Thursday, January 04, 2007
Sham-e-avadh continued ...
At a distance I could a hear a train hoot and hoped it was ours.
It wasn't. The train that pulled itself, groaning like a tired monster came to a hesitant stop on the opposite platform. It was a goods train. R commented on how much revenue we might be loosing if these trains missed deadlines and production was stalled, but I guess like everyone else even the industries consider delay as a given and work around it.
As we watched the goods train hoot and restart, chugging away R said,
"I feel like jumping on one of these wagons and going away. I feel a desperate need to get off this station, I don't care where, I just want to get out from here."
"True, thats what I feel too." I agreed. Since our train was not coming even I felt like getting on anything that moved on tracks then and there.
Both of us fell silent again, just then the coolie or whatever he was who had met us earlier strolled onto the platform with another of his co-workers and parked himself behind us. They were chatting about various trains, from the snatches of conversations I heard, their job was to jump onto running trains as they entered the station and make space to sit for people who boarded later with their baggage. Once the person who hired them boarded, they would vacate the seat, take their money and jump off the train to wait for another one. They had very systematic pricing system with different prices for a seat, a sleeper, a day train and a night one.
Entreprising and not really illegal. No law in earth can bar all of the money-making tactics that people get into in India. As I was listening to them, R cursed,
"Shit, even this train is going to be late." There had been no announcement but the train was due by 4:00 and it was already 4:15.
"Say that if it does not come by 4:30, aadhe ghante ka delay, delay thodi na hota hai. Aadha ghanta, idhar ya udhar toh chalta hai na." I replied sarcastically.
We watched in despair at the clock's big needle making its way towards the huge 6 on the clock, there was still no sign of the train. Next to us the Rail aahaar shop was opening up. A newspaper vendor came and dumped a bundle of papers on the ground. For some people in the world, the day had started but we were the ones in the wierdest position because for us even night had not yet fallen.
R almost jumped with joy when the floodlight of an oncoming trains illuminated the tracks. We watched the silvery streaks till they were devoured by a red engine, the board on the train said, Ranakpur Express. It wasn't the one we were to take but at the next instant the automated voice boomed on teh microphone, our train was coming on the next platform, thankfully we didn't have to climb stairs to get there, we got up and waited on the other side. The coolie/ agent/ whatever came behind us,
"Kya, sleeper chahiye?" he said.
"Kitna bola tha?" R asked.
"Dedh sau. TT se baat karu? kuchh nahi toh zameen pe toh dila hi doonga." his confidence was admirable.
"Zameen pe!!!" I could not help but exclaim.
"Haan toh, abhi thodi na sleeper milegi, waise bhi train late hai, kya ... chahiye?" He asked again.
"Nahi, chalo lets go into general dabba." I told R and started walking ahead towards the end of the train.
It was still moving and when it stopped the door to the general dabba opened to reveal a rush of people getting off. We got in and I immediately stumbled over a figure squatting on the floor, another step and I stepped over someone's toes. An angry voice groaned from between the jumble of limbs. We could not go further, the entire floor was blocked by sleeping people, R didn't bother to be careful, he pushed and shoved himself inside, took the bags, flung them under the lower berth and with one jump got onto the berth above. He parked himself on the edge, resting his feet on the opposite berth. The man sleepign on that berth moved aside a bit and R was as comfortable as he could be.
I on the other hand could not figure out what to do. A man was lying on the lower berth, he got up seeing me standing and said,
"Aap baith jao. Koi problem nahi." he said.
"Thanks." I said.
A few people shuffled around and made place for me inspite of black looks of irritation on being woken up from the weak slumber that they had managed to get after long journey upright from Bhavnagar. My position was uncomfortable but at least I was sitting. The train started to move and I mumbled a small prayer of gratitude.
The next station would be Surat. I woke from uncomfortable naps periodically either because my neck would jerk back and a momentary pain would shoot through the upper back or someone lying on the floor would change positions hitting my leg. Every time I woke up, I would strive to stay awake but exhaustion would overtake and I would unconciously sink into slumber.
