Scheduled departure of the train to Mysore - 9:30 PM from Chennai Central
Hurdle 1 - 8:40 PM: I got down from my home and couldn't find a single auto. The Saidapet railway station was about 15 mins walk from home and I chose not to waste anymore time. I started walking.
Hurdle 2 - 8:45 PM: I had covered one-third of the distance when I got an auto. The deal was for 20 bucks. Midway from where I got the auto, we got struck in a snarl-up. It was a narrow path and I can reach the station faster if I would walk rather than waiting for the traffic to clear. Meanwhile, the auto driver was pissed with the state of affairs and he tried sneaking through. In process, he brushed past a parked motorbike and got a piece of the motorbike owner's mind; the ignition went off and wouldn't start ; when he tried something with the ignition key, the key broke and half the key was left in the keyhole itself; I handed him Rs. 10 and started towards the station. Of all the things that happened, this infuriated him the most and he protested about the partial payment. My justifications didn't cut ice. He threw the note away and asked me to leave. I had walked only a few steps when he managed to get past the traffic and started chasing me. He abused me. I didn't react. He drove rashly and almost crashed into me from behind. He wanted to knock me down. He then blocked my way forward and got out of the auto. He wanted a fight. He wasn't intimidating. Further, he seemed drunk. But, he thought I were intimidated. He tried clasping my hands and twisting it. I freed myself with a snap and the station was just a few steps away. Ignoring the hurled abuses, I rushed into the station.
Hurdle 3 - 8:55 PM: There was an unending queue for tickets. It would have been stupid of me to join the queue. I conveniently skipped the process and climbed up the aisle and down into the platform. Picked up an used ticket that was lying down. Before the ticket inspector would realize that the ticket is a sham, I would have vanished into thin air at the Park Station.
Hurdle 4 - 9:00 PM: Usually, there is a local train every 6 mins or so. I didn't see a tain passing by in the last 3 mins. Which meant there should be a train northwards before 9:03 and I would reach Park Station at 9:20. I'll have 10 mins to run and catch the Mysore train at Central. Ten minutes passed and two trains went southwards but, not one towards north yet. Messaged Utkarsh, "If I miss the train, don't blame me. Blame Chennai. I mean it". Utkarsh doesn't need much instigation to blame Chennai. At 9:15, the train arrived and I boarded keeping my fingers crossed. At 9:25 Utkarsh called while I had just crossed Chetpet. I thought he would say that their train started moving and ask me to give up. But, so characteristic of him, he said I have 10 more mins as he has arranged for the train to wait. He might be unrealistic at times. But, I have never seen a guy more earnest than him.
At 9:32 I reached the Park station. I ran like a house on fire, dashing into people, leaping over road-side stalls, climbing three steps at a time and all that jazz. I were at platform 11 and had to rush to platform 4. When I reached platform 6 I could see an engine beginning to move in platform 4. There was no time to run around tracks 6 and 5. I jumped into the tracks, crossed them, threw my bags up the platform and climbed up only to see the back of Mysore express a few hundred metres ahead. The engine moving in the platform was just some engine. A couple of ideas occurred - catching an electric train till arakkOnam, gettting a bus to Mysore etc. But, I were drenched in sweat and I had give them enough trouble already. I decided to apologize to Utkarsh and Patan on Monday and started to go back home.
![]()
Hurdle 1 - 8:40 PM: I got down from my home and couldn't find a single auto. The Saidapet railway station was about 15 mins walk from home and I chose not to waste anymore time. I started walking.
Hurdle 2 - 8:45 PM: I had covered one-third of the distance when I got an auto. The deal was for 20 bucks. Midway from where I got the auto, we got struck in a snarl-up. It was a narrow path and I can reach the station faster if I would walk rather than waiting for the traffic to clear. Meanwhile, the auto driver was pissed with the state of affairs and he tried sneaking through. In process, he brushed past a parked motorbike and got a piece of the motorbike owner's mind; the ignition went off and wouldn't start ; when he tried something with the ignition key, the key broke and half the key was left in the keyhole itself; I handed him Rs. 10 and started towards the station. Of all the things that happened, this infuriated him the most and he protested about the partial payment. My justifications didn't cut ice. He threw the note away and asked me to leave. I had walked only a few steps when he managed to get past the traffic and started chasing me. He abused me. I didn't react. He drove rashly and almost crashed into me from behind. He wanted to knock me down. He then blocked my way forward and got out of the auto. He wanted a fight. He wasn't intimidating. Further, he seemed drunk. But, he thought I were intimidated. He tried clasping my hands and twisting it. I freed myself with a snap and the station was just a few steps away. Ignoring the hurled abuses, I rushed into the station.
Hurdle 3 - 8:55 PM: There was an unending queue for tickets. It would have been stupid of me to join the queue. I conveniently skipped the process and climbed up the aisle and down into the platform. Picked up an used ticket that was lying down. Before the ticket inspector would realize that the ticket is a sham, I would have vanished into thin air at the Park Station.
Hurdle 4 - 9:00 PM: Usually, there is a local train every 6 mins or so. I didn't see a tain passing by in the last 3 mins. Which meant there should be a train northwards before 9:03 and I would reach Park Station at 9:20. I'll have 10 mins to run and catch the Mysore train at Central. Ten minutes passed and two trains went southwards but, not one towards north yet. Messaged Utkarsh, "If I miss the train, don't blame me. Blame Chennai. I mean it". Utkarsh doesn't need much instigation to blame Chennai. At 9:15, the train arrived and I boarded keeping my fingers crossed. At 9:25 Utkarsh called while I had just crossed Chetpet. I thought he would say that their train started moving and ask me to give up. But, so characteristic of him, he said I have 10 more mins as he has arranged for the train to wait. He might be unrealistic at times. But, I have never seen a guy more earnest than him.
At 9:32 I reached the Park station. I ran like a house on fire, dashing into people, leaping over road-side stalls, climbing three steps at a time and all that jazz. I were at platform 11 and had to rush to platform 4. When I reached platform 6 I could see an engine beginning to move in platform 4. There was no time to run around tracks 6 and 5. I jumped into the tracks, crossed them, threw my bags up the platform and climbed up only to see the back of Mysore express a few hundred metres ahead. The engine moving in the platform was just some engine. A couple of ideas occurred - catching an electric train till arakkOnam, gettting a bus to Mysore etc. But, I were drenched in sweat and I had give them enough trouble already. I decided to apologize to Utkarsh and Patan on Monday and started to go back home.
No comments:
Post a Comment