Here I am, back again with my blog update. Its all about my adventure of how I got to Delhi to attend my colleague's wedding. Got the invitation eons (read 2 months) ago. Decided since I have never been to Delhi, I shall not miss this oppo(u)rtunity. (Can never ever get the spelling right...always get confused between the 'u' and the 'o') Booked my tickets. Is it a bus -- NO, Is it a plane -- NO, Its Rajdhani Express (a train you dumbo).
For the uninitiated, there are 2 "Rajdhani" trains going to Delhi from Mumbai (erstwhile: Bombay) (Somehow like to old name better - anyways whats there in a name..more about that later). One called "Rajdhani" leaves at 16:55 and the other called "August Kranti Rajdhani" leaves at 17:25. I was booked in the earlier one. Both the trains leave from the suburban railway station of Mumbai Central. I was all gung-ho about my first visit to the capital city, trust me I didnt know what was in store for me.
How It All Started..
Along came 9th September, the day of my departure. Interesting turn of events before the "eventful" day had culminated in that day (9th) becoming a sort of help-your-friend-at-any-cost day. My friend's brand new powerbook (an apple laptop - you imbeciles) had conked off some days back and it was stashed away at a service centre and my friend and I went to collect it. The service centre was located at Andheri. The next thing he wanted was to have was a Ruksack (word lifted from German Ruk meaning back and sack meaning bag) for the notebook.
Basically he wanted a backpack and the service centre recommended a shop at Marine Lines. We drove down from the suburbs all the way to town (more than 30 kms through aluminium and tin rubble - read traffic) only to be told that the bags were out of stock. All this while, it was raining very heavily and by the time we left town back for the suburbs it was 13:30.
The Adventurous Drive Back...
Driving back was a huge adventure, Worli was waterlogged very badly. Somehow I squeezed through the traffic, waded thru' water and reached Bandra only to find a bigger traffic jam. And then I pulled out a driving master-stroke. You can liken it to a magician pulling out a rabbit out of his hat. (Oh My God...I looove it when I come up with an idea like this and then I never stop harping about it..hehe) I took a short detour behind Mahim and reached the highway pretty fast. And the best part...I avoided all traffic. After that it was slick driving, cutting through traffic and rain like a Scythe which helped me reach home @ 15:30.
Hurry Hurry Hurry...
Ran into to the house, changed quickly (no time for shower) and took my bags. Fortunately for me most of my packing was done the previous night so I was happy. But unfortunately for me there was some last-minute packing left to be done which was pretty bad. Dumped all the remaining stuff into the bag and ran out. The time 15:45.
Atlast I'm Up And Away...
Reached Goregaon station and was standing in a queue to buy the ticket and in the process missed a "fast" train. This was to be the most crucial moment that day. Why?? I'll come to that later. For now, I consoled myself and reminded myself of one saying in Hindi (Its actually not a saying its just a dialog from a Bollywood movie which has achieved cult status) - Bus, Train aur Ladki chali gayi toh nahi roneka, ek gayi toh doosri aati hai. It simply means, dont mull over a missed bus or a train (the ladki / girl part is probably indigestable) if one goes another one comes along. So I waited and the next train was slow. Well, it was 16:05 and I thought some train is better than no train at all. So I got in.
Oh My God Still A Long Way To Go...
At Andheri I decided I would end up missing my "Rajdhani" if I continued in the slow train, so I got down and thought of catching a fast train. The time was 16:15 and the indicator showed the expected arrival time as 16:05. There were announcements running proclaiming the 10 minute delay of the next fast train. That made me think that the train should be come-in any moment now. So I waited and waited and waited....Shucks! 15 minutes gone still no sign of the train. Meanwhile, a couple of slow trains have already gone after the one from which I had got-down.
The indicator now changed to 16:35 and an announcement proclaimed the arrival of the train in the next 2 minutes. I started mentally preparing myself for the situation of me missing the train..I started to think of the other ways of getting to Delhi. Surely, now the only option left for me was to take the next flight out of Mumbai. Meanwhile, the train - to my amazement - came exactly on time and zillions of people got down with many more zillions waiting to get in.
Wait And Hope...
Once you get in the train you experience an agonizing wait. And thats one thing that I really hate. Because at that point in time there is nothing which you can do. (Whatever was in my hands I screwed it up by leaving late) So now, all you can do is have patience and hope that there are no further delays. The train went pretty fast and by the time it reached Dadar, it had overtaken 2 slow trains. There was a short delay at Dadar. (Or maybe I felt the delay because I thought it stopped a wee bit longer than normal). When the train left Dadar, the time was 16:47 and the time to Mumbai Central should take about 7 minutes. That left me with only 1 minute to catch my Rajdhani. A tiny chance....but a chance nonetheless!! I was starting to feel upbeat.
I'm Almost There...
