Train Diaries: The Strict TTE

Prologue:

I packed my things: A suitcase full of clothes sufficient for a week, some gifts to mum and papa and a backpack consisting of my newly purchased Dell laptop (obviously to show at home) .I also had a one liter water bottle tucked in the left side pocket of the bag and a James Hadley Chase novel on the right.
I was going home after almost 8 months, upon my return from a recent 4-month trip to London, as part of an onsite assignment.

 I reached the Hoodi bus stop from my room ( there is no bus stop as such, people gather infront of the oak tree beside the Hoodi chaurastha (four road interconnection), making the bus “stop”.

 I boarded a half -filled BMTC bus coming from Tin factory side towards Kadugodi and after 20 minutes got down in Whitefield bus station.  The overbridge from the Whitefield bus stop to Kadugodi  ( To make things clear: There are railway gates after the bus stop which when crossed lead to Kadugodi) was still under construction.

The gates were closed and a Goods Rail was parked on the tracks. There were around 25 bogies sprawling across the gates right from the railway platform. I looked at my watch. It was 1:15 PM. I had to get to the station by at least 1:45 so that I could catch the train by 1:55 PM. I couldn’t wait for the train to move and decided to follow the others suit. I crossed the gate from the below and climbed up the rail coupling and jumped to the other side, landing safely. I followed the tracks to the right until I reached Platform 1 of the Whitefield station.

*******************************************************************************

I was waiting for the train to arrive at the Whitefield station, Bangalore. It was a sunny Friday afternoon and I was going hometown on the occasion of Dusherra. The station was swarming with people. Passengers were pouring in and out of the station, some crossing the railway tracks to get into the other platform, while others wading their way towards the platform where I was waiting. The station did not have a proper entrance at that time and people had to walk along the rail tracks to get into the platform from the main road.

I had my usual luggage: a suitcase, a backpack and a bottle of drinking water. I noticed an empty bench under the station roof, and proceeded from my under-the-tree seat towards

it. I put my suitcase below the bench and sat putting the backpack beside me. I opened the water bottle and had a gulp.

An elderly woman came near the seat after a while. I removed the backpack and thrust it above the suitcase, below the bench. She sat beside me.
“Thank you, son” she said, “Where are you heading to”
“Rajahmundry” I said, “By Seshadri Express”
“I am going to Kakinada, by Prasanti express” she said. I looked at the time; it was 1:30 PM.
“But Nanamma, ‘Prasanti’ does not have halt at Whitefield! I exclaimed, “The nearest halt is KR Puram!”

 "Oh is it?!" She said in surprise, "I didn't know. I stay in Kadugodi, I thought the train would stop here. How could I.. never been to Kakinada..: she fumbled with her words.

"I will arrange something, don't worry Nanamma" I said. "Please be calm"

I looked at my watch. It was 1:35 PM. "Please look at my luggage, I will be back in a while"

I rushed out of the station crossing the tracks carefully with my eyes wide open to avoid unpleasant situation by stamping on the human excreta fell on the R.C.C sleepers of the railway tracks and also glancing at my watch from time to time. Finally I was able to spot an auto driver dozing in the back seat 0f his vehicle  rickshaw. I woke him up  and bargained with hm. Half reluctantly,  he agreed for Rs 120, the fastest bargain ever, to drop at K.R. Puram Railway station. I returned back to the station with the driver with me, so that he could pick 'Nanamma's' luggage.

'Nanamma, I have arranged his auto to take you K.R. Puram, he will drop you at the station in time but you have to pay him 120 Rs. The old woman exclaimed, “ 120 rupees ! with that money I can buy 6 kilos of rice! I gave my daughter a 120 rupees  gold necklace when I gave her to that Maluru fellow. How that useless man has beaten her for that necklace, worthless fellow. You( addressing to her husband)  left me making me to do all things for your daughter. I too wanted to die with you. God , why didn’t you take me to you? (here she blew her nose into her cotton saree pallu ). ” I said, “Hurry  up. You will miss the train.  Nanamma”.   The auto Driver probably migrant from Tumkuru or from Kotturu  of  Bellary district  looking at me  with a what- type of -nonsense -look already picked her old  20^th century trunk box with two rusted locks of the same era and 2 cloth bundles throwing a menacing look at them.

"May God bless you" she mumbled, as she left the station.

I heard a long horn at 1:58 PM, as people started rushing to the edge of the platform. I fought my way to Sleeper Coach 6 and managed to get inside. The train was a bit overcrowded, obviously due to festive occasion. I found my berth and settled down, putting my luggage below the berth.

The train sped forward within 3 minutes, and soon left the station behind and made its way to a single track route with paddy fields glimmering on both the sides. The train honked its horn.

Soon chai wallas,   samosa vendors, boiled groundnut sellers 'Masala-Muri'  wallas filled the coach, screaming at the top of their voices. Amidst the chaos, I still was enjoying the journey glancing at the fast changing scenery outside the window.

                                                                                               To be continued.

Train Diaries

In the next few posts, I will be writing some adventures (or say misadventures!) during my train journeys. These accounts are partly real and fictional to enhance narration.
Train journey's in India especially in sleeper coaches (I will discuss later on the type or "levels" of coaches later) are unique and diverse. They are difficult, yet enjoyable and will leave you with some or the other memories with each trip. I have tried to capture some of these moments and hope you enjoy them.

