I love travelling. I mean who doesn’t? Generally speaking, it is one of the basic desires people have. Not considering people who prefer bed to bus, I have come across many who are somewhat interested in travelling; ranging from ecstatic to happy sorts. So, to fulfil this desire to travel, we have a group in my office that makes sure there is a trip made at least once a year. Keeping this thought in mind, and following it up by my history of cancellation of trips, this is a figment of imagination nurtured by my subconscious mind.
Our usual group of travellers consist of Biju Di, Annie Di, Ruhi Di, Sangeeta, Sumo (from my past dreams), Ronita Mondal a.k.a Roni Di (new character) and me. Successfully completing our short trips in West Bengal, we decided it was high time to venture out of Bengal and head northwards. So, here we were, all set to go to Kashmir, heaven on earth. As I have never been to mountains that much, except for a trip when I was possibly 7 or 8 years, I recall no great experience of enjoying snow or the beauty around mountains. Clearly this was the dream trip I was looking forward to. The pristine beauty of mountains and the serenity of Dal Lake were beckoning not only me, but all of us. So, the journey date arrived and we started with rain. Yes, somehow we decided to visit Kashmir during the monsoons. God knows why we chose this season, but it seemed a unanimous decision. Now, from the start itself, each one of us had different experiences while we were trying to reach the station to catch the train. The struggle began with me and Sumo; as we couldn’t get a taxi to go to Howrah Station, (main station of Kolkata) due to the rains and eventually with all our luggage had to get on a rickshaw (Surprising, indeed). Complimenting our struggle, Annie Di and Roni Di were stuck somewhere in water-logged Kolkata inside a taxi trying to make their way to the station as well. Sangeeta on the other hand, was not even able to get out of her house as it was heavily pouring on her side of the city. The only people to happily reach the station and board the train were Biju Di and Ruhi Di. I don’t know how, but combating this trying situation, somehow we all managed to reach the station just on time to get the train. Phew! At least, we started. That’s what all was on each and everyone’s mind. We were having a nice journey, till we reached some station in UP (don’t know the route to Kashmir, so carved my own. Guess that’s okay in a dream). This station gave us a decent time to get down from the train and buy some food, which might be required for the journey beyond. Sporting as usual, Ruhi Di and I came down from the train to buy some food. Ruhi Di is known for her taste buds and she can’t compromise on the food stuff that goes into her mouth. So, regardless of my selection of some cakes and fruits that we can take with us, she saw some delicious smelling, hot curry being prepared inside the platform premises and insisted on buying that. Preparing curry for 7 people will take time. So, I suggested her that the train might leave while the man prepared this dish for all of us. Instead, we can take some dry food with us and get on the train. No matter how much I coaxed and cajoled her, she was stubborn on having that food and instructed the man at the counter to prepare it as quickly as possible. The train started whistling... I urged Ruhi Di to forget about the food and get on the train… She urged the curry seller to prepare the stuff faster. In this commotion and incessant shouting on part of all of us, the train left. Unfortunately, neither Ruhi Di nor I are gifted with Kareena Kapoor’s body, so none of us could transform into Geet of Jab We Met and run after the train shouting, “Koi chain to khicho!” Taking cue from the movie itself, we talked to the station master to know the next station is Benaras and we have to catch the train from there. Out we go, off the station, hire a car and similar to the movie, almost chase the train and fly our way to the Holy City. In the meanwhile, all our co-passengers were tensed as to what they should do. How are they going to contact us as both of us have left our phones inside the train (completely impossible for Rudi Di as well as me in reality)? Yet, with no channels of communication established between us, they were utterly confused as to what they would be doing. Should they leave the luggage at the next station and carry on with their journey or should they cancel the trip? What they would tell our family members if someone called in this time? On the other hand, we were rushing our way to reach Benaras. We did reach the station, only to find the train moving out of the platform. Disgusted and upset, we were just looking at each other’s faces wondering what to do; when we saw our entire group standing in the platform with all our belongings and mixed reactions. Some had anger, some amused; but all were relieved to see us. J Thus, ended our dreamy trip to Kashmir as the land of heaven remained unvisited for all of us. I woke up with a sadness that even in my dreams I couldn’t reach Kashmir and God knows will I ever reach it or not. But, the end with all my friends waiting for us and not going on with the trip was a happy reassurance that there are some things in life best expressed in crisis. |
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