Getting There

I don’t mean to be discouraging when I say getting to MICA is about as easy as finding the proverbial needle in the haystack. Moving mountains, crossing rivers, traversing vast deserts all pale into insignificance when confronted with the mammoth task of finding the hallowed precincts of this great institution. It is not for nothing that folks call it the back of beyond. But where there is a will, brave hearts find a way. 

So here’s a valiant effort to help lost yet determined souls discover the right route.  Be it Vastrapur, Gulmohar Mall, the Railway Station or the Airport, where you’re coming from is quite immaterial, it’s where you’re headed to, that matters. Hail an auto, the most trusted mode of transport in these parts, and tell him you have to go to Mudra. If he’s MICA’s very own Azhar Bhai or Hussain Bhai or Pappu Bhai, all you’ve to do is sit back, relax and after an hour of undulated ride (essaying every minor crater of Gujarat’s capital), arrive hopefully in one piece. However, if he’s not, be prepared to encounter a blank stare of total incomprehension. Don’t despair; you weren’t speaking Swahili or Greek as the creased countenance would lead you to believe.  Back of beyond, remember?

With the help of a few good Samaritans, you reach as far as Sanand highway; but from here, where looms the large question. Live as you do in a country full of helpful people, someone kindly suggests you take the road that goes off the highway, towards Shela village. Now, is it Shela or Shelaj? You squint into the dog-eared piece of paper bearing the address for the nth time. Shela, you say with growing confidence and the three-wheeler swerves gently. About a kilometer or two down, there’s a right turn, Telav ghuma road, you take it. Once on this road, you keep going into what seems like endless wilderness and just at the point where you’re about to give up, your eyes fall upon the very welcoming sign of MICA and you break into the jitterbug.

Don’t be too triumphant that you got here so easily though! There’s many a harrowing tale of people catching the wrong bus and reaching precisely 50 km away from the point of destination. A particularly poignant tale goes that a hapless candidate for interview went round in circles and reached the place 2 hours post his slot. The poor chap took it real hard and rumour has it that he was last seen in the Himalayas talking to a musk deer.

Moving on, you can also come through Bopal, but it’s not recommended in the monsoons. Shun buses and cars, the Metro sadly hasn’t arrived. Stick to the tried and tested auto rickshaw, pray to chance upon a few locals and just enjoy the bumpy ride.