What it takes to get to Rajdhani?
Not for PM aspirants...:)
It doesn't matter whether or not you believe there is God, it also doesn't matter whether there is existence of a spiritual realm where the God dwells and governs the entire universe. What really matters is – The Karma (not to be confused with Dharma). It reminds me of the words said in a film My Name Is Khan, “If you do good deeds, good things will happen to you.”This is because God is an invisible force which looks after each and every element of the universe. Different religions have given different names and attributes to this invisible force but ultimately the almighty is one, and is for all, irrespective of the religion, race, wealth or anything.“What it takes to get to Rajdhani?” is a story which attempts to show the existence of this invisible force in this real world. It’s the story of a boy named Aditya who stays at Rajkot, a district of Gujarat and is supposed to catch Rajdhani Express from A’bad to get to Delhi for his joining meeting at Philips, where he has recently got job after competing his studies.
Date: 25th May, 2010
“Adi, beta wake up. It’s already 6. You will get late.” Mumma said putting her hands on my head.
“Mom, I was awake till 4 am, let me sleep. I am feeling tired and just can’t open my eyes.” I tried to persuade her for allowing me to sleep more.
“Okay do what you want. But make sure you leave from here before 11 am. I am checking your bag again to make sure everything is okay and I haven’t forgotten anything.” she said and left the room.
After she went, I completely lost in deep sleep. I was extremely tired since I had worked till 4 am to prepare a PowerPoint presentation of business plan which I was supposed to present at Philips corporate office at Delhi. I was asked to come to Delhi with another new joiner named Samir, fresh MBA like me who hailed from Surat. We had decided to meet at Ahmedabad railway station at 3:30 pm. I was supposed to travel from Rajkot to A’bad to catch Rajdhani express at 4 pm. It was the time of summer, vacation time, so there was heavy rush in almost all means of travelling, but thanks to Philips, we both could manage (afford rather!) to purchase VIP quota tickets of Rajdhani just before a couple of days from its departure. Getting tickets of Rajdhani in summer vacations, that also just before 2 days is as lucky as going on a date with the most beautiful girl of your college in a five star restaurant and she paying the bill!!
I was in eternal sleep and suddenly my cell phone rang. The volume of the ringtone was so loud that I almost fell down from the bed as if I had a 440V electric shock. I picked up the cell phone to check who the hell was calling this early. As I checked, it was Samir, Sam’s call.
“Moron have you completed the presentation or not?” I heard an atrocious voice of Sam.
“Sam, you should have started my morning with a better word, like good morning.” I replied struggling to get up from the bed.
“Welcome to corporate world Mr.Aditya. Today your friend is calling you moron and you have a problem. Tomorrow your boss will call you early in the morning and tell – you rascal, have you finished the assignment or not?” Sam replied.
“Screw your boss; screw your corporate world damnit. Anyway, the presentation is almost completed. I was working till 4 am.” I replied.
“What? ALMOST completed? What does it mean? Adi, people get fired in Philips for ‘almost completed’ presentations.” Sam got extremely angry as if I had proposed her girlfriend.
“Calm down Sam, I just need half an hour to complete it. I want to give it the final touch – the Adi touch, which will create magic before the VP.” I said smiling and came out of my room.
“Ok, but make sure your ‘Adi touch’ doesn't cost us our jobs. Anyway I have arrived at A’bad early in the morning and I am staying at my Uncle’s home. Make sure you reach railway station by 3:30 pm.” Samir said and hung up the call.
I entered into the kitchen and found my mother preparing my breakfast with fervor. She was so excited as if her son was going to participate in Olympics.
“Beta, your bag is ready. You have bath, get ready and then have breakfast. I have made your favorite aloo-paratha with curd.” Mom said with a smile.
“Thanks Mom. I will miss you.” I went to her and hugged her tight.
“Love you beta, you have made all of us proud. Once you come back from Delhi, we will start searching for a girl.” She said in excitement.
“Why? Did our maid went away?” I tried to crack a joke.
“Stop it Adi. I am not talking about a maid. I am talking about a girl for you to get married. You are turning 24.” Mom said while managing her hair.
“But Mom, don’t you think it’s too early?” I replied.
“You are a kid; you don’t know what is early and what is late. I will handle this matter.” Mom replied as confidently as if she was the President of USA. Every Indian mother thinks that her Son is smarter than all, but at the same time, she thinks that he is dumber than her. Cute!
