It is funny how vacations fly by so fast. Yesterday, I came home, and tomorrow I go back. The whole duration of two weeks, seems more like a day or two. Its funny how, I wanted to blog about this post all the while, but I find the time to actually do it one day before going back to the development of civilization.
The exams were over, and it was time for the packing and the excitement to show itself, because the day after tomorrow was the day when we were going to step on the land which had taught us everything, Mumbai, the city of dreams. Well, almost everything, if not all exactly. So, we pack our bags with utter enthusiasm and vigor the previous day itself in midst of the anguish of our souls and constantly at work minds.
The exams were over, and it was time for the packing and the excitement to show itself, because the day after tomorrow was the day when we were going to step on the land which had taught us everything, Mumbai, the city of dreams. Well, almost everything, if not all exactly. So, we pack our bags with utter enthusiasm and vigor the previous day itself in midst of the anguish of our souls and constantly at work minds.
That day passes with a blink of an eye, and soon enough we are all set on moving to the railway station which is about 40 kilometers give or take from our Heavenly abode (The Boys Hostel). The station was pretty far, and we had to walk all the way. However, there was one glitch. Apparently, our tickets were not confirmed. We had our tickets book way ahead of time through an agent, because we thought he is a trustworthy guy. Obviously, we were wrong! Because, though we booked tickets on 5th December 2012 with full payment in cash, this son of a gun booked the tickets 3 days before the train left January 2013! The agent thought of being super smart, so he tore out the dates strategically from the tickets, but he forgot that month and the year exist too! We obviously came to know, but trusted him enough because the previous time in an almost similar situation, he did confirm our tickets.
Underneath the hot sun, we eagerly waited for the ticket to get confirmed, but it did not. We checked over and over again, until two of our friends succumbed to the heat, bailed on us, and shed out 1500/- a ticket to go in a luxury bus. Well, the perks of being rich you could say? We don't blame them, but people talk now, don't they?
BS apart, the agent asked us to bribe the Ticket Checker, but we refused. Hence, we had to travel with no confirmed seats sitting next to toilets and doors, and not sleeping at all. There was however a group of friends, who had one empty seat and offered us their seat for the night. Apart from the getting angry, the abuses and the getting angry again, all we could do was put our luggage in a corner and sit on our own chappals. I have always travelled on a confirmed ticket, and travelling on waiting list seems pretty daunting but one has to experience this atleast once, I tell you that. I remember roaming in the train when I was a kid, and sulk at people who sat near toilets or doors because they did not have seats. I now was the person to be sulked at by some other passer by kid, who will apparently be surely sulked at in the future. I am sure of that. The sad part was, people who had booked tickets after us had got confirmed seats, but we had to roam in the train like seatless souls.
As a matter of fact it was pretty much fun, also cold. We read books, played games on PSP, sat or rather stood at the window. Roamed all around the train as if we ruled it, smiled at beautiful people, children, foreigners and girls alike. Apart from the turmoil of the journey, the cherry on the cake was we stood there for each other, and not back out. We looked after our luggage in shifts and slept for two hours each turn by turn. We ate Cadbury silk orange which was fabulous, because it was all melty and we got to it just as they do in the advertisement. We got down at every stop, claiming to be land on that particular place and boasting about it. What fascinated me was, when I was reading "The Story Of My Experiments With Truth", the autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi, an old man asked for the book, and he kept on reading for hours together in the cold with a mild smile on his face. Right before I was about to doze off, he returned the book, and thanked me for it with a smile. It was as if the guy was enlightened all of a sudden. I tried reading the book for some time, but the cold did not let me. My turn to sleep waited for me, and off I went. That book still waits for me in my bag, to be read. I hope, the day of my enlightenment comes soon enough.
We reach Mumbai, and walk down the platform as the Five Guys Who Made It Big in some Bigshot movie poster, in slow motion. Suddenly a TC asks for our ticket, I flash it to him like the fancy FBI people flash their badge and move along the platform. All in all, it was an priceless experience, I actually pity for the two friends who bailed on us that day. Well, I guess that's how it was meant to be. Keep reading folks. :)
Underneath the hot sun, we eagerly waited for the ticket to get confirmed, but it did not. We checked over and over again, until two of our friends succumbed to the heat, bailed on us, and shed out 1500/- a ticket to go in a luxury bus. Well, the perks of being rich you could say? We don't blame them, but people talk now, don't they?
BS apart, the agent asked us to bribe the Ticket Checker, but we refused. Hence, we had to travel with no confirmed seats sitting next to toilets and doors, and not sleeping at all. There was however a group of friends, who had one empty seat and offered us their seat for the night. Apart from the getting angry, the abuses and the getting angry again, all we could do was put our luggage in a corner and sit on our own chappals. I have always travelled on a confirmed ticket, and travelling on waiting list seems pretty daunting but one has to experience this atleast once, I tell you that. I remember roaming in the train when I was a kid, and sulk at people who sat near toilets or doors because they did not have seats. I now was the person to be sulked at by some other passer by kid, who will apparently be surely sulked at in the future. I am sure of that. The sad part was, people who had booked tickets after us had got confirmed seats, but we had to roam in the train like seatless souls.
We reach Mumbai, and walk down the platform as the Five Guys Who Made It Big in some Bigshot movie poster, in slow motion. Suddenly a TC asks for our ticket, I flash it to him like the fancy FBI people flash their badge and move along the platform. All in all, it was an priceless experience, I actually pity for the two friends who bailed on us that day. Well, I guess that's how it was meant to be. Keep reading folks. :)
