It was Sunday evening (14.09.2008) and I had come home after a span of nearly 2 months in Chennai. I was in my friend’s (Ganesh) house talking all useless things and browsing internet, my usual pass time weapon when my friend started asking me about which train I am going to take that night to reach Chennai. I casually told him that I had booked Cheran Express that night and it starts from Erode at 12:05 at night. All of sudden my friend was shocked and I didn’t expect that from him and was wondering the reason. He asked me for which date I had booked the train and I coolly answered that it was on 14th.
He said “oh! God!!” and I started realizing that I had done some mistake. He told that since it was after 12.00 at night I should have booked for 15th rather than 14th and the train booked for 14th would have left a day ago to Chennai. Now my ultimate task is just to get to Chennai somehow and to hide this great work I did from my house. Lot of plans went in my mind from boarding train in unreserved compartment or getting a bus from Gobi to Chennai or to change buses on the way and somehow reach Chennai.
We checked all private travels in Gobi and erode and all buses were full since it was Sunday. All trains have waiting list numbers which have no probability of getting me a seat conformed. Boarding train in unreserved compartment won’t help as most trains start at Coimbatore and its high time I get place to stand still till Chennai. I started from gobi so early saying home that I had to meet a friend in erode which I believe they would have believed what I told. Again hard time struck me when the bus I boarded to erode met an accident in mid way to erode and I was stranded for some time before I could get some bus to erode.
In erode bus stand the place to get bus for Chennai was all busy. Huge crowds and people discussing among themselves a lot, brokers busy in getting tickets by any means to earn money and parents and relatives who are not at all part of passengers added more to my confusion. Ganesh called his friend in erode and his friend came to my rescue. He somehow got a broker to get a A.C bus ticket for me. But unfortunately that too was not helpful.
Good time came to me at last. One person who booked the last row ticket in ordinary bus (a bus which looked most of the part like town bus) didn’t come. It marked my favorable time as the broker was much known to the conductor and I got a place to place my asses finally. Since it was cancelled ticket the person who cancelled it, charged me very less amount (around Rs. 100) only. It was the only comforting moment for me. The bus started at 9.00p.m and reached Chennai by 6.00a.m. The mistake I did initially was a mistake of lack of thought for a fraction of second but it costed me so much. I pray to god that atleast this incident should put some limelight upon my brain.
