An Unforgettable Expedition

18-01-2011
08.50 p.m.

After so many hassles and bustles, I bade goodbye to my friends who had come to drop me at station and settled down on my berth. It was frustratingly suffocating the past few days. Not being able to see my parents and my bro for a long time was eating me from within. So without any second thoughts, I booked myself a ticket on the Duronto express. It was the express’ first journey. (It travelled upto Ernakulam only.) I was to take a connecting passenger from Ernakulam to my place at exactly 06.00 p.m. in the evening.) The express was supposed to reach Ernakulam latest by 05.40 p.m. (after almost 20 hours of journey) – Hopefully!


The greatest plus-point of this journey was that I got the entire coupe all for myself. It was like having a room for yourself. Since the train was ‘supposedly’ supposed to give all the passengers with food, I hadn’t carried my dinner with me. It was 09.30 p.m. and I was impatiently waiting for the food to arrive (where food is concerned, I was always impatient – a fact you cannot realize after seeing my negligible size). It was then only I overheard someone talking about getting no dinner because it was already past dinner time. I felt shattered. (Seriously yaar!)


Well, God (as well as the express’ pantry guys) had already decided my fate. I was to starve that night. I drifted off to a blissful sleep where I dreamt of four-course meals and desserts.


19-01-2011
07.45 a.m.

I woke up with a start because of the non-committal chanting of ‘Madam’. I opened one of my eyes slowly to find a pantry guy standing by my legs. He was waiting with a tray which contained my morning coffee. It was enough to snap my both eyes fully open. I was really starving. He collected my breakfast preference and left. I looked at my tray with longing eyes only to groan inwardly. Tragedy after tragedy was striking my already tragic life. How on earth was I supposed to know these guys only gave the coffee mix and hot water? Hell! The outcome of my hard work turned out to be bitter sweet. I made a mental note to take guidelines from my mum as soon as I reach home.


After my breakfast I stretched out on my seat with “The Doomsday Conspiracy”. It was sometime later when I was again woken up abruptly by the same pantry guy. I think he had made it a point to scare the hell out of me. I forgave him since it was for the order of my lunch. Grr… The lunch menu comes under the ‘forgettable moments’ of my life. It deserves no worth to be on my post.


The train which was supposed to take only “20 HOURS” to reach Ernakulam took almost “22 HOURS” to see the destination station. I reached the station at around 07.15 p.m. I was exhausted to my fill and just wanted to get home (which was still 3 hours away by train). And fortunately, no thanx to Duronto, I missed my connection passenger and it left the station without me. Hurray!


I took a ‘fast passenger’ (only by name) and reached my home huffing and puffing (as early as 11.30 p.m. in the night) and saw the much awaited sight of my life. My mother’s face! It erased all the exhaustion of my sizzling journey out of me and I could feel warmth spreading through every cell of my body.

Here is something what I was waiting for!
Here is someone who I was dying to meet!
Here is my home, sweet home!