I had bath and got ready. Then I had aloo-paratha made with all love from my mother. I prepared the presentation after that, gave it final touch. It was the time to leave. I took blessings from God, Mom and Papa and stepped outside home to start the first ever professional journey of my life.
Time: 1100 hrs, [at Indian Travels office, Rajkot]
“Good morning Sir. How may I help you?” A gorgeous looking receptionist girl asked me as I entered the Indian Travels office.
“Can you give me a ticket to A’bad of any Volvo leaving from here before 12?” I replied.
“Sorry Sir, all the buses till evening are full.” She replied.
“OMG, WTF, WTH.” I mumbled all these words to myself. I felt as disappointed as if Deepika Padukone had rejected my marriage proposal !!!!
“Listen mam, I need to reach A’bad before 3 pm at any cost. Please arrange something for me. I am ready to pay double amount also. I work with Philips and I need to catch Rajdhani at 4 pm from A’bad to reach Delhi office by tomorrow morning.” I told her intensifying my efforts to get the ticket.
“Sorry Sir, we work as per our policy and I am not allowed to give you ticket even if you pay double or even more.” She replied promptly, indirectly she communicated, “Money or the ability to make it doesn't impress anyone around here.”
“Ok mam, can you adjust me near to the driver seat? Or any other empty seat available in bus? See, I really need to catch up your bus before 12. I have already inquired in other travel offices and all of them are running full. You are my only hope.” I tried to convince her as if she was the Last Samurai who could save me from the demons. I was getting anxious since I had a meeting with the Vice-President who was coming from USA and he would surely fire me for bunking the meeting.
“Sorry Sir, there is no provision as such. As I already told you, we need to work as per our policy.” She said and got busy with her desktop. She tried to show me that she was busy as if she was preparing the union budget !!!!
“OMG, what should I do now? How will I get to Rajdhani?” I asked myself. I checked the watch, it was 11:30 and there was no availability of a Volvo which could get me to A’bad in 3 hours. I tried to hire a personal taxi also but no success. There was some strike going on by the taxi-drivers community against the government for fuel price hikes. Damn you OPEC !!!!
Luck was testing me very badly. Finally I thought to take a calculated risk. I hired an auto and went to the nearby government bus station. There I found a bus for A’bad which was about to start. I stepped into the bus and took a window seat. It was 11:50 and the bus started to run. “Thank God, I found something.” I said to myself. Normally, a government bus takes around 4 hours to reach A’bad bus station, but since I have to get down at Paldi which arrives 15 minutes earlier, it should take 3 hours and 45 minutes from now, I thought.
Now if my calculations go right, I will be at Paldi around 3:35 pm and from there if I take an auto, it will take 15 minutes to get to the railway station. So I should be at Rajdhani at 3:50 pm, 10 minutes before the departure. But the biggest question is, "what if these calculations go wrong??”
I was busy in the analysis of various options which I could try to get to the Rajdhani as early as possible. Suddenly the cell phone rang. It was Samir.
“What’s up Adi? Have you entered A’bad or not?” Samir asked.
“I have just come outside Rajkot, touched highway. Sorry but because of non-availability of Volvo, I had to take up a government bus.” I replied.
“What? Have you gone nuts? I don’t think you will reach in time. You loser, don’t you know how important it is to be present in the meeting? VP will fire you damnit.” Samir was again getting angry on me.
“But what to do Sam, I had no other option. I tried to hire a private taxi also but the drivers were on strike.” I tried to give him explanation as if he was the Chief Justice.
“Ok, let me think. See if you can make it to Rajdhani in time, then it’s cool. But in case you miss the train, what other options do we have? Buses will not do, since we need to show our faces to VP by tomorrow morning at 9 am.” Samir said.
“Figure out something Sam, I don’t want to get fired from my 1st job just because of coming late.” I sought his help like he was a great management consultant.
“Ok, let me inquire for flights. You may get a flight at night which will land up at Delhi by tomorrow early morning. But if you come by flight, HR will sue you for violating travelling policy.” Sam replied.
“I will take care of HR, don’t worry. Just book a ticket for me of any flight which lands up at Delhi by tomorrow early morning.” I replied.
