Try Changing a Punctured Tyre in the Dark

It was pitch dark, I was cursing myself and wondering what to do. Being stranded on a dark national highway, at even 9 pm is not an event to give a pleasant feeling. It was end September of this year, I needed to be in Chandigarh on a Friday to collect my foreign exchange and passport for the official trip to Germany starting from Saturday itself. So here I was, having started on Thursday evening from Shimla at around 0545 pm, the mountain drive having been quite pleasant till then. The radio belted out old and new songs, I drove non stop  and enjoyed the sight of the setting sun around 7 pm or so. I still remember it reminded me of my days as DDM at Ropar, where as the seasons changed, I would notice from my office window the sun slowly setting early towards autumn and it would give me an oddly peaceful feeling.  Dusk seems to add a certain privacy to a person, it adds an invisible coat for reflections and nostalgia to take over. Ever noticed in a bus or flight, as the lights dim and dusk descends, conversations get muted and passengers seem to retreat into themselves.  Such and other thoughts kept me preoccupied as I drove on towards Chandigarh. In fact before the tyre blew, I was actually thinking of what I would drink once I reached home and its combinations, with ice or cold water or with food or earlier. Such pleasant thoughts really help to pass the time and keep one concentrating on the road.

When the right side of the car suddenly started making odd noises and I started swinging around, I knew what was on but first the mind refused to accept it. My tyres were new and the air pressure checked prior to departure. The national highway was contracted out to a private developer for a fees, the toll we paid was for helping him recoup his investments. Just before the car had the flat, I had driven over three to four particularly rough stretches and was mentally cursing and abusing the developer for not maintaining the road. Now a stone or sharp edged flint had obviously done the damage.  I looked around for any lights so that I could seek assistance or atleast feel comfortable at the thought of human company nearby. Zilch, it was a particularly dark, lonely stretch, strange for India as we are over run by humans but true.  I still tried to drive on a bit but gave up soon and pulled over to the left side berm after ascertaining I was not too close to any precipice. Then I got out, took a deep breath and confirmed the damage. Strange as it is, and even with  rationality ingrained in us, the first thought on such occasions is it can’t really be happening. So it was with me, but there it was, the lights from the headlights indicating the tyre was well and truly flat. Still, I switched on my mobile light (God Bless Nokia for the E 72 model but more on it later) and reconfirmed the damage. Ah ha, now the rational mind  accepted the reality !

Then I took a deep breath and walked around reflecting on the close bond and affinity I had with vehicle punctures. Even my family joked about it, seriously, I always carry an air pump with me for such emergencies. On the few occasions I took a bus, I would say atleast 10 % to 12 % chances were always there of a puncture. Once a bus I took developed two punctures, that was really stretching my affinity for punctures to the limit (by fate, luck, whatever you choose to call it) or was it poor quality tyres installed by the HPRTC (the bus operator), I still cannot say.   After such positive thinking and reflections, I called up my wife to explain I would be reaching late due to my predisposition for punctures. She offered to drive up, I told her to wait as locating me would not be easy.    Then I tried waving to passing vehicles, they just roared by. A car full of drunk teenagers passed by, slowed down, reversed, saw the situation, laughed, drove on 500 metres, parked and started binge drinking again. Another vehicle full of guys slowed, grimaced and speeded on. So I concluded, guy you are alone, get moving.  Moreover, it was not exactly encouraging to encounter the variety of human specimens just encountered.

The air pump came out, now it would fit on the nozzle. The tyre was all squashed out and the nozzle of the tube difficult to locate. Used the E 72 light mode, located it, fixed it and started huffing and puffing away. Kept looking at the air pressure gauge, even after 5 minutes, it was between 3 – 5 pounds or whatever they call it. Positive thinking came to the fore, another ten minutes ought to do it, so kept alternating my legs for pumping the pedal. After some time, I realised positive thinking be damned, the tyre gauge was not moving and the tyre remained as flat as it was first seen in that position. You know, I really tried checking the punctured tyre in case it was inflating while the tyre gauge remained at ‘5’, desperation makes you believe miracles can always happen I suppose.   

Now I have a back problem, so the next internal debate was does the spare tyre come out and how. The positive minded guy inside me advised push on, it can be done. So started the process of dumping the luggage from the hatchback on the rear seats. Now I cursed the tyre bolt, some devoted to quality nut case mechanic had bolted the spare tyre absolutely tightly to the car body. It just refused to unscrew, finally the trusted E 72 torch was placed in my mouth (I realised my mouth can be stretched a lot if required!) and I worked on the bolt. Slowly but surely, it came out and the spare tyre, the rod and jack placed on the road as I straightened my aching back and wiped my sweat. All this while the sound of the drunk teens irritated me  as did the sound of vehicles vrooming by.  But I had won the first round, it encouraged me tremendously.

Now came step two, the car was too low, so I placed the jack under the body of the car and lifted it up, only I lifted it too high and now the nuts from the punctured tyre would rotate along with the tyre if I tried to unscrew them. Moreover the car was on a slight incline, this required more effort in every task. Cursing (myself, luck, the environment, the car, my decision to start late – I do not exactly recollect what now) and sweating  I knelt down again, using the mobile torch to confirm that I had lowered the car just enough to unscrew the nuts.  Now the aching back took over, it sort of was upsetting physically and mentally, so I first knelt and then sat on the ground and after all sorts of contortions, the tyre was out. The spare tyre refused to be placed in its niche, as the car was now low, so back to the jack to lift it, I was sweating profusely by now but was too absorbed to bother about my back. The  E 72 Nokia was being a boon and trusted partner, its light providing comfort and access  to the nuts, bolts, pliers etc. I say again, God Bless Nokia for the  E 72. The wife rang up, I ignored the phone as I attended to tightening the bolts. I just wanted to complete the entire process before taking a break.  It’s also a fact, once I was in the zone, I just went about the task without fearing for my back .

Voila, the spare was in position, the punctured tyre in the rear, tools accounted for – the E 72 helped in verification, now water could be consumed and hands washed. The mental relief was palpable and it helped take on the tiredness of the physical effort.  Now I rang up the wife, told her I was on my way, switched on the air con and drove off.  The teens were still drinking and waved to me, I ignored them, the traffic still zoomed by as I was in a slow mode but now it was not irritating me. I again ruminated over this proclivity I have for punctures, statistically I do not know if it’s significant but I do seem to have more than my fair share!. I still think about my experience, then as I do now, I realise darkness seems to add a certain morbidity and revives elemental feelings in a person.  This is a reality as is the comfort light from any source, even if it’s from the Nokia E 72 and a trifle weak. On such philosophical thoughts I drive on, the physical being driving the vehicle, the mental being rethinking the episode.

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