It was at Surat that a family got up, I flung a bag from under the berth and put it on the berth above me. R shifted from his position to that berth, though he was sharing it with another man, the space he got was enough to let him lie down. I still sat in my uncomfortable position. He needed to sleep for his court appearance more than I did. At Valsad some more people left, including the man sitting with R, with uncanny speed, I climbed up and woke R up.
"My turn to sleep." I said. R sat upright and I lay down on the planks.
Below, people were waking up, brushing teeth noisily and having chai-nashta, I realised with a start that we did not even had any water to drink. In all this mess we had forgotted to buy a bisleri from the station. Before I could tell R to get water, the train started.
It sped along much faster than before between the stretch from Valsad to Dahanu Road, just as sweet sleep was about to blanket me, raised voices yanked me away from her folds. The TC had found some students who got on the Super Fast with a passenger pass. They bickered about the fine. R was awake now.
"Try to sleep." He said, smiling. He seemed quite fresh. I lay back and the next I remember was a nudge and R's voice, "Borivali's coming."
Thankfully the train stops at Andheri so we got off, caught an auto, reached home, showered, had strong black coffee and went to our respective offices. Neither of us discussed the events of the previous night. It was just too painful. That night I reached home from office at 8:30 p.m., had milk and slept by 9:00 p.m. under warm blankets, only to get up at 8:00 a.m. the next morning.
The nightmarish night is still fresh in my mind but I thank my stars that it was in Baroda that this had happened because firstly it was just 6 hours from Mumbai and secondly it was home territory. A few good things did happen though from this entire episode,
1. R and I now know that we work well together even in stress and tension.
2. I have learnt my lesson, never trust the Railways inspite of the fresh coating it has got under LPY, its still the same, inefficient and untrustworthy.
3. Its true what Gandhiji said, "If you want to see the real India, travel by the general dabba."
It wasn't. The train that pulled itself, groaning like a tired monster came to a hesitant stop on the opposite platform. It was a goods train. R commented on how much revenue we might be loosing if these trains missed deadlines and production was stalled, but I guess like everyone else even the industries consider delay as a given and work around it.
As we watched the goods train hoot and restart, chugging away R said,
"I feel like jumping on one of these wagons and going away. I feel a desperate need to get off this station, I don't care where, I just want to get out from here."
"True, thats what I feel too." I agreed. Since our train was not coming even I felt like getting on anything that moved on tracks then and there.
Both of us fell silent again, just then the coolie or whatever he was who had met us earlier strolled onto the platform with another of his co-workers and parked himself behind us. They were chatting about various trains, from the snatches of conversations I heard, their job was to jump onto running trains as they entered the station and make space to sit for people who boarded later with their baggage. Once the person who hired them boarded, they would vacate the seat, take their money and jump off the train to wait for another one. They had very systematic pricing system with different prices for a seat, a sleeper, a day train and a night one.
Entreprising and not really illegal. No law in earth can bar all of the money-making tactics that people get into in India. As I was listening to them, R cursed,
"Shit, even this train is going to be late." There had been no announcement but the train was due by 4:00 and it was already 4:15.
"Say that if it does not come by 4:30, aadhe ghante ka delay, delay thodi na hota hai. Aadha ghanta, idhar ya udhar toh chalta hai na." I replied sarcastically.
We watched in despair at the clock's big needle making its way towards the huge 6 on the clock, there was still no sign of the train. Next to us the Rail aahaar shop was opening up. A newspaper vendor came and dumped a bundle of papers on the ground. For some people in the world, the day had started but we were the ones in the wierdest position because for us even night had not yet fallen.
R almost jumped with joy when the floodlight of an oncoming trains illuminated the tracks. We watched the silvery streaks till they were devoured by a red engine, the board on the train said, Ranakpur Express. It wasn't the one we were to take but at the next instant the automated voice boomed on teh microphone, our train was coming on the next platform, thankfully we didn't have to climb stairs to get there, we got up and waited on the other side. The coolie/ agent/ whatever came behind us,
"Kya, sleeper chahiye?" he said.
"Kitna bola tha?" R asked.
