Indian train journeys

Every journey in India tells a story...unless you completely ignore your surroundings and decide to catch up with your sleep.. :)
My last 3 journies have been sheer pleasure....On my way to Hyd last month, we met these 2 genetlemen...one a hotelier...sort of a hifi guy who makes business proposals for top hotels...and the other an Army Major. What a conversation that was...started off with hotels, moved onto politics, cocktails, real estate, personal struggles in life, wifey bitchy talk (one activity men love to indulge in...apart from drinks ofcourse) ...and many entertaining stories went by that night between us.
Another journey was with an old uncle with his family (his grandchildren were damn smart!)...he was also a hot shot...atleast so i thought after an 8 hour conversation with him....he had been to almost every place on the maps...and spoke with the calibre of a great orator and entertainer....even if he wasnt a hot shot, it was fun for those 8 hours..:)

Just yesterday, i took a train from Rajahmundry to Bangalore, back from my short visit to home...Got into the train, was almost sure that this journey would be boring, i was ready for it .....thanks to the book i recently stuck onto....
So it was the first box, right after the door. Quite disturbing i thought. I just managed to put my bag right under my seat, bidding a bye bye to my dad, who had come inside, i noticed a woman staring at us constantly as we spoke our bye byes.....you kinda sense that stare even without looking at the person....
She asked my dad - "Where are you both going to?"
My dad politely answered her and clarified that it would just be me.
"Where are you getting down madame?" asked my dad....its some kida courtesy i guess, to ask someone the same question they asked you....even if it means nothing to you...
"Jollarpet" was her reply.
"Oh, so you are not going?" she continued.
I hate such obvious questions....anyway...my dad gotoff and i quickly plugged my headphones and tuned into the local radio station, i had never switched to radio to get to this channel, because they play loud telulgu songs...but still it looked like a better option at that time.

Ignoring my silent request to be left alone, she continued - "So are you married?"
I answered very reluctantly, again i hate such questions and moreover this doesnt qualify as the first piece of information that you want to know about someone.
"So you work in Bangalore?"
"Yes"
"Your husband also?"
"Yes"
"Are you both software engineerings?"
"Yes" , trying hard to conceal my smile, coz i didnt want to look friendly at all.
"Which street in bangalore?"
"What?"
"Which street you stay in Bangalore?"
"Whitefield"
"Oh (!!!??)"
and then at that pause, I rushed to open my book and and wore a 'Dont Disturb' look. I didnt want her to get to my salary next.

10 minutes passed. I was off and on trying to move my eyelids to confirm she wasnt looking at me, ofcourse trying also not to get caught with eye conact, lest she would start again.
She said something in between, i could half hear it, but didnt react to it as i wasnt sure.
"hello, Iam talking to you"
"Oh yes, what?"
"I will give you a number, can you give a missed call? my people will call me back."
"Sorry, what?"
She repeated the same without the slightest hestiation.
I dont have balance, mine is a prepaid connection (a 100% lie , I think she got that too.)
I went back to my book.

She kept waiting for eye-contact i guess, may be she was damn bored and hadnt opened her mouth in years...but i still didnt care. I am quite this reckless thing when it comes to irritating people, especially those who start off conversations with a personal question, i get putoff in a second. She then decided to sleep. thank god!

Ok, it was close to 10pm...eyes getting heavy after reading about a 50 pages in a moving train. I decided to walk around and brush, kinda getting ready to sleep. Having found a dirty wash basin on my side, i decided to walk the long way to the other side.
And i got to the box next to mine ...empty!
the next one - empty!
and the next one - empty again!
OK, i felt my heart beating a lil bit fast.....until i saw the next one, with just one guy lying down...and it went beating faster !
He was the blanket supplier guy (in AC coaches).....and i was really scared when i found the whole damn compartment with just me, this lady( who already had made me her enemy i guess) and this man....who looked a bit drunk....although iam not sure...but you know i tend to dramatise in such high drama situations anyway...

I was really now with my antenna all straightened up....I HAD TO find a way out!
May be just Do something! Scream? or Call the Railway police or the TT....whatever ...lot of agitation and tension building up......
but ahh.........Why?
I couldnt answer myself, so i decided to shut up and go back to the seat..i forgot all about sleeping. I was kinda latching on to the book, so that i dont fall asleep....and in a wierd sort of way, i was waiting for this lady to somehow wakeup and be friends with her again....i also figured out the exact lines to start the conversation this time! :)
what a shit thing i was that day..ignoring people when i wanted to ...and wanting to talk to them again because i got scared of some illusionary risk....
anyway, thats human.... and i am one!

Kodai Kanal....meet peace and beauty!

Packed my bags in a hurry and got on to the taxi waiting by my door....i deliberately didnt research anything about the place...i wanted to experience the surprise ...and yes, it did pay off.
Kodaikanal is one of the most beautiful places i have seen....every place has its own charm and probably it is not right to compare ..but i still would rate salzburg as number one and kodai number two in my list...followed by many places like Venice, Shimla, titisee....

Kodai has this nice feel about it .....it is one of the most frequented places of south indian tourist destinations ....but surprisingly you wont find irritating taxi wallahs, wanting to push you to some hotels that may give them comissions ...the place manages to retain a kind of dignity, beauty, the difficulty of getting there ....but equally modern to become a great tourist destination....in short, no nonsense place....quite like i want a place to be.

It is very easy to find educated, english speaking taxi drivers to ferry you around the whole of kodai, there are a variety of packages to choose from, rates are standard and fixed by the government. we took the one which had the most number of places listed, about a six hour trip for a charge of about 550......we wanted this to be split to two days and the guy agreed for a 100 Rs extra :)
The few places i really enjoyed are
Coakers walk - amazing view...great feeling having a walk at 8000 feet height :)
Upper lake view - great view for pictures of yourself with the famous lake as backdrop - true kodai moment!
Suicide point (its called green valley view now) - Superb View - scary to death though !!
Pillar rock - must hv seen this in many movies .... good one!

nd finally, the best part....the LAKE - in fact you can spend a whole day here. I had amazing fun getting back to a cycle probably after 8 years...cycling/ horse riding around the lake makes you feel so fresh ...you just get out of any kinda tension. Boating is another option....worth a try. And nothing can beat aimless strolling around the lake...dont try all at once, it is 7km overall.
Kodai, I fell in love with this place and have promised myself to go back again!