Encounters while travelling

[hehehewalrus]

Share some interesting incidents that you had while travelling - any interesting stories, incidents with co-passengers, pickpockets and others.

[Thiru]

hhhw,
very common incident is having a nice conversation with the person next to you and get their phone number/email address and never bother to call/email them... I've done it quite a few times.. :)

[hehehewalrus]

Thiru, pls delete your post, you have spoilt the suspense for some of my stories by telling the ending :lol2:

I also have Rs.15, Rs.20 unpaid loan with few of them :lol: :lol:

[Thiru]

i'm glad I broke the suspense.. there was one suspense about you that I didnt break in the old hub :)

During my college days, I went from madras to bangalore by lalbagh.. met a tamil guy studying in bangalore and a girl from chickmagalore who was travelling with her mom and brother... well the tamil guy went out to smoke quite often and the brother travelling with the girl was very impatient sitting in his chair... I was wondering if this guy was not happy with his sister chatting with guys... after our chat(or rather kadalai) with the girl and the girl and her mom slept, the brother sneaked out and asked the tamil guy if he could get a cigarette... :)

I had contacts with the tamil guy and the girl by letters (those were the days before email came out) which later faded away... The girl on her next trip to chennai made it a point to call me... That was the only meaningful travel experience I could remember...

Later in my travel days from bangalore to Chennai, it was always the usual 'where do u work, which platform? how's the company? any onsite opportunities blah blah blah stuff

[hehehewalrus]

I was wondering if this guy was not happy with his sister chatting with guys... after our chat(or rather kadalai) with the girl and the girl and her mom slept, the brother sneaked out and asked the tamil guy if he could get a cigarette... :)


Indian Railways is very smart. For long distance journeys greater than 24 hours, there wont be any female near the compartment of youngsters(2nd class). Even for shorter 5-8 hour journeys, this rule is followed. To break this rule, if you book 30 days in advance for a short journey, you will get the first tickets - Seat#7 and Seat#8 on S1(where Seat#1-6 will be females) :) But this will happen only for overnight journeys(11pm to 5pm) and there wont even be time for hi or bye :)

I've done lot of 30+ hours journeys - they are much more exciting as you meet different sets of changing co-passengers. If you get a good set with the same source and destination, nothing like it. Often one such journey will be good enough to make a TV serial :)

The first thing I do is to check and memorise the chart outside the door with info on my co-passengers and decide on the strategy(whether to talk or stay confined with a book). Once the name and age on the chart matched a prof who harassed us terribly but luckily it was not him. Another time I met a prof who taught me one class and introduced myself to him. He used to have a magnetic memory but didnt recognise - didnt have a good opinion either because instead of asking "Where are you working?", he asked "What are you doing?" :lol2:

[j.chenkalvarayan]

I was wondering if this guy was not happy with his sister chatting with guys... after our chat(or rather kadalai) with the girl and the girl and her mom slept, the brother sneaked out and asked the tamil guy if he could get a cigarette... :)


Indian Railways is very smart. For long distance journeys greater than 24 hours, there wont be any female near the compartment of youngsters(2nd class). Even for shorter 5-8 hour journeys, this rule is followed. To break this rule, if you book 30 days in advance for a short journey, you will get the first tickets - Seat#7 and Seat#8 on S1(where Seat#1-6 will be females) :) But this will happen only for overnight journeys(11pm to 5pm) and there wont even be time for hi or bye :)

I've done lot of 30+ hours journeys - they are much more exciting as you meet different sets of changing co-passengers. If you get a good set with the same source and destination, nothing like it. Often one such journey will be good enough to make a TV serial :)

The first thing I do is to check and memorise the chart outside the door with info on my co-passengers and decide on the strategy(whether to talk or stay confined with a book). Once the name and age on the chart matched a prof who harassed us terribly but luckily it was not him. Another time I met a prof who taught me one class and introduced myself to him. He used to have a magnetic memory but didnt recognise - didnt have a good opinion either because instead of asking "Where are you working?", he asked "What are you doing?" :lol2:

you have made mistakes. whenever i go on a long distance journey i prefer travelling by 2 tier or 3 tier ac .this way the journey will be comfortable and also very refreshing for the eyes.

[j.chenkalvarayan]

and speaking of reservations , i think it is in vogue only in the southern states.
once you cross andhra border and the train moves into the northern plains, then there is no such thing called reservation.
anyone can occupy anyone else's seat and you need to be pretty tough to hold onto your seat.

some are really thugs and they won't budge an inch from the position.whenever this happens my friend addresses the person in english and believe me it always works.
i think everyone should be made aware of this technique.it'll come in handy , you never know.

[hehehewalrus]

Once I was making a lengthy journey to Bombay. I had the window seat and midway through the journey a rough and tired looking middleaged man occupied the seat opposite mine. We spoke little and taking him to be a Kannadiga whatever we spoke was in Hindi. I asked him where he lived in Bombay and the place he mentioned was quite a shady and notorious one!

It was night and the train was making an endless journey through remote villages, we were sitting opposite and staring at the darkness through the windows. We began to talk in Hindi about ourselves and I soon learnt he was a tamil born in Ooty. He switched to broken Tamil and said at the age of 15, with the job scene bleak, he left school and ran away to Bombay to make a living. He found work on a ship and now travelled around the world with an ok income. A simple man on the outside and rough on the outside, having learnt(and tackled to a good extent) the harsh realities of life.

Morning came and we were left alone. In fact the entire compartment had only 10-12 people left out of the possible 72. It was deserted, we were still 3 hours away and beggars and street children hopped in, searching for water bottles and newspapers.

Finding our berth vacant, four rough guys moved in and started playing cards. Pretty soon, wads and wads of currency notes exchanged hands during the game. First it was a bunch of 100 rupee notes, then slowly the 500s came out in packs. We were watching them with an uneasy silence. My experienced co-passenger commented "Indha maari aalunga dhaan periya periya velayaatellaam velaaduvaanunga"(It is only chaps like these who play all the big games). The railway police were nowhere in sight.

One of the guys moved out, talked to a passenger in another berth of the compartment, and brought him along to the party. They played about an hour. Soon a fat guy with a shaved head(Dada), looking like Amrish Puri, turned up, handed a bunch of 500s from his pocket and went away(prob to the AC compartment). The game got over and the gang left, the lonely chap who joined them began to move to his seat. My co-passenger asked how much money he lost. About Rs. 5000 was the answer.

We reached the destination and I was about to take an auto home shelling out couple hundred bucks. My co-passenger dissuaded me and told me to take a train. It was a notorious little railway station famous for thugs and the train was packed to the roof
http://irfca.org/~shankie/bom4emupassngrs.jpg

My co-passenger grabbed my bag and got in. I clutched my suitcase and tried hard to locate him in the mad crowd with hardly any breathing space. The signal was down and the train didnt start for about 10min. I was sandwiched in the middle of the crowd and too late to retreat. Shady guys everywhere. My co-passenger now shouted to me that we needed to get down at the next station. Impossible in that crowd!

I felt something slithering down my jeans. There was no space for me to move my neck or turn my gaze - purely surviving on feeling. And I felt it - my wallet in the front pocket of my jeans was moving up!

I freed a hand and slapped the groping hand away, hoping he wont use a blade next. The train moved.

Next stop I pushed with all my might and miraculously leapt off the train, fighting the crowd rushing in to board the train. Gasped for breath and looked around, found my co-passenger having my other bag looking very unruffled. He calmly directed my way home, boarded a train on the next platform and waved.

He didnt own a phone.

[hehehewalrus]

and speaking of reservations , i think it is in vogue only in the southern states....
some are really thugs and they won't budge an inch from the position.whenever this happens my friend addresses the person in english and believe me it always works.
i think everyone should be made aware of this technique.it'll come in handy , you never know.

Good idea :)
Once you enter Andhra, that is where the Eunuch gangs start torturing you. Sleeping on the upper berth wont help, I have seen people woken up and asked for money. They will persist and will often lift their clothes threatening to expose. I found a solution which works 99.5% of the time:

DONT LOOK ANYWHERE. Just stare into your newspaper or magazine. Put on the ROUGHEST, ILL-TEMPERED and SULLEN expression on your face. When they approach you or tap your shoulder, wave your head derisively and continue staring at the paper. It worked everytime for me :) I am very particular not to give a penny to either eunuchs or the Indian Railways canteen.

[j.chenkalvarayan]

being soft never helps. and you'll be taken for a ride if you don't know hindi. so these are some tips . be unkempt and dishevelled in appearance. sport a beard and a moustache,ofcourse these are for male passengers. this is for the tough guy appearance. and never let anyone know that you don't know the local language. always speak in english even if others don't understand.

