Train Stories

Call it my laziness or over confidence that I did not book my tickets in advance for going home this deepawali. And at the nth moment when I started looking for tickets, flight tickets were unbelievably high (12K-29K one way), and there were no tickets available in the direct train to my home town (By the way, it takes me 36 hours minimum to reach home by train). After seeing no other possibility, I booked my tickets with braked journey. I was supposed to change train in Rourkela, and my next train for Jamshedpur(home town) was after 4 hours. Friends were asking me what I will do for that long time, and suggested me to wait inside waiting room. 

On planned date I started my journey and I was praying for train to reach Rourkela late so that I should not wait there for long. My train reached Rourkela 1 hour late. I asked a coolie to take my luggage to that platform where my next train was supposed to come. He did the same, took money and left. I was busy arranging my luggage on the bench when I saw a passenger train, which was going to Jamshedpur. I was sure that if I take this train I will reach home early. But me being me, decided to wait for the train I booked tickets in. 

I thought I will listen to music to pass time, but then one drunken coolie came and asked me where I want to go. I tried avoiding him but he was not leaving the place. To get rid of him, I told him the name of the train I was waiting for. He told me to go and sleep in the waiting room as my train will come tomorrow morning only. I had checked the train timing that morning also on internet, so I was very sure and didn’t believe on what that coolie said. 

Still that passenger train was there on the platform. I don’t know why, but I just got up from my place and walked up to the enquiry counter. And there when they said that my train will come next morning only due to train timing changes, I was shocked. I somehow managed to buy tickets for that passenger train and got inside. Call it my luck, as I sat in that train, it started moving. I just managed to get inside with my entire luggage. I was really pissed with all these unexpected changes and was extremely angry on Indian railways. When I returned to my senses, I thanked that drunken coolie for saving me from spending whole night in the station. And then I observed that I was sitting in between so many men. I had no energy left to shift my luggage somewhere else or look for other place. This journey was for just 3 hours, so it was better to adjust.

There were 3 engineering students and few uncles who were sitting in my compartment. In the next station one chai wala came inside. There was one uncle (I think he was drunk), he asked the Chai wala for time. He replied the time for which this uncle said “I am asking you to give me tea, why you telling me the time.” 

Chai wala: You asked me for time only. If you ask me for tea I will give you tea. You ask me politely, I will give you my blood too.” 

Till now I was looking outside the window. But this filmy dialog from the Chai wala confirmed that the scene inside was more interesting then what I was seeing outside. 

That Uncle: Okay, enough of your dialogs. Give me tea. And if it is not hot I won’t pay you.

Chai wala: My tea is the hottest. You drink it and see. If it’s cold I won’t take your money. And this is a man’s promises. 

He said this and looked through the audience for applause. I felt even he was a psycho, my bad day. He served tea to that Uncle.

That Uncle: If your tea is hot, I will give you 100 Rs.

Chai wala: I don’t take money in charity. 

He again looked for applause, his dialog reminded me of Amitabh bachchan’s dialog in the movie Deewar “Seth, main pheke hue paise nahi uthata”. 

That uncle drank the tea and asked the Chai wala “where this train is going?”. That was extremely funny moment. By now I forgot all my anger and I was enjoying my first ever local train journey. Chai wala got down in next station and that uncle slept. I was listening to music, when I felt that the guy sitting next to me asked me  something. I removed my earphone and begged his pardon. His question made me speechless. 

Guy: Why do you keep long nails? Is it for fashion or for clawing someone’s face.

He gave a wicked smile. I was shocked on such question. I felt like clawing his face as answer to his stupid question. But I maintained my calm and said “just for fashion” and wore my earphones back. 

My god! I was praying for that journey to end as early as possible. First the shock of rescheduling of train, then running around to manage to get into this train, and finally these chai wala, drunken uncle and useless guys sitting around me, made me pray to god like the Geet of Jab we met, for no more excitement in the trip.

But whatever we say, it is 100% true that we get to meet many interesting people and witness many funny incidents in train journey, which we always miss in flights. I had come across many experiences during such journeys, some made me smile and some pissed me off, but all of them are unforgettable. And with this one journey, one more page got added to my book of memories. I will share few more such memories with you all some time again.