,
This one has a tired nevertheless happy ending. And for some reason it got me thinking of the adventures of Swiss Family Robinson; hence the blog post title So, this is how it goes.
I need to board the 9.50p.m. Hussain Sagar train from C.S.T./V.T. station in South Bombay and its already 9.05 and our Domino's Pizza just arrives. I like to chew my food, so all I get is one piece of pizza and we rush out 15 minutes later to catch the train.
As we are about to get into a taxi, my parents convince me to board the train from Dadar station, which is where I usually get off, when I take the train from Hyderabad to Bombay. We reach Dadar station at 9.40 only to find out that the train doesn't stop there.
So, all of us decide we are going to chase this train to the next stop-Kalyan. So what if we had to go out of Mumbai to catch the train. Half staggering half running with my luggage, my family and me take the next train that goes closest to Kalyan, at a time when people are returning home from work, women selling everything from fish, to vegetables and accessories.
My mother and me stood besides the door with some luggage while people shoved, pushed, kicked and punched us to maintain their balance. I was just glad my mother didn't faint out of claustrophobia. We get off at the last stop-Dombivali and got on the luggage compartment of the train immediately leaving for Kalyan, still optimistic about making it in time for the train.
As it turned out, we missed the train by minutes and took a train back to the city and were lucky enough to get a friendly rickshaw driver (wish he had relatives in Hyderabad *sigh*) who took four of us with our luggage to the airport. Another night spent at the airport with the help of an espresso shot and it was sweet dreams all of next day.
ps: I had no intention of scaring people off, from the Bombay trains. They are awesome, really. And, besides you get used to it, eventually.
Moral of the story: always fight for free pizza and enjoy it.
Moral of the story: always fight for free pizza and enjoy it.
September 25, 2010 at 3:25 AM
well written......:)