed to be quite isolated. My brother’s inquisitiveness added to our anxieties when he asked if there were wild animals in that jungle.

My thoughts about the quality of the road and the route being secluded were taken over by the grumbling sound from my tummy. I felt hungry and asked my mom if we could stop somewhere and eat something. Difficult to say whether the question of mine was more stupid than naïve. My mom didn’t say anything, however, gave me a look that said it all. I think Moms are quite adept in the art of conveying a lot of messages just by changing the expression of their eyes. I think by 10 years of age I had become proficient in decoding her eye movements. I didn’t say anything after that although my stomach kept transmitting the hunger signals.

After riding for approximately an hour, we started getting signs that we were on the right path, as we saw a lot of people around. May be some celebration had happened the night before and they were concluding the ceremony. The scene at the temple was contrasting to what we have been through. There was a huge queue for “Darshan”. So, we spent another 45 minutes to 1 hour to finally get the “Darshan”. Finally, we went for something I had been waiting for, what seemed like ages, “Food”. We went for the “Bhandara”. By the time we finished our meals, it was already around 4 pm. I felt that I kind of regained consciousness after the long wait for the food. I could see my parents also smiling. This is what food can do, it can completely change your mood. Anyway, we finally felt relieved that we had completed our journey, had food and now we can go back.

We started walking towards the spot where we had parked our scooter and what we saw worried us all. We found its petrol tank left open. The fuel from our scooter was stolen. My dad inspected the tank and shook the vehicle to check the amount of fuel we were left with. I don’t know how much of it was left; all I remember was the peculiar expression on his face. His eyebrows raised, breathing deep and holding his chin for a while. He finally moved after holding his expression for a moment. He locked the tank and moved on to disengage its stand, however, even after locking it, he kept looking back at the fuel tank.

After peering at the fuel tank for a moment, he noticed the worry written all over our faces. With a reassuring smile and a deep breath, he said, “Hey, no need to worry! We’ll find the nearest petrol pump, I promise.” So, off we went on our journey back, a bit down but hopeful of spotting a filling station.

As fate would have it, after riding for about 15-20 minutes, we encountered yet another surprise – a flat tyre! Oh, the adventures just kept coming! But not to worry, my dad sprang into action, swiftly replacing the rear tyre with the trusty spare wheel in a mere 10-12 minutes. And just like that, we were back on the road, ready to take on whatever else the journey had in store for us.

You won’t believe what happened next! After just 20 minutes on the road, guess what struck us again? Yes, you nailed it – “another puncture!” Now, all we could do was drag the poor scooter to the nearest puncture shop. We had no clue how far it was going to be.

We huffed and puffed, pulling the scooter along, hoping to find help soon. Luckily, after some time, we bumped into a friendly soul who informed us about a nearby puncture shop, just a 10-15 minute walk away. We mustered up all our energy and kept pushing on. But, oh, fate had a few more laughs at our expense! When we finally reached the shop, it turned out to be closed.

We waited there for a while and fortunately found somebody. He was a bearded tall man, must be in his fifties. He was wearing jeans with an oversized T-shirt. My father had to crane his neck to look at him and ask. He mentioned another shop, a bit off our route to the highway, which meant a detour. Not the most convenient option, but what choice did we have? So, with renewed determination, we pushed the scooter towards that other shop. It felt like an eternity, and we were soaked in sweat, but nothing could dampen our spirits.

The person in the shop seemed to be quite an expert, he looked at the scooter and then glanced at the tyre and assured us not to worry. He picked up the tools and got the work done in straight 5 minutes. Even maggi takes longer to cook.

We asked the puncture guy for the route towards the highway and after praying to the Almighty, we started again towards our destination. By the time we got on track after getting the “PUNCTURES” fixed, it started to get dark. Curious and eager to know how much longer we had to endure, my brother and I turned to our parents for answers. But all we got in return were raised eyebrows and those classic “strange looks.”

