PNR Status: Waiting List #1 - Travelogue P2

What’s your plan? - Travelogue (Nagpur to Bangalore) dt. 28^th Sept 2013 

Part Two

-Still in the Train-

Soon after my lunch, I headed to the next coach to find the conductor. He sat in one of the compartments chatting with another fellow mates. He wrote me a bill for the ticket, and I finally got a sigh of relief for the onward journey. I had a pretty relaxing nap post all the exhaustive undertakings. The family guy is watching me write this article and we hit off a conversation. He appreciated my writing, and I hope you are too! ;) The guy is a travel agent in Nagpur and takes frequent trips with his family to places. My kinda guy! After a brief chat, and writing the previous article, I revisited my Eurotrip photos, which made me all nostalgic! I showed them the pictures and told stories about my trip. In return, I got a pretty good dinner offered by them! *bingo* I had the most tasty Curd-Rice ever for dinner and some parathas. The train was 50mins late but it had covered almost half hour of the time. My friend, Rohan was meeting me at the Secundrabad station and we planned for dinner. Also I had to look out for the next available bus to Bangalore, my final destination. It was again a gamble I was playing, but worth the experience. It was getting chilly inside so I moved to the door to get some natural air, spent some time talking to the fellow guy there. The station soon arrived and I waved the family to head on to the next madness of the trip!

-In Between-

 The station, Secundrabad brought in a lot of memories from my childhood, I’ve never been there, but my grandpa used to be a TTE at this very station route. I got a picture of the train station while I was out looking for my friend, and I must say it’s a beautiful place! One of the best train stations I’ve seen. Soon I met him and we headed first to secure a ticket for my journey ahead from there. Luckily, the booking kiosk was on the other side of the road. We inquired about the bus and it was ready to leave from the nearby stop. I shelled out another 900 bucks for the ticket and we went ahead to look for an autorickshaw till the desired place. Chatting in the available time we had, we shared a lot of things on the way.

Now, one of the famous places of Hyderabad, the Paradise Circle was my bus pick up point. This place is known for its world famous Biryani.  I quickly dialed my friend in Bangalore, where I was planning to stay, if he was interested in having some of the world famous food item, he replied in positive (who was I kidding anyway!) We rushed in the take away section and got us some yummy biryani! We chatted more and walked hurried towards the bus stop. Finally I got to the bus waiting for its passenger to arrive.

-The Bus-

As soon as I got inside, it felt like deserted land. There were hardly any people in the bus! I got in my assigned seat and settled myself with all the mess around. There was a movie going on, Once upon a time in Mumbai Dobara. It was a sequel to a pretty good movie and I was happy they weren’t showing some stupid movie, else my travel would have been ruined. Soon my co-passenger arrived and we head off with a chat. The bus halted in a while for refreshments and I got a pack of juice as my dinner. Opening up the little box given by mum, I found some sweet bread in it and viola, my dinner was done !

 ZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

-Destination-

Okay I slept in there. It’s already morning. The bus halted pretty far from where I wanted to go and I had no option but to get down. My fellow passenger was getting off on the same stop so we head out to find a conveyance till out destinations. After struggling with the luggage and some mouthing with the autowallahs, we found a nice cool cab, which offered us a ride at dirt cheap rate. Without another thought, I got in zoom we went ahead. The driver was pretty fast and helped me reach the specific address in just 20mins! I got off, waved the new acquaintance and waited by the side of the road till my friend, Aditya arrived.

There! I complete my first travelogue. Good night I’m tired. Hope you did enjoy it J Share the love in the comments below! Caio!

PNR Status: Waiting List #1 - Travelogue

What’s your plan? - Travelogue (Nagpur to Bangalore) dt. 28^th Sept 2013

This is my first try at writing a travelogue while traveling, just to give you a note of caution. I am reminding of the very same day last year, when I boarded my first international flight to Paris for my conference trip. It was a moment of sheer uncertainty I did not have the visa awarded and I was not sure about going for the conference trip. The same feeling was repeated today when I was all set to get on a train to Bangalore. My ticket status was held up at #1 waiting list and I went to the station with all hopes to return back, same as I did the very same day last year.  That’s pure uncertainty!

-Railway Station- 

Now waiting for the train to arrive at the station, I stood motionless with my dad, who came to see me off at the station. We have absolutely no thought of how we were going to get the ticket. Soon the train arrived and we headed to the ticket collector with hopes of getting an unclaimed seat. After a few talks, he agreed to give me a seat in the AC tier 2 coach if I paid the ticket difference, good isn’t it? But it wasn’t meant to be that easy! I had booked my ticket online and as per the regulations of the website, if the ticket doesn’t get confirmed, its stands cancelled and you get the refund amount. The worst part of the story was my friggin’ ticket couldn’t cross the W/L #1 status! Now the TT told me to get a general ticket from the booking window so he can give me an upgrade over that in the train. These words resulted me in sprinting to the booking office like a military trainee with a few kgs of weight on my back.

