Longest journey in my life

Truly the title of the blog is not an exaggeration, its quite true. I left at six in the morning, boarded bus at 7 and reached the city at 8 then back in auto rickshaw and then to train which left at around 9:30. This was going to be quite an eye opener and an exhausting one. We started our journey with ease and like earlier times i had my friend with me. Here we were on our way to Roorkee, for those who think its somewhere in Orissa i must inform that its Rourkela and not roorkee. Roorkee is up there near Haridwar. So train was moving and it was almost 3 to 4 hours since we were moving and then we entered Rajasthan, well i must tell you this was one hot experience which we may never forget. The temperatures were soaring and we were seated near the windows so the sun coming directly over to us the air was hot as if breath of some grievous dragon and the cabin was a living hell as if we were put into some furnace. The only sign of relief were the fans, they were trying their level best to keep us cool but in front of the heat demon it wont stand a chance. We thought of pulling out our other weapons, the bottles of water but to our surprise they were empty. So now what? We waited for few minutes for some station to arrive so that someone might come to sell bottle of water and no one turned up, stations went one after another and no one came for selling bottle of water instead they sold TEA yes tea, we thought how in this whole world in middle of desert someone would have tea but our doubts were rest assured, their were people who were comfortable having a sip of tea in middle of desert with all that heat. Out of our inquisitiveness we stopped someone and asked why the hell we don't find a bottle of water and quite honestly he replied "you wont find it anywhere on the train sir". Stations passed and we were starting to get a bit dizzy and then i saw a person with two bottles of water in his hand and inquired only to find out that the bottles were available on the train itself, at some ten bogies distance. I rushed through the cramped spaces in the train to reach there and bought three bottles, back to the place and drank them ferociously. Relieved a bit but not completely, we moved ahead. Now we had atleast some means to stay alive, finally after few hours of torturous heat the sun began to set and the heat began to subside and due to our horrifying experience we had collected enough water of bottle to have a bath with. The train reached Delhi in the morning and we thought our pain was over as we had made it up til here, only 3 hours separated us from our destination. But we were again taken back by surprise, this time it was not due to nature but due to people. As soon as we left Delhi people started to flock our compartment, we thought it being a reserved compartment such a thing would never happen but when we saw our Travel Ticket Examiner being escorted by two police guards our illusion was shattered. Few police men entered the bogie and to anyone's guess they too were travelling with us. People can seat anywhere and you cant say anything to them, its just not possible for you to defer them. For first time in my travel i was feeling unsafe. But to god's grace somehow we made it through and reached our destination. Like Kanpur here too the mode of transportation is Cycle Rickshaw. So we boarded one to the campus and here we reached campus. Finally to room at 12:00 in the noon on other day. It was a 30 hours journey from my home to the campus. Literally the longest journey i had in my life.

A lesson in modes of transportation!

Lets go! Well this day i had wheels on my feet and quite literally. Got up at 5:30 in the morning (time stamp is important as you may see at the end), ready to leave at 6:15 and left the hostel at 6:30 moving towards gate, out of the gate and waiting for Auto Rickshaw, i boarded one and reached the air port at 7:30. Flight was at ten so waited for few hours. 9:30 and boarded the bus to go to flight. 10:00 here i was on flight already changed three modes of transportation. So back to city and in taxi going back to home in car. So fourth mode of transportation and time was 11:30 so in five hours 4 modes of transportation and 1000 km. Still the day hadn't ended, i went home and had to leave for one more place so here i move on my two wheeler and the time i reach their was 01:15 P.M in the noon. So quite literally on wheels. This was the fastest day i had and to my surprise i was not even a bit tired. But then i thought of life in this terms and i found that more than this the trip to kanpur had more twist and turns quite literally. Cause i had left in flight, moved to railway station in auto rickshaw, boarded a train and in kanpur i was sitting in a cycle rickshaw. So in these trips i have seen all modes of transportation and it has proved to be a lesson in modes of tranportation.