"Dedh sau. TT se baat karu? kuchh nahi toh zameen pe toh dila hi doonga." his confidence was admirable.
"Zameen pe!!!" I could not help but exclaim.
"Haan toh, abhi thodi na sleeper milegi, waise bhi train late hai, kya ... chahiye?" He asked again.
"Nahi, chalo lets go into general dabba." I told R and started walking ahead towards the end of the train.
It was still moving and when it stopped the door to the general dabba opened to reveal a rush of people getting off. We got in and I immediately stumbled over a figure squatting on the floor, another step and I stepped over someone's toes. An angry voice groaned from between the jumble of limbs. We could not go further, the entire floor was blocked by sleeping people, R didn't bother to be careful, he pushed and shoved himself inside, took the bags, flung them under the lower berth and with one jump got onto the berth above. He parked himself on the edge, resting his feet on the opposite berth. The man sleepign on that berth moved aside a bit and R was as comfortable as he could be.
I on the other hand could not figure out what to do. A man was lying on the lower berth, he got up seeing me standing and said,
"Aap baith jao. Koi problem nahi." he said.
"Thanks." I said.
A few people shuffled around and made place for me inspite of black looks of irritation on being woken up from the weak slumber that they had managed to get after long journey upright from Bhavnagar. My position was uncomfortable but at least I was sitting. The train started to move and I mumbled a small prayer of gratitude.
The next station would be Surat. I woke from uncomfortable naps periodically either because my neck would jerk back and a momentary pain would shoot through the upper back or someone lying on the floor would change positions hitting my leg. Every time I woke up, I would strive to stay awake but exhaustion would overtake and I would unconciously sink into slumber.
It was at Surat that a family got up, I flung a bag from under the berth and put it on the berth above me. R shifted from his position to that berth, though he was sharing it with another man, the space he got was enough to let him lie down. I still sat in my uncomfortable position. He needed to sleep for his court appearance more than I did. At Valsad some more people left, including the man sitting with R, with uncanny speed, I climbed up and woke R up.
"My turn to sleep." I said. R sat upright and I lay down on the planks.
Below, people were waking up, brushing teeth noisily and having chai-nashta, I realised with a start that we did not even had any water to drink. In all this mess we had forgotted to buy a bisleri from the station. Before I could tell R to get water, the train started.
It sped along much faster than before between the stretch from Valsad to Dahanu Road, just as sweet sleep was about to blanket me, raised voices yanked me away from her folds. The TC had found some students who got on the Super Fast with a passenger pass. They bickered about the fine. R was awake now.
"Try to sleep." He said, smiling. He seemed quite fresh. I lay back and the next I remember was a nudge and R's voice, "Borivali's coming."
Thankfully the train stops at Andheri so we got off, caught an auto, reached home, showered, had strong black coffee and went to our respective offices. Neither of us discussed the events of the previous night. It was just too painful. That night I reached home from office at 8:30 p.m., had milk and slept by 9:00 p.m. under warm blankets, only to get up at 8:00 a.m. the next morning.
The nightmarish night is still fresh in my mind but I thank my stars that it was in Baroda that this had happened because firstly it was just 6 hours from Mumbai and secondly it was home territory. A few good things did happen though from this entire episode,
1. R and I now know that we work well together even in stress and tension.
2. I have learnt my lesson, never trust the Railways inspite of the fresh coating it has got under LPY, its still the same, inefficient and untrustworthy.
3. Its true what Gandhiji said, "If you want to see the real India, travel by the general dabba."
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Sham-e-avadh
This post is the namesake of a beautiful post on an evening in Lucknow written some time back by one of our old time bloggers Manish Chauhan. Sadly there is nothing in common between Manishbhai's post and this one except the name and even in the name the first word is to be read in English instead of urdu. Actually this post is about a journey, a safar which made us suffer. Sorry, that was a pj but the best way to describe what happened. Anyway you can decide for yourself after you read this post.