The fast train overtook the earlier slow train I had boarded just after Dadar and another slow train after that. It made me happy because I realized I had taken the right decision at Andheri to take the fast train. Made me feel all the more ecstatic. Mumbai Central was approaching and looked out of the window and saw the Rajdhani Express still standing at the platform. I was euphoric. Looked at my watch and it read 16:54. So my calculations were right I still have 1 minute to go. Now, everything is in my hands.
So Near Yet So FARRR...
Come Mumbai Central, I jump out of the running train and onto the platform, I take the overbridge and go to the first platform only to be told that the Rajdhani was leaving from the next platform. So I gathered all my luggage (not that I had lots just 2 pieces), ran up the stairs again and got down in the next platform. I could see the last compartment of the Rajdhani. I ran like never before, like my life depended on it, like a rugby fly-half dodging the standing Coolies. I saw a couple of other people running along with me. But sometimes things are just not under your control. It was as if you were destined not to achieve that target. This was the same case. I had missed the train. I rewinded to the time I spent buying a ticket at Goregaon. Had I just gone directly, I would have got the earlier fast train and also I would have got the Rajdhani. The only thing that remained now was a "IF ONLY".
Now WHAT!!??!!...
I stopped to gather my breath back. I had put in my best effort (discounting ofcourse the initial delay) but it was not to be. Slowly I walked back thinking what should be done. The other person (a sikh - an ethnic group which wears a turban - called papaji in Mumbai lingo) who was also running to catch the train, caught up with me and asked me what my future course of action was. I told him I was undecided and he suggested that maybe we can try tickets for the next Rajdhani. Now, that was a good suggestion (And people make dumb jokes on these guys!) and I had not thought about it at all. Thanks Papaji!!!
So we proceeded towards the ticket counter. The walk back was agonizingly slow and the platform was noisy. As I approached the ticket counter the Dhin increased significantly, people pushing and shoving each other trying to buy the ticket for the next Rajdhani. All these people had missed the train and there were atleast 100 of them. I stood in the line and started to fill up the ticket form. While I was doing so, the papaji also requested me to fill in his details. Reluctantly, I filled in his details as well.
A Whole New Tribulation...
Normally I am rather wary of strangers, somehow I dont talk to anyone just like that let alone help them. But somehow I got over this mental block and decided to help him out by filling in his form as well. Confusion reigned supreme outside the ticket counter. And chaos added fuel to the fire. No one was sure which was the ticket counter because the tickets were being issued from the "refund" counter. Suddenly, a lot of people on provocation by some goon rushed to the adjoining counter and I forged ahead bypassing atleast 15 people. Now I was 3rd in the Queue and thats when the security was called in to control the crowd.
Actually, the tough part was not getting pushed and shoved and squashed around in the Queue; the tough part was taking care of the bags in the whole ordeal. I started to feel claustrophobic and slightly nauseous. I started to sweat profusely and it showed on my face, on my hands, on my T-Shirt and even on my trousers. Each second of standing in the line seemed equivalent to 1 day in a small, sweaty, humid, sticky room with no electricity. (like the Attic). I was on the verge of giving up, started to think that to undergo so much ordeal just to get a ticket is not worth it. Suddenly one person moved out triumphantly with his ticket.
Light At The End Of The Tunnel...
My hopes got a fillip seeing this and I started to coax my mind into bearing the brunt for a little longer. My back ached since it controlled the pushes from people ahead. My arms ached since it controlled the weight of the people pushing from my back, my shoulders ached since they bore the weight of my bag. Each passing second seemed like never-ending trauma. Just as I contemplated giving up another person moved out of the line with a ticket. I was at the counter.
Papaji To The Rescue...
I thought finally this thing is coming to an end. I asked for 2 tickets for 3-tier AC but I was told they were sold out so then I asked for 2-tier AC. I got the tickets and I was supposed to pay 4440. Now I was faced with a different problem. I ran out of cash. I had only 1500. I asked if I could pay by credit card and I was given a negative reply. Papaji actually turned out to be the saviour. He willingly paid 3000 and the issue was settled.
About Time I Got Some Success...
Finally, finally, finally I came out of the queue covered in sweat from head to toe, my arms, legs, back, shoulders aching, but I came out victorious. A sense of achievement filled my lungs - or should I say it was fresh air! I think it was both. Now the whole torment lasted for 20 minutes and I just had 5 minutes to search for my seat in the next Rajdhani. So I run again this time assured that I'll get the train.
I was able to locate my seat in the nick of time and no sooner did I crash into my seat, than the train moved. WOW!! I could not believe that I had to go through all this just to get into a train which would get me to Delhi. I started to dread what lay in-store for me in Delhi. What more adventures would I experience.
Rajdhani Express CHüGG Away...
