Trip To Delhi

Last weekend I decided to go to Delhi to give my sister a surprise visit who is very soon going to LSE for her Master's. Right now since I'm at IIT Kanpur I thought this trip would be quite a usual one since it was just a matter of 6 odd hrs...but to my surprise and bewilderment the two days turned out to be the fulls of ups and downs....

Now this turned out to be one of the most abrupt plans ever, while having dinner on Friday evening at the mess and simply cursing the food and really missing my home, at the spur of the moment I decided to go to Delhi to meet my sis...Now the idea was to leave Kanpur by around 11 in the night and reach Delhi by about 6 in the morn and spend some time with my sis and then move on to meet some other friends who stayed near Delhi (For me coming from a rather small city like Pune it was hard to fathom the size of Delhi and I simply assumed places like Ghaziabad and Gurgaon would be a simple half an ride from Delhi ).

Due to my lack of Common sense and extreme dumbness I assumed that I would get the train ticket fairly easily (Please keep this in mind never try to book a ticket 4 hrs before the journey you will never manage to get a confirmation), so I log on to the Internet and book the an e-ticket with a waiting list of 98 simply assuming that at least I'll be able to stand and reach Delhi in the morning. So I take this ticket and reach the station around 11:10 (Departure of the train was at 11:30), while I was just wandering on the station and playing with my ticket I somehow managed to read the rules on the ticket...It said that all those having a e-ticket and whose name don't appear on the chart they cant board the train at all.... so i started looking for the charts and I guess this is the time my miss fortune started....Somehow nobody on the platform knew where the charts were, this included even the TT and the people on the info desk, I'm sure the TT's and the people on the information desk would have known it but were simply too busy or maybe preoccupied to show me the way...but then arnd 11:20 I find this really old coolie who finally manages to show me where the charts wer put up...Not to my surprise I find that my name is not on the charts which I had expected, cause I had booked the tickets just 4 hrs back and my waiting list number was 98 ....So I ask the TT wat can be done abt it he say's Ill be fined and the fine is Rs1,000 if the crime is done unintentionally or Rs1000+jail if its intentionally...so I tell him I am ready to pay the fine so take it right now...I dont know how I managed to come across this guy in INDIA...somehow he was the most "sajjan" TT I have met he simply refused to take the fine and quite sternly said that I would be put in jail if I board the train...I was quite shocked at this response but then I felt that since there were other people around he didn't want to say anything..so I waited till the crowd cleared and I asked him again but he again got angry so I thought maybe he want some money so I just asked him...now bribing a person in India generally works and I was ready to pay the fine too....but somehow he got even more pissed and threatened me to dire consequences if I didn't leave..quite a strange start to this journey.

Now I dnt have any option but to go back home and just cancell the trip....but my streak of badluck continues...I somehow manage to see the general compartment and somehow its quite empty...so I decide to take a general ticket and go....all this has taken abt 8 mins n there are abt 2 mins for the train to leave....So now I run to get the ticket and comeback just before the train is about to start....somehow there is still place around but no place to sit....so I decide to just stand for the rest of the trip...Not thinking much I stand near one of the seats near the door....and as soon as the whistle goes...by the way have you any time seen a stampede and the rush of animals, just reminded you of this because the next situation was really close to this one, so back to the topic... a huge gang of people just rush into the general compartment in less than 10 secs the entire compartment got over crowded with people and somehow I found myself in the middle slightly away from the door and totally cramped up in a standing position there was no place to move and somehow everyone just sat on the floor I surely give credit to all those who travell in the general compartment on a regular basis.Trust me this is one experience you would never want.The next six hrs were terrible I had no place to sit neither to move my leg I simply stood in one postion for abt 4 hrs with all kinds of people leaning on me and sweating profusely and remeber this is the north I sweat here even when the fan is on. Then at a particluar station I don't remember the name some people (Actually I could not see what was happening on my side leave alone reading the stations name) got down so I manage to find a seat to sit...There were abt 10 people sitting on a seat meant for 3...so u could imagine how bad the situation was. Along with me there was this othere young guy who looked like a labourer to me who was in a same situation as mine for such a long time but somehow he still couldn't find a seat so I decided to share the seat with him on the basis of an agreement that each would sit for 15 mins....Somehow the night went by and I reached Delhi in the morning around 6. The guy with whom I shared the seat was so thankful that he got me tea and biscuits, although I refused he insisted and didn't even take the money.Looking at his state I could surely say every rupee was precious to him, but his gesture really touched my heart. So a bit releived now that the dreadfule part of the journey is over I come out and start looking for a rickshaw, I had to go to mayur vihar phase 2 and the 1st ric I ask, asks for Rs500. I was quite shocked cause my sis said that it would take arnd Rs60-70, so I started walking and he reduced the price from 500 to 150 in abt 2 mins time.I still said it was too high and stood there trying to bargain with him and that's where I encountered my 1st glimpse of Delhi...Its said to be the crime capital and people always warn you that ur suppose to be careful but I guess you never realise it untill you encounter it.