R and I had to attend a wedding over the weekend. It wasn't that close a relation but it was on the in-laws side and since R's parents are in the US the job of representing the family landed on us. It wasn't such a bad deal, I hadn't visited Baroda for some time and I have lots of people there who wanted to see R and vica versa so we decided to do the mutual displaying on both sides in the two days that we were there. I was staying with my bua and he was at his kaka's house.
The trip went off well, the evening, i.e. the 1st of Jan when we were to leave we got the news that our train was 3 hours late. It was to leave at 9:15 p.m. but would reach Baroda at 12:00 a.m. So be it I said, actually it was better that way as we did not have to rush back, change and run to the station immediately and could take our time with the idle plesantaries and fake display of affection with everyone there.
So we stayed at the wedding till my face ached of the artificial smile and by 10:00 p.m. returned to R's kaka's place, I had already collected my bag from bua's house and wished her good-bye. I got rid of the heavy decoration that I had tolerated for 3-4 hours and got ready with our bags packed for the journey. R took a nap while I chatted with R's cousins.
At 11:00 we called the enquiry only to be greeted by further delay, the train would now reach at 3:00 a.m. I woke R up and we decided to anyways go to the station by 12:00 so as not to disturb our hosts. We could wait at the station's waiting room. At Baroda station, the waiting room was neat and had nice cushioned seats, a television played old hindi movie songs, I settled with a book and was comfortable, R as usual went off to sleep.
Suddenly at 2:00 a.m. he woke with a start, I had also dozed off listening to Lataji singing Lag jaa gale. "Whats the matter?" I asked startled.
"I thought they said further delay and something about the train coming at 6:00 a.m." he said, "I could be wrong but let me go check."
It must have been a mistake I though as he had heard it through a slumber. Still I waited wide awake, if the train was delayed further we could be in trouble. Both of us had to go back to work the next day ... I mean that morning that is. It takes six hours in a superfast train to get to Mumbai from Baroda, it would be very late if we left after 3:00 a.m. I hoped that R's ears were playing tricks on him while he was sleeping but sadly, he returned shaking his head,
"Now its coming at 6:00 a.m. What do we do?" he asked.
"I don't think we can wait any further. If we want to reach on time we must leave at least by 4:00 a.m. otherwise, lets just go back." I replied.
"But then how do we get back to Mumbai?" He was really worried. Normally he is not the kind who breaks his head over things but this was bothering him.
"We could go to Ahmedabad in the morning and then take a flight from there. We can reach by mid-morning." I suggested.
"And waste 3k?" he asked, surpised that I was disregarding the monetary implications. "Lets find out if there is any other train going to Mumbai now."
We lugged our luggage and went to the reservation counter where a man, his back to the window was chatting with his colleague.
"Hello ... yeh Avadh kab aayegi?" R asked. No response came from him. "Hello, boss." R repeated. The man continued to ignore him. I moved R aside and decided to use the age old trick, ladies charm.
"Excuse me, sir... can you help me?" I said.
"Yes madam." the reply was immediate, he had turned so sharply towards the window that his hand hit his PC's monitor.
"Yeh Avadh ko kya hua?" I asked.
"Delay hai madam." he said.
"Woh toh pata hai par, what if it doesn't come at six also?" I asked.
"Its possible. We can't say anything till it reaches Ratlam." he leaned close towards the window, I stepped back and R thrust his face inside.
"Is there any other train to Mumbai now?" R asked.
"Abhi Jaipur-Bandra gayi, ab toh Borivali passenger hai aur Rajdhani." he said as if expecting us to bow down in gratefulness at his words of enlightenment.
"Will there be anything in Rajdhani for two people?" R asked.
He didn't even bother to reply, just shook his head and started fiddling with a register on his desk.
R was quite peeved but didn't budge, he repeated the question a couple of times before the man snapped back saying that Rajdhani was packed and only the TC on it would be able to help. By that time I had gone to the information desk and checked for other trains. There was Borivali passenger which reached Mumbai at 4:00 p.m. next day. Then Ranakpur Express at 3:50 a.m. and Bhavnagar-Bandra at 4:00 a.m. which would reach at about 11:00 a.m. That man was more respectful.
