A Journey to remember!!!
Starting my blog by sharing one of the most impressive
travelling experiences I have ever had in my life, have tried my best to narrate it crispy and
simple and it is just the chain of incidents happened in a day travel
I was suppose to return from an official tour to Mumbai for offer preparation works, it was a horrible 2days at work.
After completing all my works,
I came back to our guesthouse near Lok upavan in Thane @ 6:30PM to pack all my
things and to reach Kalyan railway station to board my train @ 10.35PM.
However, I was exhausted enough to enjoy a nap. It happens - Time is 08:45PM. Had no time to
breath I was jus dancing in the air …thanks to the caretaker for those hot
chapathis & dhal took an auto reached Thane railway station @ 09:35 PM
Getting tickets to suburban trains in
Mumbai is art of combat in a queue, which almost seems has no end??!! In
addition, my dear citizens of Mumbai did all humpty dumpty to get tickets
without following the rules…
And I was strictly obeying the rules and
believing in good will as if am the Mahatma ‘s grand son…Atlast I had my chance
and got my tickets with a fair send off wish in Marathi…(censored) as I gave
100 rupees for a 7 rupees ticket ….09:57PM
My dream paradise started working now….I
was talking to GOD with some logical calculation …5 to 7 minutes to get train
and 15 minutes to reach Kalyan station and 10 minutes to go to the correct
platform…….so I will get 5 more minutes to have a sip of tea??!!
What I proposed and was completely disposed
by GOD, of course got a train @ 10:03 PM but it reached Kalyan with a historic
delay @ 10:34PM…Do you think I missed my train not exactly…it was asusal
delayed.
Stop here!!! still am having a 2AC ticket - W/L 1, Not confirmed !!!??
Train arrived Kalyan went to TTR; I was
literally begging him but he never mind showing me his rough face…??!! It was all over…I was talking to myself,
“Idiot, don’t you have common sense to check the status of your ticket before
journey?”
Fortunately my lady luck turned over, a railway worker who’s Hindi was worse than mine had asked me to stay back until 11 to catch an Express train, which goes to Yelahanka…
So now I have to get open ticket from that
long lasting queue and again it’s a mysterious tale…Got some help this time
from a lady, “Merakho urgently ghar jaana hein didi, thoda help karo” its obvious
she got convinced by my performance!!!??
Train reached by 11.20PM and this time again I was bit more lucky, TTR told me “600 roopa extra fees kutpudi, 2 AC seat allot maduthini” Proud of the citizens of my nation and gave him 600 (excluding reservation charges) + a share in my Pepsi
Called up my dad and as usual with his trademark
smile he said, “You have to learn from mistakes”
Now went to my berth, Side lower…That
silent bogie resembled me a mortuary, Yeah people were completely covered in
white bed sheets and a number each above their head?!?!? Slept comfortably although.
Fresh morning, woke up at 0845 AM. Had a sip
of IRCTC tea…trust me It does taste like a drink which my grandma gives me for
cold & cough. Honestly, the latter is far better than the former.
Got settled with my headsets pouring Raja
& Rehman and my eyes rolling over Sujatha’s novel,
A voice broke through “Good morning
Gentleman …a tall, White man came smiling near me…should be around 45, Mr. Asif
Iqbal a business man who resides in Bangalore, Textile business man, Just when
we started to introduce ourselves a dark guy with thick moustache came down
from upper berth, Are you from Tamilnadu?? …Mr. Swaminathan (27)
Yes as usual the story of train friendship started….not so late…it
was time to recognize a women sitting in the side of window and looking all the
three of us, swami was too quick to seize her into our conversation…
Ms. Janani Parameswaran…29 (hard to
believe) in an orange color salwar (she called it as Patiala
Where do you work in Mumbai? Swami
triggered his first question casually,
“I work for PayPal and about you guys?” In
a fabulous voice
Asif had to explain his business scenario and swami with the own style of typical software engineer explained TCS…
Its time for me, “Am an electrical engineer
and going to join with Siemens, will be shifting to Chennai next month” excited
as if am joining as CEO for Siemens?!?!
(Men never change; it is all pure biology,
Testrogen – Courtesy Writer Sujatha)
What kind of work you do…? Design, Engineering……!?
I started answering before she finished as
if I was working for NASA and do research in rocket science…since her eyes were
on me (After all am also human)
From Concept to commissioning, high voltage substations blah blah blah….I was speaking irrelevantly but took a glimpse at them and shifted to my usual way to shoot out funny dialogues and I could get their attention…thanks god they seem to be enjoying it…at the back of my mind I was thinking “I Should limit myself not to go overexcited and irritate them??”
Slowly but steadily we popped into a
conversation which shaped up from politics, cinema, nature, health, work,
marriage, life, etc etc…,Finally its about personal life, commitments and so on…I
wondered how did we get such confidence to share those within few hours ??!!??
Understood
a good relationship doesn’t require years of sharing, hours of talking etc, it
happens through emotions…confidence…dependability
Mr Asif came out with his own, He was a
business tycoon in his area and the first to get a AC car in their town and the
reputation he had and how he was treated by everyone around him when he was
full of money, But when it all faded as time passed by, and fate took the front seat as his
wife needed a breakup, 5years after their marriage and he was cheated by his close
friends in his business as we all are aware (Thanks to Tamil cinema)
At the age of 45 running his life with Pace
maker…it was quiet dramatic
However, the case of Swaminathan is a bit
hard to digest; He is physically challenged, as his left hand did not have full
growth as others. He was really coming out of his inferiority complex and firm
feelings he had with his friends & relatives…
“Is it my mistake to be like this? What
should I do to stop people showing care for gaining reputation in the society?”
he screamed
Janani in no time started sharing her love
life, marriage, friends….stop there…Did I refer her as Ms.??? Obviously, her appearance
was…A young widow who lost her lovely husband in a road accident …within 6
months of her wedding…
It was little astonishing when she said, “Most
of the men she had met thereafter are one and the same who want to exploit her
marital status”?!?!?! Its true …all the three kept silent as a sign of
acceptance…
Sometime passed away without exchange of
words, I took the state of affairs, preached them to think of positives in life
like a messiah of GOD, and of course turned around with my usual wits to make
them smile before dinner.
“To a man who made phenomenal efforts to
make his son run, walk and jump who was a handicap by birth?? Thank you Dad
To a woman who has all fraternity of
diseases from head to toe but still works to save money for her son? Thank you
Mom
To my Sisters, Who always trust that their brother
is a special hero always?? Thank you sisters
To my friends, who never let me down for
any reason and always have a great significance to me whether it is to purchase
a mobile or selecting their life partner – Thank you guys…”
It was a journey, which made me understand plenty
of consent I have in my life…
There are few who are not as much blessed
as me but I had spent my life thinking about people who are blessed more than myself
I wanted to record this with a clear
intention to remind me time and now that there are, many who still smile, laugh
and enjoy their day-by-day life with more pain in their heart…So Live your life
to the fullest joy.
“LIFE
IS NOT A CHANCE; IT’S A CHOICE TO REJOICE”
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ReplyDeleteDraumatic , emotional & completely taking the reader to picturize the moments
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