Goodbye, “Leylander” Riyaz! — 1
Around the same time, a month ago, Nijam Riyaz insisted that I visit his Driver Training Institute at Sircilla, 150km from Hyderabad, on my visit to Bengaluru. We were booked for Secunderabad originally, but 24 hours before departure from Delhi, this gentleman from God’s Own Country and an Ashok Leyland veteran directed us to alight down at Kazipet instead of Secunderabad. “Sircilla is equidistance from Kazipet and S’bad. Why waste time going up to S’bad? I will pick you up. Worry not,” said he.
Riyaz plans, but the Almighty decides. The train was late by two hours. That’s not unusual in India. Such delays always happen. Riyaz drove into Kazipet station around noon — his first drive to this station — to pick us up at 3 pm. He had to wait past five, close to sunset.
With a hot Nescafe at the station in the tummy, he drove over the next three hours on the State and National Highways. What a ride it was! He dished out gyan on various issues throughout the journey.
Thirty km before arrival at the DTI, situated in the constituency of Chief Minister KCR’s son, K T Rama Rao (himself the Urban Development minister among other portfolios), he alerted the Institute that we were on the way and ensured the students finished their dinner and assembled at the convention hall. When the principal of the Institute says such requests, they are orders! Not undeniable.
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By the time we arrived, almost sixty students were assembled in the hall. Riyaz made a brief introduction and passed the baton to me. On one side sat the wannabe LMV drivers (freshers), and on the other, those wanting to upgrade from LMV to HMV license.
Post interaction, he escorted us through the great institute premises. A quick dinner at the spacious dining hall followed by a comfortable bed with fresh linen.
“Tomorrow morning we will leave at 7 am. By the way, there will be no hot water for bathing!” he said matter of factly.
I was stumped for a while. But the next morning, as we rode to Secunderabad, another 150km, for a few meetings before he dropped us at the railway station for our journey to Bengaluru, it was again another educational odyssey with him offering a glimpse into his living style and global experience and how to make trucking career “sexy” and what not.
More about that memorable trip in another dispatch soon.
By the by, Riyaz has quit and reached Kochi to commence a new journey in 2023 — a few weeks from now. Best wishes, Riyaz!
(To continue)
