Indian Railways beckon you !!!

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Umm !!!! So, now I think apologising every time for the long seclusion should be understood by the frequent visitors of my blog. I got fed up with the curses of my friends who every day typed my blog URL in their Mozilla address bar but could not find any new stuff over there. The immediate step they used to take was to ping me up in g-talk and abuse me with the best use of the vocabulary that they possessed.

But friends, actually I was preoccupied with some other commitments. I had to give a presentation at IIT Kharagpur. I had to brand my dept T shirt here in my institute. I had to plan my strategy for the end – semester exams as I completely screwed my mid semester exams. And now you know nothing less than 100% in end sem is going to work. So, GOOD LUCK Ashesh ! Try out your best.

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Friends, this whole Kharagpur chapter has acquainted me with various true pictures of our Indian Railways. Although the hospitality the IIT guys showered on us was really must praise. They were there on the platform (the longest in the world) at 4 a.m with a taxi ready for us just to take us to their institute. No wildest guess could have predicted this. Hats off to their hospitality !!! But when I delete all what I experienced there in IIT I am remained with very deadly scenario of the Indian Railways.

It was 30^th evening around 10:30 PM , place- Rourkela railway station. I had a general class ticket from Rourkela to Kharagpur. The train Sambleshwari Express arrived and the Ticket collector got down. I walked to him and asked to upgrade my ticket to some other class but he refused saying there is no seat vacant in any class. Presuming him to be Bengali , I asked my Bengali friend to talk to him in Bengali for the same cause. You know some times regional propinquity solves the purpose. But this time it didn’t. He again refused. Now seeing no other option, I got up to the sleeper class with my three friends who had their seats reserved in that coach. And so the drama started, every time he walked past me he asked to get down to general class. But I realised his intention as he never insisted me firmly to get down. He just used to say and crawled to the next compartment without paying any heed to whether I really was shifting or not. One more thing, he ensured every time that the pitch of the voice he used must not cross a certain critical level, else I would have really shifted to general class and his sole purpose with me would have been done.

Clock turned to 12 mid night. It was now some place near Jamshedpur. The coach was silent as hardly someone was not sleeping and this Bengali ticket collector was standing near the wash basin probably chewing ‘khaini’. This time I myself went to him and asked to upgrade the ticket. And for the first time he agreed but had he upgraded it then and there only again his purpose with me would have been done. So, he asked me to sit at my friend’s berth and he was coming. Again for one more time he walked past me and did not say anything about my ticket. I got up from my seat and followed him and finally caught him two coaches ahead to mine (I mean where I was sitting). Again I showed him my ticket and asked to upgrade but the generous reply was again to sit at my berth and he was coming.

Actually there was a big purpose behind this generosity. And I had already sensed that in the beginning. He could have easily penalised me with the fine as he had already warned me not to board the sleeper class before hand at the Rourkela station itself. But he didn’t. It was now around 2:30 a.m. Jamshedpur was gone. The train had entered Bengal. And some RPF men came to us. They asked us not to gather at a place and instructed us to go to our respective berths. And yes they meant it because they stood there to see whether we were really moving or not. For me the case was different, I had no place to move to. I didn’t have a berth. In fact, I didn’t have a sleeper class ticket even. For god sake , they saw my other three friends moving to their berths so they assumed I too have one and they walked away. Now Kharagpur was hardly half an hour away and this Ticket collector once again appeared. He asked me to accommodate with my friends somewhere. Now, I had no intention to ask him for my ticket upgradation as I was almost to Kharagpur. But this Ticket collector was waiting for this moment only. What he asked me you know..let me quote it in Hindi :

खड़गपुर जाओगे ना, तो आराम से जाओ कोई बर्थ देखो खाली है तो सो जाओ । वरना अगर नीचे बैठोगे तो आर0 पी0 एफ़ वाले आकर के पंगा करेंगे , कोई दिक्कत से नहीं जाये यही हम लोगो का कर्त्तव्य है देखो स्टुडेंट लोग हो देश का फ्यूचर है तुम्हारे ऊपर एकदम मजे चैन से जाओ और हाँ जो खड़गपुर का बनता है दे दो.!!!

Yes he asked me for enticement. This was the sole motive for which he didn’t penalise me. That is why he didn’t upgrade my ticket near the wash basin. That is why he was getting so generous that he even arranged a berth for me. This was the purpose for which he did not use a high pitch voice. He was actually waiting for people in the compartment to sleep.

And seeing a beneficial deal, I gave him Rs.120 after a lot of silent bargaining. Had I upgraded my ticket with a proper receipt, It would have cost me Rs. 370. So, It was good for me and for the T.C too as in the prior case he couldn’t have got a single buck in his pocket.

And so this way I finally reached Kharagpur with a general class ticket + Rs. 120 in a sleeper class.

So, this is how India progresses !!!! I’m not sarcastic, when I say , I really mean it.

It was an example of the state from where our honourable Union Railway Minister hails from. I don’t say these T.Cs don’t ask for enticements in other regions, the situation is similar everywhere in our country. The unfortunate part is that, one finds no solution of it. No one will pay Rs.370 if his/her purpose is solved with Rs. 120. Who cares for legal or illegal if monetary benefit comes into play. No one !!! I’m sure.

The return journey was a little more hellish. There are in fact trains which restrict the passengers from travelling a distance lesser than 300 kms in them and unfortunately the Kharagpur – Rourkela distance is exactly 299 kms. This 1 km had troubled me a lot while returning.

It’s too late tonight. I’ll blog it some other day. I also have my Mechanics of Solids lab grand viva tomorrow so , I have to go through it at least once.

Else I’ll be screwed in sessionals also.

Buddies, this post is just to make you THINK ABOUT OUR NATION AND SUGGEST SOME DYNAMIC WAYS TO ERADICATE THIS TYPE OF CORRUPTION !!!!!

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