The first 15 minutes of the ride were really crucial because any of our previous rides didn’t last for more than 15 minutes. Every 15 minutes of ride was encountered with a flat tyre. Nonetheless, things were different now. Approximately 20 minutes later we finally hit the main road. The road that would take us to the highway. Scooter was riding with a different confidence now. I was enjoying the cool breeze, it felt serene after it hit my sweat soaked body. The wind felt pure with no pollution. The scooter was like the spotlight on that road. The beam from our scooter’s headlight was illuminating the entire pathway. It felt like we were in a different world altogether. Everything was so silent; I had never experienced so much silence earlier.

While I was busy cruising in my dreamland, sudden shudders from the scooter brought me back to the real world. Its struggle lasted for not more than a minute. A few more tremors and the scooter gave up. The tremors reminded us of the fact that it had no fuel. So, we were back on the road dragging our vehicle in the middle of nowhere, with the hope of finding a petrol pump.

We kept walking on the road assuring each other that we would find the petrol pump soon, knowing the fact that while coming also, we never saw any. That road had got into a different avatar as soon as the natural light started fading. Everything appeared quite dramatic. All those trees which appeared scenic were now appearing as dark silhouettes. The air started to get a little cooler. The soft crunch of leaves and twigs beneath our shoes were echoing through the road. The silence which I was enjoying a moment ago started to scare me. I think the entire atmosphere took on a different character. Apart from the rustling sound from our shoes, we could hear some haunting calls of owls, or I don’t know which creature. My mind kept wondering what lied beyond my limited field of vision. Our own shadows were playing tricks on my mind.

While we were trying to maintain our composure in the middle of that spooky road, my attention was suddenly drawn to a spot where a glimmer of hope caught my eye. I could see some light there. As soon as I made my discovery, I excitedly shared the news with my dad, and his face lit up with joy upon hearing it, as if all the light from that source was reflecting on his face only. It took us another 20 minutes to reach that spot.

It was a tea shop and there were around 5-6 people sitting sipping tea and chit-chatting. My dad told us to stop there, and he went forward and spoke to the shopkeeper. After about 2-3 minutes of conversation with that shopkeeper, he came back to us. All the 3 pairs of eyes were fixed at him with very high hopes of getting some positive news. He looked at all of us and then spoke.

“This place seems to be a bus-stop and as per the shopkeeper the last bus would be here in another 30 minutes. Since there is no petrol pump nearby, we will have to leave the scooter here and I can come tomorrow and pick it up.”

We all were relieved listening to this news. My dad took a pause and started again.

“But here is the thing. The bus…”

We all spoke together, “WHAT IS IT???”

“He is not sure whether the bus will come, it completely depends on the number of passengers. Only if it gets sufficient number of passengers. So let us all pray.”

While we were praying for the bus to come. I heard my brother sobbing. Upon asking he told me that he is worried about the scooter. He said, “how can we leave our dear scooter in the middle of jungle, we may not even get it tomorrow.” While I was about to calm him down, I realized his expressions were changing and the sobs suddenly stopped. Curious, I followed his gaze, and there it was – Mom, doing her supermom thing with just a look. Her eye movements had done the job.

We waited there for another 45 minutes, and the bus ULTIMATELY came. We finally made it back home safe and sound. Since people back home didn’t know about our change of plan, they were quite worried. My dad, I think, narrated the entire incident to gain some sympathy, nonetheless that didn’t work. Grandpa gave him a good scolding. Those were the days of no mobile phone, so we couldn’t have informed them about our change of plan or the ordeal that we had.

The next day, my dad and uncle went to fetch the scooter, and much to my brother’s relief, it was intact – phew! Ah, the memories! It was a wild and crazy journey, and we still get goose bumps remembering it.

And that’s my wife’s wackiest, most dramatic, and puncture-filled adventure to the Shakumbhari Mata Mandir.