[Querida]

:shock: wow what an great deal to know to just travel and here i was spending time worrying about missing flight and transit flights... :lol: i know in Singapore you should never let on you don't know where you're going they will take the longest way possible all the while the meter keeps on going...you also have to say are you mad to most of their suggestions...such as " your luggage is too heavy...pay money" "you can't put luggage in back seat unless ...pay money" "can't idle the taxi to load luggage...pay money" "can't stop for directions unless...pay money" :roll:

[Raghu]

I had contacts with the tamil guy and the girl by letters (those were the days before email came out) which later faded away... The girl on her next trip to chennai made it a point to call me... That was the only meaningful travel experience I could remember...



Thiru AnNE

yenpa unga vayasai indirect-a solureenghappa solureenga :lol: :lol:

[temporary sori-Observer]

Walrus ANNaa,

UngaLukku pidikkumnu intha paattai inge kodukkaREn :mrgreen:

(first song)
http://www.musicindiaonline.com/l/26/s/movie_name.5494/

[hehehewalrus]

TOS,
adhey paata naan travel pannumbodhu kaetu rasichadha solli irundhen in some old thread.
Adha padichittu yenakku flashback opportunity thareengala? nandri :D

[temporary sori-Observer]

[tscii:be3933950b]Walrus aNNa,
athE mettule jolly-aa paadunga :mrgreen:

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[hehehewalrus]

:lol: :lol: :rotfl:
:notworthy:

[suressh]

:)

during one of my travel in andhra pradesh, somewhere from indupur to bangalore, one lady with her child was seated in the front seat of mine. it was a remote village and most of the passengers were villagers, including the lady and the child in my front seat.

the child would be around 1 to 2 years. she was continuously feeding the child with many things. biscuits, chips, fruits .... and due to the continuous feeding the child vomited at one point.

i really got irritated on that mother, for her idiocy. of course, i didnt tell anything at her, but was discussing the irresponsibility of the lady with my friend beside.

but, next moment that lady's action immersed me into the depth of surprise. she suddenly, leaped down her seat, and started cleaning the vomit thing. that was a real surprise, which i have never seen anywhere in my life.

we are always used to dirty the public property. but cleaning...?? it was a pleasant surprise for me. anyway, her former action of irresponsbility made me understand her better.

:)

[Anoushka]

[tscii:2b036dd43d]mmm... I can write loads on travel experiences!

I moved out of home 16 years ago and so travelling to home since then has been a regular thing.

This incident actually happened 16 years ago. I was on one of my weekend trips to home on a Friday evening. It was the Cochin Express from Kochi to Madras. I got on the train and fell asleep soon enough. When I woke up the next morning, the train was close to Basin Bridge. I was surprised that the Ticket Examiner hadn’t checked my ticket at all.

On Sunday evening I got the Cochin Express back from Madras to Kochi. My family had come to the station to send me off. I was very young and though I had been travelling alone for quite sometime at that stage, my Dad had the habit of telling the Ticket Examiner to keep an eye on me - just in case I fell asleep and didn’t get up at the right station! The Ticket Examiner (who was quite young) after finishing all his work came to chat with me and my fellow passenger another young girl.

As time went by he said something and I turned around and told him that I was a regular traveller in that route and he need not think that I am little child that knew nothing! He smiled at me and asked me when I travelled on that route last. I told him it was just two days ago. He asked me the coach number and seat number and I told him that. Surprise, Surprise! He said that he was the person in charge on the Friday for the coach that I had travelled in.

I told him that it could not have been as nobody checked my ticket that day. He asked me if I was wearing a blue salwar and was cuddled up with a big huge teddy bear.I was shocked as it was me, I was wearing a blue salwar and was cuddled up with a teddy half my size. He told me how when he came to check the tickets, he saw me, thought I was a small girl and didn’t bother waking me up!

A month later when I moved back home for a few months, he found out my phone number from the telephone directory and called me up. He used to call me up regularly for quite sometime before I lost touch with him! But I’ve never seen him again.
[/tscii:2b036dd43d]

[nirosha sen]

Ah.....young, ticket examiner???!!!! I guess despite numerous calls, nothing more significant evolved, Pa! That's why he probably gave up on you!!!

Lovely theme, for a movie, I tell you!! :wink:

[Anoushka]

Nirosha: Your guess was right! For a start I wasn't impressed with the fact that he went through the telephone book to find my number! And then he would call me up during my afternoon naps, which put me off! To add to all that, I was way too young to think about anything, I was just entering college you see, and all I could think was books, books and more books.

I think the other girl who was travelling with me was interested in him though!

mmm... maybe someone can think of making a movie out of it!

[THAMPY]

the incident I am going to narrate happened in this january. I am a student and I boarded a bus from kottayam in kerala to banglore.I was going there to meet a friend.THe exact date was january 26. so the bus was almost empty.there were only 7 other people in the bus.

[nirosha sen]

Thampy - Is there a point to your story or is it like a continuing saga, where we wait for a sequel to boot???!!!! :o

[Anoushka]

Thampy's message reminds me of one of my trips. It was 2002 December and I was on holidays in India. I was supposed to fly back only in January but I was upset with something and wanted to take the next flight back! My tickets were with Gulf Air and when I called them to check for availability they said tickets were available for the next day (Christmas Day).

I went to the airport in the morning and checked in and boarded the flight. The flight from Madras to Bahrain was not full but was not completely empty either. I even found four seats in the middle to sleep without anyone disturbing me.

Got out in Bahrain and tried to check for my connecting flight from London to Dublin and the person at the desk told that my flight was at 19:30 (I was supposed to land in London Heathrow at 17:30). And she also said seats were available. I was surprised when I boarded the flight in Bahrain to see that there were only 7 passengers on the aircraft and we had a crew of 10+ people! It was a 747, imagine getting a 747 all for yourself (well, nearly...) the service was unbelievable.

We were served food as quick as possible, the crew closed all the windows, dimmed the lights, put us all to bed (the four middle seats together) and covered us with blankets and put our seat belts on so that we didn't have to wake up in between :) Only when I reached London did I realise how silly I had been... London Domestic Airport closes on Christmas day and same with Dublin! So I was stuck in Heathrow for the night! But then if I flew any other day I wouldn't have got the royal treatment that I got.

Well what happened in Heathrow is another story for another day :)

[hehehewalrus]

Thampy and Anoushka have left in suspense. Is thampy talking about 2001 jan 26 when there was an earthquake? I will add a third suspense story now :)

When I was leaving Bombay for good, it happened in pretty hectic fashion. Basically there were 2 trains available, I always take Train 1 for the To journey and Train 2 for the From journey. Due to a hectic series of events, I asked my brother to book my ticket giving him the train number.

It was my last day and I went attending numerous farewell parties. Add to that were several pieces of luggage. The night of the journey, 3 of my friends wanted to send me off at the station. They helped with the luggage and we caught a connecting train. We reached the boarding station with about 5 minutes for the train to leave. We were running around looking for the right platform to board the train. It was touch and go and I decide to find out precisely how many minutes I had to make the catch.

And then I took out the ticket, Lo and behold, I had asked my bro to book Train 2!

We trudged back home with all the luggage, my friends were laughing - it was a good thing we got there late and I had to check the ticket. Otherwise I would have woken up the sleeping passenger in the wrong train and demanded my seat! :)

I was disappointed and insisted on staying the entire night at the station and get the impossible Tatkal ticket(If you need a Tatkal one, you need to be at the station by 4AM and most guys stay overnight anyway). My friends took me to a cybercafe and we checked the availability for the next train. Luckily, Train 2 which I missed took off in the afternoon and despite being a long distance train always had 200 seats available :) I booked it for next day and boarded it.

I was supposed to reach my destination in the wee hours of the morn. It was the day of the India Australia game, World Cup 2003. The game would have ended at 9 PM. My train went through nameless forests and deserted junctions. As it stopped Salem station(930pm), I jumped out and ran to the shops and asked the guys if they knew the score. Their faces were blank and they shook their head. I asked a few chaiwallahs and papervendors, none of them had any idea.

The journey resumed, I was the only guy in the compartment and sat by the window, trying hard not to fall asleep and eager to find out the result of the game. There wasnt a co-passenger in sight. After 1.5 hrs there was a stop at Erode. I jumped out and questioned people. No one had any idea. Disappointed I went back.

It was soon midnight and the train stopped at Tiruppur. There was hardly a soul on the station. I was scared that the train might start soon and refrained from going out.

It was dark and lonely inside. I went back to my seat, cursing my loneliness and the painful vigil. Just then a middleaged shabbily dressed guy wearing shirt and shorts hopped in and glanced around stealthily. "Does this go to Palakkad?" he asked hoarsely. Yes I said. He took a seat opposite me. He was a daily wage earner who travelled to TN each day for work. It was clear to me that he didnt have a ticket and was hoping the TTE would not come on his rounds that night.

