Today I witnessed one of the most amazing and memorable day of my life. Train journey from Gwalior to New Delhi was a fun filled experience. It was the day when I appeared for the GD/PI for IITTM, it turned out to be more of a hectic day as I had nothing to eat the whole day which made me a little drained moreover I was a little nervous throughout as I was at an important junction of my life and was appearing for an interview at an unknown place. But this is not what I am here to explain; it is my journey from Gwalior to Delhi which turned out to be one of the most unforgettable experiences of my life and as they say that “unplanned journeys sometimes bring the most beautiful things to life”, it did the same wonders with me.
Wednesday, 18th of June came up with a little nervousness and anxiety about what would happen in the GD/PI. As the day was summing up, the nervousness was fading away with joy and bliss. The day so far went hectic but was good. I was supposed to visit Palace of Gwalior & the Gwalior Fort the same day in the evening, but I came to know from my chauffer Shailendra that since it was a Wednesday the Gwalior Palace is closed for maintenance. The same night I was also supposed to go to Indore and catch a flight for Mumbai the next morning as I needed to be there in Mumbai to give Birthday surprise to Ipshita. But Shailendra had some other plans; he told me that instead of going to Indore back I should go to New Delhi and then board a flight for Mumbai from there as he feels it was more convenient which later turned out to be true. Going to Indore in the night by bus through jungle on a “road less road” would have been a horrifying experience.
Evening at around 4:00pm after I finished my GDPI, I went to the hotel to check out and to my surprise the Hotel Central Park charged me extra (half day’s tariff) for a day as the check out timing was 12:00 noon. When I asked them why this was so? Their answer was quite vague and they themselves didn’t know.. Later they told me it is because I was checking out a day prior as I had already booked the room for two days and the hotel is overbooked. I was unable to find any connection, but then didn’t argue as I had to travel back and check out as I was supposed to catch a train for Delhi.
After checking out from the hotel, Shailendra took me to the railway station. He told me that I should wait outside and in the meanwhile he can get the railway ticket. And again to my shock and surprise, he got me a general ticket for New Delhi. He told me that “sir, Jugad ke bina yaha kuch nahi chalta hai” which means “aaj meri watt lagni thi”. I very innocently asked him whether I would be able to reach Delhi or not, to that he replied “don’t worry sir, mujburi ka dusra naam hi Gandhiji hai”. I was just staring at his face and didn’t know what to say or how to react. I didn’t even get time to change the formal attire which I was wearing for my GDPI. Everyone was giving me an ephemeral look at the railway station that why was I in formals here.
Anyways, as soon as we entered in, we had to literally run to platform no. 2 where Jhelum express was stationed for a minute. Shailendra was very kind to hold my strolley and to sprint to catch the train. Unfortunately we could not get the seat as people there already surrounded the ticket checker (a TC or TT what they call him) to get their general ticket confirmed with a place in any of the boogies. I didn’t know that there was any such system in place. I only knew the age old system of railway reservation and booking, this is because probably I don’t travel much by trains. Soon after Jhelum Express passed there was another train Mangalore Jammu Tavi Express on the same platform. This time we decided whatever happends we will get hold of the TC first than anyone else does, so that I can confirm a place in the train. But what a parody, we could not locate a single TC there in the train moreover there was only one AC3 compartment. We had to literally run from the first boogie till the last but no luck. Then comes another train (don’t remember the name) after an hour or so. This time unfortunately I missed shailendra in the crowd. He was running frantically towards the TC that he detected in the train and I could not match his speed cause this time I was carrying the strolley. He got hold of the TC and was about to confirm a place for me in the train but he could not locate me anywhere in the crowd. So we had to let go this train as well. Now the only hope remained the Shatabdi and the Taj express which were about to come and which has been already booked, some people on the platform where also in the race to get a seat. I thought I should drop the idea of going to Delhi and instead stick to my earlier plans of going to Indore and then board a flight for Mumbai the next day. But as they say “Jako Rakhe Saiyan, Maar Sake Na Koi” that means “If God wants to save somebody, then nobody can kill him”, the ray of hope “Punjab mails” arrives at platform no. 2 and finally the TC was kind enough to allot a place in AC3 compartment after taking the remaining sum for the ticket from me.
Shailendra till the last moment came inside to drop me and help me with my luggage. The moment I entered the train there was noises of shouting and screaming, I wondered what happened there. Later on I came to know that there was a boy, a beggar, tried to steal something from the train and was caught in the process. Anyways, the place where I was about to be seated had been occupied by three people. They were very modest to greet me and even I was happy to see finally a vacant seat for me. Out of this trio one was Dr. U.S. Arora, professor of Physics in JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru University); one was Dr. Sudhir Kaicker, professor of Computer Science in JNU; and Suresh Jagtap, an Indian Army fellow. Later joined by Ritu Bharadwaj (as rechristened as the “lady with a wish to conquer” by Dr. U.S. Arora), dep. Manager SME in State Bank of India and me. We started our light conversation by discussing about mobile phones. It was soon enough that I discovered that I am in front of intellectuals with wealth of knowledge and information.
Arora Uncleji (don’t mind me when I do not entitle the name with Dr. or a Prof. as it looks very formal) spearheaded the conversations and soon everybody started laughing. Believe me, if he would not have introduced himself, probably nobody would have even come to know that he is a professor in a university. I had never encountered any such experiences with my professors in my college life. His talks would captivate you and keep you in a different world, the world with no sorrows. For a moment I forgot everything and got involved with the conversation. We discussed how some people in other countries miss such interactions. That is the essence of life in India, we like to share happy moments and even sorrows no matter if we do not know each other.
Sudhir Uncleji is an avid backpacker. He has travelled where very few have gone. Hearing to his experiences was like sharing treasure of knowledge. Ritu and I were so involved in the conversation that we wanted to know more and more about the places in India. The preeminent was to hear to his hitchhiking tour while he was in the US and how people there helped him, it was very touching. He enlightened that where ever we go to rove, we will always encounter good people who are always ready to help and I certainly do agree to it. To me he is a genius and yet so simple, hats off to him.
Ritu is like a “bindas girl” with bubbly nature who will mix with everyone and has fearless attitude. Fearless because being a girl and do hitchhiking in India, visiting off beat places is something which is really unbelievable. I was amazed to hear her experiences and her visits to the North Eastern states of India. Even Arora uncleji could not resist commenting on her boldness. The best part was to know her age and to know about her twins, none of us guessed her age correctly and were really astonished to know her real age. That left Ritu with smile all over her face while she finally boarded off the train at Agra.
Suresh Japtap was silent all throughout and was quietly listening to our travel stories. We got down at Agra station to get some “Pethas” which is Agra’s novelty. We also got some “Bhajiyas” in the train to eat while we continue talking. Then everybody took a nap as Delhi was nearing and in the meanwhile I was sharing my amazing experience to my friends on the phone. Finally at 12:00 I reached at Hazarat izamuddin Station, Delhi and we ended an extraordinary journey. It was an awesome experience for me as I had travelled hardly by trains and to meet such people and to listen to their experiences is like getting lessons of life which is truly priceless. The whole journey was memorable and I would relish it every time I read this blog.
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