From New Delhi - Calcutta: A shaky start!

the never ending traffic jam on delhi roads
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After six monotonous months I finally got my chance to visit my home back in Calcutta. Though I’m a Bengali and a Calcuttan to the core, I want to take you through my experiences back home, like any other new comer to the city will do. The idea is to stay away from any biasness towards my city. The commercialization and materialistic life in New Delhi somehow has not been able to quite wipe away all the nostalgic memories that keep calling me back time and again.

However certain incidents before the trip made it quite interesting and exciting. By mistake my digicam SD card got stuck in my laptop and the only way of getting it out fast was by opening the whole laptop. I went for it around 1400, keeping in mind my Rajdhani to Calcutta leaves by 1645. My biggest fears came true and by the time I had started for the station it was already 1620. The fastest way in to the station would be an auto. It's small and light and it easily zips past the rest of the traffic ans so I hired one. There are two approaches to the station. Through Paharganj (which is extremely crowded) and through Ajmeri Gate. Aware of the damages, I took the Paharganj approach. If you have an access to the metro station you might fancy taking a tube to the station directly. One must remember that in New Delhi you have to be one hell of a bargainer inorder to get the right auto deal. Never go by the first fare the auto guy quotes. If you are unaware of the fare, quote atleast 20 bucks lesser than he has quoted. If he is not willing to go, remember there are a hundred other enthusiastic ones who would readily pull up infront of you. My auto rushed, as my hopes of making it slowly faded away. 1645, and I was thinking of stopping the auto and making my way to the airport. Finally I reached around 1655 and thought I’ll make one last run for the next Rajdhani to Calcutta that leaves at 1700. So, I ran and I ran, pushing and shoving, leaving behind a trail of passengers abusing me. It's very hard to make your way upto the enquiry counter as it is forever crowded and people crowding them are not at all familiarised with the word 'queue'. The best and the safest way to do things is to ask any of the Ticket Checkers, Porters or the police on duty. However, I reached the enquiry board to find out from which platform would my train leave……just to be informed that my train that was scheduled to leave by 1645 is running 90mins late and will probably leave by 1815!!! On an ordianry day you would have cursed and damned the Indian Railways, but today was my lucky day. I couldn't have asked for more. Hurray!!!

materialistic life in New Delhi somehow has not been able to quite wipe away all the nostalgic memories that keep calling me back