you only get what you deserve....

Tring Tring.. Tring Tring.. tringtringtringtringtringtringtring...

Oh crap!!! The alarm was ringing, and it brought my dream to an abrupt end. The time was 4 AM, and my Shatabdi train to chennai, was scheduled to depart from Bangalore City Junction at 6 AM, and hence I decided to have a short nap,and planned to catch the 5 '0' clock BMTC bus to Majestic.

allllllah ohhhhhh akbaaarrrrrrr...... (I live close by a mosque, and the prayers had just begun.)

What'sss the time??????? It was 5:28... Oh no.. I just have 32 mins, can I make it to the station.. I just went out, and asked my roomie, if he could drop me to the station in the bike, and he had just got up and wondering what was happening, and he really didn't know the route, so i decided to take an auto.. I was sure that i would miss it, but what's wrong in giving it a shot.. Efforts Never Fail..

I took my e-ticket, id-card ( last time I wasn't allowed to travel in Shatabdi, because I forgot to take my id-card along with me, and the TTE demanded to me pay the entire fare, which incidently I didn't have and hence did not board..)wallet, and just washed my faced and ran down the road.. It was 5:34...

An auto came by, and the driver was a pretty old man, and I thought he will never make it to the station by 6 AM, and hence waited for another auto to come by. another one came, and it's driver was a man in his mid 30's and he initially demanded half-my train ticket fare, and then we settled for the auto meter to give the final verdict on the fare. It was 5:38..


I told the autowala, that I had to catch the train in 20 minutes, and luckily he took it as a challenge and accelerated as much as he could, while I was guiding him on the shortest route he had to take.. He flew over the bumpers,pot-holes, and I felt bad that the auto was getting hit because of my stupidity/laziness. I remembered that Shadabti stops at Bangalore Cantontment too, or is it only the trains that go towards bangalore City Junction stops, and not the ones that leaves the City Junction.. I asked the autowala to wait for a second, and took some 5 seconds, and decided to go to the City Junction.. It was 5:42..

With the speed at with the autowala was going, I could caculate that he would reach the Railway Station(which is 13 kms from my place) in a whopping 20 mins, which means I would reach the station around 5:58, and I might just be able to catch the train. But when we reached near Lalbagh, a stupid TN bus, stopped the bus in the middle of the road(he could have stopped it on the bus-bay instead blocking the entire onward going vechicles.), and the passengers were getting down, and that wasted my 30 precious seconds.. It was 5:48..

I initially agreed to the auto driver that I would pay him 1.5 times the amount shown in the meter, and I decided to pay him twice the meter amount for his effort, and acknowledging the fact that if I was to ever catch the train, it would solely be only because of him.. Now the pressure was mounting, will I make it or not.. 10 minutes earlier I had no hope, but now anything could happen.. It was 5:52..

Now I was wondering as from platform will this train depart. History told me that it was platform 5, but I wasn't too sure, hence I had planned to ask a Porter( this would save some precious seconds from getting the same info from the Display system available at the station). I also planned to take the sub-way to platform 5 rather than the over-bridge as the sub-way would take me to departing end of the platform, and if ever the train was moving, it would come towards me, and i could just hop into the train. If i take the over-bridge then i would need to run behind the train.. It was 5:54..

The money was out from my wallet much before we reached the station, and as the auto reached the station, I gave him the money, and thanked him and told him that if ever I catch the train it would solely be due to him.. Even though I was in a hurry, those 5 seconds I took, made us both feel happy. It was 5:57..

I ran(for 500 metres) like a mad guy, shouting for people to give me way, and on the way I checked with the porter, and he told me Chennai Shatabdi was departing from platform 6. Now I was confused, hence decided to look at the Display System, which showed me that it was indeed departing from platform 6. It was 5:58..

hold on..............

But the clock on the station showed 6:00.. Crap!!!! and I heard the announcement of Shatabdi departing from platform 6 while I was stranded in platform 1. I made another mad rush towards the subway.. My heart was pounding very heavily.. Will I make it or not... I climbed up the stairs, and was in platform 6 now.... Forget the time, it no longer makes any sense.

dhak dhak... dhak dhak... dhak dhak...

As I climbed up, the train was moving, and I could only get to the last carriage, and I asked the Guard who was busy waving the green flag, whether it was the Shadabti train, and God knows what he heard, he pointed his finger towards platform 7, and my heart just sanked in immediate depression.. and as that train moved away, the guy next to me told me, the train which I just missed was indeed Chennai Shatabdi, and the Guard pointed towards platform 7, thinking I was asking for Jana-Shatabdi(which was scheduled to depart a few hours later...)

I was hoping that Mother EARTH would just swallow me, and was wondering where I wasted those precious 5 seconds..So close yet so far..

Happy New Year!!!

Wishing everyone a wonderful 2007...
phew... As always time just flies.. just can't believe that 2006, has passed by..

let me see, if i have fulfilled the previous resoulutions..

1) I will be in search of my lost friends...there are few of them whom I last saw 10 years ago, and would love to meet them next year..

-- Well being in search of others, i have lost a current few.. I am seriously not in touch with many of my fellow blogger friends..

2) try to think less... for example if you feel like not working a day, then I should just apply for leave, instead of thinking of the pros and cons of taking leave and finally go to work..

-- Forget thinking less.. I hardly think these days.. my 2007 resolution should be to think...and only to think

3) join a sport club, and also search a bakra who would play squash with me everyday.

-- i didn't join any sport club, but i did find a few bakras @office, and I have been regularly playing TT..

4) i will invite my chotta cousins to bangalore and take them around the city.

-- my chotta cousins did come to bangalore, and we had some really good time.. only problem is that i relaized that they are no more chotta..:)

5) i should get back to my touring mania, this year i was out only for 10 days..
-- if i have done anything well in 2006, it is to do with my touring.. i have taken 8 mini trips to different places.

a) allepey, athirapalli falls and fort kochi
b) hampi
c) vijayawada
d) thaneer mukkam and kumarakom
e) langkawi and kuala lampur
f) goa
g) gokak falls
h) pondy

and not to forget the various places i visited during my friend's marriage and receptions..

well if you work hard, you have the right to take these small vacations.. surprisingly none of it has been a 5-day (or more) vacation.


6) Last but not least, i need to work on removing the negative/impure stuffs from me..
-- couldn't do much about it.. still the same..

2006 has seen me write 25 published posts and 5 saved drafts.. this is been pretty satisfying for me.. also have learnt a couple of new skills (dancing and driving).. read quite a lot of books.. i have moved to a new team effective today.. i have sensed a change in my mindset towards life..

hopefully 2007 will be a year filled with different other activities... :)

Once again wishing you guys a happy new year!!! and do the stuffs you would really love to do..

p.s: people often ask what's so great about a new year, it is just another day.. well when most of us feel good on a day for no real reason then why not just spread the happiness.. sometimes we shouldn't keep reasoning for each and every activity..