"All trains are running late, there is a problem with the signalling system, things are quite haywire tonight." he informed.
"So how do I get to Mumbai now?" I asked.
"Your best bet is Bhavnagar-Bandra at 4:00"
R had joined me at the desk. He was really worried now. He had a court appearance at 1:00 p.m. He had to be there by then. I sensed that he was getting hyper.
"Lets go back to the waiting room and decide." I told him.
"But what is to decide?" he snapped rudely.
"Arre, why are you getting irritated, we need to keep cool and decide what to do na?" I told him.
"This is so **$%#@&^ pathetic." he almost yelled, "if I don't reach by lunch, they will fire me."
"I know but I would prefer if we had this discussion inside the waiting room, at least it is more comfortable than standing in this chill with bags in hand. Right.?" I started walking towards the platform without waiting for his reply.
"Wait, we should by two general tickets to Mumbai so that we don't have to see the face of that @$^**#$ again." he had started thinking straight.
"Ok." I said.
He bought the tickets and once again requested the guy if there was anyway we could get us a seat in Rajdhani. The guy was rude again, R let it be and we walked towards the waiting room. A man strolled towards us, he looked like a coolie from his clothes but there was something different about him. He started walking besides R and asked.
"Kya ho gaya? Avadh ka problem?" he asked.
"Haan, chhe baje bol rahe hai? aayegi kya?" R asked back.
"Kya maloom, kuchh nahi bol sakte, hamesha late aati hai par itna late rare hai." he said making my suspicion that he is not a coolie certain and somehow I got really bad vibes from him.
"Agar confirmed ticket hai toh Bhavnagar-Bandra ki sleeper kara sakta hoon. dedh sau per seat." he offered with a blank expression.
"Dekhte hai. Kidhar aayegi train?" R asked.
"Do ya teen pe." the guy said, "char baje tak aayegi, paune char pe udhar rahoonga, aapko dila doonga sone ka toh mil jaayega." he said and drifted away somewhere behind us.
Once inside the waiting room we examined various options, outside I could hear announcements of various delays. It was 2:30 a.m. Most trains were late including the Rajdhani which was now an hour late and would reach only by 4:30 a.m. Poeple around us started to settle for whatever remained of the night. A lady brought two chairs together and prepared a bed for her child. Another man took out a shawl from his bag and prepared for sleep. The man in-charge of the room lowered the volume of the television.
We had bought the ticket on the website, it was a 3AC confirmed ticket, if we took another train, we would loose the money on this one but we did not seem to have a choice. Getting to Mumbai by lunch was crucial. Now that Rajdhani was delayed we had to take the first available train. R kept fidgeting, he went out once to inquire about cancellation. He was in a horrid temper when he returned.
"Saale sab ke sab kaamchor hai, tell me how much would it cost to give all train drivers a cell phone, at least we could get real time information and not have to dangle in this uncertainty?" He commented.
"There is nothing we can do. Absolutely nothing. Except take the next available train and travel by general dabba." I said.
"That's the problem, we accept the goofups by the public utilities way too many times." R's temper was still bad.
We tried to chat about cheerful things but both were tense and irritated. By 3:30 a.m. we got so impatient that we left the comfortable waiting room and went to the 2nd platform to sit on uncomfortable metal chairs in the winter chill. Our train was at 4:00 a.m. There were just a handful of people in the station. A family was waiting on the opposite platform for a train to Ahmedabad. A man who had like us decided to take the same train as ours sat on the seat ahead reading a book. The rail ahaar shops on the platform we shut with the exception of one up ahead. Time and again chilly breeze wafted bringing with it a shiver and a forced attempt to cover as much as possible of the body with the light shawl that I had. Right above us a tubelight blinked repeatedly, its corners black with grease and over use.
There was a clock next to us, ticking away slower than usual it seemed, as we waited for the train. For the first time in my life I could not look at the positives in the situation, maybe there was one, at least in all this I was not alone. R was with me. At a distance I could a hear a train hoot and hoped it was ours.
To be continued ...
