Tennis to my rescue

So I have this mundane life where I get up, pack my heavy laptop bag, go to the library, sit and work and then come back, have food, again go back to the library with the same heavy bag and after a few hours get back to the hostel and sleep. Wow, how boring! I have nothing to look forward to. I dread carrying this bag that takes a toll on my shoulders. I don't want to hold anything in my hands. I am fed up of carrying the laptop, the copy, the pencil bag, the water bottle, my phone. Why can't my hands be free of all this burden? So I am complaining silently about the routine that has become my life And out of nowhere, one day, the saving grace appears via a message on my phone. My friend asks me if I want to play tennis in mornings. I instantly say yes. Who would not love to play tennis? I reply him positively and voila I have something interesting in life (yes that is quite exciting for me). The best part of my day is when I hold that tennis racket and feel like one great tennis player. 

So we start playing. I have resumed playing almost after five years. In fact, five years ago, I learnt how to play this sport. I have always liked watching tennis and playing too. So, during our practice sessions, we try to rally as much as possible. In the beginning, it was hard to keep the ball inside the court. But now, that I am playing regularly, the rhythm comes gradually to me.

So the first match we play is of three games ( If I recall it well), which I lose. The score is 1-2. I atleast manage to win a game.The following days we start playing match of a whole set. There have been scores like 0-6. Of course the 'love' in the score is mine. But I have improved a lot. This one particular match where I had served first (I serve first in every match though), I won my game with the initial score of 1-0. Then it seemed my friend played a better game and I made quite a lot unforced errors, the score progressed like 1-3. I bucked myself up and levelled it to 3-3. I was so happy. The score went further on equals and it became 4-4. And then, again I got caught in the web of unforced errors. And the final score read like 4-6. However, I was satisfied with my performance. 

Now, today, I had an equally good day in tennis. So, I lost my first game, 0-1. Then I bounced back by equalling the game at 1-1. It seemed today, we were meant to break each other's serves. I only made one point on my serve in the whole match. Now, again, it was a neck to neck match today. The score had gotten to 4-4. The next game, my friend, he won. He broke my serve. And then the final one. I had thought I would manage to make the score 5-5. But it so happened that after having so many deuces and advantages, finally I faced a defeat again. The score was 4-6.

Now, I have challenged my friend that tomorrow, it's going to be me who will be the winner ( though I had changed the perspective while telling him and said that he is the one who will lose). Well, whichever way, the winner is going to be me tomorrow. Let's see, how interesting tomorrow's match is!!

My Train Journey!

I love travelling by trains. I have mostly travelled by trains in my life so far. And whatever it has been, I have loved every bit of it. Indian Railways are beyond doubt the lifeline for Indian masses who would have otherwise not been able to cover the length and breadth of the country so quickly. It was during my train journey to Goa that I got all the more awed by travelling in trains. 

Railways have always fascinated me. Right from the engines of trains to their coaches, the railway tracks to the platforms, the hawkers with their items, the stations' names on the yellow or white boards, the bridges and the rivers that trains pass by, the mountains and the tunnels they take us through, the lush green fields or the deserted terrains, the countryside, the people we meet during our journeys, the inevitable complaints about a dirty toilet, or the unappetizing pantry food. All of this contributes to my love for train journeys.

When I came to know that I was supposed to go to Goa, I didn't even care to check the flight tickets. I knew the prices would be sky high for me even if they saved my time. But who wanted to save time? I decided to board a train instead that would take around 30 hours to reach my destination. But I wasn't sure if I would get a ticket as all of them were booked already and were running in waiting. I had been left with the only choice of getting a ticket through Tatkal. Now, Tatkal is yet another adventurous option created by Indian Railways to add to the thrill of your experience. I certainly had my share of chills and thrills but somehow I managed to get my ticket and I knew I was getting on to this train that would cover more than 1800 kilometers to reach Goa.

And I am glad I took a train. The only journey I had made till now to the west of the country was going till Bombay (for me it will always remain Bombay and not Mumbai). I hadn't been further south until this trip. And I discovered the joy of travelling through Konkan Railways. With this train, I had traversed 6 states to reach the seventh. Each state has its own set of topography that distinguishes it from the other. The first day took us through Haryana, UP, Rajasthan, MP and Gujarat. While the next morning I got up in Maharashtra where my train had stopped for quite some time. We had stopped at a place I would have otherwise never known. Though it wasn't a stoppage, since on the way ahead it was a single line, it was supposed to stop at many of these small stations as it had no choice. So this morning I got up to find myself in Kolad, which happens to be a rafting destination.

And my train, to my utter delight continued to stop at unknown small towns. After a while, we reached Ratnagiri. We had some fresh cucumbers that the lady had been selling at the station. There was also this watermelon guy with juicy watermelons. However, I did not step that far for the fear of missing my train as it only had a two minutes halt. But I decided to taste them for sure when I would be on my return journey (and yes I did). At each station, we came across some tea vendors, some wadapav walas or some fruit sellers.

When we were travelling on the Konkan Railways route, we came across several tunnels. I have never taken on a journey in India where I had ever come across a tunnel, so it got me all excited about this trip. Passing through tunnels, then coming out of them, traversing the beautiful and rustic landscape of the coast made me drift away in my dream world. My thoughts also went to the labourers and the workers who had actually put in all their efforts to lay the railway tracks in the country in all sorts of terrains and again I was awed. I cannot be enough thankful to them who make my journeys so interesting when I travel by train.

Following all these ideas in my head, I finally reached one of my dream destinations with all the excitement and fervour. I wish to go again to Goa but whenever I go , I would like to take a train.