“Ok, let me try. By the way, I got your mail with the presentation which you had sent me in the morning. Nice presentation chum, ‘Adi touch’ works, and works big time. I will really miss your company if VP fires you.” Sam laughed and cut the call.
Time: 1300 hrs, [somewhere on the highways]
Almost an hour passed and my eyes got closed during the time because of the extreme tiredness. As I woke up from sleep, I came to know that the bus crossed Chotila and as per my calculations, things were going cool. I took my cell phone in hands, I saw an SMS from Sam.
"I have inquired all the air travel agencies. All the flights are running full. Now you should do only one thing – P R A Y."
I got more tensed after reading the SMS. Yes, the bus was running okay, as per calculations, but there was a tolerance of just 10 minutes to get to Rajdhani. If the bus got late even by 10 minutes, I would have to come back home and start updating my CV.
I closed my eyes to give peace to my mind but what happened next took the soul out of my body. The bus suddenly stopped in the middle of highway. I stood up and asked other passengers what happened. I got to know that there was a puncture and the driver would take half an hour to fix it with the help of some passengers. Damn, the last thing I wanted was a puncture in the bus!!
Time: 1400 hrs, [standing on road, seeking for help]
I came outside the bus and started seeking for another bus or a private vehicle which can help me get to Ahmedabad. 15 minutes passed and nothing happened. I was getting frustrated. Five more minutes went and I felt that it was impossible to catch the train.
Suddenly the driver came and announced that the puncture was fixed and bus was ready to start. Since I had no other option, I stepped inside the bus and took my seat. Five more minutes went but the bus didn't start. I asked the driver and he said, “Some ladies have taken their children for urinal so we have to wait for them to come back."
“This is just crap. These children are peeing on my job. Start the bus man; I have to get to Ahmedabad as soon as possible.” I told the driver with anger in my voice.
The bus got started finally but the puncture incident mixed with the urinal show of children actually wasted 30 minutes. I was having 10 minutes tolerance so going with the calculations; I would have been late by 20 minutes, only 20 minutes !!!!
Time: 1500 hrs, [on bus, praying!!]
The cell phone rang and it was Samir again.
“Where are you Adi? I am just entering the railway station.” Samir said.
I described the whole incident to him.
“OMG, you are surely going to miss the train. Ask the driver to run the bus fast. I am going to inquire about the status of train’s departure. You know our trains always run late. So, you still stand with a chance. Call you after sometime.” Sam tried to console me and hung up the call.
By my surprise, the bus stopped again. I got extremely angry and checked what happened. An old man aging more than 60 stepped into the bus
“This man was standing in the middle of the highway and in need of help.” Said the driver.
“But you cannot stop the bus like this man.” I replied angrily.
“Calm down young man, I am sorry if I troubled you.” The old man said politely and sat next to me.
“It’s okay, doesn't matter. I am not going to catch it anyway.” I mumbled.
“What happened?” Asked the old man.
“Mind your own business Sir; I don’t share my problems with strangers.” I replied arrogantly.
“Oh, ‘the typical corporate arrogant’, good going young man.” The old man said with a smile.
“Hey wait, how do you know that I work with a corporate? I never told you.” I asked him with surprise.
“Blackberry, it’s because of Blackberry in your hands. Young men of your age usually don’t have Blackberry phones unless they work with a corporate.” The old man replied.
“Very keen observation, great Sir. And I am sorry for the arrogant replies.” I told him.
“It’s okay. By the way, I am Mr.Lamba.” The old man gave me his hand to shake.
“Aditya, Aditya Joshi.” I shake handed.
“It seems you are in a problem, aren't you?” Mr.Lamba asked.
I told him the entire story in next five minutes.
Time: 1530 hrs, [on bus, where else?]
“As per your calculation, you will reach the railway station at 4:10 pm considering the bus is running fast, but you have missed an important presumption to make in your arithmetic.” Mr.Lamba said.
“What is that Sir?” I asked.
“What about the traffic jam? This is Ahmedabad young man.” Mr.Lamba made a big point here.
Before I could react any further, Sam’s call came.
“Sorry Adi, the train is on time. It will depart on its scheduled time at 4 pm. I tried to talk to the manager and requested him to delay the train but he refused. Wish you luck Aditya.” Samir said in disappointment and cut the call.
I started sweating and my frustration was so clear that even an insane could notice it.
