My Train Journey Without a Ticket!

A few years ago, a maiden train journey to my granny’s place alone brought out some extremely unforgettable moments to cherish forever. And after a few train journeys later, I finally had that exciting encounter which boring people like me anticipate every mortal day. As they say, I don’t go looking for adventures, adventures come looking for me!

Due to the unsurprising status of my unemployment since the last few months, I was having a pretty lengthy holiday session for the first time in my life. I still am! And so I had the audacity of deciding to give my granny a visit. Hence, started my last minute imperative works for another solitary journey. Since my invocation to visit granny sprouted out only a day earlier, I had to hatch out the train ticket the evening before. And due to my habitual insincerity and the age-old printer in my room, I wasn't able to get a print out of my e-ticket. Worse so, my laziness convinced me not to go out of my room to get the print out. And since a pdf format of the e-ticket is accepted as a legal ticket by the TTE, I wasn't much tensed. 

The morning arrived. Due to the onset of winter, waking up early in the morning had become a tough task. After the casual preparations, I booked an Uber and took off for the famous Guwahati Railway Station. Once inside the station, life changes drastically. When you near the railway tracks, a hideous amount of stench sucks away all the happiness from within you. Within a fraction of second, euphoria becomes just an 8 letter word. Such is the power of the extremely gruesome odour! Drawbacks aside, there are even many perks of travelling alone. But my luck in this entire department has been running low even before the world came to know about the 50 shades of grey or green or whatever colour. And with such sensational fate, my seat welcomed me, which was sandwiched between two elderly male passengers! Taking a deep gulp of breath, I readied myself for the journey in the company of two disinterested co-passengers who were already in a state of deep sleep. As my self-instigated mind was beginning to wander off to random thoughts, I saw the TTE enter our coach from a distance. I took out my cell-phone and began to ready the pdf file within it and my identity proofs. To my horror, the cell-phone wasn't getting unlocked and the screen remained black and blank. My already damaged power-button failed to impress me and thanks to the non-removable battery inside my cell-phone, the matter shifted from bad to worse. I slowly started to panic. The more intense prayers I started to recite inside my mind, the more quickly the sullen TTE was approaching towards my seat! Worse so, there was even an angry commotion between him and a few passengers ahead of me, probably with some identity proof issues. The guessing games in my mind weren’t helping matters. I opened the back cover of my cell-phone and began to re-insert my sim card in the hope that the screen flashes back on. All efforts were in vain. The cellular matter inside my body were so much in consternation that I dropped my cellphone on the floor. And exactly in that very moment, the TTE arrived at my seat, glaring towards me with his enormous moushtache. I picked up my phone like a retarded thief and started mentally preparing myself to be thrown off the train. I even started to surrender all the sense of pride disregard of any female passengers in the coach. I started thanking God for the beautiful life he had provided. I also thanked God for the fascinating and lovely family I had the dignity of spending my life with until that scandalous moment. I almost had my mom's smiling face in my head when the TTE uttered to me,

“OK, tell me what is your seat number?”

I didn't exactly know what to respond at that time. I looked at him like a crimp. He stared at me with a placid expression. The two persons besides me who had awoken by now, looked at me with an even woeful interpretation. They were probably preparing to use some sort of sign language to me when I muttered, 

“34” like a grown up impede.

The TTE appeared ticking off something in the list which he was carrying and went ahead to the next seat.

And with that shortest possible conversation initiated by a TTE, the most unpredictable of climaxes awaited me. Oh boy, what a miracle! I was saved from the moment! 

Was it a dream? Was it an imagination? Was it a possible trick? Maybe.

Or was he an angel? Hell no!

I was so relieved and excited that if the TTE was a female, I would have kissed her rightaway!

Neither was the TTE a girl nor did I have the guts to do something as crazy as a lip action in a train! But the turn of events made me so happy that I swelled myself in pride. I felt like a useless VIP, who travels countless places without being frisked for his booking proofs. I think I have a face of an innocent kid, which completely manipulated the mind of the TTE. I wanted to shout my heart out. I still haven’t figured out the exact reason why I was so happy. But you can imagine it. My eyes sparkled with a new lease of hope for the entire Railway department. I had even forgave the Railways for their filthy tracks. Almost! As soon as I reached my destination, I jumped out of the train with a tinge of extra excitement. When I reached my granny’s place, I was welcomed with an even more shocking manner. During my entire journey, in between the hullabaloo of my mind,  I almost forgot that my cellphone was dead. Now, imagine the type of fury and animosity displayed by my mom through a simple voice call in front of my granny. Even granny couldn't save me from getting those fearful castigates from the other side of the phone while I lay down on the sofa like a pig. And until next time, when I am hopeful of a much more ravishing encounter to put down on my blog, respect everyone, be happy and happy reading!

Jai Hind!