Here is the fourth part of my misadventure series after previous posts
My Misadventures Part 1: Mumbai Masala
My Misadventures Part 2,3: Homeless at Anantapur, Kitchener
My Misadventures Part - 4: Aimless at Amalapuram
This happened in the first year of my working career (2004-2005). The incident was not as traumatic or painful as misadventures narrated in previous posts but if anybody asks me what could be the most aimless or worthless day of my life for which I have taken disproportionate efforts, this incident wins hands down.
I was in in my initial days of corporate career with a software company in Hyderabad. Soon I realized how important it was to keep my boss and senior members of the team in good spirits and be in their good books. One senior member of the team who was my virtual boss was getting married in a hamlet near Amalapuram, a small coastal Andhra town.
Few days before the groom-guy took off from work, I had a small misunderstanding with him which was blown out of proportion and I was in damage control mode; hence missing his wedding would be tantamount to inviting his ire which I could not afford at that point. I planned well in advance to join my other team members to travel to Amalapuram the day before his D day. But due to some last minute obligations, I ran out of time and as a result, missed the train. It was some 7 pm and his wedding would be at 8 pm the following day.
The first thing I did from the railway station that night (after missing the train) was to call my friend to locate where exactly Amalapuram was in the map of AP. My first mistake was to depend on that person to guide me because (1) she doesn't know a.b.c of AP as she was a northie, (2) she was realllllly bad at maps.
After some on-call support from me, I could elicit information that Amalapuram was near a town called Rajahmundry (which I heard a lot in Telugu movies and literature- thats my only connection). I asked the station enquiry desk as how I could go to Rajahmundry with a noble intention of traveling all night. He disappointed me with a news that the earliest train I could catch would be next morning at 6 am and I would reach Rajahmundry at 4'ish pm the same evening.
Nothing else to do, I reached home, asked my friend to pick me up next morning at 5 am and drop me at Secunderabad station which he did, thankfully ! The train was east coast express which was going Calcutta bound. I didn't know why I always happen to be in in such situations (refer to my Mumbai masala misadventure); I had to find some place in the general compartment. I ran like PT Usha to find the general compartment, but all that I could see were some desperate (more than me) souls hurling abuses at each other to reserve a slot to stand in the compartment; and it was a long 10 hour journey !
I, as an embodiment of foolish optimism, tried to find some place in reserved compartments (again with my Mumbai travel experience), but was literally thrashed out by ticket collector who didn't pay a heed or heck to my puppy face. Then I had to go back to the general compartment. Good news: All those who were on the platform fighting to get in, got into the general compartment; Bad news: I had no place except on the foot-board and heck it was a superfast inter-city express. I almost lost hopes and decided to go back home. But again the wilful laugh of the groom appeared before my face and I took no time to stand on the foot-board of that express.
Though foot-boarding in buses was OK, the same on train was a heck of an experience !!! The only solace was that train never encountered speed-bumps or sudden brakes. The foot-boarding experience was more tricky because I was feeling sleepy in that breeze (remember it was 6 am). This whole drama went on for almost 2 hours till the train reached Warangal (yayyy, my place) !
The toughest and most important goal of my lifetime at that moment was to get promoted from foot-board to the walking aisle of the compartment. I applied all my senses and concentration to barge in as soon as the last passenger got off at Warangal and hurray, this time, I had a luxury of standing near the wash basin (which was at its worst situation, smell, look and feel) in the compartment. But suddenly I remembered the saying "beggars can't be choosers" and in that situation I literally felt like a beggar.
The next notable station was Vijayawada, some 4-5 hours from Warangal. I spent that time sleeping while standing (and snoring - as was complained by co-passenger. I felt so thrilled because till then I never got that "compliment"). Whenever I opened my eyes, there was a guy who was narrating stories of his enemies, rayalaseema faction stories, his account of escapades from people chasing with sickles and swords. I thought snoring was a better alternative to hearing his bravado.
