The day I stopped Delhi Metro in its tracks, literally.
The first time I visited Delhi was when I came to attend the counselling of Delhi College of Engineering, all the way from Hyderabad. While I was 18 by then, I had little experience of out of state travel.
As luck would have it, I didn't get the branch I wanted. My reporting date for ISM Dhanbad was the next day and I had a waiting list ticket for an afternoon train which I now had to rush to catch. And I had all my (soon-to-be) hostel luggage to carry with me.
And this is where it all started.
This is what I meant by last compartment. And you can imagine where my dad wanted to check if the Metro had a driver.
Afterword 1 - I finally did reach the station and my train has just started to move. It took all my skills to get on board after throwing my heavy luggage inside first. I still remember my father's face when I managed to wave him a goodbye - a mixture of happiness,relief and confusion.He left the same day by a later train to Hyderabad.
Afterword 2 - It turned out all this was ultimately for nothing. I skipped ISM Dhanbad too and finally joined IIIT Allahabad.
Thank you Delhi, for the unforgettable experience.
The first time I visited Delhi was when I came to attend the counselling of Delhi College of Engineering, all the way from Hyderabad. While I was 18 by then, I had little experience of out of state travel.
As luck would have it, I didn't get the branch I wanted. My reporting date for ISM Dhanbad was the next day and I had a waiting list ticket for an afternoon train which I now had to rush to catch. And I had all my (soon-to-be) hostel luggage to carry with me.
And this is where it all started.
- My dad and I reached the Rithala metro station. While I was already amazed by the Delhi Metro, I loved it even more when the digital board said the next metro train was in 2 minutes.
- We got into the train in the last compartment. But my dad,out of nowhere/curiosity, suddenly decided to step out to check if the metro train was automated or had a driver. And the door of the metro closed shut while he was on the platform.
- Now I didn't have a phone with me back then. And by the time I overcame my panic to ask a fellow passenger for his phone, the next station had arrived. I decided to get down with my luggage as I was sure my dad would be on the next train.
- The next train arrived and when I couldn't see my father getting down from it, I again started to panic.The metro stoppage time is very less, so I had to make some quick decisions. I finally got onto the train as I was still sure my dad was on it and decided to call him with somebody's help.
- Fortunately I was right and after calling my father with a passenger's help,we agreed to get down at the next station(he was in an other compartment on the same train). I was mighty relieved when I saw him again. And there was still enough time to catch my train to Dhanbad. But just when things seemed to be getting back on track, it all went wrong again.
- Turns out my dad had left his briefcase before stepping out of the train at Rithala. And while I carefully and painfully managed to carry all my luggage, this one I forgot. It has a lot of cash in it, so we immediately lodged a complaint with my Dhanbad train still playing on the back of our mind.
- Unbelievably , we were immediately told that a briefcase that matched our description was with the metro authorities two stations ahead of where we currently were.Still not believing our luck, we rushed to retrieve it. But what the authorities told us when we claimed the briefcase,that we could not have seen it coming.
- Our forgotten briefcase was apparently reported as unidentified luggage by an alert passenger and the authorities assumed the worst, that it contained explosive material. I was further horrified when they told us that they had to stop the train from moving further and evacuated all the passengers to do a complete check.
- Thankfully, the police and the authorities soon realised that the briefcase was harmless and after taking out story into account , and after some verification about the briefcase's ownership, it was returned back to us. This process happened very quickly than it should have because I told the friendly police officer about the train I still had to catch.
Afterword 1 - I finally did reach the station and my train has just started to move. It took all my skills to get on board after throwing my heavy luggage inside first. I still remember my father's face when I managed to wave him a goodbye - a mixture of happiness,relief and confusion.He left the same day by a later train to Hyderabad.
Afterword 2 - It turned out all this was ultimately for nothing. I skipped ISM Dhanbad too and finally joined IIIT Allahabad.
Thank you Delhi, for the unforgettable experience.
I visited Delhi (although for a very short duration of time, as we moved on to Manali from there, and were just in Delhi for a short time) during the summer of 2008.
6th April, 2008 - to be precise. :) 10th board exams had just ended, school as we knew it, had closed, and before we jumped into junior college, a group of us school friends decided to go on a trekking expedition to Manali.
My parents had cautioned me plenty of times regarding how big cities work, and I was excited to experience travelling without parents' supervision. To them, my traditional rote reply would be, "The ark was built by amateurs, but professionals built the Titanic".
Typical adolescent behaviour, and I was no different back then.
So, these are the experiences / mistakes the 16 year old me (and some of my companions) did, but thankfully, they didn't have any repercussions.
Overall, I have been to Delhi a couple of times more after that. But as they say, first experiences are always special and last forever. And thereby hangs a tale. :)
6th April, 2008 - to be precise. :) 10th board exams had just ended, school as we knew it, had closed, and before we jumped into junior college, a group of us school friends decided to go on a trekking expedition to Manali.