R and I had to attend a wedding over the weekend. It wasn't that close a relation but it was on the in-laws side and since R's parents are in the US the job of representing the family landed on us. It wasn't such a bad deal, I hadn't visited Baroda for some time and I have lots of people there who wanted to see R and vica versa so we decided to do the mutual displaying on both sides in the two days that we were there. I was staying with my bua and he was at his kaka's house.
The trip went off well, the evening, i.e. the 1st of Jan when we were to leave we got the news that our train was 3 hours late. It was to leave at 9:15 p.m. but would reach Baroda at 12:00 a.m. So be it I said, actually it was better that way as we did not have to rush back, change and run to the station immediately and could take our time with the idle plesantaries and fake display of affection with everyone there.
So we stayed at the wedding till my face ached of the artificial smile and by 10:00 p.m. returned to R's kaka's place, I had already collected my bag from bua's house and wished her good-bye. I got rid of the heavy decoration that I had tolerated for 3-4 hours and got ready with our bags packed for the journey. R took a nap while I chatted with R's cousins.
At 11:00 we called the enquiry only to be greeted by further delay, the train would now reach at 3:00 a.m. I woke R up and we decided to anyways go to the station by 12:00 so as not to disturb our hosts. We could wait at the station's waiting room. At Baroda station, the waiting room was neat and had nice cushioned seats, a television played old hindi movie songs, I settled with a book and was comfortable, R as usual went off to sleep.
Suddenly at 2:00 a.m. he woke with a start, I had also dozed off listening to Lataji singing Lag jaa gale. "Whats the matter?" I asked startled.
"I thought they said further delay and something about the train coming at 6:00 a.m." he said, "I could be wrong but let me go check."
It must have been a mistake I though as he had heard it through a slumber. Still I waited wide awake, if the train was delayed further we could be in trouble. Both of us had to go back to work the next day ... I mean that morning that is. It takes six hours in a superfast train to get to Mumbai from Baroda, it would be very late if we left after 3:00 a.m. I hoped that R's ears were playing tricks on him while he was sleeping but sadly, he returned shaking his head,
"Now its coming at 6:00 a.m. What do we do?" he asked.
"I don't think we can wait any further. If we want to reach on time we must leave at least by 4:00 a.m. otherwise, lets just go back." I replied.
"But then how do we get back to Mumbai?" He was really worried. Normally he is not the kind who breaks his head over things but this was bothering him.
"We could go to Ahmedabad in the morning and then take a flight from there. We can reach by mid-morning." I suggested.
"And waste 3k?" he asked, surpised that I was disregarding the monetary implications. "Lets find out if there is any other train going to Mumbai now."
We lugged our luggage and went to the reservation counter where a man, his back to the window was chatting with his colleague.
"Hello ... yeh Avadh kab aayegi?" R asked. No response came from him. "Hello, boss." R repeated. The man continued to ignore him. I moved R aside and decided to use the age old trick, ladies charm.
"Excuse me, sir... can you help me?" I said.
"Yes madam." the reply was immediate, he had turned so sharply towards the window that his hand hit his PC's monitor.
"Yeh Avadh ko kya hua?" I asked.
"Delay hai madam." he said.
"Woh toh pata hai par, what if it doesn't come at six also?" I asked.
"Its possible. We can't say anything till it reaches Ratlam." he leaned close towards the window, I stepped back and R thrust his face inside.
"Is there any other train to Mumbai now?" R asked.
"Abhi Jaipur-Bandra gayi, ab toh Borivali passenger hai aur Rajdhani." he said as if expecting us to bow down in gratefulness at his words of enlightenment.
"Will there be anything in Rajdhani for two people?" R asked.
He didn't even bother to reply, just shook his head and started fiddling with a register on his desk.
R was quite peeved but didn't budge, he repeated the question a couple of times before the man snapped back saying that Rajdhani was packed and only the TC on it would be able to help. By that time I had gone to the information desk and checked for other trains. There was Borivali passenger which reached Mumbai at 4:00 p.m. next day. Then Ranakpur Express at 3:50 a.m. and Bhavnagar-Bandra at 4:00 a.m. which would reach at about 11:00 a.m. That man was more respectful.