A lady came to me, she spoke quite well, and pinned up a flag on my shirt and asked for donation for some school. She had a small child with her in uniform, so i decided to give her Rs 20 . Now the most amazing thing occurs while i was giving her the money the kid sneaks up behind me and very smartly puts a cut with a blade on my back pocket....and when im about to put the wallet in I feel the cut....generally I don't put my hand completely in my back pocket while putting the wallet in, but somehow I did it this time so i could feel the hole. I catch the young guy and threaten to give him to the police, now this female she tells the kid "Bhaag jao" (run away) and the kid simply bites me on my hand and gets away and all this is being witnessed by atleast 10 rickshawalas. Now I threaten to give the lady in police, so she point blank refuses that she had any connection with the kid I was quite shocked to hear this I swear that female had quite some guts. The rickshawala tells me "Jane do sahhab bechari garib hain engineer hain lekin naukri nahi mil rahi hai chod do sahhab aur agar aap police mein bhi jaonge, isne waha pe bhi logo ko khila ke rakha hain woh ise to chod denge lekin app pareshan ho jaunge" (let her go sir she is an engineer but hasn't got a job and on tp of that she has bribed the police too so she will easily get away I'll get into trouble) hearing this and looking at the ladies confidence I decided to leave her.

Now it was back to finding a rickshaw and the guy finally agred to take me in 80 which I happlily agreed to...so finally I reach my sis's place, have a nice breakfast there and decide to go to Ghaziabad from there. The Ghaziabad trip was quite comfortable and I really enjoyed time there, finally I started feel a bit more comfortable in this city and expected a more relaxing journey to Gurgaon and back to Kanpur. I manage to leave Ghaziabad around 2:30 pm (Actually I was suppose to leave the place around 1pm but somehow when you around people whose company you enjoy I somehow can never manage time).

Now my sis had instructed to take a cab to Gurgaon and she had given me a few numbers. So I call up the guys one by one and to my dissapointment somehow there are no cabs available so here I'm again stuck in the middle of nowhere trying to figure out my way. So I ask person on the road of how do I get to Gurgaon, somehow this is one of the only people in Delhi that guides me right (By the way is this a general trend in Delhi to misguide peope???). He tells me I can take a bus from the ISBT (I hope I'm getting the name right...) stand in Gurgaon and asks one of the cycle rickshaws to drop me there and within a few minutes here I'm on this stand waiting for a bus to go to Narela (I hope the spelling is right). I was suppose to change a bus at this stop to go to Gurgaon. I'm quite tired by now due to the hectic journey and try to pick a bus with the least amount of people and I finally find one which is neary empty, so I happily get in and sit at the 1st window seat I see vacant. Now immediately at the next stop I see a lot of people getting in and I really thanked my stars that I had a seat. But here goes my luck again for big toss, suddenly a lady comes and stand next to me and keeps staring and she points at somewhere above the window under which I was sitting and those dreadful words just kept in lingering in my head for a while I simply was not able to react but after a few second the realization stuck in I had to get up it was the Ladies Seat. So here I'm in this highly crowded bus back standing on my feet. The guy who showed me the way to the bus stand also had told me it would take about 1:30-2hrs to reach Gurgaon. Now somehow I always manage to come across the wierdest of people (This is something my best friend has alwasy told me but I have never listened, but this trip left me with no choice but to agree.) the bus driver is really crazy chap in between Ghaziabad and Narela there is this huge stretch of road where the stops are nearly 5 mins away, so this guy simply doesnt change gears, he puts it in 1st and continues to go in 1st throughout the journey, which meant the bus went at the speed of 10-20 kmph. It nearly takes me an hour before I can find a seat again and this time I make sure I'm sitting at the right place. Sine I have always been a bit impatient I ask the guy next to me how much more time to Narela, he replies "Bas aa hi gaya kuch paanch min aur" (We are nearly there another 5 mins), taking is word I relax finally feeling the ordeal is over. 15 mins pass and I ask him again and I get the same reply this madness goes on for another 3hrs yes thats right 3hrs and I'm glad after 3hrs the guys 5 mins finally arrived. I wonder at what speed he was travelling I have never encountered a problem in physics where the time dialates till this extent. So I finally I reach this god forsaken place called Narela. So my so called 1 1/2 - 2 hr trip was already into its 4th hr.

