The rest of 'day' trip

 When the announcement came that someone had been hit on the tracks because of a signal failure, there was a collective groan from all the passengers. These things take a lot of time. The entire scene is cordoned and there is intensive examination that takes place. At 1930, 2 hours from home, with the charge in our phones dying, we hoped for a quick resolution.

Thats when I got a call from my sister. She said their 2015 train has been cancelled. I told, yeah must be because of the accident cos the entire route seems locked down. She was a bit frazzled by this. She had my mom and dad on her hands and them being  elderly she was very concerned about their welfare. I sitting in a train was not going to be of much help. She spoke to the station staff who confirmed that there was no guarantee that trains would run that night. 

My sis panicked and started searching alternative routes to get home. She called me and we discussed that most routes might be a bit tedious to use and might be eventually blocked - cos this seemed to be a pretty bit incident. The best call would be to book a hotel and stay the night. The train tickets were anyways valid for any future travel to Leeds. She searched through a lot of hotels, most coming back with no vacancies since people who were facing cancellations were booking out. Finally after nearly 45 minutes around 2030 she informed me that she had managed to find a hotel near the station and they would head there.

Phew! that was one crisis averted! 

Pumpki was getting a bit anxious and restless since it had been over an hour. We tried to pacify her as much as possible and distract her by playing some games. K had a friend who lived nearly an hours drive away. He started checking with him, if it would be ok for us to get to his house. His friend was more than welcome. He also offered to drive and pick us up! But I felt it would be asking too much since it would be around 2230 by the time he would get to us and would take another hour to get back home - nearly mid night. With the next day being a working day for his friend, I didnt think it would be fair to make him take the trip.

It was around 2100  (around 1.5 hours since the incident). The driver announced that there was no positive sign of train moving forward. He said people who could make their way via various means to their intended destinations were welcome to do that. The doors of the compartments from which it was safe to get down had been opened. People started talking and discussing various options. Those who lived in London, started trickling out and making their way back home. There was a lady with young daughters sitting next to us. I started chatting with them to find their thoughts. She said she felt it was much safer being in the train, because definitely some arrangement would be made. They will not let a bunch of trains lie on a track over night because services needed to be resumed atleast for the next day. The arrangements made by the train company might take time, but they would definitely be there. I totally agreed with this, and convinced K that instead of making our way back to London or to his friends house ( depending on God knows which rail service), it was much better to sit in the train. 

At 2200 the driver announced that there had been a signal for the train to move! There were wide cheers from the train. It seemed like the best news a group of people had heard in a long time! 15 minutes later, the driver announced that the train would be moving back to London!!!! Whatttt!! Passengers were requested to make some arrangement of staying the night. That was a proper anti climax😖

Everyone got on the phones! I checked a few hotel sites and most of the places were getting booked out or charging extortionate rates. I rang my sister and asked if she could check if there was a room available. She went to the reception and managed to book the very last room available for the 4 of us!! Some close call! Not only that, they had also given us a late checkout. Which meant we could sleep in a bit late to recover from all the drama 😀

Finally at 2230, 3 hours since the halt, the train started moving! We reached London King's Cross station at around 2245. At the station one the rail employee was making an announcement to keep the hotel invoice to make a compensation claim. And people who had not managed to make an accommodation would be given taxis - fully reimbursed by the train. That seemed such a generous gesture by the train company.

We took a cab and finally reached the hotel at 2315. It was a happy reunion with Papa, Mummy and my sis. We had such plans for a day trip and it ended up being so much more. But God was watching over us all through the way and we were so grateful to Him to have eventually ironed it all out.

Just a day trip

 The kids' summer holidays are on in full swing. We have not planned much this time because of various work and home commitments. Also being a Guide Dogs puppy raiser needed our availability. So it was more to be a one day at a time thing. 

Papa is an avid botanist who harboured the interest to visit The Kew gardens in London. We planned a trip to visit the gardens. My sis, Mummy and Papa went a day prior to the visit. K, the kids and I were to make a day trip. Our onward train was at 0715 and we were to return at 1910. A quick and easy day trip - what could go wrong?

