SMILE IN TRAIN

There comes a time in life where you’ve worked or studied for a very long time and all you need is tiny little break or a vacation. You certainly can’t go alone. Can you? Therefore, you make plans. Plant a seed of vacation in your friends head. That friend will share it to his friends and the news spreads like wildfire. In no time, there will be a dozen of friends, who are ready to come. In addition, another dozen who are interested, nevertheless not able to decide. Then goes lots of convincing.  Next stage is to plan trip and book hotels this is the most crucial stage. First place to make the list will be Goa, then, comes suggestion for other places.

Here many will disagree, argue and quit. Slowly the plan dies. Now you start feeling sad. This vacation wasted as well like the ones before it. Suddenly, you get a call on the other end your friend say “Let’s Go” doesn’t matter to me who’s coming or not coming, as long as your there. Then, few others follow. Just like that, from off track your plan is back on track.

                That’s how my long Journey started. If you’re thinking, I was the one to plan it, then u got it wrong. It was I on the other side of phone. On the phone, I clearly and firmly said “Let’s Go”. However, I was afraid if my father will allow me to go. That too for a place like Goa. Going through Flight on such short notice would cost a bomb. Therefore, I decided to go on train. I booked a tatkal ticket, I got waiting list. Getting a confirmed tatkal is equal to getting Lottery. I didn’t want to gamble with my vacations. Next day, I tried one more time, in a different train. I was lucky enough to get a confirm ticket. It was a 2 days and 1 night Journey in train. I had to shop and pack things accordingly to long Expedition. I went straight to Chroma to purchase Kindle. I wanted to buy it from such long time. Kindle is perfect travel companion. Then, my phone buzzed. It was a Jackpot. My takal ticket, which as in waiting just got confirm. People struggle to get a single ticket; here I was with two tatkal tickets in hand. The next moment I realized it was a time bomb, which cannot be defused. Confirmed tatkal tickets can’t be cancelled. Moreover, if u do, you won’t get a single penny of refund. Even then, I cancelled my first ticket immediately, hoping that someone needy on the train will get my seat.  

               

                YPR S KRANTI Express is the train I decided to Board. This perhaps was the Slowest train which travels North to South in just 47 hours. Lol, that’s a lot of lonely time. Luckily, I had my phone, power bank and Kindle all charged 🔋 up. My sleeper was side upper, my fellow passenger of side lower seat was supposed to board train in Jhansi, till that time it was my seat to enjoy. This was perhaps one of the reason I boarded this slow train. Sitting in my side lower seat, which was technically not mine. I opened my kindle started flipping through the pages deciding which book to read? I heard giggling sound; I closed my Kindle to look around. I saw a family of four, husband, wife and their kids. Along with 2 other man and a young woman. All of them in the same compartment as me. These were my travel companions I looked at them and smile. Moments later that young woman occupied her upper berth to sleep. I’ve observed it many a times, girls have these incredible ability to sleep for long hours, I don’t know how they do it. Yet they do it.

                My eyes made connection with the kids. One of them was a girl, wearing white frock with red floral designs on it, her name was Angel and the other was cute little munchkin. Unlike me, Angel didn’t give a damn about being in slowest train or not getting a lower sleeper. She was very happy in her parents arm. Playing with her baby brother, hitting him making him cry and then cuddling him. She was happy looking at my gadgets, every time I put my hand inside my bag I use to show her a new gadget like a magician. She use to watch all of my gadgets with great curiosity and Amazement. She wanted to touch it and play with those gadgets, but she had a boundary laid down by her mother. She didn’t dare to cross it, once she gathered all the courage and crossed it. Her mother got furious and slapped her gently. She took the hit. However, I felt the pain.

Her face was sad and tears started collecting and were about to roll down the cheeks. I couldn't see it, so I crossed the boundary sat next to her and gave her those gadget. Tears Vanished and there was a huge smile. Not just on her face but on my face as well. This is how, her boundary was extended, and she roamed freely from her parent’s seat to my seat. I did all possible things to get her attention. When it was scorching hot, I showed her my USB Fan and during night, I entertained her with laser light. She was very small and could possibly speak few words. When she wanted to call me, she use to shout “Oye” and I use to respond. She had a pink Handkerchief with Dora on it, she use to deposit that to me and borrow my gadgets, when she was done playing. She use to return it and take back her Dora Hanky. Her trading capabilities took us all by surprise and made her parents proud. One of the men in our compartment said she might become Banker in future. I was enjoying these moments so much so that I didn’t realize how time flew.

                After our train crossed Jhansi the temperate had gone up 5 degrees and had become unbearable. Everyone on train was sweating like piggy. Ice water use to become warm in no time. Nights were worst. Windows and fans were of no help either. I had not experienced such heat before. We experienced the feeling of being in a hot furnace. 47 hours journey and temperate had touched 47 degrees. I was thinking about those kids. Their parents took great care of Angel and her baby brother. So much of solicitude can only exist in parents.  I started understanding what parenting means. We slowly crossed deciduous forest of UttarPradesh and Madya Pradesh and entered Maharashtra.  It is from here when temperature start to drop. While all this was happening, the young woman I mentioned earlier was still asleep. Angel and hand her family got down in Pune. I was worried about being lonely again. I still had long way to travel, it was getting tedious and tiresome. However, destiny had something else for me, I then met energetic Tannu, Abhishek and Aaman and played chain reaction with them.

                The Journey was quite pleasant. I got opportunities to travel through Northern and central India. I got a glimpse of cities like Agra, Gwalior, Varnasi, Jhansi, Bhopal, Miraj. Which I had read about only in History books. While aboard, tasted famous dishes like Agra’s Peda and Belagavi’s Kunda and many other. From Indians Norther most border to Kanyakumari is 3200 kilometers. I had proudly travelled a similar distance of 2883 kilometers plus 400 kilometers.

After traveling for such absurdly long distance. I could finally sing, “Goa is on…..🍸”

At the end of the article if there was smile 😀 on your face. Do subscribe! So that I can often make that pretty smile  😀  of yours appear.