I ask the 1st guy when will a bus to Gurgaon arrive and he says "Bhaiya hum yaha aadhe ghante se ruke hain abhi tak to nahi aayi hain" (We have been waiting for 1/2 an hr but the bus still hasn't arrived). Now simply I lose my patience and I want to get away from this place as soon as possible, so i decide to take a sharer cab (Adding to my misery). Now this guy fills 10 people + himself in this small Omni I wonder if this car is meant to take more than 5 people but sometimes you cant tech people everything, besides the conjusted situation he drives fast on bad Gurgaon roads so that cops don't catch him and fine him (Quite an incredible solutions the drivers out here have found), so all of us at the back just keep bouncing like ping pong balls and I'm glad that he made us reach in 15 mins , although I wasn't impressed much by his methodology it somehow gave me this feeling that finally I have made it.

Now I had to go to sector 56 and the driver points out to the road saying "Sahab yaha se sirf ppanch min ki duri pe hain", so i get down and start walking towards the road and just ask a person to confirm where the road will take me and he replies back saying "FARIDABAD" I was really shocked and to confirm I ask an auto (This I think is one of the most important things one should remember while travelling to Delhi "Never trust one person" and this trip sure made me learn my leassons.), if he will take me to sector 56 and he says he will charge Rs100, somehow I convinced him to take Rs.40 and other people too if he wanted (And this is another thing one really need to be careful in Delhi, never pay the person how much he asks. Somehow STREET SMARTNESS needs to be a virtue in order to survive in this city.) and take me to my destination. And I finally reach Gurgaon after a gruelling 41/2 hrs.

Now I had kind off pre-planned my journey back as soon as I had reached Delhi and Imeediately booke tickets in AC 2 tier just to have a comfortable journey back home. The ticket got confirmed immediately and I hoped that my journey fro would be not as exciting as too. But somehow I had to learn a lot of things this journey...My friend booked a cab for me this time around to reach New Delhi my train was scheduled at 4:10 pm and I decided to leave around 2 just to be on the safer side. Now it was 2:10 pm and the cab still had not arrived and I was dreading the worst. But finally he arrived at 2:20 and I was really happy just to see him. Under normal conditions in Delhi it takes about 11/2 hour to reach from Gurgaon to New Delhi this is without the severe Delhi conjestions. But somehow this guy make me reach New Delhi station at about 3pm thats just 50 mins. I was happy to reach the station but had no clue of what to do for the next 1 hr so I go to a restaurant and have something and reach the station by 3:45. The train was scheduled on platform 12 so I go and wait there. After five mins there is an anouncement to go to platform 10 and after that to platform 8. Somehow the authorities could not figure out where should they put the train so they kept making random announcements asking passengers to shift platforms. Then by 4:05 pm after all the shuffling they have done they still aint sure so they simply say that please wait for further announcements the train will be delayed due to technical reasons (Somehow in such situations although being from a technical side the excuse of "Technical Reasons" is never quite accepted by me), so here I'm stuck indefnately on the station. Finally around 5pm the train arrives and I finally breathe a sigh of relief. Somehow I feel that things will go much more smoothly from now on. Somehow I encounter another strange person during this trip. On the seat next to mine there was this fairly fat person sitting, he must be somewhere in his 40's. He seemed to have done well in life financially (can't say much about his etiquetes though). Somehow he had this attitude problem he simply could not stand the cabin staff, so he kept making wierd excuses to trouble them. When I got down at Kanpur station he got down along with me and it seems that he was a big officer in a government organisation by looking at his government chauffer driven car (with a siren, which is generally given to officers of the highest rank) and his PA running all around him. It simply made me think are these the people running our nation, if they can't treat the cabin staff with respect how on Earth do you expect that these people will look into the needs of the poor.

On the whole the journey was quite eventful and it left a lot of memories behind. Made me think and ponder about the situations of various sects of people and it was great to see my sis and my friends.