The Ordeal

Durga Puja....the most important festival for a Bengali! No matter in which corner of the world you are...if you are a Bengali, you would definitely yearn to come back to Kolkata during this time of the year! The decked up streets bustling with people equally decked up...in tune with the festive feel....children walking enthusiastically ignoring their shoe bites....the music on every corner of the road...food stalls...rides and yess the pandals! All of a sudden the city seems so lively...

I have never missed a Puja in Kolkata since the last 10 years of the life. Specially in the last two years....I skipped classes, did all I could do to prepone or postpone tests....stood in the line for tatkal tickets...travelled in sleeper class with a RAC ticket during the hot and humid month of October....everything seemed worth those 4-5days of joy!

This time it was a complete disaster though. I had booked my tickets well in advance. But because of the schedule of my exams had to cancel them...Then I decided to book another set of tickets after I realised I could do nothing much to change the dates of the exams.. By then the tickets were no longer available from Bangalore. I booked tickets to home via Chennai... waitlist though! I have an uncle who has VIP reservation quota in the railways. So there was my only chance to go home.

I wrote exams on Panchami and Soshti here at the institute. On Soshti night I took a train to Chennai. I reached early in the morning. Chennai central is quite a familiar station to me. During my M.Sc. days I used to travel to my home via Central. Anyway so after reaching there, I went to the ‘PNR status checking’ kiosk. The chart hadn’t been prepared by then. I sat for two hours in the station watching the local advertisements shown on the television in the station and waiting for the chart to be prepared. I had seen most of them in the last two years but it didn’t matter much.  At around 6:30am the chart was out and I came to know that my ticket was still in the waitlist. I didn’t know what to do. I sat in a chair and cried for 15-20mins. It seemed to be the best option. Flight fare by then was too much to be afforded by me. However I was determined to go home. I went to a “reservation after chart preparation” counter but was turned down.... caught hold of some random TTE in the station. I even thought of getting a general ticket to get on to the train and then pay the fine later. But my father just asked me to return back to hostel.

I so wanted to go home. I didn’t know whom to blame...my profs for jeopardizing my puja plans or my uncle or the unaffordable flight fare or that person in the “reservation after chart preparation” counter. The next train to Bangalore was after 20mins. I had to locate the ticket counter for local trains...which was in a different building. I finally got a ticket for myself 10mins before the train would leave for Bangalore. And then after 7hours I was back to the station from where I had happily started the night before! So I spent my Maha Saptami in travelling to Chennai and then coming back. And here I am today sitting in my room sulking on Ashtami morning. I might go out in the evening to some nearby pandals here with my friends. But then home is where the heart is. I wish September had never ended!