A Journey To Remember

A Cold night at Delhi in the end of November. Without any warm clothes and heart beat touching 100 so as the speed of the auto also. If it misses what else can I do..on the day it was the last one and none other for the day. I had to catch it if I plan to avoid the cold and reach in time to attend the marriage.

It was a train...at 10.30 pm I had to catch , my friend Ashraf waiting at the railway station near the train. Not for me...but for the train to leave...Thats what he was waiting for. May be even hoping that I never reach there. At least he will have some sleep. After all my resrvation was in the waiting list.What's there in MEMS and MAMS? Can't that be discussed any other time?

An hour back I was on a flight. My flight to Delhi was scheduled to land at 8.15 pm, but thanks to some wonderful planning by our Indian governments in giving licenses to so many private airlines and not constructing any airports, my poor plane was hovering over the Delhi airport for one hour for the lack of parking space.

Damn I could have pressed a space bar and created many spaces on my PC but on airport...things were not beneath my fingers...

"Hope it lands in time for me to catch the train". I prayed
Seeing my praying hands asked nearby passenger."Which train are u supposed to catch and from which station ?"
I ignored the first question and flatly answered the second as nizammuddin. "
Oh Nizaamuddin. ..that's 40 min from the airport terminal..max 1hr." bang came the reply.
Nervous enough to talk further and his replies not making things easier." thanks "I said...I thought that would close the matter.
But I was wrong he came again..." Had it been New Delhi it would take u about an hr and a half but Nizammuddin that's pretty near ".

What non sense...Can't you keep quiet I thought. Now I was looking for a delete button on my keyboard which could have deleted him from my adjoining seat. But as always I dint get any. My boss used to get them whenever he was going through my draft copies. I landed at 8.45pm. Another Hr and a half to go. I thought that was easy now..but then luggage came after a lifetime ….15 min ... looked a lifetime to me then....Well anyways I still had an hr and 15 min and if the adjoining irritating person in my flight is to be believed then I still had a lot of time.

Well Ashraf took on 50 min to cover the distance I had 75 min...So decided to go for a PRE-PAID taxi counter...paid some 120 bugs...but for another lifetime…15 min…could not catch any of the taxis...They were all very busy to run off strategically avoiding me...either taking the passenger next to me or before me...but always avoiding me as if they knew I m not going to pay them a penny more than I have already paid at the counter.

But at 9.30 I managed to outsmart one of them and entered and asked him to drive like anything to enable me to reach Nizammuddin. I considered to tell my driver what John Abraham told Nana patekar about the horse powers and speed's relation to the money and all but then decided against it.

Meanwhile I came to know from Ashraf that the train is on Platform No 11 the last one. I reached at 10.20 on the station...haah...Thank god…I made it ten minutes early...gave a tip to the taxi driver for driving fast...confident enough and thanking god for listening to my prayers... Climbed up and enquired about the platform no 11 and lo... there were only 7 platforms. How come? Called Ashraf again

"Which platform did u tell...?"
"11 yaar..Last one ...and the last bogie for that matter..so make it fast" Again some one's reply not making life easier for me..

I checked the ticket and lo...the train was scheduled to depart from New delhi and not from Nizammuddin.!!!!

I stood there on Nizammuddin speechless staring at the big board over the station which read
"Welcome to Hazrat Nizammuddin Railway Station ".