The beggar

My sojourns in the local train everyday bring me close to different cross sections of the society which otherwise I would be deprived of.
One of the happenings yesterday…
We were three of us traveling together…my colleague, Sheetal and a friend of my colleague, Harini, (another Satyamite) & I. We were talking about, what else, but happenings in Satyam, when there was the usual sight of a ten year old boy come sweeping the train floor with a cloth. Harini gave him a rupee. This started the discussion about why we mustn’t give alms…her justification was that this was in exchange of labor and not free…but Sheetal and I still opposed her …
A little while later there was another beggar with (again, as usual, a child in her arms) begging. We shooed her away.
Later Harini was eating an apple and the boy to whom she had given a rupee, sprang towards her almost grabbing the apple from her hands… she was taken aback at his audacity!
After 5 minutes, we see that this boy had gone back to his mother…the beggar with a baby in her hands, clinging to her and about to get down at the next station.
Then the beggar’s mobile rang…
We stared at her, mouths agape. Harini had learnt her lesson.

Caught the Train!

I guess I should name these posts as ‘MMTS adventures’ rather than the more staid ‘MMTS journeys’. Each day appears an adventure.
This was on Tuesday. I was busy trying to complete some work at office and when I finally looked at the time I realized that it was already 8:05 pm. Time to rush to catch the 8:25 pm train. I rushed out of the office and got into the elevator. That day, the elevator stopped at all the floors. By the time I reached the ground floor it was 8:10 pm. Will I be able to catch the train was what I started worrying about.
When I walked out of the office gate to cross the road, I saw that there a huge procession of trucks carrying the Congress party enthusiasts shouting slogans. The road was jammed and it was only after the ten or so odd trucks had passed that I could find some space to run across the road to reach the other side. Whew! Now to hail an auto. I could not find any autos willing to come to the Hi-Tech center. After waiting a long time, I got into a bus. This bus stopped after moving some time as the conductor wanted to cross-check the tickets! I was getting exasperated at the delay and started worrying. Finally the bus moved only to stop a good 250 m away from the signal where I was supposed to get down. The jam was extended till here.
I got down and ran through this jam to reach the auto stand to take an auto to the railway station. We were near the station when I saw that it was already 8:25 pm. I knew that I had lost that train but was praying to God to allow me to get into the train. Missing this train would mean that I wouldn’t get another one at least for the next one hour. I got down from the auto, thrust a Rs.5 coin into the driver’s hand and was relieved to find people waiting on the platform. This means that the train hadn’t come. Thank God! I now walked as fast as my short legs could carry me…walked across the bridge praying that the train doesn’t come till I had crossed the bridge. I crossed the bridge and started walking towards the place that the ladies’ compartment stops and just in time... as I saw the train chugging in! It was 8:35pm. The train was 10 minutes late.
I was triumphant for that day. I didn’t miss the train!

My (mis)adventure

Well, this happened on Thursday when I was set to return from work by the last MMTS local train. The train was supposed to come at 9:25 pm at the Hi-Tech City station. I waited at the station and the train was there at sharp 9:25! I got into the train, and along with me, a bunch of villagers who scrambled into the train with their luggage and asked hurriedly whether the train goes to Faluknama. I, in all my wisdom of traveling for the last 6 months, waved them down saying not to worry as this does go to Faluknama. But there was a gentleman who said that this doesn’t go to Faluknama but to Hyderabad. How would I ever think that the Hyderabad-bound train was half an hour late that day! I panicked when I heard this, and asked a few more people around me. They too confirmed that it doesn’t go to Faluknama but to Hyderabad. I told the same to these villagers. They too panicked and asked my help. I then advised them to get down at Begumpet…the junction from where they could now take a train to Faluknama.

I got down at Begumpet to catch a train to Sitaphlmandi, my destination.
Even after getting down at Begumpet , I wasn’t sure; I asked a group of three people standing on the platform whether the train to Faluknama comes on this platform. I didn’t want to miss the train. I told them that I had boarded the wrong train. They started giggling. I asked them why they were laughing and was told that they had done the same too and had, in fact, gone all the way to Hyderabad before they realized their mistake and took another train back to Begumpet.

The right train came within 5 minutes. I checked and double checked to see that it was indeed bound for Falkanuma and boarded the train. The group of villagers too followed me like Mary's little lamb.

I finally reached home at 9:40 pm! All’s well that ends well!

20 minutes of Magic

I will be writing frequently about my experiences while traveling by the train to work. Each day brings with it amazing experiences.
Yesterday we were in the train going to work as usual. In Secunderabad station, a group of around 25 school girls got into the train. After sometime, they probably got restless about the time taken traveling and decided to sing.
They took off with recent hits of Tollywood...soon the infectious zeal caught on and the tempo increased..song after song...the latest ones kept rolling off...We couldn't help but get caught in that fervor.
Many a traveler usually plug in the i-pod as soon as they embark on the journey..I saw one college girl smilingly remove her i-pod to get lost in this slightly off-beat but very honest rendering of the songs.
The girls got off 20 minutes later. The i-pod was plugged back..I got lost in the newspaper again.The 20 minutes of magic was over.