Habits die hard. I could not sleep beyond 4 a.m. Rubbed my eyes and looked around from the lower berth inside the "horse". I could hear the loud snoring of Pandeyji a few feet above me. He was in deep slumber in the upper berth.
Turning onto my right, I noticed a 'bundle'. It was Pervez, second driver-cum-assitant, in sleep. But no snoring. He has managed to prepare a tolerable bed for himself by placing a wooden plank and a folded thick blanket over the engine bonnet between the front two seats. Had I been not there, he would have occupied the upper berth leaving the more comfortable lower berth to Pandeyji, his "Boss".
If you have ever travelled in a truck, you would be familiar with the actual position of these berths. In a way, it is like a three-tier Indian Railways passenger bogies. None of the occupants of these three berths will be in a position to sit comfortably in their seats when the berths in place. Next to impossible, you will agree.
The same holds good for trucks. The gap between upper and lower berth is insufficient for the occupier of the lower berth to sit - particularly when someone is occupying the upper slot. Because, when a person gets onto the upper berth, it creates a dip that further reduces the gap. I hope you understand my predicament.
I tried to look out. It was pitch dark since we were parked on the side of NH 56 linking Benares with Lucknow. Whatever little shower light came from passing vehicles.
Suddenly I realised that pressure was building up to empty my bladder. I just have to relieve myself at the earliest. "Pervez," I called out. No response. My worry was that my call out should not wake up Pandeyji. AGain I called out in a low voice. No response again.
Taking courage, I began to nudge him. No impact. "Pervez," I called out. Finally, I shook him hard. Pervez woke up and gave room for me to exit. In the dark, I managed to locate my floaters and climbed down. Picked up the Pepsi PET bottle and found it to be empty. Oh My God!After shutting the cabin door, I looked around. Right across the road where we had dined a few hours ago, I spotted the hand pump where we washed our hands post-dinner. Good God...
Got my Pepsi bottle filled up and moved at least 50 metres away from the truck. It was drizzling and the ground was muddy and slippery. It was dark too. In the shortest possible time, I emptied my bowels just behind a unrecognizable tree. What a relief it was! Returned to the hand pump, washed hands and feet.
I quietly slipped into the cabin. Poor Pervez was sleeping in a sitting position in the driver's seat to enable me creep into my slot. Once I moved into the berth, I touched him to signal that I was back. Effortlessly, he spread himself on the sleeping slot.
Had I not returned for an hour also, Pervez would have remained seated in the driver's seat, I felt. You drive or don't drive, travelling in a truck is tiresome.
I looked at my watch which read 4:18. I covered myself in blanket and tried to sleep. It was a useless effort. What to do then?
How to keep my mind busy till I sleep again? I switched on my handphone and began checking my inbox. There were more than 43 unread messages. At least half of them were unasked for. So what? I began reading one by one. Just to kill time or before I re-enter sleeping territory.
By the time, I completed five, eyes began to waver due to strain perhaps. I switched off mobile. How about a bit of counting numbers in the reverse direction? 100, 99, 98, 97, 96, 95 ....
I don't know when I stopped, but I am sure I did not reach single digits!
To be continued
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