My driver (who must only have had the same couple of hours of sleep as me) picked me up at 9am for the 5+ hours’ drive. We hit the Nagpur rush hour which is like rush hour at home, with added mopeds and car horns. It didn’t seem to worry anyone and it died away to seeing just a few hundred over the rest of the drive.
Out of the town, lush green fields appeared along the roadside – and the mopeds often came towards us on the wrong side of the road. I saw ladies in saris riding sidesaddle, I was astonished at the sight of 4 men on a single motorbike who shot out of a side road in front of us! Sadly, we saw a lorry which had failed to negotiate a bend and was firmly wedged, cab first, into some road excavations. There was always plenty of horn-tooting action but it was less aggressive than at home, less “Get out of my way”, more “Just to let you know I’m here”.
Shergarh is, by contrast, a quiet, peaceful mix of birdsong and insects.
My welcome here has been warmer than I ever expected. More about this wonderful place next time
One Anne and Her Dog 