Vijayawada arrived. I disembarked myself hunting for some edible food. Finally found some chips packet as a consolation as I could not afford to go to another platform in pursuit of happyness. Hunger was better than missing train again. Otherwise my story would have been worse than Kareena's of Jab We Met, I happily got into the train and found a good samaritan who generously allowed me to sit on his suitcase (with its locks, chains, handles). Sitting on that was a pain in the ass..yup, literally ! But again the proverb "something is better than nothing" appeared before me in bold letters; But what appeared in bolder letters was the railway station board of the next station which screamed "Guntur". Before I could realize, the samaritan enlightened me that at Vijayawada , the train's compartments gets divided into two different routes, one towards Rajahmundry and another towards Guntur and as usual I was on the wrong side.
Cursing myself and everybody who came my came, I caught another passenger train from Guntur to Rajahmundry which took its sweet own time, stopping at every house, lane and villa. By the time I reached the destination, it was some 6 pm. I had only 2 hours to reach the wedding venue whereas the travel time from Rajahmundry to Amalapuram was roughly some 2 hours. And then I had to go to that small hamlet from Analapuram. But since its only a social event, I could afford to go late.
I came out of the railway station and saw a little bustling area where people were talking, yelling in an accent which I heard time and again in movies. I felt like Gulliver (except the size) traveling to alien land. People were courteous and I didn't find any challenge in boarding Amalapuram bound RTC bus. I must admit that the travel route between Rajahmundry and Amalapuram was breathtaking with Godavari canals, lush greenery, plethora of coconut trees. I then realized why coastal Andhra was called granary of AP. Rich canvas and scenery drove away all my frustration and disgust.
The bus reached Amalapuram town at 8 pm. Now my next destination was to reach the marriage venue some 20 kms from there. So I inserted my hand into my bagpack to dig out the wedding card and EUREKA....I forgot to bring the wedding card. What a timing, it was !!!
Then I shrewdly tried to call all my team mates who would have been at the venue by then. Bad news: The area was out of cellular network. Some bygoner said I was too ambitious trying to call cellphones in an hamlet where roads and school was a luxury. Immediate thought: Why the hell was that guy getting married in a place where normal person could't reach; anyways, time was not enough for analysis and introspection. I moved on.
Then I called my mom and asked her to ransack my cupboard, find that wedding card and tell me the address. She asked me to call 5 mins later. I called her 5 mins later, 10 mins later and 15 mins later. Finally caught hold of her and she said, "ok write down". I sincerely borrowed a pen from some guy around, took a piece of paper to write down when my phone battery got discharged. Wow !!!!
I kept calling her from a public phone and finally caught her after some 20 mins and took the address. I showed the address to the bus depot manager who said I had to wait for 2 more hours for the next bus to that area. It was already 9 pm. Then I beckoned a sharing-auto (shared driver's seat along with three more guys) and finally reached the venue (bride's house) at 9:45 pm and was surprised to see a somewhat deserted look :-s
After pleading some 5-6 guys, I was fortunate enough to find a guy who presented me before "alludu garu". Yayyy, finally I saw that guy, wished him, presented him the gift I brought. My common sense told me that dinner was wrapped up long ago. He gently asked me if I had my dinner. I said yes, so as not to embarrass him and myself. He enlightened me that in villages there, its a custom to have dinner at around 6 pm and hence dinner preceded the event. Immediately he asked me if I would join my team mates who just left for Hyderabad in an SUV. OMG !!! How could I miss that luxury.
I bid him bye with a promise to catch those guys but it was too late till I realized that my battery discharged cellphone was just a play-toy in that remote area which could as well be used as an experimenting ground for aliens and Mars !
By then I was strong enough to accept the fact that my team mates would have already left and I was left to my adventure again. I took a sharing-bullock cart (some good samaritan again) to Amalapuram only to know that last bus to Rajahmundry already left. Then took a lorry ride till Rajahmundry, sharing-cab till Vijayawada and private bus till Hyderabad and by the time I reached Hyd, it was 6 am. The exact time when the misadventure started the previous day. So out of 24 hours, I was traveling for 23.5 hours (except that 10 mins with the groom) in express train, local passenger train, RTC bus, auto, bullock-cart, lorry, cab and a private bus.
Highlight: After a month, the groom came to work fresh from his honeymoon and asked me "dude, why didn't you come to my wedding. I think except you, everybody in the team made it, (showing me his group photo with team mates at his wedding) !"
