An affair on track

Railways and I have had a love-love relationship since my father was a catering contractor. That literally led me to treat IR as ‘my father’s property’! And my experiences with the Indian Railways have only proved me right.

Deolali Cantonment has excellent relations with the railways, such that if an officer arrives or departs with luggage, the kind station master would wait till the last package was loaded or unloaded before giving the green signal. In March 1970, we were leaving on posting by an evening train for Kalyan but were waylaid by a friend living next to the station for tea. I sent the luggage ahead. We were still sipping tea when the train arrived. So, we ran to the station (no kids then). The station master gave us a downward smile. We apologised, thanked him, and got in. Only then did the train leave!

In April 1978, I was suddenly moved from Nasirabad to Delhi, and we (four members of a family) had no reservation. When approached, the Ticket Examiner, recognising me to be an army officer because of a protruding bottle in my handbag indicating ‘liquid gold’, asked us to go to the ladies compartment and instructed me to lie down in an upper berth, covering myself fully with a sheet. He promised to allot two berths at the next halt. Reluctantly, I followed his instruction and hid under a sheet despite the April heat in Rajasthan. He came late at night and allotted us 3-tier berths against I-class tickets. He then made the universal signal for a bottle—just like a victorious politician was shown doing after the recent Karnataka election in a viral video! Did I have a choice? I parted with the bottle.

In May 1995, my daughter and I travelled to Deolali, picking up her friend in Bombay. After an enjoyable four days there, we were to leave. Our host, a General, found out that the train was running 90 minutes late. At the given time, he came to the station with us, and there was a big send-off. I found someone else occupying ‘my berth’ in AC-2. Forcing him to vacate, I went up and laid down. The girls pointed out that their berths were wrong too! It was a non-stop train until Kalyan. Soon the TTE came, and seeing our tickets, he said, “All of you are on the wrong train,” as ours was yet to follow! He warned us that if we didn’t get off at Kalyan, we would be heavily penalised and lose the other ticket too. He didn’t turn up till Kalyan; thereafter, Dadar was
just a few minutes away. We got off and were lucky!

So, I am convinced I have a love-love relationship with the Indian Railways! It never betrays me.