“Aapko hui asuvidha ke liye hame khed hai!”, its a line most of you would have heard, even if you have visited New Delhi Railway Station even once in your life time. And though this announcement is made when trains are running late, but we might as well go through some other asuvidha’s as well. Just to clarify- I am not going to rant about how useless our Railway Ministry is (because i bet we all can do a thesis on efficiency of most of the ministries, where common man is concerned!). I would rather enlist some peculiar person and ridiculous situations that we encounter on these journeys:
Number 1: The people behind the ticket counters. One encounter with them, and you had think it was You who forced them to do this job. They never have any Change, besides even if they know how to, they never talk politely. If you want to know what a “slow motion” would look like, do come and take a look.
Number 2: Have you ever come across the beggars! No, I am not saying that we should not be sympathetic towards the needy. But these particular beggars will force you to “need” to run away. Just give one of them a packet of biscuit (only if you know how to dodge them!). And out of no where about ten small children will surround you with cries of “de do, de do.” I still haven’t mastered the art of avoiding them…. do tell me if you get to know :p
P.S. I quite forgot to mention the beggar who was telling\begging a guy ,that I don’t buy tiger biscuits, I only buy Good day…so five rupees won’t do!
Number 3: And have you seen the Policemen stationed for people’s security. I guess you would not. Because they can only be seen in a shadowy and cool place. Security comes into play only when some high ranking official is supposed to visit.
Number 4: The rats and Dogs. They can definitely give Jerry and Scooby doo a run for their money! Looking at those fat, ugly rats, who can make any mortal shout at the highest pitch..you can not imagine why so much of our “human” population is malnutritioned.
Number 5: The T.T.E. is one amazing creature too. Get in your compartment, and you will invariably find eight peole occupying a seat meant for six. As soon as the T.T.E. will approach, they will reach him, and what follows quite often seems like a round table conference, where some issue as serious as World Peace is being discussed. When the meeting breaks over, you can detect the smile on the face of the extras..and an even bigger grin plastered on the T.T.E.’s face. And if I have to tell you the reason for it, well you might not be an Indian! :p
Number 6: In the huge compound of New Delhi Station, you can encounter a train called the “Jan Sadharan” if you are lucky enough. What you witness there is nothing short of a miracle. Passengers throw their 3-5 year old children inside through windows, in a bid to secure a seat. The train I presume must carry approx three times the people it was meant to accomodate. It does seem like our ministers take Darwin’s theories about origin and evolution too seriously- beacuse they don’t seem to know how to arrange for people’s commuting.
Number 7: If you wish to do any research on what would be the effect of aliens descending among people on Earth, so again the railway station is probably the best place. Follow any foreigner (from west) and see how more than half the people on stations behave! In my opinion this is what people’s reaction will be if koi mil gaya’s jaadu comes down. And i don’t blame them…maybe all these “fair-skinned” travel loving people are coated in fevicol. That would explain the eyes glued to them. :p
Number 8: And this is the one which really celebrates our Indian culture and ethos. Whenever some family visits or is about to leave, a group of about 15 people will follow the family of three. If they are leaving, the farewells and tears seem like the family is departing for the heaven. And if it be a Coming home, well then the hugs and kisses remind me of kumbh ke mele me bichre hue bhai! :p
Number 9: And if you think that this is the end, think again! The package is not complete until you get out and meet the taxi and autowallas. They will descend upon you like a swarm of bees, and if you take more than five minutes to get in (and pay such high prices that you could possibly have ordered a limo) they will all but drag you with your luggage inside their vehicles.
But all said and done, if nothing else, still travelling in Indian Railways is always eventful and memorable. Don’t you think so? So, do have a safe Journey. Hum aapke sukhad yaatra ki kaamna karte hain
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