-The Booking Counter- 

I forced myself between the crowds standing at the window and demanded for a ticket. The lady asked me for Rs. 1210 and I juggled between my bag, wallet and pocket to get out all the cash I had, simultaneously talking to dad about the train’s status. Again, this wasn’t supposed to be a simple task! The lady bluntly refused the cash I gave her as I didn’t have the Rs. 10 in change, and told me to head to another counter. By the time I reached the next counter, my father called telling the train had left, giving up, I walked back to the platform to carry the luggage out and look for more options. Painting a picture? Good. Don’t pity me yet.

-In Between- 

There are three ways for man to travel from one point to another – Air, Land, Sea. The third stands cancelled in my case. The first, highly expensive, but I did consider it for a while. On land, I had more two options – Bus and Train. Now I spent some time at the station looking for trains which I could take for Bangalore. One option I’ve preferred is going via Hyderabad, and halting there for a day, which is a highly exhausting option. After deciding that train wasn’t an option, we left to get a bus ticket booked. At the travel agent’s office, he helped explore us various options as I had to reach on Monday (today is Saturday and Bangalore is 1400kms away) Even considering to travel by State Transport Bus was not a viable option since the timing was a big issue. By the time I inquired about the same, the guy pulled up a few leads and told me that one of the trains to Hyderabad, was 50 mins late and I could catch it.

-Back to the Rly St-

We headed to the booking counter again and I got a general ticket costing Rs. 165 for Hyderabad. Dad and me, headed to the platform where the next train, Patna-Secundrabad Express was about to arrive. We quenched our thirst with a chilled bottle of water and satisfied the tummy with a complementary (paid) biscuit packet. That was the moment we felt a bit relaxed! After about 20 mins the train arrived and we again got into search for the TTE. Since the train is a day train, it has few people traveling in it. The guy told that there are a few seats available and asked to me to sit in B4-18. Happy and heaving a sigh of relief both of us headed in the air conditioned coach and let out blood settle down.

-The Train-

A cool and newly furnished coach was abode for the next few hours and unexpectedly clean. I waved dad good bye and got myself a plate of food. I was so bloody hungry! Soon the train picked up speed and I did the same with my food. Satisfying the wanting stomach, I am spending time chatting with fellow passengers, a family, and enjoying the view though the glass.

 *Part Two coming soon!*

 

The Romantic Wreck

Sailing through many a mile,
I find no place to stretch,
enduring this world for a while,
the heart has a name to etch.

Your still seem to be my side,
the touch in my hands, on my lip,
that moment has frozen inside,
your look made my heartbeat dip.

I fell deeper in the unknown,
flying amidst the crowds, swept,
that beauty got my senses blown,
love, was the emotion now I felt.

Lost my mind, dreaming the day,
blurred vision, no path felt steady,
If love's a tragedy, as they say,
darling, you're my remedy!

~ Mr. Khan.

Photo Credits: AFOPhotography

Nebula!

She hits you like a maelstrom,
the whirling view entices the senses,
paralyzed by the vista embedded in her eyes,
like a nebula, vivid; so stellar!

Enclosed like a pearl in the oyster,
yet it feels deep as an abyss,
pulled back and gravitated by the vignette,
remains no vestige of the lost senses.

Gyrating in the grisly moment of silent clamour,
gauging the pantheist scope of the predicament,
exalted in the lyric of the heavenly fantasy,
the soul drifts in the cadence of emotion.

The heart swells, in pathos, to let out a cry,
to delve in the abstract so metamorphic,
every blink, every streak, and the cosmos,
this metaphor stands to be vindicated.
 

Photo Credits: Rapunzel

Puzzle

I'm trying to find a way, a path to the unknown,
a street I never knew, a place I never saw,
in the midst of the chaotic crowd, find peace,
in the vastness of the sky, I seek refuge.

The days pass along with no sound of breeze,
each moment seems hard, the body wants ease.
I tread in the marsh, to find a land to plough,
thoughts wander along the beach, like the sand.

This bondage holds the soul, aching to leave,
this body seems dead, feels no ounce of pain.
a path I need, to surpass the bridge to self,
connect my being to the one living in me.

Attempting to unwind the entangled thoughts,
restore the upside curve on the mask,
spread the shoulders with a living breath,
restructure this shattered puzzled self.