To be continued later :)

[Thiru]

I had a bad experience during my vacation in Paris and in Rome.. I will keep the story for another day when Anou, h3w and thampy finish their story..

[NOV]

During my teens, I used to take the train from Butterworth to Kuala Lumpur, frequently, to visit my mother and sisters who had shifted to KL. Those days, trains were slow, stopping at every station, and took almost 10 hours to complete the journey.

I would always travel with a couple of books and magazines and the inevitable packed noodles/sandwiches/curry puffs. These journeys always created a rising sense of excitement, on knowing who would be my co-passenger. Being a carefree, hot-blooded youth , I was always hoping for someone fanciful to sit beside me, dreaming that it will become a lifelong relationship.

Needless to say, I was ALWAYS disappointed and usually the opposite happens. My co-passenger would be a old chinese man, a fat malay lady, the mandarin orange-eating chinese woman, punks who need several baths, or even a semi-lunatic (once).

Anyway, there was this trip I made in November, just before the Deepavali holidays, carrying ghee-laden ladoos from Penang Krishna temple. As usual I was looking forward to getting a new acquaintance. With butterflies in my stomach I descended to the platform.

I shooed of my brother who had come to send me off, as I did not want him to wonder about my uneasiness. I located my coach and settled comfortably in my seat. The coach was not filled yet and I had no idea who would be seated beside me. With nothing to do, I opened my book and tried to read, although my mind was wandering.

Suddenly there was a strong whiff of beautiful wonderful perfume. I turned around to see where it was coming from, and that's when I saw this beautiful girl, looking extremely gorgeous in her pink saree and beautifully made up face.
I prayed and willed her to sit beside me. She gave me a glance, and her eyes penetrated into mine. Slowly her lips curled to a smile. I could see her movements in slow motion.
And then, it happened!

[Thiru]

"I would always travel with a couple of books and magazines"....

andha book/magazine la vandha story solreengala illai unga story-a?? :)

[NOV]

"I would always travel with a couple of books and magazines"....

andha book/magazine la vandha story solreengala illai unga story-a?? :)cha! I do not read romantic novels please!

[Thiru]

seri andha 'it' nnu soneengale , adhu but aanal what enna sollunga??

[hehehewalrus]

'it' was NOV's usually non-functioning alarm, it chose to ring that day :cry:

[Cinefan]

Thampy,hhhw,Anoushka&esp NOV,kadhayai muddingappa

[Badri]

Thampy,hhhw,Anoushka&esp NOV,kadhayai muddingappa

NOV kadhai is over pa!! As hehehewalrus said, his alarm rang and he woke up!!

[Anoushka]

[tscii:bb78b5d81e]....

As I said I had some good sleep on the plane, landed in Heathrow on dot at 17:30, got through immigration and then tried to go to British Midlands desk looking for my connecting ticket. All the desks were closed. I was desperate, I had even asked a whole group of my friends to come and pick me up at the airport, which is something I never ever do!

In fact I was stuck in an area in some terminal (am not sure where exactly I was, I still think it was between 4 and 1) It was strange to see an empty Heathrow. There were about four passengers who were stuck like me there. A group of youngish Italian crowd passed through security, they had a few musical instruments. The security guys were so bored that they made the Italian crowd sing and dance for them.

None of the food shops were open and it was only 18:30 and the first flight out next morning was not before 9:00 and I wasn’t even sure if I could get on that! The security guys felt sorry for me and gave me a ham sandwich that they had a bottle of sparkling apple juice (I don’t eat ham and I don’t drink fizzy drinks!). I could not say no as they were so sweet! One of them checked my passport saw my date of birth (my birthday was earlier that month) and even wished me happy birthday :)

I called my friend who lives close to Heathrow and he asked me to take a taxi and come to his house as the underground and the buses don’t run on Christmas day either! Great! I didn’t know where I was and how did he expect me to call a taxi and tell the taxi guy where I was for him to come and pick me up! So I gave up on that idea and decided to find a quiet corner (it was quiet everywhere anyway) and cuddle up with my rucksack.

At about 19:30, I felt uneasy and my stomach was making noises, I thought that it was because I had nothing to eat and I was hungry, within 10 minutes I knew I was wrong! I had a very bad stomach upset, the worst ever in my life and I was running to the toilet. After about twenty visits to the toilet with nothing in my stomach and completely drained out I finally fell asleep. Unfortunately there were no pharmacies open in the airport either so could not even get medicines. I was hoping that I don’t fall sick again till I reach home!

The next morning after about 20 hours of not having eaten or drunk anything I was dragging myself through to gate 90 of terminal 1 (nearly the last gate) and thanking my stars as I managed to get a seat on the first flight to Dublin!

I don’t think I’ve never said no to food on the plane that quick ever before! The airhostess was surprised  I fell asleep on the plane again. When I reached Dublin that morning and walked out of the airport, I was thankful that someone had come to pick me up and take me home. I would have been happier if he had carried me to the car and then on to home from the car....

Since then, the first thing that I pack is my medicine kit and thankfully I’ve never been that sick since!
[/tscii:bb78b5d81e]

[nirosha sen]

Nov held us in rapt attention and then suspense????!!!! :shock:

What happened next Nov???? Did one of those ladoos drop out of the bag and unravel and scatter into Bhoondhi on the seat, just before the woman sat on it????? :wink: :lol:

Tell us Pa!!! :D

[j.chenkalvarayan]

those were the days when i used to be very wild. i used to commute the distance between my college and house by bus. i was initially very meek (i won't get into a bus unless i was very sure i'll get a seat)and i was no match for the hardened urchins of the city of chennai.then things begin to change. i became very rough as time progressed. the same guy who found it very difficult to get into a crowded bus soon started travelling by footboard. initially there was some opposition from the regular footboard travellers.they saw me as an intrusion into their domain. but after i started sporting side burns nobody dared to raise an eyebrow. this happened when i was in my 3rd year. it was around 8 in the night. i was waiting for the bus. when the bus finally arrived a huge group of men and women tried to muscle their way into bus. not to be left behind , i finally managed to get hold of a window bar and somehow precariously found enough space to place my foot. it was raining heavily. and then begin my nightmare. the guy who was in front of me was a thick skinned buffalo. i don't have nice words for him. he was leaning on me and his weight was testing my arm power. i was writhing in pain. i just looked behind to see if there were any other vehichle in close proximity. and there it was . a middle aged man was driving a sumo at high speed. his wife was sitting beside him. probably vethu scene. i thought my end has come and it's time to bid adieu to this world . the conductor was in the other end of the bus and i sensed even if i shout he is not going to hear me. i prayed to lord muruga and suddenly the pressure on my hand became less. and then two strong pairs of hands pulled me into the bus.that samaritan would have seen my face and realized the impending danger.and then the rest of the journey was smooth. what do i want to convey? people should change their opinion about footboard travellers. it's not that we do that to show our might. we don't have any other option. we are helpless. also many youth like me will be going through this message. my simple advice to them . if you want to show off that you are tough , there are other ways . not that i have stopped travelling in crowded buses altogether.nowadays i think twice before getting into bus. i ask myself will i be able to return to my house in one piece? if yes i get into the bus.

[hehehewalrus]

JC that was a good incident :D I picked up footboard travel in college but for me footboard was always 2nd step, not the last. Even if you have a problem in getting off, you have every right to push or hit out the guys blocking your way :P

Ok...my earlier story continues:
It was dark and lonely inside. I went back to my seat, cursing my loneliness and the painful vigil. Just then a middleaged shabbily dressed guy wearing shirt and shorts hopped in and glanced around stealthily. "Does this go to Palakkad?" he asked hoarsely. Yes I said. He took a seat opposite me. He was a daily wage earner who travelled to TN each day for work. It was clear to me that he didnt have a ticket and was hoping the TTE would not come on his rounds that night.

I noticed that we were in the last berth meant for seats 64-72 and the rest of the compartment was empty. It was midnight and no one was likely to pass that way. I decided to be on the alert and watch him closely since it looked like a knife might come out any time and I had lot of luggage around. He was panting a little and I wondered what kind of guy would start his daily journey back at midnight.
To keep him busy and at rest, I plied him with questions about the weather, the result of the recent strike in the city, elections and so on. He took to it well and got relaxed talking comfortably. I was assured now and enjoyed the talk.

And then it happened!

"Everything fell one by one", he said, "it happened so quickly."

I was puzzled, "What?", I asked him.

"One after one it fell", he said, "the Indian batting. They started fell but after reaching 40, everyone started hitting aimlessly and we lost all our wickets for 125."