Well it seems like a lot. 😉

The day before our journey we got a message in the evening that our train had been cancelled. We had the option to take any train either before or after the slated time. We thought we would take the one before at 0645. It would be an even earlier start, but probably we could avoid much of the crowd which would probably decide to come later. We woke up at the unearthly hour of 0530 to start. As predicted by K, the train was quite sparsely populated. We managed to get some real good shut eye. We reached London at 0855 and as usual were hit by the vibrancy of the place 😀

We made our way to the gardens. It was a sweltering 29 degrees. As a result Chiyaa who has an Eczema condition was having a bad flare up. She kept getting annoyed as her skin irritated her. It was not turning out to be her day😔 We had to keep applying a lotion on her. Seeing her in such difficulty made us all worried and anxious. It was getting quite exhausting for all of us to walk through the garden as well. The place is not a small park, it is 300 acres full of plants from all over the world kept in various climate controlled set ups. Some of the greenhouses were quite difficult to go through because of the immense heat. 30-35 degrees seemed unbearably hot. But we persevered. We managed to cover quite a bit. It was very exhausting but enriching experience. We learned oh so much! A little bit of cloud cover could have made life so much easier, but we can only hope.

1600 we decided to make our way back to London King's Cross to get our train back to Leeds. We bagged some dinner and got on our 1910 train. My sis and parents had the train at 2015, an hour after us. We said goodbyes and got on the train. 10 minutes into the journey the train stopped! 

The driver informed us that someone had been hit by a train along the route, hence we would be stalled for some time! This had been quite a day. But just when we thought we were 2 hours away from the comfort of our homes, we had this! The rest of the story needs another post 😉

Step 3: maiden train journey in India

 We had expected that there would be some trouble with the kids having an early start at 5 for Bangalore. Surprisingly the girls were quite well managed and got ready on time. There was a quick ride to the train station. It was around 5 in the morning, but there were so many people running. There was the usual hustle and bustle of activities that is integral to India. That itself was caffeine for me 😀

At the station it was a cacophony of noises. There were poeple on the floor sleeping while waiting for the next train. There were mad rushes and anxious runs. Pumpki was quite intrigued by it all. She asked if people sleep in the station. I clarified that no, perhaps it was a long wait and finding no other way to rest, people have taken to the floor. 

In the midst of all this, Miss Pumpki needed a wee. We ventured to the paid toilets. They were quite ok and being used by all sorts of people. But there was only an Indian toilet there, which scared poor Pumpki 😀 I found it all too hilarious to be honest 😂 A kind lady offered that we could use to a/c waiting room for some western toilets. Off we went! Toilet used, we went to patiently wait for our train.

Since we had a lot of luggage, we had to resort to hiring a porter. This was again something that was a new experience for the girls. Once seated in the coach, we were inundated with IRCTC catering personnel screaming Chai, vada, puri subzi, samosa, various biscuits and cakes. It was annoying. At the same time, it evoked nostalgia. Back in the day train journeys were a part and parcel of holidays. The journey could be anything from 12 to 22 hours long. I remember having the smell of iron on my hands when I stepped out of the destination and feeling the sensation of motion many hours after deboarding. The journeys used to be tiring. But they had a weird charm. Buying from the various vendors, sleeping on the berths, chatting and bonding with co-passengers. Every journey was unique. This journey wasn't unique like the ones I have made in the past. But it was unique taking the girls through this special experience. They are quite composed in themselves and do not react profusely at anything. I am not sure if it was an indelible journey. I hope they enjoyed it and will talk about it once they are older as I fondly remember my train journeys 🙂

5.5 hours later we arrived in garden city Bengaluru!

Not a romantic arrangement

I did write about seat-gate in one of our train travels in my last post. One haadsa (incident) happened to us too.

The journey was long and after a day off sight seeing K and I were dead tired too. K in fact was feeling a bit claustrophobic in the crowd. There was a lady who was quite harried by her baby and toddler. She and the toddler occupied 2 seats while the baby was in a push chair. Finally when she got down, K grabbed the seats left empty by the lady. I sat on K 's lap. Why? Well I will unravel the reason in a bit :)

After sometime another lady came in a rush to occupy the seat in which the toddler was sitting. She pulled down the chair (the place where you place the bottom kinda folds up, like in cinema theaters ) and made a grotesque face and ran away repulsed.