“Yes, do what I said. After 15 minutes. Exactly, you got my point now. Thank you." I heard these words as Mr.Lamba talked to someone on his cell phone and then he looked at me.
“See Aditya, let me do something for you. Its 3:40 pm and within ten minutes, we will reach Sarkhej crossing. I am calling my driver who lives there only and fortunately my car is also with him. I will drop you to the railway station in my car. We will take the by-pass route of highway so we don’t have to face any traffic. If my calculations work, you will be inside the station at 4:05 pm. Just hope the train starts 5 minutes late.” Mr.Lamba told me and called his driver to reach Sarkhej crossing within five minutes."
“Thank you Sir. You have given me a new hope.” I said with a smile on my face which was disappeared in the urinal of those children.
The Sarkhej crossing came and we both got down from the bus. The driver was ready as he was asked to be. He immediately started the car and increased its speed.
Time: 1550 hrs, [on Mr.Lamba’s car]
“So, what have you studied Aditya?” Mr.Lamba asked me as the journey started.
“I am an Electrical Engineer, after that I did MBA. I have recently completed MBA and got job at Philips.” I replied.
“Great. By the way, I am also a Mechanical Engineer. I am a retired government officer.” Mr.Lamba replied.
“Oh I see.” I replied and we both smiled. When two strangers meet and later when they come to know that they both are Engineers, they feel close to each other, just because they know that both of them have got the same mental assaults and have gone through the same horrible phase of four years of their lives.
Time: 1605 hrs, [Ahmedabad Railway station]
“So Adi you are lucky. The train is still there, I can see it from here.” Mr.Lamba pointed.
“Thank you very much Sir. I will always remember your help. If you hadn't been there, I would have never reached in time.” I replied.
“My pleasure Son, this is my visiting card. Do call me after coming back from Delhi.” Mr.Lamba said giving me his visiting card and the driver stopped the car exactly opposite to the gate.
I stepped out of the car and thanked Mr.Lamba as well as the driver who drove as good as Michael Schumacher to drop me to the station.
I ran hastily and the railway station clock shown 4:05 pm time. Suddenly I heard an announcement on the loudspeaker.
“Passengers travelling to Delhi please note that 9874 up, Rajdhani express will leave from Ahmedabad station at 4:15 pm. The train is delayed by 15 minutes. Sorry for the inconvenience."
“Wowie...” I told myself after the announcement and became very happy. I started searching my bogie and after crossing 4 bogies, I saw Samir standing at the door waiting for me, like Simran was waiting for her Raj to come !!!!
“Here you go chum, finally you have made it. Congratulations.” Sam said as if I had won the Olympic race, but to be honest, it was nothing less than winning the Olympic race for me.
Finally we went inside the train. As soon as we entered the bogie, all eyes started staring us as if we were big time rapists who should be stoned to death. As we just took our seats, we heard the whistle. Finally, Rajdhani was on its way to Rajdhani.
As the train started, I shared the whole incident with Sam, about how Mr.Lamba helped me to get to Rajdhani.
“You should meet him after coming back from Delhi.” Sam said.
“Yes, I surely will. Hey, here is his visiting card.” I replied and took his visiting card out of my pocket and what we read in the visiting card really took both of us by surprise.
Mr.Satish Lamba
B.E. Mech.
Retired Divisional Manager – Indian Railway
Contact no # 9XXXXXXXXX
“OMG!! Sam, this man is the retired divisional manager of Indian Railway. Hey wait, while we were on bus, he talked to someone on his cell phone. He was telling someone like - Yes, do what I said. After 15 minutes. Exactly, you got my point now. Thank you.
May be I and Sam got the answer why Rajdhani was delayed by 15 minutes !!!!
Well that was it. That was how I got to Rajdhani in time. But that wouldn't have been possible without the help of Mr.Lamba. From that day on wards, I really started believing in God. We often talk about stories that God sends his angles to help the human beings, some people believe it, some don’t. As I have told earlier, God is nothing but an invisible force which governs the entire universe. Some way or the other, he helps you to get your way. Some people call this force as Krishna, some call it as Allah, while some call it as Jesus. For me, God is the force that sent Mr.Lamba, for me God is the force that sent that driver. This is the force which we call it as ‘the soul of universe’. It keeps us helping on, and on, and on; provided we also do good deeds and help others.
Thank you.:)