My Misadventures Part 1: Mumbai Masala
My Misadventures Part 2,3: Homeless at Anantapur, Kitchener
My Misadventures Part - 4: Aimless at Amalapuram
This happened in the first year of my working career (2004-2005). The incident was not as traumatic or painful as misadventures narrated in previous posts but if anybody asks me what could be the most aimless or worthless day of my life for which I have taken disproportionate efforts, this incident wins hands down.
I was in in my initial days of corporate career with a software company in Hyderabad. Soon I realized how important it was to keep my boss and senior members of the team in good spirits and be in their good books. One senior member of the team who was my virtual boss was getting married in a hamlet near Amalapuram, a small coastal Andhra town.
Few days before the groom-guy took off from work, I had a small misunderstanding with him which was blown out of proportion and I was in damage control mode; hence missing his wedding would be tantamount to inviting his ire which I could not afford at that point. I planned well in advance to join my other team members to travel to Amalapuram the day before his D day. But due to some last minute obligations, I ran out of time and as a result, missed the train. It was some 7 pm and his wedding would be at 8 pm the following day.
The first thing I did from the railway station that night (after missing the train) was to call my friend to locate where exactly Amalapuram was in the map of AP. My first mistake was to depend on that person to guide me because (1) she doesn't know a.b.c of AP as she was a northie, (2) she was realllllly bad at maps.
After some on-call support from me, I could elicit information that Amalapuram was near a town called Rajahmundry (which I heard a lot in Telugu movies and literature- thats my only connection). I asked the station enquiry desk as how I could go to Rajahmundry with a noble intention of traveling all night. He disappointed me with a news that the earliest train I could catch would be next morning at 6 am and I would reach Rajahmundry at 4'ish pm the same evening.
Nothing else to do, I reached home, asked my friend to pick me up next morning at 5 am and drop me at Secunderabad station which he did, thankfully ! The train was east coast express which was going Calcutta bound. I didn't know why I always happen to be in in such situations (refer to my Mumbai masala misadventure); I had to find some place in the general compartment. I ran like PT Usha to find the general compartment, but all that I could see were some desperate (more than me) souls hurling abuses at each other to reserve a slot to stand in the compartment; and it was a long 10 hour journey !
I, as an embodiment of foolish optimism, tried to find some place in reserved compartments (again with my Mumbai travel experience), but was literally thrashed out by ticket collector who didn't pay a heed or heck to my puppy face. Then I had to go back to the general compartment. Good news: All those who were on the platform fighting to get in, got into the general compartment; Bad news: I had no place except on the foot-board and heck it was a superfast inter-city express. I almost lost hopes and decided to go back home. But again the wilful laugh of the groom appeared before my face and I took no time to stand on the foot-board of that express.
Though foot-boarding in buses was OK, the same on train was a heck of an experience !!! The only solace was that train never encountered speed-bumps or sudden brakes. The foot-boarding experience was more tricky because I was feeling sleepy in that breeze (remember it was 6 am). This whole drama went on for almost 2 hours till the train reached Warangal (yayyy, my place) !
The toughest and most important goal of my lifetime at that moment was to get promoted from foot-board to the walking aisle of the compartment. I applied all my senses and concentration to barge in as soon as the last passenger got off at Warangal and hurray, this time, I had a luxury of standing near the wash basin (which was at its worst situation, smell, look and feel) in the compartment. But suddenly I remembered the saying "beggars can't be choosers" and in that situation I literally felt like a beggar.
The next notable station was Vijayawada, some 4-5 hours from Warangal. I spent that time sleeping while standing (and snoring - as was complained by co-passenger. I felt so thrilled because till then I never got that "compliment"). Whenever I opened my eyes, there was a guy who was narrating stories of his enemies, rayalaseema faction stories, his account of escapades from people chasing with sickles and swords. I thought snoring was a better alternative to hearing his bravado.
Vijayawada arrived. I disembarked myself hunting for some edible food. Finally found some chips packet as a consolation as I could not afford to go to another platform in pursuit of happyness. Hunger was better than missing train again. Otherwise my story would have been worse than Kareena's of Jab We Met, I happily got into the train and found a good samaritan who generously allowed me to sit on his suitcase (with its locks, chains, handles). Sitting on that was a pain in the ass..yup, literally ! But again the proverb "something is better than nothing" appeared before me in bold letters; But what appeared in bolder letters was the railway station board of the next station which screamed "Guntur". Before I could realize, the samaritan enlightened me that at Vijayawada , the train's compartments gets divided into two different routes, one towards Rajahmundry and another towards Guntur and as usual I was on the wrong side.
