The longest train journey ever

Turns out the NE Monsoon had decided to turn it really on over TN & Karnataka at about the exact time I was scheduled to take the train home (28th Oct). As if that was not enough, there was a cyclone warning for AP & Orissa on the 29th. No prizes for guessing the route my train was taking .... Karnataka, TN, AP, Orissa & Jhakhand. The 'ol home state must surely have felt left out.

Anyway, with a prayer in the heart, Sid n me reached YPR. Accompanying us home on the same train would be Sweta, Prateek & Ajay & almost half the techies from Orissa & Jharkhand working in Bangalore. On day 1 itself the train was late by about 14-16 hours. It takes about 2 hours to reach Jolarpettai from Bangalore. It took us 12.5! To make things worse, I was booked on 2nd class sleeper ... a fact I rued for most of the journey. Proliferation of cell phones notwithstanding, the general public in India will still take some time to reach the levels of common & civic sense identified with civility.

One thing I discovered during this journey was that sitting on the footboard all by yourself can be great time pass. The chaos & chatter prevalent inside the cubicles gets magically cut off & it's only you & the countryside rushing by. Undulating fields of green stretching out till the hills, with the occasional stream scything through & disappearing under a small bridge as the train passes over it. Stations called 'Ringali' or 'Lapanga' through which your 'Express' rushes by .... destined only to serve as siding-providers to the Railways & the only visible signs of infrastructure to the settlements they cater to.
India is a vast, huge expanse of land & even though it has the 2nd highest population globally, the countryside can be totally bereft of all signs of humanity (except the train you are on), for long stretches of time. It's a humbling experience.

Rourkela, & it was time for a break journey. Sid & me had the pleasure of visiting the Apsara Bar, right next to the railway station. After 2 straight days of continuous train travel, the secluded location (the 2 of us were the only customers in a place meant for at least 50); the cool comfort of the fan & the TV (running MTV) provided welcome relief. We had all of 2.5 hours to kill before our connector to JSR came in.

Finally stepped into home at 10 p.m. on Sunday, the 30th .... a delay of about 24 hours. A full day of my leave gone to the dogs.