Majboor ho gaye

Bina par-e-surkhaab ke

sabhi magroor ho gaye

kya baat hai, sochne ko

hum majboor ho gaye!

Wo uth gaye itne oonche

neeche hi reh gaye hum

paas the jo kabhi dil ke

wo bahut door ho gaye!!

Jo farmaaye tune mehfil me

wo lafz hue ibaadat

do gile kiye gar maine

wo kasoor ho gaye???

Gaate hain aj kauwe

udne lage hain mendhak

nahate nahin jo kabhi

wo aaj hoor ho gaye????

...begane ho gaye

Mehfil mein tanhayee ka, sabab kya batayein

roothe hue se aaj paimaane ho gaye;

kisi ko bhulayein itna hosh hi kahan hai

hum to khud se hi begaane ho gaye !

nahin lagti hai ab to chandni pehle si,

yatharth me khayalon ke thikaane ho gaye!
furkat to milti hai, milti nahin fursat

kehne ko khatm saare, bahaane ho gaye !!

Zindagi bahut tez hai, main hoon zara dheere

khud se milke dekha-hum puraane ho gaye

kaise batayein hum, kya haal hai zindagi ka

itni bheed mein bhi aaj, veerane ho gaye !!!

Sab chhupe se baithe hain, ek naqab chehro par,

dil ki baatein kiye to zamaane ho gaye,

lafzon ka nahin bharosa, matlab badal jate hain

main aankhein padhta hoon, shabd be-maane ho gaye !!!!

The Big Bang(alore) (mis)adventure-Final part: A friend in need

[The last part. If you dont understand see Part 1 and Part 2. This one's 3rd and the last]

As soon as we came to know that the fine for WT in AC is more than we expect, we decide to alight and board a general coach. We somehow fit ourselves in the crowded compartment. Some people let us sit too when they heard of our couldn't-catch-the-train story. Here we were, in general compartment contemplating on what could have been a peaceful Rajdhani ride back home converted to Utpal Dutt chasing Amol Palekar (Golmaal if you haven't figured out yet) kinda don't-take-a-breath chronicle. We had a look at our fellow journeymen. There were these two 30 something lads who worked in a Mall and going home for some wedding. There was this calm composed 30 something (probably 35) married lady hung neatly onto the window seat. And there were two more nonchalant fellows who went about their business(travel) without a fuss.

After a while, the situation dawned upon us. We looked at each other, eyes shouting-oh man! we could have been travelling in Rajdhani! It still wasn't sinking in. We had decided, we'll pay the fine if need be; else we'll reach Hyderabad in the morning and will buy tickets. But the train won't stop there for long. Manjari, earlier our lab-mate(now at hyd), had come to that Bangalore conference and wished we'll meet while passing Hyderabad. Your wish is granted lady, whether you really wished it or not. Dhir called her. "We have left for Delhi. Will reach Hyderabad by morning". "NO! I am not coming, Secunderabad is too far from here". "You have no choice. We aren't asking. We are telling you to come", said he as he narrated our mis-adventure. It was late night. We hadn't eaten much and were tired and sleepy. How could you sleep in a general compartment where you could barely sit. The night seemed like an eternity. In the morning, we called her yet again to confirm she's woken up and coming. "Kitne kameene dost hain, savere jaga ke poochhte hain, tu aa rahi hai ya nahin? Aa rahi hoon baba, aa rahi hoon!", she shouted on the phone," I am ready, just leaving for the station!". These words seemed so refreshing after the morbid night.

And yes, she was there on time-ready with two tickets, laughing uncontrollably at our condition. We could laugh too now. Happy that she came knowing how clumsy she can be. We are still thankful. "Raat kaise kaati?", she asked. "Bade maze mein. I had your book to read", I replied, showing the cover of 'Phantoms in the brain' which i had borrowed from her. She and Dhir strolled for sometime chatting. I was too tired to budge. I gave her money for the tickets which she directly refused. Only when I showed her that we had ample money, she took it. With happy faces, we bid adieu, "See you in feb, we're coming for a conference".

The rest of the trip was again too dull and all I did was try to read the book. Could not focus and the short attention span made my progress snail-like. It still kept me busy. Second law of thermodynamics increased Dhir's entropy so he couldn't sit quite for long and kept moving around. After Mathura, the journey became more painful as the anticipation reached its maximum but the speed of train reached its minimum with stoppages more frequent than a blueline bus. When finally we arrived at Delhi, we rushed to our homes to get as much sleep as we could. And the pattern(rushing home to sleep) carried on for a few days at least.

(Yes!!! Finally the marathon story is over... :) And I am as happy as you, the reader).

