City City Bang Bang -Part 2

In my last blog, I had briefed the audience about the ordeal during my journey from Bhilwara to Jaipur en route to my career’s first launch at Bangalore. I explained I how I left my luggage in a bus to Delhi and then followed & boarded the same with great difficulty. Here is the posterior part of the story.

The bus was faring smoothly and hence my natural instinct of diurnal sleep gripped on. I slept for another 3 hrs. Then the bus had a halt at a midway. I took my usual evening tea with some snacks and adjusted the body to bear the long journey’s fatigue. The bus had started at 1.45 pm and it was 5 pm at the midway. I just happened to involved myself in a friendly talk with one of my fellow passengers. Taking a sip of tea, I asked: how long do you think it would take to Delhi? He replied: Can’t say with conviction since the traffic in Delhi is notoriously famous for delaying the arrival. I had the first goose bumps, then and there. Somehow, I tried to summon trust in the almighty and insisted that Rajasthan Roadways are not that bad. And we were again aboard for the journey.

It was twilight transiting into dark and each minute poured anxiety over me. I was much worried whether I would be able to reach the station in time or not. There was already mush traffic in the way and I couldn’t just dare to think of the unwanted, unforeseen but very imminent destiny. The hour, minute and the second hand of my watch, it appeared to me as if, had conspired to give me a really hard time. I asked the driver to move a bit faster but he shrugged off saying that he was helpless. He asked me when my train was scheduled to depart. Knowing that it was 9.30 pm, he said in hopelessness that I better find some alternative way.

I looked at my watch and to my utter disgust, it was 8.30. I was still lurking around Gurgaon. I asked fellow passengers how can now I catch the train. One of them suggested I take metro because that would help me reach there in 40 mins at maximum. But ordeal expressed its’ full ferocity and I came to know that the Metro line linking Gurgaon with New Delhi Railway Station was out of service since last couple of days. Then somebody came out of the crowd and advised to take a Metro Cab. The response came immediately. I got out of bus and ran taking a mighty suitcase, a very heavy big bag and my laptop bag to catch some cab. I walked with great difficulty and learnt why elders advice to take as minimum articles with you as possible while on a journey. Then eventually I hired a cab which gave a liitle solace to my burdened shoulders. After moving through a while, the driver expressed his concerns over catching the train in time since he smelled heavy traffic on the outskirts of the city. I shook my head and pleaded to make it happen by any means. I even promised him double the amount. The distance from Gurgaon to New Delhi station is 25 Kms approximately. I had sufficient time of 1 hr to reach there in time given a mediocre speed of 50 Ks/hr for a cab. But I saw whole Rome burning to flames when a large queue of Cars awaited ours to ring the bell of disappointment. God, it still gives me a shiver.

We tried to crusade through the traffic and making quick moves but all in vain as every corner and every turn confronted us to a new and yet another disheartening traffic jam. Suddenly I found all my fear fading away as I had completely given up on reaching the station in time.

First job and a plethora of hurdles! What a lesson it was turning out to be. It occurred to me then that I struck the Pandora Box open when I ignorantly miscalculated my journey’s duration. That was a big lesson learnt by me that when you are up for your really important things and events, you need to be a bit prudent. I called my dad and expressed my utter distress. He helped me compose myself and said that I needn’t worry as there is always some way out. He called me back to my place and advised to postpone the joining for week. I refused out rightly. I said; this is my first job and I don’t want to disappoint my Boss. He bucked me up and asked to contain myself.

I was left stranded at a station far away from home and which was never a part of my sojourn. Suddenly it came to me that I had a friend in Delhi, Dr. Neeraj. He was preparing for his PG examinations there. I called him up only to be beckoned by him later. I went there taking the wonderful and exemplary Delhi Metro service. I marvelled at the work Mr. E.Shridhran had rendered. I reached my friend’s place, took a sumptuous dinner( I had missed the lunch), and went to sleep after my friend consoled me for the happening.