And he went on to describe the just ended match in complete detail for the next 30 minutes while I listened with great delight, having got the info that I was seeking for. He got down at Palakkad and as he disappeared into the night, I learnt the lesson that if you want something very very badly, you will somehow get it, no matter how.

[j.chenkalvarayan]

he3walrus,nowadyas i am not afarid of thugs. i think i have a fair chance if something untoward happens. but i am very much afraid of eunuchs. whenever i see them a cold shiver runs down my spine. none of my tricks seems to work. i am clueless. that's the one of there reasons i travel in ac section.

[hehehewalrus]

JC,
try the method I suggested earlier(not bothering to look at them, keeping a sullen face), it worked for me 99%.
I travelled by AC once, even though it was in May, i felt cold after 1.5 days in the AC. I was alone and 90% of the people there were all retired or senior people travelling at company expense, it was quite boring that I never booked AC again.

[nirosha sen]

Eventhough we were travelling from Chennai to Kannur by train in the evening, my husband had forgotten how to get into the upper berth!! Then came along a good Samaritan, who sat with us watching us, deducing that we were Diaspora and decided to give us a hand!!

So, till we reached home the next morning, he kept my husband and I well entertained with all the latest news both serious and the inane, nothwithstanding the politics of course!!

I had a good trip the last time in India!! I met Revathy the actress on the 2nd day of my foray at Spencer Plaza!! Gave her a bear hug and conveyed my appreciation of her! On our return trip from Kerala, there was another Malayalee actress called Nithya something, she was a starlet of an ongoing serial called, "Kan-mashi"!!

So, I guess if you travelled a/c, you do get meet the Famous!!

[NM]

Just remembered something that happened to me ages ago....

This happened in my final year at Univ. I was travelling back to my univ after visiting my friend. It was just before the exams and I was very depressed due to some matter...

I was sitting on the train to Dover, from London, and I heard a voice asking "is this going to Dover?" in a strange slang. I looked up and saw the most handsome face with clear blue eyes, looking at me, with a gorgeous smile.

I said "Yes" and the next thing I knew, he was sitting next to me and we started chatting. He was a Medical student from Belgium and was on a holiday in England. His voice was soooo sweet and he really had the most beautiful blue eyes and I was practically staring at him...aiyoooh!!..so embarassing!! Anyway, we chatted abt a lot of things.

Then, came an announcement that we were to get off the train and a bus would take all of us to my town, Canterbury, and those wishing to continue the journey to Dover can do so by taking the train from Canterbury. I told him that and also explained that it was due to some repair works that were going on..

Again, he came and sat beside me and we continued to chat about his country, mine, and our studies. He was a really charming guy. When we reached Canterbury, I took him to the station and said bye, exchanged addresses ...and then...all of a sudden, he hugged me and kissed both my cheeks, and said Thank You So Much...I was soooo stunned and just kept staring at him....you can imagine i was so embarassed :oops: :oops: and that guy, just smiled and waved and got on the train..Guess I must have looked like a little girl in my plaited hair.... :cry: :oops:

Till today I can still remember his blue eyes, smile and of course, the kiss....haa haa........hmmmmmm :D :D

[temporary sori-Observer]

He was a Medical student from Belgium and was on a holiday in England.
[tscii:bd6bb7919f]«í§¸ ´Õ ¦Àøƒ¢Âý
þí§¸ ´Õ Mumthaaju
¦ÃñΧÀ¨Ãî §ºò¾Ð
Ã墅 ÅñÊ carriaju
«ó¾ ¸¨¾ §À¡Ä
þó¾ ¸¨¾¾¡ý
'±ñ½ò¾¢¦Ä' Å¡Îõ
º¢ýÉì ¸¢Ç¢¾¡ý.[/tscii:bd6bb7919f]

(first song)
http://www.raaga.com/channels/tamil/movie/t0000295/kunguma-chimizh.htm

[rajraj]

NM: Too bad you did not know this song! :)

neela vaNNa kaNNane unadhu eNNamellaam naan ariven
kaNNa en kaiyai thodaadhe mohana kaNNaa en kaiyai thodaadhe

[temporary sori-Observer]

He was a Medical student from Belgium
[tscii:1c69598f11]Train-ø Åó¾Åý
¡¦ÃÉ §¸ð§¼ý
Trainee ±ýÈ¡ý §¾¡Æ¢.
Trainee ±ýÈ¡ø «Åý
Journey ÓÊó¾Ðõ
À¢Ã¢ó¾Ð ²ý §¾¡Æ¢?[/tscii:1c69598f11]

(third)
http://www.musicindiaonline.com/l/26/s/movie_name.4295/

[temporary sori-Observer]

[tscii:02e1792333]¿¡ÛÉìÌ ¦º¡ó¾§Á¡?
ᨾ¦ÂýÈ 'NM'-µ?
¸ñ¨½ì ¸ñ¨½ì
¸¡ðÊ ±ý¨Éò
ÐýÒÚò¾Ä¡Ì§Á¡? :lol2: :lol2: [/tscii:02e1792333]

(first song)
http://ww.smashits.com/music/tamil/songs/2547/mallika.html

[hehehewalrus]

TOS,
neenga Pepsi Uma-ku relation-a, endha situationukkum paatu ready-a vechirukeengale? :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2:

I downloaded the video of "maanika theril" from some thiruttu site :) In my childhood I had been to a malaysia vasudevan concert where Vasu sang your first song, pointing to the females in the audience whenever the word 'Mumtaj' came up!

[hehehewalrus]

So, I guess if you travelled a/c, you do get meet the Famous!!

And the encounter won't always be perfect.

When I was 10 I had been to an exhibition cricket match. Krishnamachari Srikkanth had just got out cheaply and returned to the first row of seats in the VIP enclosure. I was sitting in the third row. A group of young boys went to the first row to get autographs. Most players obliged while Srikkanth mercilessly shooed them away shouting "PONGADAA, PONGADAA!". I didnt muster courage to approach him.(Incidentally his relations were my next door neighbors and they were very nice people).


NM,
was his name Enzo Scifo? :lol2:

[NM]

TOS...paattellam rombavE nalla irukkirathu..... :D :D :D
Inthe paattellam tEdi eduththu inthe maathiriyaana oru situation-ku vaiththu iruntheergalaa?? :lol:
Aanal, anthe Belgian enge irukkindraarO ippOluthu?? :roll: Rayil payanam mudinthathum avar kanaamal pOyvittar!! Hmm....anthe oru sambavaththukku, moondru paadalgal.....innoru sambavam sonnaal..... :?:

Walrus....ippO thaan tubelight-ku power kideiththathu! illa pa...avar illei........scifo-na, vittu vechiruppaenaa??

[Badri]

TOS...paattellam rombavE nalla irukkirathu..... :D :D :D
Inthe paattellam tEdi eduththu inthe maathiriyaana oru situation-ku vaiththu iruntheergalaa?? :lol:
Aanal, anthe Belgian enge irukkindraarO ippOluthu?? :roll: Rayil payanam mudinthathum avar kanaamal pOyvittar!! Hmm....anthe oru sambavaththukku, moondru paadalgal.....innoru sambavam sonnaal..... :?:

Walrus....athu yaar??? :roll: :roll: :oops:

Neenga Melbourne vaanga, AKKA!!! Plenty of ammo!!! :wink:

[NM]

Bad..belgian-a?? :lol: :lol:

[Badri]

Bad..belgian-a?? :lol: :lol:

Athey athey :wink:

[NM]

NM: Too bad you did not know this song! :)

neela vaNNa kaNNane unadhu eNNamellaam naan ariven
kaNNa en kaiyai thodaadhe mohana kaNNaa en kaiyai thodaadheyaen Raj..enakku theriyaathunu sonnergal?? :D :D athaan, appavE naan sollivittEnE, neenge en amma paadure paattellam paadurengge-nu.. :wink: :lol:

[NM]

Bad..belgian-a?? :lol: :lol:

Athey athey :wink:Ithukku thaan, thambi vEndum-nu solrathu... :lol: :lol:

[jaiganes]

nice thread!!
I have a healthy list of interesting incidents while travelling.
My first job was in a medical electronics company as their customer support engineer. It was a small firm and I had to travel a lot. Most of the times it would be a travel at the shortest notice. This meant that I had to travel in unreserved compartments in many occasions.
Once there was an urgent call to attend in Bhuj (gujarat). So I had to rush to mumbai and from there to Gandhidham and from there to Bhuj in the cheapest possible way. I rushed to chennai central and took the mumbai mail that left at around 10 o clock night. In the unreserved compartment I strudded along with my baggage on to the side upper shelve meant for keeping bags. It was a weekend and the train was crowded to the tilt. It was the most tiresome train journey. After reaching mumbai , I went to my friends apartment in Kandvili and rushed back to Mumbai CST to catch the western railway train to Gandhidham. It was another excruciating journey to Gandhidham (more than 10 hours and delayed because of heavy monsoon and floods). After reaching Gandhidham took a mini bus for one hour journey to reach Bhuj. 2 days later I was travelling back to chennai in a similar manner.
Inspite of all this I had a good time chatting with people of various language and state and never felt scared of my possessions even a little bit. More recently when I saw Swades movie posters of Shahrukh travelling in a third class compartment, I was reminded by those train journeys.
More recently there was a small, interesting incident when my wife and myself were enroute from Kodaikanal to Munnar. More on that to come later.

