22nd April 2012
It had been quite a while since I had gone for a trip outside my state . So when the assessment was over in my office, it was time for a long vacation (the extra days would be without pay of course ☹).
The bag was packed and was puffed up to the core, including my camera and three lens, and dress for my 7 days stay. The light brown bag of mine looked more like a camels belly and weighed a ton.
My train The Rajdhani Express was scheduled to depart at 11:30am so I was at ease in the morning time. The final packing was done and after bidding farewell to my family members I rushed to the station and secured my berth early. I was happy that I got the side upper berth coz I have a phobia that I would fall down while sleeping in the lower berth :D. I chained my luggage and then sat comfortably looking for more passengers to fill up (but obviously I was more interested in a female companion :P). A family of 4 joined by my side. A boy and a girl with their parents. You might be thinking the lady luck is shining on me, but I seriously had no intentions of bird watching on a girl of 16yrs.
The train departed at the scheduled time. I was greeted by the automated voice the echoed in the coach “Welcome to Rajdhani Expressm, while a tetra pack of Jumpin along a mineral water bottle was served. With the temperature soaring outside the A.C inside the train was least helping. Anyways I had an empty seat in front of me, on which I rested my legs and started the sighting seeing as the train moved.
It was just before Cuttack when I was joined by the fellow passenger in my front seat.
“ Galti se dusre compartment mein chala gaya tha, paani ka bottle laana to !! “He exclaimed to the waiter of the coach. The man was in around his mid 30s. With sleek glasses, the man resembled the face of our old Ollywood actor Shriraam Panda. “cooling nehi ho raha hai !!! cooling ho raha hai kya ?? he asked while nodding his head . “Nai garam ta laguchi .. Rajdhani re tike pare thik hei jiba “( Nope , I’m feeling the warm too but its Rajdhani, would be okay with time “ I answered in odia coz I was pretty sure he was an odia too with the hindi accent he was speaking. He was not satisfied with my answer and asked the Waiter to call the technical engg. asking the same Question “ Cooling nei ho rahah hai .. “ To which he answered that “saab ho jayega , bahar itni garmi hai thoda time to lagega hi andar “
After sometime, a tomato soup cup without salt and 2 hardest bread stick ever (probably made by the same company which made the railways tracks) appeared with a small butter packet on a tray sachet.
Train Journey in a Rajdhani train was always a delight. The time has taken its toll on Pantry car and catering service and we are served with B-grade food. This happens mostly in the Bhubaneswar – Delhi Rajdhani.
After the not-so-enjoyable-appetizer, the fellow passenger in my front asked in sweet voice “nida laguni?? “ (Aren’t you feeling sleepy? “, I got the motive of his question and said him politely “if you want to sleep you can sleep “
He helped himself in putting the sleeping berth, and the bed roll, and went fast asleep.
Train journeys are the most exciting journeys for me and flight journey the most boring. The ever changing scenery by the window, the sound of the train and another train gusting by, the insertion and dissection of the track. There is so much to see outside. How can one be asleep so soon? With the people besides me pulling to curtains for their privacy, I retired to my upper berth, reluctantly taking Jim Corbett omnibus with me.
Lunch was served soon. Packed half cooked rice, moisture less green salad, the spicy dal and the black chicken curry. Probably the best item in the plate was the mixed pickle. Panda Babu didn’t even bother to take his lunch enjoying his long deprived sleep. With Nothing left to do, I kept on reading “The man eating tigers of Kumaon “by Jim Corbett. The description by Jim Corbett on his hunting experience of the Man eater Tigers take you to the jungle itself. It feels as if you are on with him while he is pointing his gun nozzle towards the tiger. Thanks to him, the train journey wasn’t as boring as it could have been.
I kept on reading the book till was dinner time. I preferred the vegetarian meal this time, but the menu was not so different after all. It was all the same, this time the chicken curry was replaced by a panner curry, which had a taste of haldi than anything else. Luckily the dessert, ice cream gave some sort of compensation to my taste buds. Pandu babu still dreaming about his dream girl, was snoring down .
I checked my luggage again, and then flattened out on my berth above while listening to some music, gradually sleeping to the lullaby.
It was around 3am when there was a lot of hooch poach near my berth. Around 5 policemen rushed to the side row and called up the man sleeping at the side upper berth . “ Neeche aa .. Neeche aa .. “And when he came down, they caught hold of his shirt collar and asked in a daunting voice “Yeh samaan tera hi hai na .. chaal saale neeche chal “. Almost everyone in that row woke up and the coach assistant team joined in. On asking the policeman revealed that the man was carrying Ganja with him and secured around 5bags from him. The man was in his mid 30’s had board the train from Kharagpur. The police had information beforehand and was successful this time in catching him. The train assistance team asked us to verify our luggage once again. People had a discussion about the incident for about an hour or more before all went to sleep.
I slept late and woke up around 8am with the morning. Tea, soup and steel bread sticks being served at my berth. Panda babu was still asleep. I was amazed how one man can sleep so much. I finished off the remaining part of the novel and around 9am I went down waking panda babu up. “ Bhai , Nida Chaduni ?? “
I spent the remaining time of the journey sightseeing from the window, while having little chit chat with Panda Babu.
He said, he is a regular traveler by this train and how pissed off he is from the services that are offered by it including the food and all.
Finally the train arrived at the New Delhi Railway station and after a lil bargain with the auto driver I set off to meet Raja Bhai.
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