There are few nights which are like memorable not because it was plesant but because it was awful, tiresome, cold, risky and yet charming at the end when you are through with the night. Its like a long journy which tests your patience, your intigrity and perhaps your character as a whole. Well its not like a win or losse situation here but its more like a survival test in your life......and how few people from whom one expects the least comes to your rescue and ho some of those people who are near you leaves you to your situation .....
Night @ Road: Gangtok to NJP
This year 2009 when there was Aila in West Bengal I left Gangtok for Kolkata on the next day. As I had my tickets book for a train named Garib Rath which was supose to leave the next day early morning @ 4 from NJP. Hence I started from Gangtok @ 6 in the evening. The fact that via a luxary car it will take around 4 hours and one hour given to the monsson factors to reach NJP.
As usual the journy started with me buying a big Kurkure Pac and few fags for my trip and two bottles of water. I made a halt @ Rongpo to withdraw few amount of doe to make my payment to our travel agent. Everything was cool except for the fact that it was raining all through the day and the rain hadent yet stopped till then.
I was about to reach Melli....Another Bengal Sikkim border when there was a huge traffic in front of our car...." I said hell man....must be another landslide"...took out a fag and got off the car to have a reccee of the situation....The only thing that blew me out of my mind is I saw a jewel like light from the headlight of the cars in the traffic for a stretch of about 3 km and then a break in the same which means that either the road is damaged there or there is laqnd slide. The former case is much worse for me than the later case. Well that was my first guess when I came to knew that there was landslide which has just taken place in the heart of melli and army officials have blocked off the road. Well I needed to take a call on the situation as the traffic behind my car....given to the fact that I had two options to take a road from either Jorethang or rabangla which will take me out from the other side of melli but both these roads were equally fatal and risky to travel in night and givne to the fact the Finance Secretary died in the road accident in the road to Ravangla few months back to me.....
Any way when I presented the case to my driver he said there is a third option which is much more riskier but shorter ..It was the NTPC road from Rongpo to Kalimpong which will take me to Teesta from where I can have a smooth sail to NJP. Given to the fact that I had a lot of time in hand I wanted to venture through Jorethang as the road was much safer but was worries as I didnt knew exactly where in melli the road was blocks...so the tought passes me that if I am unlucky then I might end up in melli Jam from the other side....Hence I rejected the idea of Ravangla and Jorethang and opted for the Kalimpong road......Now the only draw back in Kalimpong road was it was much steeper.....with no other car or vehicles which ply in that road and chances of landslides in this road was as high as in any other hilly road........So the only person with whom I can share my experiance was Himaghna.....So well I called him up and gave him a detailed replay of the situation I was through.......for some time everything weas exciting but smooth then suddenly I found out that NTPC has a check post which has the road blocked off . After pleading a lot with the officials who were sleepgin the time we reached there they aggred to open the road block for us but stated that there can be land slides further in the road and if so ....and if we turn backl they wont let us return through that road block again......any way me and my driver were the men of the moment...and the goal was to reach NJP any how.....after 20 mins drive .....our worst fear... large chunks of boulders and muds in the road...The only option is both of us got down and fought for 20 more minutes to remove the boulder when suddenly without any warming few more boulders missed me by inches and just behind me there was anothr land slides.....ohhh hell gain,,,...Me and my driver made a hurculian effort to clear of ass much as we can ...after like 40 mins there was a bit of clearance and somehow we tok out the qualis through it....with off courase few scratches and muds in our hands........
So the road from there to NJP through kalimpong was chilling..beautifull through the cluods and uneventfull.....On reaching NJP I came to knew that our car was the onyl car from Gangtok which reached NJP.....but then again I had to stay awake till four in the morning....Somehow my mom and himaghna made it possible for me to stay awake till that time.........
This one night made me realise how much himaghna as a frined perhaps understands me and how much my mom also as a frd will stay awake for me ..:)
Train from Delhi 2 Bhopal...
This is about my return trip from Delhi to Bhopal during nmy 2nd OT. Well given to the fact that I didnt had any warm cloths or bed shets etc to protec me from cold I told Abhishek Kar (Dada) that I would like to share his sleeping bag in the train. To this he aggred and I was quit content. but Sam somehow said to me...you might not be able to share the Air bag with dada...he wont share it with you....so he made me drink 4 pegs of Rum and 3 joints of Hash....So thati become so numb that i wont be able to fell the chill.....On reaching the train I found out Binny (another class mate of mine) has one big Quilt...which was very luring for my case....but any way I was content that dada wil share his sleepign bag with me....
Any way as the train started I brought up the case about sharing dadas sleeping bag to which he didnt give me a direct answer./...Then after few more discussions he made me understood that he is in no mood to share his sleeping bag.....and after some time he went to the upper bunk and that made it obvisous that "dude no sleeping bags for you"""
So I rationalised that I am smelling old monk and I m high on has so who the hell would like to share nything with me....I didnt even though about asking binny s help with the quit 1st I was swmelling rum, 2nd I was a guy she a girl and it was very awkward situation for me to ask for a quit to spend the night underneath it, 3rd I though when Dada after everything back out...there was no reason she should help me...given to the fact that I was totally in a haze and Dada has also passed on this message to Binny si she was aware of my situation....AllI did was I took off to the middle berth and tried to getr a sleep...Man It was mid november and it was cold like hell....
suddenly binnys motherly instincts kicked in...she called me and said I can share her quilt......Man it was so fucking generous for her to offer a totally detuned guy to share her quilt.....Till this day and perhaps till days to come I will always be in debt to the little warmth she provided me with her quilt....It was a life saver from sure shot pnemunia......Any way after that I tried to be as much decent as I can be so that binny dosnt fell uncomfortable ..and perhaps in that aspect I kept her talking till 4 in the morning after which her speech was getting slurred and she had to sleep.....So I kept on sitting in the one end of the seat till early 6 o clock in the morning after which we came to knew that the train was 4 hours late.....so after a cup of tea somehow I managed a small nap ....