[NM]

JG thambi, welcome back !! How are you and yr wife??
Engge pa padem?? :D :D

Rgds,
nm

[Cinefan]

Welcome back Jai.Are you still floating in mid air or is your feet firmly planted on the ground? :D

[nirosha sen]

:DHiya Jai, you are the man of the hour, Pa!! Tell us your latest travel encounter!! Where did you go for your honeymoon, with your better half???

Good stories to tell???? :)

[jaiganes]

slowly getting back to normal life .
Not much perceptible change as of now. he he he he :lol:

[scorpio]

JG,

Ithanai naaL abnormal-nnu othukarayaa?? :lol:

Welcome back, thambi!

[Cinefan]

Not much perceptible change as of now. he he he he :lol:

Athu appadi thaan thonum(maya maya maya ellam maya),changes will be felt after some months :lol:

[jaiganes]

It was a hectic couple of weeks.
To start with, the marriage was very hectic and we started to bangalore on the next day (after kattu saadham). The next day evening we left for Kodaikanal. Spent couple of days there and then moved to munnar . two days there and back to Bangalore via palani. It was exciting , new and hectic.

[Cinefan]

BTW,Saturday cricket inimelum unda?Nee koopitta podhu na varalai ana ippo velayadanu-nnu romba arvama irukku :D

[scorpio]

BTW,Saturday cricket inimelum unda?Nee koopitta podhu na varalai ana ippo velayadanu-nnu romba arvama irukku :D

Cinefan,

With friends like you, does JG need enemies?? Why dont you invite JG too for your Rama, shama outing without family??

:rotfl:

[Cinefan]

BTW,Saturday cricket inimelum unda?Nee koopitta podhu na varalai ana ippo velayadanu-nnu romba arvama irukku :D

Cinefan,

With friends like you, does JG need enemies?? Why dont you invite JG too for your Rama, shama outing without family??

:rotfl:

Oh!thanks-kka for reminding me.As soon as the release date is confirmed,will PM him :D Appo naan,andavaru,vallavaru,rasaram anne,Jai thambi-nalla koottatha serthitten.

[jaiganes]

cinefan anna!
No cricket for one month as there are lot of appointments for sat and sundays.
Getting back to topic, the ride from kodai to munnar was one of the interesting rides i have ever had.
Initially we were to start from kodai at 4-30 AM. Soon Mani shankar Aiyar raised oil prices and there was a strike in Kerala. So that got postponed to 1 PM. An Indica came for pickup and we were on our way from kodaikanal (very coool this time of the year and Dolphin's nose is one of the best trekking spots I have been to). The car reached Bodi at around 4-30 PM and stopped as there was a widening work day long in the ghat route from Bodi (foot hills) to Bodi mettu (up hill). We waited for 1-1/2 hours in Bodi, while the road contractors were blasting the mountains for widening.
We halted in a park like thing in the foot hils created by an artist who specialises in creating art works out of unusual things like roots of tree and coconut shell.
After 6 O clock it was getting dark and the road work stopped for the day. All the vehicles started zooming into the mountain road. Our vehicle also started and 15 mins into the hills, the indica smashed straight into a boulder of the size of a football. The boulder broke the fuel tank and the vehicle almos dived down hill. Fortunately the driver gained control.
It was very dark and had started raining. Our vehicle's driver didn't have any repair kit. Fortunately a passing scorpio stopped for help. Meanwhile we took all available water bottles and collected some 5 litres of diesel. The driver of the scorpio took some anabond and sealed the tank decent enough to hold 10 litres of diesel, good enough to reach us into Munnar.
The route was really treacherous with slippery road where the car simply skids and huge boulders in the middle of the road. We held on to our breath and finally reached munnar at 9-30 pm in the night.
Had the driver of the scorpio not stopped to help us, I dont know what would have happened. The best part of the entire episode was that myself and my wife started cracking jokes on the situation in which we found ourselves to be in, instead of fretting and getting scared.

[Raghu]

Annan Jaiganesh

Unga Thirumanam ellam nalla padiyamudinchutha :D

Annan JG -um Anni um nallamudan vazha antha param porulana Mahaeshwaranai vendukiren :D

sari unga thirumanathil enna saapadappa saapadu :lol:

[nirosha sen]

Raghu - Yen appa, Kator-kajan-ne pol, allayiraai????? :lol:

[nirosha sen]

bangalore on the next day (after kattu saadham).

:roll: Huh???? What's Kaatu or Kattu Saadham, Pa?????

[Idiappam]

Kattu Sadham -- athaan pazhaiya sOthula thanni oothi thingirathu! Paatheergalaa nilamaiya!

[hehehewalrus]

After reaching mumbai , I went to my friends apartment in Kandvili

JG welcome back :D

Was the apartment name Thakur complex? whats the apartment no?

[Raghu]

Raghu - Yen appa, Kator-kajan-ne pol, allayiraai????? :lol:

athua Katorkajan ilango, athu Kumbakarnan, Uncle Raava's aasai thambi :lol:

Enna seiyurathu vetila saapadu illena , ippadi thaan balla range-ila naakai thonga potukita kalyana veedu, pirantha naal veedenu alaiyanum-pa alaiayanum :lol: :lol:

[Thiru]

bangalore on the next day (after kattu saadham).

:roll: Huh???? What's Kaatu or Kattu Saadham, Pa?????

kattu saadham is a 3rd day function during marriage...The menu for this kattu saadham will be different from the usual janavasam and muhurtham menu.... In ancient days, after marriage they pack this food and go back to the groom's house (they pack it and take it with them during the journey and hence the name kattu saadham)... nowadays, people have this in the mandapam itself and go home... The menu in this has items like Veggie roasts instead of poriyals, mixed rice like puliyodharai, thengai saadham and thayir saadham...

Now you've reminded me of these things and I'm tempted to go have a kalyana saapadu somewhere... :(( ..

[Raghu]

bangalore on the next day (after kattu saadham).

:roll: Huh???? What's Kaatu or Kattu Saadham, Pa?????

kattu saadham is a 3rd day function during marriage...The menu for this kattu saadham will be different from the usual janavasam and muhurtham menu.... In ancient days, after marriage they pack this food and go back to the groom's house (they pack it and take it with them during the journey and hence the name kattu saadham)... nowadays, people have this in the mandapam itself and go home... The menu in this has items like Veggie roasts instead of poriyals, mixed rice like puliyodharai, thengai saadham and thayir saadham...

Now you've reminded me of these things and I'm tempted to go have a kalyana saapadu somewhere... :(( ..

thiru anne, konjam porunga yarukavathu kalayanam-na ungaluku PM panren poi Moi ezhutheetu suma oru dhool kizhapeetu vanghappa vanga :lol:

[hehehewalrus]

Soon Mani shankar Aiyar raised oil prices and there was a strike in Kerala
adhaaney, eppadi summa viduvaanga? :lol2:

[Thiru]

After reaching mumbai , I went to my friends apartment in Kandvili

JG welcome back :D

Was the apartment name Thakur complex? whats the apartment no?

Thakur complex apartment illaiye.. its like a colony...

[jaiganes]

walrus!
My friend lived in whispering palms, lokhandwala complex. Now he is in USA.
Raghu! Thanks for the wishes, I think we can move this kattu saadham and kalyana saadham discussion to favourite food thread!!

I have to mention about munnar here. That place is 100 % thamizh place but in Kerala. Immaculate weather and it looks completely clean and bright ready for a photo opportunity anytime. We had a glimpse of Anaimudi peak, the highest point in south India. Also in Nyamakkad waterfalls we had some good snaps of nilgiri mountain Goats.

Only regret was that my leave was limited, else would have spent a couple more days in Munnar and Kodai.

[Badri]

Vanga thambi JG. How was the marriage? Honeymoon adventure ellam padichen!!

Once more, congratulations!!!

Innum Seventh Heaven Ninth Cloud thaana, illa tharai meethu kaal paavuthaa?

[jaiganes]

Thanks badri!
I am on the ground thanks to office work. hehehe.

