When it started???
A month and a half back i got to know we have just two days holiday for Diwali, I thought it makes no sense going home as the distance is far off. Surat, where my relatives reside, was a best option to celebrate Diwali, i thought. Then I was least bothered to book my tickets in the helm of my work and the days passed by. I was just 10 days for Diwali when i thought i should book my tickets and found no luck for Surat. I happened to see the pictures of last Diwali on the laptop, and experienced a sudden pang. It was a bad feeling, may be a feeling of nostalgia and out of the blue i urged to go home for Diwali. I thought i would give a surprise to my family. I checked for flight tickets and the rates were exorbitant. But my urge to go home increased and i realized my eyes were betting tears.
After some time, thinking what to do, i dialled my brothers. I told them about my surprise, now for my Mom, Dad and my cousin sis Rakhi. Putting the ball on their court, i asked them to check for tickets with the agent. Luckily, in two days i got a sleeper ticket for Nagpur in Vidarbh Express.
The trauma of NO HOLIDAY
Diwali was on 26th, Wednesday while we had holidays on 26th and 27th i.e. Wednesday and Thursday. While arranging for my tickets, I also was talking to my senior colleague in the office for a chutti on Friday so that i can have a prolonged visit. She tried explaining it to my Boss, but all seemed to end up in vein. I have to take a week off for a family function in December, so even i did not insist much for a holiday. Finally, when my colleague told me about no holiday for Friday, i decided to cancel my ticket. When i took my cell to dial my brothers, i got a call from Aakanksha, my friend from Nagpur and my roommate in Mumbai. She wanted to visit Nagpur as well for Diwali and asked me if she could join me. I told her she can take my tickets as i was not going at least not for 2 days. It was then that she told me that she also plans to go for 2 days and flight tickets are available for Friday morning at reasonable cost. Finally, a yes came from within me automatically and our entire trip gt fixed.
The Train....The Nightmare
I left the office at 6.30 in the evening for Dadar station to catch my train and Aakanksha was already at CST, probably boarded the train as well. We had decided for as minimum luggage as we can, as we just had one ticket and expected the train to be crowded. I waited for the train for almost 40 mins, arranged for our food as well. The train arrived on time and all of sudden i saw hundreds of people wanting to board it from the same door in the same boogie. Thanks to Mumbai local journey, that i was used to this chaos, and indeed i was able to board the train safely pushing and pulling others :P.
We had an Upper seat, Aakanksha called me when she saw me looking for my berth. Until then our lower was full with more than required number of people and i thought it is a good idea to climb up. The boogie was full of people and i wondered if they all will be travelling long distance. But most of them got down at Kalyan and herds and herds boarded as well. Now i had started feeling sick of the crowd and the murmurs and everything around me. I wished the TT to come and throw these unwanted people out. Moreover, i also wanted to get down as i badly wanted to visit the loo. I can’t get down, people around the gate didn’t want to move, I could see the crowd settled near both the doors, pushing and pulling and shouting and arguing. It was 4 hours now, and i asked a fellow passenger about the TT. He was confident enough to inform us that the TT won’t come, and i was cursing him within, both the passenger for this bad news and the TT for not coming. But he told us that the crowd might get down at Nasik and we can get down and come back fast, as more people would board. It was a unanimous decision of the people around to lock the doors once people get down at Nasik, reason being the general boogie was full and ours was a boogie just adjacent to general.
As decided, we followed the crowd when they were getting down from the train at Nasik. We reached the door and to our surprise around 20 people had arranged themselves well around the area just leaving some space near the entrance door. Damn there was no space even to approach the loo and those were asking us to move back. Moreover, people on the station, who wanted to board the train, started banging and pushing the door badly, and they succeed to push it open. Now we were stuck between the people sitting down, others wanting to come in. Both side pushing us and we screaming at the top of our voice. Thanks to that guy, seemed like a bouncer, who helped us by pushing people aside and making way for us in. As we reached our berth, we climbed up, arranged our luggage somehow and went to sleep. Morning i woke up at 7.30 but laid until the train reached Ajni, a station before Nagpur. We then got down and took our bags while the train reached Nagpur.
HOME Sweet HOME
I reached home by around 9.15 am. Dad was not at home, I had told my mom already about my surprise visit, as she had informed everyone at Surat that i will be coming there for Diwali, just to avoid problems later. I tiptoed round my house till the back gate and entered the room. My brothers locked it from inside, and we sat there waiting for my dad, no one in the house knew i was in. Mom guessed it when she saw my bro, and came to see me. We hugged each other and i could sense her happiness. She went out and started sending all my favourite things to eat.
My brothers called my cousin Rakhi, i hid behind the cupboard, she entered the room and as she turned, I stood there. Thank God, she didn’t shout. We also called Cahru, our close friend, Meet, my cousin, and were having good time. In between, i called my dad and informed him that i m in Mumbai only as i didn’t get tickets for Surat. I got a good scolding though :P.
My dad came home at 11. He went to kitchen and was talking to mom about me not going to Surat, when i entered the kitchen from his back and sat next to him. The moment is hard to express. I hugged my dad and the next moment, He, my mom, my brother and Rakhi started crying. I had bought an Idol of Goddess Durga in silver for papa and Payal for my mom as a gift for their 25th Anniversary. I gave it to them and met other people from the family.
The entire day went on meeting people, and preparing for Diwali Puja. Same was the next day when i visited the market and met many know people. Many of them i seemed to have forgotten. I was wondering was fast my life runs. Tomorrow, i have my flight back to Mumbai and by 11.30 will be at work. It seems i have put on my runners and m running all day trying to manage my time in the best possible way. Life has indeed changed drastically. And I as a person have changed as well. Gone are those days of preparing and shopping for festivals, today i have to find time to enjoy them. Festivals are now merely an excuse to find sometime for my family and myself. To stop running for a day or two and just to relax.
The next morning i boarded my flight and was back to Mumbai, back to work, back to running. Today as i write this experience, it seems like those two days were just hallucination or just a beautiful dream. J
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