But in the end when a guy back oyut of sharing a sleeping bag which would perhaps made it much easier for him to do...It was a girls maternal insticnt which was a life saver for me.....Cant really forget that aspect in life....
The Bus Ride from Jim Corbett to Dehradun
This was one hard night for the 5 of us who were in Utteranchal. We were taking a overnight from Ramgarh to Doon when one small incident changed the total scenario in the journey. A couple with thier kid was in the bus and the husband wanted the bus to stop in a certain location which was just few meters away from the bus stop. So the eternal debate started between the two Indian Males i.e the bus conducter and the husband. At the end it was a threat from the husband stating that he wont let the bus move without paying back for the insult.
Any way aroudn 15 mins from that area there was a bus junction hence the bus stopped there and the driver and the conducter went to have thier dinner over there...Few mns from that moment the husband turn up with few local goons and gave one heck of a beating to the driver when he failed to find the conducter......So at the end no matter what the driver refused to drive ...and stated that if hes made to drive the bus he will drive into valley intentioanlly....
So it was mayday for us...I as usual took off all my stuff and so did my 4 other companions namely Satya, Binay, Prov and Ashu.....So 5 of us were having 12 luggages and hence we all missed the next bus to doon....on been left stranded in the bus stop @ 12 in the night I did what I did the best...I started playung guitar////...After sometime when I looked up I saw ppl surround me and look at me like i was an alien playing banjo in a rooftop...
One smart ass also asked me a question...hey dude whats that stuff you are playing....Harmonium????
I said WTF man...I packed the guitar and went for a smoke...We came to know that the next bus to doon will come after an hour.....Meanwhile satya wzas taking pics of the place where there was that awsome greek god fight between the driver and the husband when suddenly few ppl came to him and said.."" Sahb..please dont falsh this nwes in tommorows paper....we can pay you something to keep this aspect a secrect""""Satya was an ass and rejected the money and said honestly that his interest was just to capture the moment and not a reporter......
Ay way thing is the next bus the only passangers were we 5 guys and it was cold like hell......The Driver in the initial moment said.." Guys if u wanna ride in my bus I will take you to Doon in my own speed..." Well as we had all the time in life so we were quit good with it.....Ny way by the time we reached Haridwar....It was cold cold cold like hell and it was raining also and windy..... most of us were trying to sleep in the seat...with Satya who was stuck in between the Gap of the seat to keep himself Warm....
We Reached Doon @ 3 o clock in the morning..It sonwed the night and Doon was also cold like hell in the last week of December....
The thing is somehow we Managed to pull that night through together.....
Waiting List didnt confirm
This happned on my Latest trip back from Gangtok to Kolkata. Thing is Everything from entering West Bengal started to go wrong....Three Road blocks and stuff like that was making me edgey. Then also the fact that my ticket didnt get confirm. Ny way when I reached NJP station I took out all my luggage and then forgot to put my mobile....... As the Car left I remembered I left my mobile in the Car. I saw a guy in red track suit standing in front and asked him " dude I left my mobil" can I use u r mobile and call mine so that the driver can help me out with my mobile....
Then I realised I dont remember my mobile number and then suddenly I remembered that I have the bill from this car and then called up....Well thanks to that s guys help with his mobile I got my mobile...... Then Next I saw my W/L has not being confirmed and my e-tickets got canclled by itself
Next I kept pesterning the TTE to give me seat in A/C....I overdid it so much that he said ...bhayee I m the TTE for the sleeper class....then he took me to the TTE for the A/C and he said boss no seats available in A/C..even I gave my seat to another guy who just gave me a lucrative offer....
So I was left with no choice and opt for Sleeper....The TTE for the Sleeper class was a bihari guy, Nice and cool and said that I need to buy a general class ticket and he will help me out with my seat....
So next is I ran over and baught a general ticket and then bribed the TTE with 400 bucks ....and he said ok u go and sit in the 7th seat in S-2 coach
When I reached i saw another guy sitting there....i was fuckign furious..I asked him how much the TTE took from him and he said nothing....DAmn I thought am I the only one today whos having a bad day....but next the TTE came over and took 600 bucks from him and alloted him a seat in 63 no. berth...
Then the TTE after finishing his job and stuff came to me and chatted over for 2-3 hours....I learnt fwe things like presently TTE get 37k salary, then they make 400 from each persons in sleeper class, and they avoid their job in AC class as the scope of taking bribes from thatr place is very vry low and risky.....
So after Malda the TTE got off and told me not to worry....but sadly for me the worry was the cold......
Of all my jounrnies in life this was the coldest...I did had my self clothed with 4 layers of warm cloths but no blanket or quit made life hell specially my legs were cold and my ears were freezing....The best I could do is took my towel and used it blanket.....
No matter wat I couldnt sleep, I couldnt keep my eyes open for long....but somehow I kept my date with the cold and reached kolkata early in the morning...
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