[Anoushka]

Most of my school days, my mode of transport to school was either school bus or cycle rickshaw. Only one year I had to take our great PTC!

I used to take 18N from KK Nagar to St.Thomas Mount! It was always the same bus each morning. There were a few others who used to take the same bus as well.

I was just entering my teens then and everything in the world was starting to look different.

The other people who used to travel with me were two girls from my school who were senior to me, a girl from a school in Pallavaram, another girl from KV Meenambakam and her father, a few guys from HIET and Jain College.

This KV girl was the prettiest of all and even though her father used to travel with us, she managed to find a way of passing messages to one of the guys from Jain College regularly :)

The girl from the Pallavaram school was chased by another guy on the bus :) , wasn't sure if she liked the guy or not!

I used to find it very interesting because that was when I discovered about "LOVE"!

Fortunately or unfortunately I don't know what happened the couples as I left the city the next year and never met any of them again!

There were a couple of older women who used to travel on that route who were quite friendly as well. Half the time I would never understand what was going on, or what the rest of them were talking about because I was the youngest in the group!

That year passed very quick for me becuase travelling to school became very interesting, even though the buses were crowded, never stopped at the bus stop, was difficult to get on, never found a seat, got harrassed by people, etc

Learnt quite a few interesting things like not putting the name down in the bus pass because when we passed the bus pass to the conductor, the guys would note down the name! But then if the conductor noticed that our name was not there then he would shout at us....

[Anoushka]

Congrats on your wedding JG :)

[j.chenkalvarayan]

k.k.nagara?? appa k.k.nagar dadava therunchu irrukunume?

[Anoushka]

yaaru k.k nagar dada?

[j.chenkalvarayan]

seri vidunga. k.k.nagrla chinna kuzhandaiya keta kooda kai kattume.ennanga neenga.

[hehehewalrus]

Mu ka Stalin?

JG, I mentioned Thakur complex since another Jaiganesh I knew from bangalore used to live there previously. History did not repeat itself :(

[Anoushka]

J.C: Enaku theriaathunga :( Naan irunthathu Ashok Nagar-la, K.K Nagar is just next door! Ippavum naan twice a year holidays-kaga Ashok Nagar porathodu seri, mathapadi ethuvum theriathu!

[hehehewalrus]

Time for another story.
I had just boarded the mumbai-chennai express for a peaceful monthlong vacation. Everyone in my berth were busy with their goodbyes. I locked up my trunks and sat quietly waiting for the train to move and everyone to settle.

As always, the first thing that passengers will do is to find out what language their co-passengers know and then ask their destinations. I noticed two other guys in their early 20s. A friend of theirs who had come to see them off was sitting next to them. The 2 guys were conversing in tamil among themselves and in English with the outsider friend. It was obvious that atleast for one of the guys it was the first trip back home after joining work. It seemed their boss was on leave and likely to be unhappy hearing their travel home. The impression left by the two guys was one of honesty(Maybe I am mislead here, normally when one can understand the language spoken by someone, it usually gives the hearer an impression of honesty!)

The train started and the friend left. I broke the ice asking the guys in tamil what berths they wanted. Everyone spoke a couple of lines and quietly went to sleep.

The next morning the introductions inevitably came forth. I came to learn that the 2 guys were cousins, they were going to chennai to attend a wedding and get back in a week. They hailed from south tamil nadu and were quite new to Bombay. Since we were all of the same age, we got into sync very quickly. Soon we were sharing breakfast, newspapers, magazines, walkmans, batteries, etc. The guys were animatedly discussing a short story in Ananda Vikatan and passed it to me to read. Although my tam reading speed sucked, I crawled through the story painfully...maybe just to show that I was very much a son of the soil!

Afternoon came and one of the guys went up to sleep. I was chatting with the other cousin and we spoke about our lives, our families, our work. This guy(and his cousin) grew up in a little agricultural town in south TN(Tirunelveli). He did a basic degree in some arts subject and as is the case with youth in the southern districts which have no industrial backbone, ran a small business to no great benefit. His cousin had found a job as a engineer in some firm in bombay and within a few months had assiduously won the hearts of all his bosses. He was elevated very quickly and entrusted with several responsibilites. More like the Man Friday for his boss. Pretty soon he used his good standing to secure an accountant position for his cousin who was seeking a stable job for some years. The newcomer moved to Bombay and initially found the adjustments(language/food/culture) tough. Often thought of taking a train back home. However the other friend(who came to see them off) encouraged him a lot, persuaded him to just stay put in his job and take it one day at a time and after all the initial hassles, was getting on. Their work was hard, often took 16 hours out of them in the factory, but atleast something was better than nothing in the days that the job market was bleak.

I was very impressed by their story, especially the qualities of the elder cousin who gamely fought against the circumstances and how the two stuck by each other. Listening to them my own personal concerns and worries seemed a lot lighter. I was going home on a monthlong sightseeing holiday after a year and actually felt guilty about it.

The journey was going to end soon...I had a little scuffle with the guys trying to offer money for the expenses they incurred on my behalf, they goodnaturedly fought against it. We soon got off the train and just as I retrieved my camera to click a group pic, I discovered the roll was empty! We traded addresses but never got to write or keep in touch :( I hope the duo is doing fine today, wherever they are. Maybe the next time I visit home, I will call up their office and seek out their whereabouts.

[svaisn]

Anu, St. Thomas Mount schoolna.... Neenga Dominicsleya padicheenga????

[svaisn]

Hi All....

I would also like to share one of my travel experience...

I used to travel in bus to school (Higher Secondary).. Saidapet to Adyar..... Our school starts a bit early.. so the bus would normally be free....

When i was on XII. A gal use to travel with us in the bus (She was doing her XI in Vana Vani). She was very freaky gal. She use to sit next to me and we use to chat about everything on earth (No Imaginations Antha vayasule yethellam theriyumooo :-)

She became a very good friend of mine. We meet only in the bus and sometimes accidently on the road..... We were sharing a good friendship.

Due to health problems, i bunked school for a week.... Entha gaple.... there was another guy who use to travel with us.... He was in his XII - St. Patricks - Adyar..... He proposed her.... This gal was not intersted so she didnt reply.... But this guy was disturbing her daily...

When i started going back to school... She told me the matter.. so I told her that i would speak to him... We spoke in Saidapet Bus stand one fine morning... That guy went mad he gave me one shot in my face. So i got angry and gave him few blows and we left....

Felt like a Great Hero that day :-)

We thought that would be the end of this matter... but it didnt...

He was a coward... he didnt fight back with us... Instead he went and told her brother... bad about her... that we were in love and many other stories....

Enakku onnum aagale... but Poor gal. They didnt send her in bus... Her father took her to schoiol everyday in Scooter :-(

I tried many times to meet her... but culdnt....
Once i went to her school for some quiz competition... even then she didnt talk to me.. I dint know why.... :roll:

Aprum naan collegekku Coimbatore poiten... Lost Touch......


Almost some 8 months we travelled together.... Athu oru Azhagiya Bus Travel.......

[scorpio]

Karthik,

She isn't the devadhai you were mentioning..is she????????

[svaisn]

Scorpio.....

No :-(

I Lost touch with this gal.... Her father got a transfer and then shifted to SAIL - Rourkela......... Not sure though....

[scorpio]

After what happened a couple of days back..this experience of mine is now worth sharing..

This happened some 12 years ago when I landed in my first job..I was on my last teen and the first reporting location for me was our training centre in N.H.Road,Chennai for a month's training. Those were the days I was relying heavily on public transport. There was no straight bus from my place to N H Road and I had to come to ICF bus-stand and catch the wretched 47A only to get down at STerling road and walk for 10 mins to reach the centre. 47A was a much sought after crowded route and though I used to get into it at the terminus, it always used to be a standing journey throughout. It is quite common for such bystanders in a PTC bus to help the crowd in the front to get their tickets from the conductor who used to sit in his seat at the back of the bus. I used to religiously help in passing the money and tickets back and forth.

After a few days, I noticed a smart guy standing next to me to get the change I used to pass. To my surprise, he used to get into the same bus every morning, stand next to me, get down at Sterling road, walk behind me till N H road. This happened continuously till my training session got over. He never used to speak a word but always wore a yearning look very similar to actor Murali in 'Idhayam' film. I got back to work, forgot all about him and carried on with life.

A couple of days before, I happened to go to LandMark book shop, again on NH Road. My husband was searching for some DVDs and I was passing my time in children's books section. I was suddenly taken aback by a voice that whispered into my ears - Sowkiyamaa irukeengalaa?? I saw a guy standing next to me looking strangely familiar but couldn't recognize. This is what happened-

Me: I'm sorry, aana neenga yaarnnu theriyala
He: neenga innum 12 varushathukku munnadi paartha maadiriye irukeenga
Me: I'm sorry again, I think you've mistaken..
He: 47 A bus from ICF, nyabagam irukka

Then, it struck me like a lightning and my mouth went dry. I was literally searching for words..