The Big Bang(alore) (mis)adventure-part2: The Desperate Dash

...(contd) We sprinted out of the station, in a flash through the maddening crowd of vehicles in the parking lot (our desperation made it appear all the more crowded), and onto the road in no time. We stopped an auto,"Yeswantpur?"."100 rupees",he said. It is uncanny how easily an auto driver discerns your urgency and decides the fare accordingly."50", I said, hoping he would agree on 60-70, but obviously we didn't have time at our luxury; not even for arguing on the ransom fare. He declared "80", fully knowing we had no choice. It took just a second for us to hop in. It was time for split second decisions. Anyways, we weren't going to travel to Yeswantpur daily. 'How long does it take to reach there?', we enquired. 30 min. "Drive faster, we have to make it in 10-15". As Einstein has rightly put it - "Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. THAT'S relativity". We were on the hot stove. The 15 minutes seemed like eternity. Looked like we were going in slow motion. It kinda irked me but I told myself to keep my cool. This will pass. Finally we arrived at Yeswantpur. The train was at the platform, ready to leave. There was no time for getting a ticket. We'll pay the fine if need be. Let's just board it. So we boarded the AC coach and dumped our luggage on an empty side berth...(2 be contd-yeah yet again)...

icecream

We walked towards the road, silently. "Ice cream?", she asked. I woke up from my thoughts,"Huh, in this winter?"; paused for a while she waited for approval. "okay fine, it will be fun", I finally said.

"cornetto", I told the eager ice-cream vendor(I don't really remember which ice cream I ordered). He fished into the box quickly and had a cone in his hand and quoted the money. It was awkward when I asked,"you have just one left?". He started smiling,"sab log to ek hi lete hain sir !". It was as funny as it was embarrassing  I was laughing uncontrollably inside. I somehow suppressed my laughter and waited for her to clarify than me saying something stupid. Realizing I wont say anything, she quickly controlled the scene,"give us two, we eat more". It almost had me in splits...but I thought it would be much better to just enjoy the ice-cream.

Khwab nahin aate !

Sochta hoon ajkal mujhe kyun khwab nahin aate?

bachpan ki manind kyun behisaab nahin aate?

kya sota nahin hoon main

ya ab kalpana hi ksheen hai?

ya fir pehle jaisi ab

aati nahin wo neend hai?

ichchaon ki kami hai ya

pane ki chaah hi prabal nahin?

sab kuchh to paya nahin hai fir

kyun chahton me bal nahin?

yatharth ki lakeer kya

gehri khichi hai mastak mein?

kyun tej nahin dikhta hai ab

chhote sapno ki dastak mein?

sapnon ki kshanbhangurta ki

kya tees ho uthi tez hai?

sapnon se chalti yeh duniya

kyun sapnon se parhez hai?

The Big Bang(alore) (mis)adventure

"What???", we exclaimed together. The coolie looked at us as if we either did not understand his language(common problem there) or dont want to believe him. It was the latter case. There we stood, flabbergasted. The news didnt sink in well. Infact it didnt sink in at all. How desperate we were to get to Delhi at the earliest possible time but now we stand here, dumbfounded.

Lets rewind the story two days ago. Our work at Bangalore was finished. We were very happy we will not have to suffer from its intolerable food (according to our taste that is). To our dismay, we couldn't leave as our e-ticket wasn't confirmed. So, we came back and reserved a tatkal ticket for RAJDHANI. We were disappointed that we will have to wait for two more days with nothing to do. And very bored we were.

Cut back to current situation. We were drenched in cold sweat. Our minds defied to think. The ugly Bangalore traffic held us long enough so our train could leave us behind. Dhir suggested we take an auto or something. I was trying to tell myself "All is well, all is well...", not believing a word of it. I was still in a shock. Dhir ran off to check the info at the inquiry counter. Now, i was beginning to soak in the news. I understood the train had left, and we cannot do anything about it. I told myself-keep it cool mate, think what to do now.

Dhir came back-yes the train has left. We should look for alternatives. We went to the platform, i took out my laptop, connected the data card and searched for alternatives on the internet. 'Oh no...there's no train until another day', i said. Dhir suggested-"Only option - Sampark Kranti from Yeswantpur station. Needs half an hour. Then he suggested we take a bus to Pune and look for options from there. We weren't going back at any cost. "Do we have that much money?", i asked. Probably yes. We counted. There was enough money to get us home but not as much to travel luxuriously. I wasn't too keen on traveling in a bus. We finally agreed on trying for "SAMPARK KRANTI" before we settle for the bus option. We were left with just half an hour. We packed up things in a jiffy and made a rush for Yeswantpur...(to be continued)