So I have a train to board fom Borivali. The train has a stop of only two minutes. The crowd is huge. Anxiety rises. I am reminded of the time when in Renukoot we used to board the train. From a distance, the train's light from being faint becomes clearer and nearer. It's time for action. My mum has a back problem. She shouldn't be pulling up heavy luggage. My cousin is here to help us board. Train has stopped. Everyone is in a hurry for the fear of missing the train, yet there is an optimism. Some of the passengers do not know that it doesnt stop for 10 minutes and that is where hope has bloomed. Well, my mum gets in first. A little later, me too i find myself inside. What a relief! While i move inside the coach with one of the bags, my mum is blocked by a group of heavy luggage bags right next to the door. A little later, as the clouds disappear after it has rained, people clear the bags and i get my mum and the bag inside the compartment.
While one travels in a train, it gets extremely important who your co-passengers are. If they are nice people, the journey becomes mor enjoyable. So we are lucky this time. A family from Bombay is going to Jaipur or holidays. They create no hassles for exchanging one of our upper berths with the lower that they have. We start talking. I tell them with whatever scant knowledge I have, about places they can visit. They are informed travelers. They have a list of to do things, which is great.
Then, I just open my facebook account. The first post I get is the breking news which appears to be as a hoax in the beginning.
One of my facebook.friends' has been the first on my page to break the news of extinction of a not ao rare species of Indian currency that too strting midnight. I do notay much heed. A little while later, another friend, facebook friend, whom I consider to have saner voice puts up the same status. A bell rings in my head. I go to google to look for the news post. And indeed it is true. The compartment, I must say has become as lively and engaging as my facebook wall. Everyone's checking the news and discussing a enlightening others on what exactly has just happened and going to happen from midnight. It seems like one adventure that all of us are going through. But wait, some element of surprise waits for us. The discussions have been put to rest until tomorrow morning. We have Made our beds. It's time to relax. We reach th next station i.e. Surat. There are people who hv boarded the train. A family of eight have got inside. I assume with all teir luggge and the henna on the women's hands, they must have attended a marriage ceremony. So this one lady who is in the forefront of the family wagon, with her naturally loud voice asks an confirms whether this is so and so seat number. Well, our tickets have already been verified by the ticket checker and thus we ask them which Bogey they hav their seats in. They tell the same numers as ours. In this frenzy, amongst themselves they ask th person who has the ticket to verify. And here comes the grand revelation. They have the same bogey and seat number but in that of another train. Oops! Woow. This is my first of its kind incident. So with all their luggage, we ask them to hasten little lest the train starts moving. And in this state of dilemma, as their reflexes slow down a little, the train begins to move slowly and then gains its speed. There is nothing that can be done now. So, they stay back. And somewhere with the TTE's help must have got a place to sit.
Train journeys can be so much fun but only if you have the right company around. I generally dread having kids in the compartment. But i do not get lucky most of the times. This time too their ar two young boys in the compartment but I amazed to see that they still make such kinds. Even though they are having their fun but they do not get on to my nerves. I am glad.
Now its almost the end of our journey but it did not feel like we had undertaken a 17 hours train journey.
Well, i always love the train journey.