As the train gathered speed, I re-counted all my feelings, my decisions, my thoughts and everything else I could think of as my train passed one suburban station after another and mumbled a silent prayer of thanks to god for everything that I experienced. This is what I call destiny! You cant change it try as you might! So live with it and make best of what you got!
For the uninitiated, there are 2 "Rajdhani" trains going to Delhi from Mumbai (erstwhile: Bombay) (Somehow like to old name better - anyways whats there in a name..more about that later). One called "Rajdhani" leaves at 16:55 and the other called "August Kranti Rajdhani" leaves at 17:25. I was booked in the earlier one. Both the trains leave from the suburban railway station of Mumbai Central. I was all gung-ho about my first visit to the capital city, trust me I didnt know what was in store for me.
How It All Started..
Along came 9th September, the day of my departure. Interesting turn of events before the "eventful" day had culminated in that day (9th) becoming a sort of help-your-friend-at-any-cost day. My friend's brand new powerbook (an apple laptop - you imbeciles) had conked off some days back and it was stashed away at a service centre and my friend and I went to collect it. The service centre was located at Andheri. The next thing he wanted was to have was a Ruksack (word lifted from German Ruk meaning back and sack meaning bag) for the notebook.
Basically he wanted a backpack and the service centre recommended a shop at Marine Lines. We drove down from the suburbs all the way to town (more than 30 kms through aluminium and tin rubble - read traffic) only to be told that the bags were out of stock. All this while, it was raining very heavily and by the time we left town back for the suburbs it was 13:30.
The Adventurous Drive Back...
Driving back was a huge adventure, Worli was waterlogged very badly. Somehow I squeezed through the traffic, waded thru' water and reached Bandra only to find a bigger traffic jam. And then I pulled out a driving master-stroke. You can liken it to a magician pulling out a rabbit out of his hat. (Oh My God...I looove it when I come up with an idea like this and then I never stop harping about it..hehe) I took a short detour behind Mahim and reached the highway pretty fast. And the best part...I avoided all traffic. After that it was slick driving, cutting through traffic and rain like a Scythe which helped me reach home @ 15:30.
Hurry Hurry Hurry...
Ran into to the house, changed quickly (no time for shower) and took my bags. Fortunately for me most of my packing was done the previous night so I was happy. But unfortunately for me there was some last-minute packing left to be done which was pretty bad. Dumped all the remaining stuff into the bag and ran out. The time 15:45.
Atlast I'm Up And Away...
Reached Goregaon station and was standing in a queue to buy the ticket and in the process missed a "fast" train. This was to be the most crucial moment that day. Why?? I'll come to that later. For now, I consoled myself and reminded myself of one saying in Hindi (Its actually not a saying its just a dialog from a Bollywood movie which has achieved cult status) - Bus, Train aur Ladki chali gayi toh nahi roneka, ek gayi toh doosri aati hai. It simply means, dont mull over a missed bus or a train (the ladki / girl part is probably indigestable) if one goes another one comes along. So I waited and the next train was slow. Well, it was 16:05 and I thought some train is better than no train at all. So I got in.
Oh My God Still A Long Way To Go...
At Andheri I decided I would end up missing my "Rajdhani" if I continued in the slow train, so I got down and thought of catching a fast train. The time was 16:15 and the indicator showed the expected arrival time as 16:05. There were announcements running proclaiming the 10 minute delay of the next fast train. That made me think that the train should be come-in any moment now. So I waited and waited and waited....Shucks! 15 minutes gone still no sign of the train. Meanwhile, a couple of slow trains have already gone after the one from which I had got-down.
The indicator now changed to 16:35 and an announcement proclaimed the arrival of the train in the next 2 minutes. I started mentally preparing myself for the situation of me missing the train..I started to think of the other ways of getting to Delhi. Surely, now the only option left for me was to take the next flight out of Mumbai. Meanwhile, the train - to my amazement - came exactly on time and zillions of people got down with many more zillions waiting to get in.
Wait And Hope...
Once you get in the train you experience an agonizing wait. And thats one thing that I really hate. Because at that point in time there is nothing which you can do. (Whatever was in my hands I screwed it up by leaving late) So now, all you can do is have patience and hope that there are no further delays. The train went pretty fast and by the time it reached Dadar, it had overtaken 2 slow trains. There was a short delay at Dadar. (Or maybe I felt the delay because I thought it stopped a wee bit longer than normal). When the train left Dadar, the time was 16:47 and the time to Mumbai Central should take about 7 minutes. That left me with only 1 minute to catch my Rajdhani. A tiny chance....but a chance nonetheless!! I was starting to feel upbeat.
I'm Almost There...
The fast train overtook the earlier slow train I had boarded just after Dadar and another slow train after that. It made me happy because I realized I had taken the right decision at Andheri to take the fast train. Made me feel all the more ecstatic. Mumbai Central was approaching and looked out of the window and saw the Rajdhani Express still standing at the platform. I was euphoric. Looked at my watch and it read 16:54. So my calculations were right I still have 1 minute to go. Now, everything is in my hands.
