As I left Howrah

As i left Howrah

As i left Howrah by a train that was destined to get further late, the first point of interaction was with a gentleman who was destined to get down at mughalsarai and was eager to engage on National Capital issues of ascendance. Ascendancy we could rarely see as far as the National Capital was concerned and he broached on the Taxi fare in Delhi which leaves most with upset Belly. Upset belly was a talk i rarely could pull along given the spate of upsets in the past 60-odd zig-zag zest. Law and order too prominently figured and here we agreed the mindset of some of the residents of the national capital had to be freed. Freed from the clutches that money alone can't make them bypass the rules of the game and those who have been instrumental in ameliorating the lot of others so as to come heavy on law abiders can't have round the clock fame. Shame was the conduct of some residents of the city and here both the gentleman and i agreed that intrusive and abusive nature of some blacklisted entities would see an early end as the world is round and free.

Shuffling among topics like water, power and transport, the mughalsarai destined traveller - he was supposed to go all the way to Varanasi- agreed that a huge levy needs to be placed on big personal vehicles which are nothing but acts of running out of patience. THe New DElhi Capital Roads may not boast of a cluttered existence but seeing one individual in the entire car and along side a bus full of public shower was the least sign of civility and herein authorities need to come on fuel guzzlers heavy.

AS we spoke with some interventions from a North Eastern folk the point of agreements were the focus and the need to scale down the New Delhi prime, beginning with major events having a tier ii sunshine. AS there was no need for dinner, i had mine from Jan Aahar outlet in Howrah station where a lady from the North East holding a cell with a picture of her manning the cash desk. She was powerful enough to power in the requisite changes in coins and rupees and in between looking at her cell and the picture she had stored for ages and working in a structure that solely had pictures of rail.
In the coach i was, there were two other gentlemen, one working in Farakka division of NTPC and another in computer to plate print machine; one getting down at Allahabad and another at Kanpur. Both hailed from Burdwan and this revelation came when Kanpur man was about to deboard. Both Burdwan guys dropped enough hints that Kolkata is one city where the least visible to a biggie can easily reside as the city among metros has the smoothest ride.

Next morning when the M'sarai resident got down clad in a suit boot in came another gentleman who preferred the upper berth route. Comfortable for me as i desired lower berth and all along the day and i had my way. The new arrival slept and in between had meals and when the time came for interaction i was quite amazed. Points of discord emerged from his talk as he tried to run down the system by suggesting that any number of loopholes can be dissected howsoever strong the resolve of the govt. may be. THis gentleman was going to Dubai for the final settlement of his bills and he declared with no hesitation that Dubai, a strong centre of tourism, was heading towards turbulent submission. For Abu Dhabi as well, the story he put on board was no inspiring. And post Dubai visit he was headed towards Varanasi hoping to initiate the business dealing with rudraksha kit.

Later refusing to enter into any form of interaction as his logic that money could show you the way to bend the rules could hardly inspire anyone, i was waiting for the train and its destination. Probably around 4 in the evening it entered the Kanpur territory and alongside Seemanchal also pulled inside which too was headed towards National Capital destination. From Kanpur the speed of the train i was in was determined by the fog it engulfed and the trains that were ahead of us.It was at 2 the next morning the train reached the Old DElhi destination and for the next four hours i bided my time in Waiting room with some taking to sleep with blankets and quilts. The waiting room was comparatively clean and the train premises too with a presentable face. The infusion of coffee from a food joint on a platform near the entrance was a botheration of sorts as it led to a struggle in belly lasting for few hours.

It was a journey from Howrah almost lasting two nights and i was in a coach that was just two months old. Manufactured at Kapurthala Coach Factory, i was lucky to be in and equally concerned for how long it would have the shine. Perhaps the shine would last and we would have our date with trains round the year and with no fear.