Muraura to Mumbai by car - Day 4

Day 4 (6^th March)

Route

Nashik – Igatpuri – Bhiwandi – Thane – Mumbai

Last evening, Ketaki had conveyed the dampening news that, despite the weekend, she would be attending a workshop. And we did not have spare keys of her flat. It seemed we would have to delay our departure from Nashik. Rituraj, however, wanted to leave early to avoid peak traffic. Thanks to his in-laws, he could!  Jerome (Jenny’s brother) and his family live in Thane. A quick phone call to Jerome and we were able to stick to our schedule of leaving early in the morning.

As compared to Nagpur, the streets of Nashik were not completely deserted at 05:15 hrs. Good for us, for we needed directions to the highway. A couple of helpful morning walkers solved that problem and by 05:30 we were on the highway, cruising towards Mumbai.

            As dawn gradually emerged through the shackles of darkness, we negotiated a beautiful stretch of ghats. The scenic beauty of the ghats and the smooth curves of the superb road, translated into a very pleasurable drive. This pristine beauty was, however, soon to be lost in the early morning smog suspended over the industrial belt of Bhiwandi. We were approaching Mumbai!  

            Thanks to the early start from Nashik, we managed to beat the rush hour traffic and reached Hiranandani Estate, Thane by 08:00. Jerome was not a home but Shobha (his wife) welcomed us with a warm smile, a hot cup of tea and mouth watering dosas. She would also end up cooking lunch for us!

            We finally left for Andheri at 16:30 hrs. Despite the detailed directions given by Jerome, we promptly lost our way in the maze of Mumbai traffic and it was only after seeking directions from a host of auto drivers and policemen that we managed to reach Ketaki’s place around 18:00 hrs.

             Muraura to Mumbai had been successfully completed after covering 2048 kms.