He: apparum romba naal ungalukkaga bus stand-le wait pannen

I was so embarassed and still couldnt speak. He looked at me from head to toe, saw my sindoor on my forehead and my heavy gold chain..

He: Oh.. ungalukku Kalyanam aayiduchaa.. PaNNi irukka mateengannu nenaichen ( Me thinking-what nonsense!) Unga per ennannu therinjukalaamaa??

I was desperately looking for words with no clue as to what to respond. Thankfully for me, my husband came finishing his purchase. He went away quickly and quietly ( same sullen Idhayam Murali look). My husband asked me, 'Yaar adhu?'.. I quietly got into the car without responding and cooled myself with a large gulp of water..

[svaisn]

Scorpio oru 2 minutes..... you would have experience butterflies in ur stomach :-)

May be one day i will also meet this gal in some book shop ;-)

[Anoushka]

Karthik, continue your story....

Scorpio: Intha mathiri chinna chinna virinthum viriatha kathal kathaigalukkuaga... nyabagamvaruthe... appadinu oru thread thodangalame, enna sollureenga? :lol:

[svaisn]

Anu...

Kandippa next week vera oru incident ezhuthuren :-)

[scorpio]

Karthik - Butterflies ellam illa..bayam thaan vanthathu.. ivan ippo engernthu dhideernu vanthaannu.. Inimel Land Mark pakkam poga naan neraiyave yosipen.. for that matter, no NH Road for sometime atleast!

Anu - nalla yosanaithan..School /college padikum podhu ithu maadiri niraiyave anubhavangaL.. aana ithu maadiri ellame one sided traffic than.. ennoda ore two-sided traffic culminated in my marriage :)

[Cinefan]

Scorps,Amazing experience.I can understand how you would have felt-lightning,thunderbolt at the same time,BTW,did you tell your hubby or have you continued your silence. :)

[scorpio]

Cinefan thambi,

Indru varai silence thaan..Anikke solli irunthaal oru 'encounter' nadanthirukkum.. :)

First, I must digest this..apparum thaan avar temper, nalla neram ellam paarthu sollanum..

[svaisn]

Scorpio

ungalthu love marraiageaa????

[rami]

Hi all,

I saw this thread only now...

Scorpio unga experience super...

Even I had one like this...

[Cinefan]

Cinefan thambi,

Indru varai silence thaan..Anikke solli irunthaal oru 'encounter' nadanthirukkum.. :)

First, I must digest this..apparum thaan avar temper, nalla neram ellam paarthu sollanum..

But do tell ,am sure after all these years there won't be any problems.Who knows he might even feel proud that his wife had a silent admirer. :lol:

Going by the conversation looks like that guy is still not married.What was he waiting for-You?

[scorpio]

Karthik - Yes..

Cinefan - ayya..kudumbathula kuzhappam undu paNNatheenga........enakku antha payyar per kooda theriyaathu.. I had totally forgotten until I saw him a couple of days back..

[svaisn]

Scorpio....

Yethavathu problemna sollunga.... Yosikamma pottu thalidalaaamm :-)

[Cinefan]

Cinefan - ayya..kudumbathula kuzhappam undu paNNatheenga........enakku antha payyar per kooda theriyaathu.. I had totally forgotten until I saw him a couple of days back..

Ayyo,that's not my intention.But I was serious about you telling your husband.After all that guy just followed you for sometime&then met you 12 years later.This was the first conversation between the two of you right?I don't see why your husband should have a problem.He might symphatise with that guy&feel proud(for reasons mentioned already)

Anyway,there is no compulsion/obligation for you to tell.But for sometime You will keep looking over your shoulder in public places.

[Anoushka]

Scorpio: Antha maathiri one sided stories ellam ippa ninaichu paartha yen appadi bayanthom appadinu thonurathu! Ippa siripu varuthu aanal appa ellam bayam thaan, yaaru kitayam pesa kooda bayam. Normal friends in school/college no problem but intha maathiri yaaravathu follow panninal kai kaal utharal edukum!!! :lol:

[svaisn]

Anu...

May be ethellam oru... decade munadi

eppo ellam ponnunga rangeeee vera :-)

[Anoushka]

You are right Karthik!

To think of it, when I was in Coimbatore I was the rebel as I used to talk to all the guys in my class or even college at that time! I used to go for treks (No staff accompanied us) with the YHAI (mostly guys, maybe two or three girls)!

I can see the change now when I go back home each time!

[scorpio]

Karthik - :lol:

Anu - Yes, you're right!

Cinefan - Naan summa thaan sonnen..tension aagathenga.. I got yr point anyway & thanks!

Kaiya vechukittu summa irunthirukalaam.. Ippo thread-e thadam maari vittadhu.. I'm sorry, HHHW!

[j.chenkalvarayan]

scorpio madam, have you heard this joke about project managers. promise me you won't get mad and i'll post it here.

[svaisn]

JC...

Neenga thappa nenaikalena oru question.,..

Unga avatharle erukurathu yaaru???

Scorpio... Neenga vera eppo than entha thread jollyaa erukku ;-)

[j.chenkalvarayan]

he is my new friend in the hub. it his photo. found it very cool.

[scorpio]

JC,

You can post it.. Why would I mistake you?? This is a public forum and everyone is entitled to voice their views..

Aanalum Surya-ku ippadi Anniyan vesham pottathellam toooooooooo much pa!

[svaisn]

Ohhhhh. athu namma actor suryavaaa....

Theriyave ella... JC......

[j.chenkalvarayan]

[tscii:6b6ec4f986]So, here’s the deal. This guy walks into a pet store and he wants to buy a monkey. He looks at the first monkey and .. well the monkey looks normal, he’s doing the normal monkey thing, and the guy asks, How much for this monkey?

The store manager replies $5000.
The guy yells 5000? Are you kidding? This is daylight robbery.

The store manager explains .You see, this is a programmer monkey. He knows a little bit of VB6.

The guy continues to look around, and looks at this monkey doing really interesting hoops in his cage, clearly this is a very bright monkey. The guy asks, well how much for this one?
The store manager replies . $10000
The guy yells . Wow you are really kidding me this time.

The store manager explains .You see, this monkey can do C#, Java, AND C++. He’s a really smart monkey.

So the guy decides that he needs to aim lower, and stops when he looks at this really dull monkey who is really not doing anything, just sitting in a corner completely low IQ.
The guy thinks to himself, this monkey is what I need I think .. and asks “Well how much for this one?”
The store manager replies Oh this monkey is $50,000.
The guy yells back GIVE ME A BREAK !! What is so great about this monkey?

The store manager explains well, I’m not sure, he just sits around all day, does nothing, and calls himself project manager.

btw,that is not surya.[/tscii:6b6ec4f986]

[Alien]

JC,

You can post it.. Why would I mistake you?? This is a public forum and everyone is entitled to voice their views..

Aanalum Surya-ku ippadi Anniyan vesham pottathellam toooooooooo much pa!

Hi Scorpio acca!
Ohhhh Surya range-kku poittengala :shock: :roll:
Thats none other than our Pras :D :P

[NM]

Scorps, nalla experience thaan! Paavem anthe manushan, 12yrs appuram, unggele sight adikkalaamnu nineithiruppaar!! :D

[NM]

This happened when we (2 girlfriends and I) were travelling in Europe. As we were students, we went on a month-long rail tour. We were travelling to Athens on the train and it was a very very hot day!
We were just about an hour away from Athens when suddenly we saw both thick smoke on either sides of the train. We did not know what was happening. Then, there was an announcement in Greek!! We didn't understand a word of what was being said! But, we noticed some passengers were peering out of the window (don't know why). I was sitting very close to the door, as that was the only availabel seat. I looked out but only saw smoke. No one was leaving the train, so we thought nothing of it..Soon, there was another announcement, this time it sounded urgent!!!
My friends and I knew something was WRONG!! But, yet no one was leaving the train. Some of the ladies/ girls started crying and we, being the 'naive' ones, looked at them and grinned to ourselves!!
Then, a handsome guy looked at us and calmly told us "there's a bush fire, and we're right in the middle of it. If we're lucky, we'll be in Athens in an hour, and well, if we're not, then, God help our family to find our at least our teeth"!! Imagine our horror!! Our eyes nearly popped out!! Here we were, thousand of miles away from home, caught in bush fire, parents didn't know where we were at that moment (tho' they knew we were travelling) !!! All thought came rushing and the three of us huddled together...!
After about 1 hour, the train started to jerk, moved slowly and announcement again!! This time, we looked at the guy and he smiled..."we're gonna be OK" he said...