"All trains are running late, there is a problem with the signalling system, things are quite haywire tonight." he informed.
"So how do I get to Mumbai now?" I asked.
"Your best bet is Bhavnagar-Bandra at 4:00"
R had joined me at the desk. He was really worried now. He had a court appearance at 1:00 p.m. He had to be there by then. I sensed that he was getting hyper.
"Lets go back to the waiting room and decide." I told him.
"But what is to decide?" he snapped rudely.
"Arre, why are you getting irritated, we need to keep cool and decide what to do na?" I told him.
"This is so **$%#@&^ pathetic." he almost yelled, "if I don't reach by lunch, they will fire me."
"I know but I would prefer if we had this discussion inside the waiting room, at least it is more comfortable than standing in this chill with bags in hand. Right.?" I started walking towards the platform without waiting for his reply.
"Wait, we should by two general tickets to Mumbai so that we don't have to see the face of that @$^**#$ again." he had started thinking straight.
"Ok." I said.
He bought the tickets and once again requested the guy if there was anyway we could get us a seat in Rajdhani. The guy was rude again, R let it be and we walked towards the waiting room. A man strolled towards us, he looked like a coolie from his clothes but there was something different about him. He started walking besides R and asked.
"Kya ho gaya? Avadh ka problem?" he asked.
"Haan, chhe baje bol rahe hai? aayegi kya?" R asked back.
"Kya maloom, kuchh nahi bol sakte, hamesha late aati hai par itna late rare hai." he said making my suspicion that he is not a coolie certain and somehow I got really bad vibes from him.
"Agar confirmed ticket hai toh Bhavnagar-Bandra ki sleeper kara sakta hoon. dedh sau per seat." he offered with a blank expression.
"Dekhte hai. Kidhar aayegi train?" R asked.
"Do ya teen pe." the guy said, "char baje tak aayegi, paune char pe udhar rahoonga, aapko dila doonga sone ka toh mil jaayega." he said and drifted away somewhere behind us.
Once inside the waiting room we examined various options, outside I could hear announcements of various delays. It was 2:30 a.m. Most trains were late including the Rajdhani which was now an hour late and would reach only by 4:30 a.m. Poeple around us started to settle for whatever remained of the night. A lady brought two chairs together and prepared a bed for her child. Another man took out a shawl from his bag and prepared for sleep. The man in-charge of the room lowered the volume of the television.
We had bought the ticket on the website, it was a 3AC confirmed ticket, if we took another train, we would loose the money on this one but we did not seem to have a choice. Getting to Mumbai by lunch was crucial. Now that Rajdhani was delayed we had to take the first available train. R kept fidgeting, he went out once to inquire about cancellation. He was in a horrid temper when he returned.
"Saale sab ke sab kaamchor hai, tell me how much would it cost to give all train drivers a cell phone, at least we could get real time information and not have to dangle in this uncertainty?" He commented.
"There is nothing we can do. Absolutely nothing. Except take the next available train and travel by general dabba." I said.
"That's the problem, we accept the goofups by the public utilities way too many times." R's temper was still bad.
We tried to chat about cheerful things but both were tense and irritated. By 3:30 a.m. we got so impatient that we left the comfortable waiting room and went to the 2nd platform to sit on uncomfortable metal chairs in the winter chill. Our train was at 4:00 a.m. There were just a handful of people in the station. A family was waiting on the opposite platform for a train to Ahmedabad. A man who had like us decided to take the same train as ours sat on the seat ahead reading a book. The rail ahaar shops on the platform we shut with the exception of one up ahead. Time and again chilly breeze wafted bringing with it a shiver and a forced attempt to cover as much as possible of the body with the light shawl that I had. Right above us a tubelight blinked repeatedly, its corners black with grease and over use.
There was a clock next to us, ticking away slower than usual it seemed, as we waited for the train. For the first time in my life I could not look at the positives in the situation, maybe there was one, at least in all this I was not alone. R was with me. At a distance I could a hear a train hoot and hoped it was ours.
To be continued ...
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