My parents had cautioned me plenty of times regarding how big cities work, and I was excited to experience travelling without parents' supervision. To them, my traditional rote reply would be, "The ark was built by amateurs, but professionals built the Titanic".
Typical adolescent behaviour, and I was no different back then.
So, these are the experiences / mistakes the 16 year old me (and some of my companions) did, but thankfully, they didn't have any repercussions.
- A minor setback at the start. I forgot to pack my undergarments. When I went to buy some in the market near the Railway Station, when I asked the shop owner which are the best, he said, "Sir, didn't you look out of the windows while the train was arriving on the platform? The walls are painted with 'Dil Khush' undergarments' slogans. My two kids have spray painted some of the slogans themselves." :) - a new marketing technique learnt.
- While going from the hotel to the bus station, where our bus to Manali was waiting, there were more than a couple of dozens of us, with some girls. So we booked some autos to carry people and a cycle rickshaw to carry our luggage. Many of us dumped our luggage in the rickshaw and then sat in the auto. When we reached the bus station, the rickshaw was nowhere to be found.
Now, picture this. A group of 16 year olds, out of their hometowns without continuous adult supervision for the first time, lost their baggage with all the money and travel documents. It was a very scary moment. Some of us went back to the narrow lanes of Delhi, searching frantically for the rickshaw, praying that we find the needle in the haystack.
Thankfully, when I reached the hotel from where we hired the rickshaw, the old man was waiting there, with a smile on his face, and he said, "Beta, khud to aap sab auto mein nikal gaye, aur buddhe ko kahaan pohochna hai ye bhi nahi bataya. To main yahaan wapas aa gaya aur tum mein se koi ek aaye, iska hi intezaar kar raha thha." (Son, you all left in an auto, and didn't even tell the old man where to reach. So I came back here, and was waiting for one of you to appear.)
FAITH IN HUMANITY - Restored. :) - On our way back from Manali to home, again we were in Delhi for a day. So we went to the famous Palika Bazaar. Here the amount of money you spend, depends entirely on your negotiation skills. One of us was from a very affluent family, so he bought some accessories at the first exorbitant price that the shop owner quoted. He was showing off his recently acquired goods, when the 'expert bargainer' of our group told him that he bought the same accessories from the same shop, at 100 INR, while he paid more than ten times the same amount for the same goods.
Talk about Chutzpah. :D
Overall, I have been to Delhi a couple of times more after that. But as they say, first experiences are always special and last forever. And thereby hangs a tale. :)
Since childhood, there have been 3 cities I have wanted to visit - New York City, aamchi Mumbai and New Delhi. I have a very peculiar calling to visit these three places. This feeling is especially stronger for NYC and Delhi.
Surprisingly, my first visit to Delhi was in 2012, when I was 19 years old. As our train entered the station, I couldn't contain my happiness. I was finally in Delhi. The fast moving traffic, the really, really broad roads, the topsy-turvy flyovers, clean roads (mostly), a lot of people - it was so much fun. I reached in the morning only to find out that my score in AIPMT Mains was lesser than the cut off. So obviously the first trip to Delhi isn't very memorable.
However, my recent visit (I think the third) to Delhi in August 2014 was really good. My sister and brother in law went to their work and I used to roam about alone in Delhi. I went to Sarojini Nagar, Bangla Saheb Gurudwara and Hauz Khas all on my own. I met some amazing people in the metros and chatted with them for the entire travel time. I have had ice paan in Connaught Place, pizza from New York in Hauz Khas village, at least 5 saucy wraps from McD, for the first time in my life I visited Starbucks, kaala khatta and kulfis almost every time I went some place.
The fact that I was travelling alone in this city made me feel independent. Even though I am fond of a slow paced lifestyle, I really hope that I make it to the top universities of Delhi next year. I wish to live there for a while.
That is what Delhi has done to me; it makes me want to live there. This is what the interesting part is, if you didn't realise.
Surprisingly, my first visit to Delhi was in 2012, when I was 19 years old. As our train entered the station, I couldn't contain my happiness. I was finally in Delhi. The fast moving traffic, the really, really broad roads, the topsy-turvy flyovers, clean roads (mostly), a lot of people - it was so much fun. I reached in the morning only to find out that my score in AIPMT Mains was lesser than the cut off. So obviously the first trip to Delhi isn't very memorable.
However, my recent visit (I think the third) to Delhi in August 2014 was really good. My sister and brother in law went to their work and I used to roam about alone in Delhi. I went to Sarojini Nagar, Bangla Saheb Gurudwara and Hauz Khas all on my own. I met some amazing people in the metros and chatted with them for the entire travel time. I have had ice paan in Connaught Place, pizza from New York in Hauz Khas village, at least 5 saucy wraps from McD, for the first time in my life I visited Starbucks, kaala khatta and kulfis almost every time I went some place.
The fact that I was travelling alone in this city made me feel independent. Even though I am fond of a slow paced lifestyle, I really hope that I make it to the top universities of Delhi next year. I wish to live there for a while.
That is what Delhi has done to me; it makes me want to live there. This is what the interesting part is, if you didn't realise.
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