Of Truth- By Francis Bacon

I would like to post an interesting essay by Francis Bacon with due credits to Project Gutenberg, source.


                                                                   Of Truth

WHAT is truth? said jesting Pilate, and would not stay for an answer. Certainly there be, that delight in giddiness, and count it a bondage to fix a belief; affecting free-will in thinking, as well as in acting. And though the sects of philosophers of that kind be gone, yet there remain certain discoursing wits, which are of the same veins, though there be not so much blood in them, as was in those of the ancients. But it is not only the difficulty and labor, which men take in finding out of truth, nor again, that when it is found, it imposeth upon men's thoughts, that doth bring lies in favor; but a natural, though corrupt love, of the lie itself. One of the later school of the Grecians, examineth the matter, and is at a stand, to think what should be in it, that men should love lies; where neither they make for pleasure, as with poets, nor for advantage, as with the merchant; but for the lie's sake. But I cannot tell; this same truth, is a naked, and open day-light, that doth not show the masks, and mummeries, and triumphs, of the world, half so stately and daintily as candle-lights. Truth may perhaps come to the price of a pearl, that showeth best by day; but it will not rise to the price of a diamond, or carbuncle, that showeth best in varied lights. A mixture of a lie doth ever add pleasure. Doth any man doubt, that if there were taken out of men's minds, vain opinions, flattering hopes, false valuations, imaginations as one would, and the like, but it would leave the minds, of a number of men, poor shrunken things, full of melancholy and indisposition, and unpleasing to themselves?

One of the fathers, in great severity, called poesy vinum daemonum, because it fireth the imagination; and yet, it is but with the shadow of a lie. But it is not the lie that passeth through the mind, but the lie that sinketh in, and settleth in it, that doth the hurt; such as we spake of before. But howsoever these things are thus in men's depraved judgments, and affections, yet truth, which only doth judge itself, teacheth that the inquiry of truth, which is the love-making, or wooing of it, the knowledge of truth, which is the presence of it, and the belief of truth, which is the enjoying of it, is the sovereign good of human nature. The first creature of God, in the works of the days, was the light of the sense; the last, was the light of reason; and his sabbath work ever since, is the illumination of his Spirit. First he breathed light, upon the face of the matter or chaos; then he breathed light, into the face of man; and still he breatheth and inspireth light, into the face of his chosen. The poet, that beautified the sect, that was otherwise inferior to the rest, saith yet excellently well: It is a pleasure, to stand upon the shore, and to see ships tossed upon the sea; a pleasure, to stand in the window of a castle, and to see a battle, and the adventures thereof below: but no pleasure is comparable to the standing upon the vantage ground of truth (a hill not to be commanded, and where the air is always clear and serene), and to see the errors, and wanderings, and mists, and tempests, in the vale below; so always that this prospect be with pity, and not with swelling, or pride. Certainly, it is heaven upon earth, to have a man's mind move in charity, rest in providence, and turn upon the poles of truth.

To pass from theological, and philosophical truth, to the truth of civil business; it will be acknowledged, even by those that practise it not, that clear, and round dealing, is the honor of man's nature; and that mixture of falsehoods, is like alloy in coin of gold and silver, which may make the metal work the better, but it embaseth it. For these winding, and crooked courses, are the goings of the serpent; which goeth basely upon the belly, and not upon the feet. There is no vice, that doth so cover a man with shame, as to be found false and perfidious. And therefore Montaigne saith prettily, when he inquired the reason, why the word of the lie should be such a disgrace, and such an odious charge? Saith he, If it be well weighed, to say that a man lieth, is as much to say, as that he is brave towards God, and a coward towards men. For a lie faces God, and shrinks from man. Surely the wickedness of falsehood, and breach of faith, cannot possibly be so highly expressed, as in that it shall be the last peal, to call the judgments of God upon the generations of men; it being foretold, that when Christ cometh, he shall not find faith upon the earth.

How to Display a Message on Clicking a Cell in Excel

Suppose you wish to display a message, on clicking an EXCEL cell, that would display an eloborate description of the data in the cell, it can be done by following the below steps. In the below example I have name of  a country in a cell and would like to display a description to the user when he/she clicks on the cell. In this case I have chosen "INDIA" as the country name.

1. Click on DATA on the Main Menu.

2. Click on the desired cell and then click on the data Validation button under DATA.

3. Click on "Data Validation" in the drop down. 

4. Select Input Message in the Data Validation window and enter the desired message in the Input Message field and click on OK.

5. Click on the cell and you would get the message displayed.

Removing Grid Lines in EXCEL

Say you have created a table in EXCEL and wish to present only the table to the user, without the annoying lines in excel, just follow the below steps:

1.Click on "View" in the Menu.

2. Under View, uncheck the GridLines Check Box.

The Grid Lines would disappear. To enable check the box again. Thats it!!

Another Brick in the Wall:Lyrics

We don't need no education
We don't need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teachers leave them kids alone
Hey! teachers! leave the kids alone!
All in all you're just another brick in the wall.
All in all you're just another brick in the wall.
We don't need no education
We don't need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teachers leave them kids alone
Hey! teacher! leave us kids alone!
All in all you're just a another brick in the wall.
All in all you're just a another brick in the wall.

"Wrong, do it again!"
"Wrong, do it again!"
"If you don't eat yer meat, you can't have any pudding. how can you
Have any pudding if you don't eat yer meat?"
"you! yes, you behind the bikesheds, stand still laddy!"