So Near Yet So FARRR...
Come Mumbai Central, I jump out of the running train and onto the platform, I take the overbridge and go to the first platform only to be told that the Rajdhani was leaving from the next platform. So I gathered all my luggage (not that I had lots just 2 pieces), ran up the stairs again and got down in the next platform. I could see the last compartment of the Rajdhani. I ran like never before, like my life depended on it, like a rugby fly-half dodging the standing Coolies. I saw a couple of other people running along with me. But sometimes things are just not under your control. It was as if you were destined not to achieve that target. This was the same case. I had missed the train. I rewinded to the time I spent buying a ticket at Goregaon. Had I just gone directly, I would have got the earlier fast train and also I would have got the Rajdhani. The only thing that remained now was a "IF ONLY".
Now WHAT!!??!!...
I stopped to gather my breath back. I had put in my best effort (discounting ofcourse the initial delay) but it was not to be. Slowly I walked back thinking what should be done. The other person (a sikh - an ethnic group which wears a turban - called papaji in Mumbai lingo) who was also running to catch the train, caught up with me and asked me what my future course of action was. I told him I was undecided and he suggested that maybe we can try tickets for the next Rajdhani. Now, that was a good suggestion (And people make dumb jokes on these guys!) and I had not thought about it at all. Thanks Papaji!!!
So we proceeded towards the ticket counter. The walk back was agonizingly slow and the platform was noisy. As I approached the ticket counter the Dhin increased significantly, people pushing and shoving each other trying to buy the ticket for the next Rajdhani. All these people had missed the train and there were atleast 100 of them. I stood in the line and started to fill up the ticket form. While I was doing so, the papaji also requested me to fill in his details. Reluctantly, I filled in his details as well.
A Whole New Tribulation...
Normally I am rather wary of strangers, somehow I dont talk to anyone just like that let alone help them. But somehow I got over this mental block and decided to help him out by filling in his form as well. Confusion reigned supreme outside the ticket counter. And chaos added fuel to the fire. No one was sure which was the ticket counter because the tickets were being issued from the "refund" counter. Suddenly, a lot of people on provocation by some goon rushed to the adjoining counter and I forged ahead bypassing atleast 15 people. Now I was 3rd in the Queue and thats when the security was called in to control the crowd.
Actually, the tough part was not getting pushed and shoved and squashed around in the Queue; the tough part was taking care of the bags in the whole ordeal. I started to feel claustrophobic and slightly nauseous. I started to sweat profusely and it showed on my face, on my hands, on my T-Shirt and even on my trousers. Each second of standing in the line seemed equivalent to 1 day in a small, sweaty, humid, sticky room with no electricity. (like the Attic). I was on the verge of giving up, started to think that to undergo so much ordeal just to get a ticket is not worth it. Suddenly one person moved out triumphantly with his ticket.
Light At The End Of The Tunnel...
My hopes got a fillip seeing this and I started to coax my mind into bearing the brunt for a little longer. My back ached since it controlled the pushes from people ahead. My arms ached since it controlled the weight of the people pushing from my back, my shoulders ached since they bore the weight of my bag. Each passing second seemed like never-ending trauma. Just as I contemplated giving up another person moved out of the line with a ticket. I was at the counter.
Papaji To The Rescue...
I thought finally this thing is coming to an end. I asked for 2 tickets for 3-tier AC but I was told they were sold out so then I asked for 2-tier AC. I got the tickets and I was supposed to pay 4440. Now I was faced with a different problem. I ran out of cash. I had only 1500. I asked if I could pay by credit card and I was given a negative reply. Papaji actually turned out to be the saviour. He willingly paid 3000 and the issue was settled.
About Time I Got Some Success...
Finally, finally, finally I came out of the queue covered in sweat from head to toe, my arms, legs, back, shoulders aching, but I came out victorious. A sense of achievement filled my lungs - or should I say it was fresh air! I think it was both. Now the whole torment lasted for 20 minutes and I just had 5 minutes to search for my seat in the next Rajdhani. So I run again this time assured that I'll get the train.
I was able to locate my seat in the nick of time and no sooner did I crash into my seat, than the train moved. WOW!! I could not believe that I had to go through all this just to get into a train which would get me to Delhi. I started to dread what lay in-store for me in Delhi. What more adventures would I experience.
Rajdhani Express CHüGG Away...
As the train gathered speed, I re-counted all my feelings, my decisions, my thoughts and everything else I could think of as my train passed one suburban station after another and mumbled a silent prayer of thanks to god for everything that I experienced. This is what I call destiny! You cant change it try as you might! So live with it and make best of what you got!
1 comment:
terrific continuity all through out, all just to know that you missed the train mate :) - PG
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