Now is the time for drum rolls ;) The reason I did not take that seat was, the poor baby had puked all over it. So my sitting on K's lap (immaterial of how romantic it looked) was a totally infrastructural arrangement :P

You don't scare me no more big city

Maine blog mata se mannat maangi thi, agar London se sahi salamat laut ayi to ek post likhoongi. Hence this post.

Ok let's start from the beginning :) I joined this new place. They recently started doing induction programs for new starters. The firm is biggish and located all over the UK the events are held in the capital London . I had joined weeks prior to getting the invite to attend the induction event I was not sure how to respond . There is always the option to decline an invite of course. I checked with my manager. The irony was he was new to the firm as well having joined a couple of weeks before me and at the point I went to ask him he was booking his tickets to the induction he has been invited for. He told me to go ahead . I went ahead and booked. Later I learnt from a colleague how she had kept declining the invites and ultimately needed to take just a 2 hr video learning . She recommended the path to me. But you know Murphy? The fellow who said if something can go wrong it will? In my case it is 100% assured it will and to top it, it will snowball into a more ginormous problem. I have lots and lots of examples which warrant a separate post I guess.

Now a little information about me. I am a typical small town girl. Big fast cities scare me. Might be the reason why I have never ventured to Mumbai . I am not into quaint idyllic rustic places either. They bore me till I am suicidal. A place like Hyderabad or BBSR works brilliant for me- just the right mix of modern and tradition, pace and rest. London is big, fast, busy busy busy. The best means of commute is the underground called the tube which requires some map reading skills. I do not have my left and right correct. Imagine reading maps! K loves maps and the tube and London . I asked him to find the detailed itinerary for me. He hovered on the laptop for some time and came up with his commandments. His directions:- come out of the train station, take the steps going downwards they will lead to the underground , see your station , take appropriate train, get down , follow people in suits! I swear that is exactly what he said . Talk about being helpful. 

Anyways I did my research . As best as I could. Haggled some co- workers about any details, prayed and set off. On D-day I reached Leeds station on time and train set off. Read 10% of my book. Reached London , checked with help desk for direction to the tube and got there straight. Huh. Pretty straight forward . I went on and started reading the map. Really intently. It was a bit difficult but I had a fair idea of what to do next. There were no crowds of pulling jostling, pushing or pulling me. It was utter calm. Further down the road there was an abridged map for my area which gave me a chance to verify my earlier inferences( which were miraculously correct). Boarded the tube, emerged in the station close to the event. Remarkable. I was lost in the biggish station. Well they are called help desk for a reason and I got my answers straight up. I emerged on my street but as per K's advice there were not a lot of people in suits. Its summer you see. My Google maps was also acting up. Then I saw a group of confused people checking their phones and heading  in one direction . I followed them , they were going somewhere else but I could see my destination. Hurray. Boo ya London . You don't scare me. 

The day was strange with lots of strangers I was forced to interact with. We were supposed to network but if I was into networking what was I doing in IT? Duh! The event finished before time, I could avoid the office rush hour, take the return tube and get home. Finishing this trip has been like finishing an exam. Boy!

The kickoff - Project Hampi

I am alive and kicking :) And Renu, it was immensely sweet of you to come up to my blog and ask how come I had gone invisible. Thank you so very much :) That was a very warm gesture.

Now that I am back, I am going to mow down my readers with some very very long posts (*evil laugh*). Yep, and this is going to be a part by part post - the current one being part1 :)

September is a real sweet month this year. It comes with 2 extended weekends back to back. First a holiday on 21st for Eid, the next on 28th for Dussera and then October joins forces to give 2nd October as a holiday. K and I were looking forward to a vacation during one of these extended weekends. But for some reason or the other, the plans always used to go kaput. Then one afternoon during a casual call my friend Sam said she was going to Hampi on a 3 day trip. She was generally cribbing about one of her friends having ditched her, which would compel her to travel alone from Bangalore to Hospet - and Hospet not being a very bright place, she was a bit jittery about making the trip alone. At Hospet she would have been joined by another friend of hers from Hyderabad.

