Anyway, climb any cognizant bus and you will hear this strange rock music with sub woofers at the back seats of the bus. Yeah, our associates are not bad at sleeping and snoring to the glory either. Most of them are girls. Most of the time, you will find them getting up from their ‘alice in dubious land’ dream and looking out of window, rub the eyes, look out again and get shocked when they know that they have missed their stop. Then there is 100 mts dash to the front of the bus shouting, “Anna stop, anna stop”. Anna doesn’t know what on earth has happened. He gives this smart smiling look with a contrasting thought, “you want me to stop at the middle of the road? Which world were you in?”. Anyway, talking about drivers. Have you watched these Sathyabama college buses? Well, not buses, hell transporters you might say. One of the students told me that, these drivers will not stop for a group of boys but if a single girl waves her hand, they will stop immediately. Oh how I wish, women take up bus driving.
Gosh, this is the second time, I am moving away from the topic. Topic? When did I start? Well, I didn’t. In fact I don’t have any agenda in this post. It looks like I am stuck with this self created,1000 thoughts image. Got to shake it off somehow. Anyway, talking about ‘Sleepwell in Shuttle’ (Is this proposition, preposition, opposition? Miss office communicator or Megz might be interested.) Well, boyz are different. I know few trainees who just hit ctrl+alt+del and doze off in front of their monitor and the team lead working next to him/her is only amused at the guys/gals guts. Now that, I have told what I didn’t intent to tell, let me tell you the real reason to start this post.
On one of our limited engineering vacations, I and my cousin decided to go to my aunts place, shimoga in Karnataka. Now, let me overload you with few facts. I had been to shimoga from Bangalore in train only once, few years ago. My cousin had not been to shimoga in train from Bangalore. So that means, I am the senior traveler. The know all guy. The last time I went, it was a direct train and was a 4 hr journey( which I am not sure ). All the stations in and around shimoga look the same and has the same architecture. Harihara is a place at least 2 hour away from shimoga, by road.( which doesn’t really exist).
Now, my cousins father, drops us at the station at 6:30, cold Bangalore morning. He gets us tickets and we happily boarded the train. We are a little saddened by the fact that, the birds were not interested in our compartments. We found few flying across towards the neighboring one. Anyway, my cousin had a book to read and I had my 1000 thoughts to think about looking outside the window. After some 3 hours the train makes a comparatively longer stop at some station.
My cousin, “how long to shimoga?”
Me : Well, it’s been only 3 hours. Probably 1 more hour.
Cousin : “Are you sure?”
Me : “well I have travelled once. Can I be wrong?”
Cousin : rolling eyes. Goes back to book.
After 1 hour, still no shimoga.
Cousin: “Perhaps we should ask someone.”
Me : “Perhaps you should ask someone.”
Cousin : Goes back to book
After 2 hrs.
Me: “I think you are right. We should ask someone.”
Cousin : “right. You should ask someone”
Me: Ok ok. I am gonna ask.
I walk to this guy gorging on groundnuts and.
Me: “How long to Shimoga?”
The nut guy : “Shimoga?”
Me: Dumbo. “Yeah!!”
The nut guy: “Where are you coming from?”
Me: “Bangalore”
For some strange reason the nut guy starts smiling, then laughing, then rolling out of laughter and before he could do anything more, my cousin comes in.
Cousin: “what the hell is happening?”
Me: “well, the guy, was eating nuts and now it looks like he has become one nut case now !!”
The nut case: “Hero. You are in the wrong train. This is going to Harihara. Will reach in another 10 min.”
Cousin: “What?”
Me: “what?”
Me (Looking at cousin) : “This guy has gone nuts. Well, your father couldn’t be wrong. Could he?”
Cousin: “Well no. it’s the right ticket and train.”
After 10 mintues.
Me: “Man, this is Harihara. But this station looks familiar man. I have seen this last time. I think we have to get down at harihara and then take a auto to shimoga. I think that’s what I did last time.”
Cousin: “Ok then, let’s get out of station”
We start walking and walk straight into the ticket checker at the gate.
TC: “ticket please”
Cousin: “here” ( proudly gives the ticket)
TC : ( looks at me and then at the ticket 4 times. I was about to say, “sir, its ticket not a id card” ) : “yavanige hutidiya ley, sulle maganey” ( well I don’t want to translate this. The people in this part of Karnataka address both their friends and enemies with the same gaalies, which if you hear, will either commit suicide or blow the head off. My cousin who doesn’t understand too much of kannada looks at me for explanation. I was about to tell him that, the show has just begun. That was the introduction)
Me : “Sir?”
TC: “You buffalos. This is ticket to shimoga and you have come to Harihara”
Me : “Sir. I am confused. How did this miracle happen?”
TC : “Ley maganey. When this train reaches the junction station in between Bangalore and Shimoga, half of the compartments are removed and attached to the train going to Harihara. The other half continues to Shimoga. You have sat on the other half and you didn’t even change the compartments in that station.
ME : “What?” (Hmm that explains why the train stopped for so long after 3 hours. This happens only in India)
TC: “Now that you are here. Technically, you have travelled from Bangalore to harihara half way, without ticket. So, pay the fine”
So, we pay the fine. Walk outside and ask this auto guy.
Me: “Sir, Shimoga?”
Auto guy : “Shimoga?” Starts smiling, laughing and before he could roll. “It takes 2 hours in bus. You think I am fool. Go take a bus” Another shower of praises followed.
We take a bus which is probably not upgraded since independence and we travel on the road which was never there. In fact it was like some stretch of land on mars with holes as big as those craters created by asteroids.
Anyway, finally, as the sun set, we reached Shimoga and aunts house only to be made fun of. They still make fun of us, every time we meet.
So, you see. You don’t have to sleep to miss the stop. You could have the right ticket, right train, eyes wide open and yet miss few things. Probably that’s what I like about India. It never stops surprising you !!
My cousin? Well, he never travelled with me again.
Me? Well, I had once booked a train ticket to my home town from Chennai and was boasting about it till the last day because nobody was getting a ticket. On the last day when I was showing the ticket to my friend boasting about it, he started to smile, then laugh, then rolling on the floor. I looked at the ticket closely only to find out that, I have booked a ticket in the train, which goes all around the south India before reaching home town after 24hours. No wonder, so many tickets were available on that train.
