June 6: Departure

Just before 7:30, Raju pulled up to Z-23A Hauz Khas in a white Toyota Innova with Delhi plates. Allie and I were making our final preparations for the trip when Rakesh pinged me to alert us that the cab was waiting out front. We lugged our bags into the steamy stairwell, down three flights of stairs, and loaded the vehicle that would become our home on wheels for much of the next six days. When Rakesh had arranged the transportation a month prior, he convinced us to splurge on a full-sized SUV for the 1,200 km roundtrip up through the mountains of Himachal Pradesh to Manali and back. While talking prices I had initially resisted the upgrade, but as soon as we started moving I was grateful for the smooth ride and additional legroom. 

The bigger car also meant we had an extra row for Rakesh's family: Divyansh, the son who tagged along to Agra back in March; Honey, his wife (her real name, though possibly the wrong spelling); and Jeevansh, their 18-month-old son. Born at the height of the pandemic, and by no means a seasoned traveler, the youngster remained a question mark throughout the planning process. Honey and Jeevansh--who they call Tanshu--were a package deal. They would either both come along for the ride or both hang back in Delhi. With the larger cab locked in for six days, the whole crew decided to join in the end.

By 8 am, Raju had guided the Innova northeast from South Delhi ahead of rush hour, across the mighty Yamuna, and into Geeta Colony where Rakesh and his family awaited our arrival. The welcoming committee included several additional relatives who wanted to meet us, including Rakesh's elderly mother and nephew Harshit, who is pursuing a PhD in Political Science at a local university. Harshit, in particular, seemed eager to chat with the legendary Hindi-speaking Americans on any number of topics.

Every seat now filled, and the family's large teal suitcase strapped to the roof rack, we set off for points north. The traffic, once mild, caught up with us and we clawed our way out of North Delhi on busy highways, past the smoldering trash mountain, and onto roads that had remained closed for much of 2020 and most of 2021 during the Farmers' Protest. Allie and I sat side by side in the two spacious seats of the middle row with Rakesh up front next to Raju and the rest of his family behind us. This would remain our orientation for roughly 90% of the remaining 40 hours we'd spend in the car together that week.

Despite the traffic, and a bit of understandable trepidation from the infant, spirits ran high as watched the the hot, polluted city of 30 million souls recede in our rearview. It struck me that I hadn't left Delhi since that day trip to Agra on March 10th--three solid months without respite from the madness of India's heaving capital. Come what may, it was time to hit the road. 

In what soon became a recurrent theme, Rakesh blasted loud Panjabi music over the Innova's adequate sound system. He dedicated the bulk of the airtime to Siddhu Moose Wala, a famous Panjabi rapper shot dead in his car in an act of gang-related violence on May 29. The sounds of Moose Wala are now ubiquitous throughout North India. Both inside and outside of the car, his music proved an inescapable soundtrack to the trip wherever we went.

All day we drove and drove, or rather Raju did, north through Haryana farm country and up into the first low foothills of Himachal Pradesh. Apart from two well-timed meal stops, our sights were set firmly on Shimla, the capital of Himachal and former summer capital of the British Raj, where we planned to spend two nights at a funky budget lodge called Jakhu Vibes. Sunset fast approaching, and Shimla now within view, we hit our first wave of truly demoralizing mountain traffic. 

The problem with mountain traffic is that there are no shortcuts--no clever ways to devise alternate routes and bypass all the dupes who don't know better. In most cases, there's only one way in and one way out. Those final ten kilometers took us the better part of 90 minutes, and by the time we finally rolled into Jakhu Vibes it was getting dark, everyone was hungry, and 12 hours had elapsed since our jubilant departure from Delhi that morning. Tanshu's wails made audible the sentiment we all shared: get us out of this damn car already.