When I heard the plan itself, something kicked in me to ask K to join in as well. We had been making and breaking vacation plans, cancelling and redoing train tickets and were in a whole lot of mess when it was coming to travelling. I was having my reservations when I went ahead and asked K if we could plan on a trip to Hampi. But I was amazed to get a whole hearted thumbs up from him! Now first hurdle crossed, we had to check tickets! Cos the due date was just 2 weeks away and that being a holiday time, people would be flocking like crazy to the place. And we had a big set of tickets to be made yet again - Chennai->Bangalore, Bangalore->Hospet(closest station to Hampi), Hospet->Bangalore, Bangalore->Chennai. Now if God unwilling any thing went awry, it would need 8 tickets to be cancelled. Still, we thought, lets give it a shot.

As I had said in one of my previous posts, 2 weeks is a long enough time for many things to change. And in this case too they did. The other friend of Sam's who was supposed to come had to cancel her tickets since she had some emergency and Sam decided to return with us rather than staying an extra day as was her initial intention. For her it would have been a trip that would nt have happened if K and I had nt booked our tickets. Its strange the way providence ties people up :)

Strangely the day before the trip both Sam and I were pretty restless. Sam has been my oldest friend- one since school. She and I connect very easily. And we both having the same feeling on a day prior to the travel was pretty uncanny. We tried to reason as to why we were feeling that way. Maybe it was because, it was a very impromptu trip for which neither of us was 100% prepared, or maybe it was because we were a bit bothered by the fact that we would be away from work for 4 days, or it was because she had a different perception of how the trip was going to be and with K and I coming into the picture, it might be a paradigm change or maybe it was because I who always loves to plan out every bit of a vacation was not able to gather much info before the travel was feeling a bit less prepared. We were not sure if it was a bit of all these feelings or any thing else which we were not able to figure out at all. None the less, we tried to keep the pace of normal work and some how tide over that one day before 4 days of vacation began.

The journey to Bangalore was good but once I hit the bed at Sam's place, I realised how exhausted I was - cos I slept 3 hours straight. I could have slept more if Sam and K had not kicked me out of the bed. Though we had planned to shop and eat out and God knows what not, we ended up spending most of the day inside the house, generally talking, finishing some chores, last minute packings and arrangements. Pronto at 2000hrs we ventured towards the station. The entire crowd in the train seemed to be going to Hampi. There were so many people with RAC tickets who were travelling. All the while Sam was praying that we should get a proper place to stay( Yep inspite of Sam and I both being finicky about planning and being meticulous to the core, neither of us had been able to get any reservations done!!) The optimistic me kept reassuring her that things would be fine and the ultra pessimistic her kept wondering what if things were not fine :) K being K chose to doze off and let the ladies do the thinking :D. As happens whenever old friends meet, Sam and I were talking till 0100 at night and hit the bed pretty reluctantly.

The train was supposed to reach Hospet at 0745 hours. At 0645 K woke me and asked if we had arrived, but I said there was still an hour to go. We decided to snatch some more winks. All of a sudden a lady came and said "You going to Hampi na?" We jolted YESSSS. She said "Its Hospet station get down get down, just take your luggage and get down". Maa kasam, aisa mere saath pehle kabhi nehi hua!! I freaked out, took one of the backpacks and scrammed. K and Sam were in deeper sleep I suppose, cos they took some more time. I was like hurry hurry come fast all the while. We jostled out of the train and stepped into the glaring sun of Hospet.

We were giggling silly at our stupidness. And we thought, wow quite an adventurous start!!

Scarce did we know - the adventure had just began!

A trip and some thoughts

Last weekend K and I made a trip to Ooty with K's project team. Frankly speaking, I am not a fan of cooler climes. They trigger an unprecedented bout of sinus and leave me dazed and harried. It was group trip, and the only person I knew from the group was my husband :S - this thought caused further trepidation. And I am not so much of a "group" person either.