Cursing myself and everybody who came my came, I caught another passenger train from Guntur to Rajahmundry which took its sweet own time, stopping at every house, lane and villa. By the time I reached the destination, it was some 6 pm. I had only 2 hours to reach the wedding venue whereas the travel time from Rajahmundry to Amalapuram was roughly some 2 hours. And then I had to go to that small hamlet from Analapuram. But since its only a social event, I could afford to go late.
I came out of the railway station and saw a little bustling area where people were talking, yelling in an accent which I heard time and again in movies. I felt like Gulliver (except the size) traveling to alien land. People were courteous and I didn't find any challenge in boarding Amalapuram bound RTC bus. I must admit that the travel route between Rajahmundry and Amalapuram was breathtaking with Godavari canals, lush greenery, plethora of coconut trees. I then realized why coastal Andhra was called granary of AP. Rich canvas and scenery drove away all my frustration and disgust.
The bus reached Amalapuram town at 8 pm. Now my next destination was to reach the marriage venue some 20 kms from there. So I inserted my hand into my bagpack to dig out the wedding card and EUREKA....I forgot to bring the wedding card. What a timing, it was !!!
Then I shrewdly tried to call all my team mates who would have been at the venue by then. Bad news: The area was out of cellular network. Some bygoner said I was too ambitious trying to call cellphones in an hamlet where roads and school was a luxury. Immediate thought: Why the hell was that guy getting married in a place where normal person could't reach; anyways, time was not enough for analysis and introspection. I moved on.
Then I called my mom and asked her to ransack my cupboard, find that wedding card and tell me the address. She asked me to call 5 mins later. I called her 5 mins later, 10 mins later and 15 mins later. Finally caught hold of her and she said, "ok write down". I sincerely borrowed a pen from some guy around, took a piece of paper to write down when my phone battery got discharged. Wow !!!!
I kept calling her from a public phone and finally caught her after some 20 mins and took the address. I showed the address to the bus depot manager who said I had to wait for 2 more hours for the next bus to that area. It was already 9 pm. Then I beckoned a sharing-auto (shared driver's seat along with three more guys) and finally reached the venue (bride's house) at 9:45 pm and was surprised to see a somewhat deserted look :-s
After pleading some 5-6 guys, I was fortunate enough to find a guy who presented me before "alludu garu". Yayyy, finally I saw that guy, wished him, presented him the gift I brought. My common sense told me that dinner was wrapped up long ago. He gently asked me if I had my dinner. I said yes, so as not to embarrass him and myself. He enlightened me that in villages there, its a custom to have dinner at around 6 pm and hence dinner preceded the event. Immediately he asked me if I would join my team mates who just left for Hyderabad in an SUV. OMG !!! How could I miss that luxury.
I bid him bye with a promise to catch those guys but it was too late till I realized that my battery discharged cellphone was just a play-toy in that remote area which could as well be used as an experimenting ground for aliens and Mars !
By then I was strong enough to accept the fact that my team mates would have already left and I was left to my adventure again. I took a sharing-bullock cart (some good samaritan again) to Amalapuram only to know that last bus to Rajahmundry already left. Then took a lorry ride till Rajahmundry, sharing-cab till Vijayawada and private bus till Hyderabad and by the time I reached Hyd, it was 6 am. The exact time when the misadventure started the previous day. So out of 24 hours, I was traveling for 23.5 hours (except that 10 mins with the groom) in express train, local passenger train, RTC bus, auto, bullock-cart, lorry, cab and a private bus.
Highlight: After a month, the groom came to work fresh from his honeymoon and asked me "dude, why didn't you come to my wedding. I think except you, everybody in the team made it, (showing me his group photo with team mates at his wedding) !"
2 comments:
Spirit of the age and more the confidence that sustains the pain in adventures.
For me at my age after interestingly going through the happenings, suspence thrilling, got body sweat.
For a thriving mind at young age these things are common and inspiring....
:)
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