NWKRTC to the rescue
“Travel,
in the younger sort, is a part of education; in the elder, a part of
experience.” – Francis Bacon.
Date of Journey: 24/05/2015.
Service: NWKRTC Airavat Club Class.
Distance- 430kms (appox)
It was a lazy Saturday afternoon when a plan to visit Belgaum was plotted. All
thanks to one of my friend who was visiting from Mumbai, this was one trip I
could not say no to. Everything went accordingly as planned till the Sunday
evening when my return leg of the journey went awry.
Though I knew that I was too late yet I still decided to frantically
search tickets for a ride back home. Most of the operators were running full
and the only ones that were left were overpriced. The only option I was left
with was to reach NWKRTC for help. Without further delay, I decided to try my
luck in Hubli as almost all buses from Belgaum division were running full. I
bid good bye to my friends and boarded an express bus towards Hubli.
Enroute to Hubli, I called up my trusted friend who in turn
with his cool Hubli accent said ‘Hubli ge
first barri pa.. Bus bagge yak chinte madtira’ (Reach Hubli, don’t worry about the buses). With his
assurance, I decided to settle down as my super fast express bus was now
thundering towards Hubli.
As soon as I landed in the Hubli new bus
stand, I met Prashant and we went around and enquired for seats in buses
departing to Bangalore. The buses were either full or last seat were in the
offering. At that moment, I decided to take an express bus back home as the
scene at the bus stand with passengers frantically searching for seats was
making me a little worrying. While I was watching the chaotic scenes, my friend
calmly said- ‘Hey barri paaa.. first
girmitti thindu amele barana’ (Lets have Girmit first and then come back).
The Beautiful Club
Class
 |
| Before livery change |
After
enjoying a nice snack, we came back to the bus stand to find the beautiful
Hubli- Chennai Gold class from M3 depot resting at the platform. The bus was
recently converted from Gold Class Livery to the Club Class livery. The crew
immediately identified Prashant and when enquired about the seat, the conductor
smiled and allotted me a seat. Finally, there was a huge sigh of relief as I
was all set to travel back in comfort towards Bangalore.
Time
for departure
With all the passengers accounted for, we
slowly began to pull out of the platform. The a/c was set to optimum
temperature, blankets and ware bottles already placed in the seats. As I
settled down in my seat, the bus pulled out of the bus stand and slowly made
its way towards Hubli Old Bus Stand. We reached Hubli OBS in no time and we
began to wait for a passenger who had reserved a seat. We were quickly joined
by Bangalore bound Belgaum Corona a/c sleeper. The Corona left after few
minutes however we waited along. The crew called up the lone passenger who was
delaying the departure. The passenger reached after a good 15mins and with all
passengers accounted for, we said good bye to Hubli city.
Snooze
Mode
The bus slowly made it way towards highway
and began to cruise at optimum speeds. The driving was of NWKRTC standard,
sedate and comfortable. The driver was using indicators effectively and ensured
not to honk while overtaking slow moving vehicles. We passed by Varur and the
last thing I remember was a Pune bound Club class passing by on the opposite
lane. The comfortable ride did not take much time to put me to sleep. The bus
was absolutely silent and the suspension was just amazing.
I woke up after sometime as the light on the
bus was turned on. The conductor yelled out Gorguntepalya. I checked the time
and it said 5:15am. The travel through the night with comfort ensured that
passengers had ample amount of sleep. We quickly made through the empty roads
and reached KBS. Since a breakfast plan with few colleagues were on the cards,
I decided to head towards Shantinagar. I was dropped off at Shantinagar Bus
Stand at around 6am
Will I
try this service again.
Since I had traveled in M3 depot buses
earlier, I knew what was in the offering even before the journey began. The super
friendly crew of Hubli division makes your travel always enjoying, comfortable
and relaxing. Needless to say but I will
continue to travel in NWKRTC whenever a need arises.