The next day, I rose with a new high riding on the support my family had given me and went to book an air ticket to Bangalore. Luckily I got a flight late in the night and finally took a great sigh of relief. But now, I was all alarmed and resolved to tread carefully now. The flight was scheduled at 8.30 pm. But I left as early as 4 pm. I reached the airport by 5.30 pm and got the boarding pass done soon. The time arrived; I boarded the flight and relished the maiden flight of my life. Soon I landed up in Bangalore in 2.5 hrs and set onto a new journey of life. The longest and the most craved one. After all, life moves on and so did I because I knew if mistakes turn us down, they also show us a better way out.

Keep learning till life goes on.

City City Bang Bang-Part 1

How do you feel when you are going to land in a place known as city of dreams, the IT capital of the world, the silicon valley of Asia, the epicentre of Indian White collared youth brigade???? Ecstatic, isn't it like that? Well, so did I. But awfully, it occurred to me differently. Here is the story.

On a seemingly cold Friday morning I left my place, Bhilwara- the Manchester of Asia (don’t know whether it still meets that reputation) and headed for my first ever job centred at Bangalore (I love this name, don’t know why people changed it to Bengaluru ). I was scheduled to board the train from New Delhi at 9.30 pm the same day. My journey till the national capital was slated to pause at Jaipur, which is precisely 5 hrs journey from Bhilwara. Form there on; I was supposed to take another Bus for Delhi which again generally takes 5.5 hrs. Therefore, knowing the time distance equation I was well off with my travel plan leaving Bhilwara by 8 am. This was how it all started.

During the first half of my journey to Delhi, I enjoyed what I always do. I slept for complete 3 hrs absolutely ignoring the need to keep a check on my valuable luggage I was carrying along. Anyways after satisfying my diurnal sleep pattern, I profoundly found everything in place and safe when I reached Jaipur. Everything was going fine till I committed a felony. I confused Rajasthan Roadways to be a follower of Indian standard time (which is consensually taken across the nation as 5 min back of time shown in watches). Just when there were 3 minutes left in scheduled departure of the bus, I intended to take a cold drink and got out the bus. That was no brainer; the bus was half empty till then. And you know, they never ride the bus till it is suffocated to its beastly capacity. But who knows when luck is in a naughty mood.

The core of my crime was that I left the sight of the bus. I just took 2 mins to come and was left aghast to find that the bus was missing the scene. Totally flabbergasted, I pleaded the ticket booker to find out any way to catch the departed bus. All my certificates and my purse were inside the luggage. Mercilessly and to utter ridicule, the ticket booker grinned and joked: Bhaiyye, Bus to Gayi. He ..he...he. I somehow maintained my calm, grabbing the complexity of the situation and still asked him if there was anything that could help me catch the bus. He now retorted with a not so humble reply: humari galti he kya? Aage wali bus jayegi 5 min baad, usme baith jao. Agar naseeb hoga to aage wali bus raste me mil jayegi. I just blindly followed what he said. Now, the most intelligent thing I did here was that I called my Dad and explained him the situation. He relaxed me and told me to wait till his next directions. I kept alarming the driver to go as fast as he could, but he never seemed bothered. I even lured him for monetary benefits but to no goods. Just then I received my dad’s call. He told me that the target bus was waiting for me at a station 5 Km from city station and that I should reach there as early as I could. Luckily, we got there in time and I had the glimpse of the bus from a distance. I left the carrier and ran to catch the sought one. Just as I entered the bus, the passengers started yelling at me. Are you some minister’s son? Are we fools that we can wait for anybody who is not sane enough to keep a watch on his boarded bus? You have wasted our time. I admitted with a gallop of disgust and shame. But somewhere down, my heart was rejoicing the salvage of my maiden journey en route to my career. I pretended to be shaky but exploited the hidden celebration. During the last half an hour, I could sense each of my nerve stretched to extremes and lived the moments of profound misery.

I placated as they say, all is well that ends well. But it didn't end here since I had no idea hitherto what my soul was about to experience in the next part of my journey.

Are you taking it closely? Are you anxious to know what happened next? The next blog answers all. Stay tuned.