Shaken & Stirred

We had just completed our annual exams and were really excited on spending some great time during our vacations.

It was a pleasant news that my cousin and her parents were coming down for a few days from Kerala to spend some time with us.

We were staying in Delhi, far away from our hometown Kerala. Delhi as you know is very popular for its historical significance and sightseeing places.

It was the third day of their visit. Though each day was special, this one was truly memorable as we were visiting the TAJ MAHAL at Agra.

I won’t be going into the details of our trip to the TAJ, though it was simply awesome. There are no words to describe the beauty and grandeur of the place.

This Story relates to an unexpected incident while returning.

We had hired a taxi both ways, as it was a long, unfamiliar and tiring stretch to Agra and back. So we needed someone familiar with the route. This was long before the expressway started.

It was a long drive. At times we used to cross stretches of wilderness.

At one point, the taxi was speeding past a pack of wild dogs.

The dogs looked really starved and angry. They jumped next to our windows, barking ferociously.

Luckily the glasses of the windows were half raised, so we didn’t get our hands bitten off. But it really shook us up.

After giving us a good chase, they gave up. Phew!!

The real adventure was about to start, it was past 5pm. We were on our way back after the sightseeing trip.

All of us were tired after walking around the entire day, and were relaxing in the car listening to music.

We noticed a lot of vultures hovering around.

We thought that some garbage dumping area must be nearby that was attracting these vultures.

I was seated with Dad in the front seat along with the driver and the rest of the family were seated behind.

We were cruising at speeds of over 90 km/hr.

From a distance I saw a Vulture on the road right in front of us waiting to take flight as we were approaching.

Maybe it didn’t judge our speed well and within a microsecond, we heard a huge bang followed by glass shattering sound.

We all closed our eyes not knowing what was going on, as a hail of glass pieces pounded us.

I could feel the car spinning around like a scene from the fast & furious movies, finally coming to a screeching halt.

Luckily the car stopped at the far corner of the road.

By the time we regained our composure we realised, the damages inflicted on the car and on us.

The huge monstrous bird had hit our front windscreen and the impact was devastating.

Luckily the glass pieces crumbled and caused only some minor cuts. Aunty hurt her nose in the impact.

Dad, Uncle and the driver quickly rushed to see if the bird was still alive. It didn’t survive the impact. It got stuck between the windscreen and side beam.

By the way Vultures look really menacing up close and are quite heavy, since they were struggling to move the bird.

After they moved the bird to the side of the highway, we all dusted ourselves & checked for any injuries.

The driver has some cuts on his stomach due to the impact.

Dad was all praises for the driver of the taxi, as he had used his experience to avert a major tragedy. He thanked him for his sharp presence of mind

This could have been worse, what if the car had overturned, what if the bird had ended up inside the car still alive,……

After taking stock of the situation and consoling each other we slowly set out on our remaining stretch of the journey back home.

On entering the city, we got a lot of undue attention from onlookers as the entire windscreen was broken and the side beams were bent. They were wondering what we had been through!!!!!

To make matters worse, it started raining late evening.

With no protection from front, we were getting drenched. So we had to maintain minimum speed for some time.

Well it was a great memorable day, that ended with an adventure of a lifetime.

We were just looking forward to a light supper and a good night’s rest.