From flight to floor

Personally i can say that this was the incident which led me to create this blog. Finally we have reached Delhi and as with all IIT here too with great difficulty i found out the hostel i had to go. And here i enter the hostel like debonair only to know that my histrionics were of no use. People were waiting in queue for getting a room and the hostel warden was blunt enough to tell that their were not enough rooms and people will have to accommodate themselves in the common room and sleep their itself on the floor. Only privilege i enjoyed was that i had an Demand Draft, that day i understood the importance of a demand draft. I was asked to wait for half and hour but in half an hour the rooms got filled up and finally even though privileged i was asked to find a place for myself in common room. People cried out that they were their for admissions in MTECH and they should be given rooms but the warden would not budge. But to my surprise my friend had already got one room and the room was large enough to accommodate two. Only problem was i had to sleep on the floor. So from flight to floor in less than an hour, great change of fortune. But finally i got my sheet out, laid it properly on floor made my bag as pillow. It was not the most comfortable of the setting you would expect but it was all that you could have. So after getting settled in the room we rested for the noon and then in the later part of noon went for a stroll around the campus. Now as everyone knows its not the largest of the campus but still its fairly large and after seeing Kanpur and Mumbai the aw factor was slightly dying out. But still it has the tallest central building for an IIT. It is almost eight or seven floors high and has quite a contemporary look. So we went around for some time. From the experiences at Mumbai we had learnt that food was the most important part of the trip and it should not be ignored or missed at any cost if you want to have a comfortable trip. So we ate at various places from their Uth cafe to the juice centre. We tried everything that was possible. Other day we had written tests and due to that i got a chance to go around the academic sections. The academic section is really large and has vast corridors. So test was over and we moved back to hostels rested for some more hours and decided to go for a visit to the India Gate. We travelled by Blue Line bus. The bus itself epitomizes terror so it was terrifying to board it. But some how we managed to board it and went through the traffic ridden roads of Delhi. The government offices and the residences of government and military establishments are really good. We visited this place which is a sort symbol of Delhi. If you are talking of Delhi then you have India Gate or Parliament in the back drop. It creates a sense of patriotism in heart when we know that names of almost 13000 soldiers who had laid down their life for country has been inscribed on it. From their the view down the road is really breath taking. Its one of a kind atmosphere. The place attracts tourist because of its history, its importance in politics, its importance as the centre of power in country. Everything that happens to you and me is somewhere decided there. The aura of this place is completely different. You can see people from all the walk of life there from all castes and creeds. Its like this amalgamation point. So it was a really good experience and we returned to our hostel cause the next morning i had to return. The returning is quite a story.

Flight number 6E481

As evident from the name here we start the journey again in a flight to delhi, well by then travelling had almost become natural and i was becoming a seasoned traveller. Getting boarding pass, security check and all that stuff looked a mundane task. This time i boarded the flight with much more confidence as i had quite some experience now, so on flight their daily procedures started and here we go to Delhi. Like earlier times their was not much fun this time round, every thing went regularly. I got down easily and reached the campus easily. Nothing exhilarating.

Life tossed

Well me and my friends decided at about 3 in the noon that we are leaving whatever happens, and we have given the written test for energy sciences, i was quite confident of clearing it still i was not at all in a physical and mental state to prolong my stay at the campus. So we called up the travel agent and to our surprise we got tickets. So in an hour we leave the campus and reach the agents shop to find our booking confirmed. And as luck would have it, i receive a call from campus from one of my friend that i have cleared the test, actually me and my friend both cleared it. So here we stand on the road physically and on cross-road mentally. Should we go back? Should we give it a try? Is it worth it? This questions crossed the mind a million times. The feeling cannot be compared with anything else, in middle of road having a ticket to back home and thinking of turning back to campus for interview. I was never before in such condition, never ever before but nothing can be done. We consulted our parents our friends and put to test all our analytical and logical thinking but the confusion only multiplied. To increase the frustration the bus getting late, cell's battery was getting low and a feeling of guilt for missing and opportunity was rising. Had to find a solution to this cause this was getting over the nerves. Returning to campus was evidently becoming a possible solution. The darkness loomed over and the traffic zoomed about, here we stood with a fork stuck in the road. My friend pulled out his last resort, he said lets toss a coin if heads we head home, if tails we return. It was quite odd for me, i never decided my future on a toss but at that given moment it looked absolutely logical. Imagine this, in middle of road deciding about your future you toss a coin and decide according to me nothing can be as daring as this. He tossed it and i still do not know which force worked on that coin but it had heads. We were returning home, the regrets were dying out and the frustration easing, in mean time the bus came and we left for home. But i will never forget that moment the decision of a life time decided on a toss. At that moment in time my friend taught me a very important lesson, he said that the coin was just a means it is fair to both the chances. You can have heads or tails but whatever you have got you have to stand by it and live it positively to the fullest never hold regrets for decision once made. Regretting for decision does not help only increases your agony and wastes time, instead just accept it and go out all guns blazing in that direction you are sure to find success. This truth was just so hard hitting, i still find it really hair raising.