Eurotrip - Part II : Surviving Paris

Life teaches you on a daily basis, based on incidents and decisions you undertake. There arrive such times in life, rarely, which get you to another level of understanding of the concept of being alive! Such moments define the person who you are and help you grow more. I’ve had a lot of incidences in my traveling life, but this particular one will be regarded as my first survival challenge!

It was my first day in a foreign country, France. I woke up in my dorm bed, where last night I took refuge to give rest to my aching body post a 15-hour flight from India. As I opened the window, the chill in the air shook me up and the beautiful surrounding filled me up with an extravagant feel and the realization that I was in the City of Love, Paris! My first ever trip to a distant land and that too alone, hardly dreamt of had some true in its own sense!

I recollected my last night, diving down the flight of stairs from the airport to the tube station, and then heading to Gare du Lyon, to walking down the streets to find my hostel, a colorful abode. The night I spend few hours in the red painted hall, filled with people from every continent of the world. I remember this distinct person from Hawaii islands. Then there was this guy from Sri Lanka, America origin, had a toy factory on the Lankan Island! Also there was a young lady from Spain, another travel freak and a guy from Argentina exploring Europe. We had a nice chat till late night knowing each other, which concluded with a soulful song by the gentleman from Hawaii who played his tambourine and told us stories about the volcanic island.

That night shall forever remain in my memories. I had a long day ahead and a long list of places to visit before I left the city. I had planned to take a night train from Paris, France to Milan, Italy where I was supposed to stay for 2 days. I head over to the main station Gare du Nord where I enquired about my tickets for the night train. There is when things turned over me, the train was full and I could not get reservation on my pass. I had to pay additional 147euros for the ticket which was not at all possible for me. So went out worried and in a lot of dilemma of how to spend the night in the city? It was a weekend and the nearby hotels/hostels were full. I made a few calls to friends who had been to Paris and asked what could be done. One of them, Pranoti, was there for her intern and had managed to stay in the Gurudwara on the outskirts of the city.

I roamed around well the entire day, visited the majestic Eiffel tower, and fulfilled my plan of eating ‘French Fries’ in France and a weirdly tasting Ham & Cheese sandwich. Also did a bit of shopping near the Arc de Triomphe and got myself a Zara Blazer! That was one of the best times, but somewhere I had a fear of how was I going to spend the night, most importantly, where? After meeting a few Indian Sardars at the Eiffel, I got the address of the Gurudwara, which then seemed to be a relaxing moment was going to shook me to the core.

Late evening I returned to my hostel to collect the baggage, and on the station got myself tickets for my onward journey. God bless that girl at the counter who gave me a fairly good deal and helped me set my itinerary till Rome, Italy which was 1800 kms away! I wakled in peace to the train, which led me to the outskirts, at a station called Le Bourget.

Now the real story begins. I got a lil goosebumps too!

I got down, a lonely place, kinda scary and asked for directions. The people there led me somewhere inside the locality. First ever day in a foreign land with no notion of whether I was going the right way, the growing dark night and scary people all around damped my soul. Thanks to my traveling experiences, I had hope and kept the search on. On the way, I met a French guy, (the locals are really helpful) who seeing me confused and alone walked along with me. I dragged my luggage and blindly followed him, trusting my instincts. We walked out a few blocks to a main road, where I met two Sri Lankans. One of them could understand English, and the other could speak French, what a combo! Somehow I explained my state to them and from the discussion we 4 people had made me sure I was in the wrong place! It added to all my worries and fears, and since there was no hotel nearby I was stuck where to head. Good Lord I met those people who were highly supportive to a fellow Asian, and guided me. I finally took a decision to head to the airport, as it was the safest place I could spend the night at, and after the entire day, I had almost no energy left within me.   

Those guys were good enough to accompany me to the train station and waited till the train arrived. I was brought forward this reality by them that the place was a breeding crime hub and if any anti social had found me, no one could ever find me again! That shook me to the core. They even had offered me their place to spend the night, but if anything happened to me during the night, they would have been in deep trouble. I had all these words echoing in my head as I reached the airport which was not far away. I went up the way I came the previous night, only to find the waiting rooms closed! Only place available to relax were the chairs in the space.

I took a deep breath, found all my senses and made my mind that tonight you survived a great ordeal, that I was safe and I had to keep myself awake all night to take care of my stuff! I found a beverage dispenser and made myself cozy at a chair near it. There were a handful of people around me, which built a little more assurance inside. It was freezing cold, almost 6-7 degrees and it was a huge open space. I took all the warm clothes I had, wrapped up and sat still. The entire night I was in different thoughts, gulping down hot chocolate and coffee at intervals to keep myself warm. It was then I realized of what kind of situation I had grown out of, survived a city in a foreign land, in my first ever visit abroad.