In spite of these blatant negative pointers, somehow I had an irrational feeling - that the trip would be good. And It was!

For starters, for the first time, of all the journeys we have undertaken, K and I were well ahead of time in getting to the station. Since it was a completely Tamil speaking crowd I would be travelling with, I had braced myself to get mega bored, as I had on previous occasions with K's friends. ( If any of K's friends except the Dino are reading this - please don't take any offense :) ) I had decided that, as my last resort, I would start reading the novel I was carrying risking the fact that I might look like an utter snob by doing so. But then you gotta do what you gotta do. Once the train started and the conversations too started flowing, I sat through it entirely without getting the least bit bored. I did not understand 85% of what was going on, but then I amused myself by observing the animations on each ones face, the different accent with which some people spoke, the affected mannerisms of others and generally analysing and passing verdicts on each one. I did that for 2hours 15 minutes after which I got tired of the cramped space and made my move to doze off.

I am not sure if I have "evolved" after the stay at a place whose lingua franca I do not understand. If I have, I am very pleased with the evolution. :) I no longer get peeved by the fact that folks do not even bother to ask me my name. I do not object to the fact that the majority tongue flows freely with scant regard that a person might be interested in getting into the conversation. And when there is something I feel I should know, I innocently interrupt with an"English please :D " and dont feel abashed at doing so either. I wish I was so footloose free on prior occassions. I would have done myself a mighty favor. But then, evolution happens only with time.

On reaching Coimbatore, the ride to Ooty was a pleasure to say the least. I hate the color green. On previous visits to hill stations, whenever any one would draw my attention to the greenery, I used to remark - "Am I a cow to go ga ga over this!!" This trip was meant to be different - I found the greenery refreshing.


The trees were washed fresh with sporadic showers. The clouds fumed from the base of the mountains. The roads were wide and the hair pin curves did not cause a mutiny in the organs. I thoroughly enjoyed the uphill ride.

Once set in the cottages, I got ready for the sight seeing with amazing alacrity. The places we went to were resplendent with an old world charm. I had heard about Ooty being crowded, commercialised and chaotic. But I found it out of the world, one which very much deserved being called the Queen of the Nilgiris. K and I walked along a lot.

There were 2 other couples, one recently married and another as old as us. The newbies were eager to get clicked beside every tree and hedge. The older one, took a more mature stance. While K and I were behaving like old friends. We held hands with ease and K did help me in conquering a couple of tough rocks. Then I remebered how a couple of days after wedding I had felt strange that K and I are not so demonstrative of our affection as some people are. I remember writing in this post, how I felt my sis in law and her hubby being publicly affectionate. During this trip, I could feel the comfort K and I shared even in a social arena. It needs time to get used to being with the new person post marriage even if its a love marriage. It is something like a new friendship. One takes those baby steps first, sheds inhibitions slowly and then becomes completely comfortable. For a friend also no one gets to the back slapping comfort zone from the day one. It takes time to build that camaraderie. Same it works with a spouse too. When I reached this profound conclusion, I felt even better. :)

The sight seeing at Ooty was very satisfying. The crowning glory was the ride in the heritage train. After a fully packed 2 day tour, I slept like a log during the return trip and woke up with a splendid sinus the next morning. Good enough, for things should never be too good :)

Gandhigiri

As a student of history in school my heart went out for the militant nationalists. Because for me they were men of action. And I held a very strong dis-enchantment and antagonism for the Nehru Gandhi family.(I still do :) )
But yesterday I was taking my monthly pass at the railway station. A burly man brushed past me to get the ticket. I did not flinch though my natural response would have been a harsh "EXCUSE ME!!". Maybe I was plain lazy to respond. So I let him go ahead.
As he was getting his ticket done, he looked back and said,"I am sorry". I nodded.
Once his ticket was done, he turned back and said,"I am really sorry, I was getting late so I barged in." I told him it was OK.
He moved on.
But I think what I was in his eyes was compunction.
My first trial at Gandhigiri (inadvertently though) and it was a success!