 

Almost 6-7 cups of hot chocolate and 3-4 cups of coffee later, the dawn arrived and I packed up to head to the station to begin my next phase of the journey. It was another beautiful morning with a new me, feeling ALIVE. I had a feeling of renewed strength and a proud streak that I spent such a time, alone, in such adverse conditions. As they say it, ‘What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!’

The UniSun

Photo Credits: Rapunzel

I pass the streets with a thought in mind,
I wish to live in this day sublime,
the sky shows me its colours, it paints,
the body asks for bread, while I faint.

The paths run dry to the sight ends,
the kids on them emerge with friends,
the joys in their eyes is beyond measure,
such sights, I tell you, are the best treasures!

I race to the light, the way it calls,
at its enthralling beauty, my heart calms,
painting the sky red, orange and blue,
where does the breath stop i have no clue!

Tangled amongst the ropes I find the Sun,
like blowing a huge pipe, the foggy clouds run.
lost in the beauty of this nature's play,
I lose insight and the human way!

While I capture these moments in my lens,
the visual poetry makes me lose sense,
I wait for the the day to dawn on me,
so through the sleepy eyes, life I may see!   

~ Mr. Khan.

Twenty Three

Birthdays are a special occasion in our lives. We have built and entire tradition along it. It takes us to a new level of understanding, makes us feel older, mature, and happier and it also makes us understand that we are growing faster than we ever thought! It was one awesome year for me, and I’m excited about the next one! Each birthday I have this ritual to ponder over what I missed doing, my failures, my weakness and try to overcome each of those in the next time. 2012 was a year of accomplishments and a year of dreams coming true!

I’ve turned 23. It’s the number of chromosome pairs we have in our DNA! Turning twenty three was something I was looking forward to! I’m not very fond of numbers, nor have faith in numerology, but 23 has been an important number of my life. Not just because I was born on that date, but because some important numbers of my life have 23 in them! My tenth grade board exams, the first biggest exam of my life, when everyone expected very least of me, I managed to succeed very well. The first person in my family to pass the board exams with a Distinction rank! 83.06 percent with 623 marks. I scored 823 marks in my first undergraduate year. It took me a total of 23 months to show off my biggest creation ever. My current cellphone number has 23 in it. So many examples, somehow the number 23 has its impact on my life greatly, and hence the excitement to turning 23 was huge. 

Turning 23 was a joyous adventure. Steve Jobs had quoted, “You can never join the dots looking forward; the dots connect only when you look backward.”  Looking back is termed to be a losing attitude by most success coaches. But I tell you, you can only count your success and learn from your failures when you look back! But look back when you have reached somewhere and not while you are moving towards your goal. Turning 23 made me realize my dreams, took me places I never dreamt of and gave a reason to my life which is more concrete than ever. 

I feel blessed to have the people around me who support me in all I’ve been through and even in the lowest point have realized my worth and made me scale up the depths I’ve been into. Turning 23 was a journey of success. There have been a lot of failures in the life before, but this year turned those very failures into success. I had lost a year of college, one that was highly disturbing and unplanned time of my life, but it turned tables. The last year, was the year from being a 22 year old young entrepreneur to being a 23 year old researcher, innovator, scientist and a better human being. 

I made my very first trip to a foreign land, roamed France and Italy, saw two Wonders, Eiffel Tower and the Colloseum which was the part of my first international conference trip to Rome. Travelling thousands of miles on air and a trans-country trip in the beautiful railways of Europe and witnessing the breeze of the Atlantic Ocean have made their impact on the traveler spirit within me. Being the only Indian and the youngest in the conference was in itself a huge achievement for me. Sooner after my return was another conference in Pune, where I got to sit with people scientists from NASA on the same table, a moment never dreamt of! Two huge achievements in a matter of two months were more than I could ask for!  Also, I have now almost finished my work on something called the ‘Batpod’ the first one in India and the 5^th in the world! 

It isn’t boasting, it’s a testimony. Life can turn its path if we keep and trying if we keep moving inspite of all the failures and forces that keep us down. We aren’t meant to live the lives the world wants us to, we can be more, and we can be someone more than just another face in the crowd. I mean to tell you, we have the potential to be great. But greatness requires not just hard work but more importantly patience and perseverance. If we have those, we can be great. 

Turning Twenty Three was a tale of success for me. I’m more excited about what’s in store now that I’ll be living the 23^rd year of my life. It’s the time to RISE. Deeshay Basara!