What a relief it was!!! We heaved a sigh Thanked God and of course, the frist thing we did when we reached Athens was to call up our resp. families, to let them know where we were!!!! You tend to appreciate friends and families during such moments...

[hehehewalrus]

Scorpio,
you did the right thing. That guy seems to be a psycho by any standards. Dont look back on that incident, its one of those unnecessary accidents of life.

Ah, the mention of Sterling Road brings back memories of Nungambakkam visits - getting down from 17D(the name of the stop was 'Some Bhavan', stopping at Sangeethas for a tiffin, 10pm walks along NH Road with friends, Komalas on KH Road..there used to be a tiny company called Infosys(?!?) en route Jagannathan Street and NH Road.

What happened to NOV's story?

[Thiru]

h3w, Sastri bhavan??

[rami]

H3w, 17D stop - Raj Bhavan

[rami]

This happened 6 years back....
I was in my second year of college, I was going to Bangalore for vacation, by Brindavan Express. There was a guy and his friend sitting opposite to me. He was contantly staring me and whenever i looked at him he wil turn his face. Then he started to indirectly speak to me by commenting with his friend...He started singing... There was some popular Sharukh song then.. I dot remember exacltly..
I was very tired that day and was in no mood to react. So I simply ignored him and started reading the book I had with me. When I looked up, he started speaking to me, asking my name, place of living etc.
I just told him my name and that I am from Chennai. He introduced himself and he was from Hyderabad, working as manaer for a prestigeous firm, earning lots of money and all blah,blah... and was on his way to Bangalore for an interview. Then he asked my mail-id and my address saying he would like to keep in touch with me. I refused to part with the info. He said he wanted to contact me... and gave his card.

Reaching Bangalore I forgot everything also lost his card...

After almost a week, my uncle's friend visited my uncle with his son, asking my uncle to help his son with a jon, as he had failed in his degree examination and is jobless. Guess what! That Mr.X was this persons son. You must have seen his face then. He could not even see me. He told some excuse and left. Even my uncle never saw him again..

Dont simply believe co-passengers....

[scorpio]

Hi Scorpio acca!
Ohhhh Surya range-kku poittengala :shock: :roll:
Thats none other than our Pras :D :P

ennadhu Pras-aa?????
My god! :rotfl:

Vasanth - Pls. intha vishayatha Pras-kitta sollidathe! :oops:

[jaiganes]

Interesting experiences.
Talking of bus experiences, Once I was in 29C, coming from Mandaveli to Perambur. Once the bus crossed, Otteri, one of the passengers shouted in very bad words and he reached for the person standing next to me. I was shocked and for a moment, I thought that he was reaching for me and instinctively bent back.
Then I realized that the gentleman standing next to me had picked the first person's pocket and was trying my purse. Thanks to the first person's alacrity, my purse was saved. The bus stopped in Otteri police station and all along the way, the pick pocket was getting heavy slappings. First time I saw "Dharma Adi" in person.

[Badri]

Interesting experiences.
Talking of bus experiences, Once I was in 29C, coming from Mandaveli to Perambur. Once the bus crossed, Otteri, one of the passengers shouted in very bad words and he reached for the person standing next to me. I was shocked and for a moment, I thought that he was reaching for me and instinctively bent back.
Then I realized that the gentleman standing next to me had picked the first person's pocket and was trying my purse. Thanks to the first person's alacrity, my purse was saved. The bus stopped in Otteri police station and all along the way, the pick pocket was getting heavy slappings. First time I saw "Dharma Adi" in person.

Reminds me of another twist that happened...I was travelling by 47D to Annanagar, when I saw a guy neatly pick the pocket of a passenger. I instinctively wanted to shout out, when another man who saw me watch the whole thing flicked a mean looking knife and actually held it close enough for the point to actually touch my body!

He gave me a smile, I can still remember the lazy, confident, sneer - nodded his head as though agreeing with my decision to keep silent, and both of them hopped of the bus at the next stop.

I was in school then - fifth or sixth - and sadly, didn't have the guts to do anything! Was too freaked out to raise an alarm even after they got off the bus...but till this day, I can remember the incident, the actions, the faces!!

Now that I think back, it was kinda exciting!!

[svaisn]

I was in my 5 or 6 standard then... I was travelling in 23C (Adyar to Saidapet)...... Bus was crowded so i was standing with the big bag on my shoulders..... There was an old man sitting in a seat with a small bag.... he was deep in sleep...

Next to him... was a guy in late 20s.... neatly dressed.... He also smiled at me when i looked at him :-)

When the bus stopped at the IIT bus stop.... this guy cooly got up and left.... and i went and sat there... when the bus had just passed gandhi mandapam.. i saw this old man's bag was cut... so i woke him up and told him.... Poor Guy he started shouting and crying.... :-( felt really bad... but culdnt help him as i was very small...

The conductor... stopped the bus and asked the old man to get down and go search for him.... in IIT stop.... but then there was a lady I think she might be a teacher (she looked like one)..... She gave the old man 200 rs and asked him to go to his place.....

Poor guy.. he sat next to me.. and was crying till i got down in the saidapet bus stand :-(

[j.chenkalvarayan]

karthick sir,
neengala sollunga. saidapettum adyarum romba thoorama. athuku poiyu oru busua.i think 23K sollrenga nenaikiren. antha bus than saidapet to adyar.23c -if i remember correctly was from ayyanavaram to besant nagar.

[Querida]

bus travel has been a part of my life ever since highschool but all occurences very small for short travel periods:

once i was standing at a bus stop which was pretty crowded and one dude in front of me was talking really loudly into his cell phone...he turned and smiled and was gesturing to the phone like the guy on the other end was bothersome...anyways lots of "yeah man i got it, yeah i'm all done" up until the bus came and we all sat down...past the second stop this guy is still blabbing loudly away when we hear a ringtone...a couple of people check their phone...and our loudspeaker guy goes silent...cause it was his phone that rang!...the whole damn time he was talking to no one...atleast he could have put it on silent... :roll: how embarrasing he was forced to really talk all he could mutter was call ya later and turn his face to the window...when i shared this incident with my friends three of them knew exactly who i meant...


gee i wonder what shampoo Pras uses? :P

[svaisn]

karthick sir,
neengala sollunga. saidapettum adyarum romba thoorama. athuku poiyu oru busua.i think 23K sollrenga nenaikiren. antha bus than saidapet to adyar.23c -if i remember correctly was from ayyanavaram to besant nagar.

JC sir...

23C saidapee valiya than besant nagarkku pogum...

It comes Gemini Fly Over ---> Mount Road ----> Saidapet-----> Adyar....

Saidapet to Adyar... will take 10 - 15 minutes in bus sir.... U expect me to walkaaA????

23K... Saidapet varathu... from Adyar it goes to guindy i think... not sure... but few of my friends go to guindy in that bus...

I usually take 23C, 47 A, 47, 5B, 5E, 19 B, 19K.... neraya bus erukku saidapet to Adayar.....

[j.chenkalvarayan]

naan sonnatha thappa purunchiteenga. naan enna mean pannenna saidapet and adyar romba pakkum. athukku special bus (which plies between thes two places alone,eg-23K)thevaiyana naan ketten. ofcourse i know 23 c has to go through adyar to reach besant nagar. and also i know there are many more buses in that route.got my point?

[svaisn]

oh.... Jc

In that case... to answer ur question

we dont have any special bus between saidapet and adyar...

[j.chenkalvarayan]

sorry kaarthick sir, i beg to differ from you, but i am pretty sure 23k is from adyar to saidapet only.

[j.chenkalvarayan]

atleast i have seen many times a bus plying between these two places alone. maybe i am wrong.

[Badri]

sorry kaarthick sir, i beg to differ from you, but i am pretty sure 23k is from adyar to saidapet only.

Encounters while travelling a ippadi MTC bus routes discuss panna hijack pannalama? PM use pannunga, pasangalaa!!

(Trans: Don't hijack this thread to discuss MTC bus routes. Use PMs)

[svaisn]

Sorry Badri Sir...

JC i will confirm it and let u know the details in a PM okay vaaa

[hehehewalrus]

Once I was waiting for quite a while to board a bus, one with some available seats. Everytime a bus came, a big crowd would hop off the station onto the road, and came back disappointed coz either it was the wrong bus or it was packed.
After a long time, a bus arrived and I noticed that the crowd didnt throng the entrance as before. I sauntered briskly to the door...then came back embarrassed without boarding.
It was a Ladies Special.

[Cinefan]

After a long time, a bus arrived and I noticed that the crowd didnt throng the entrance as before. I sauntered briskly to the door...then came back embarrassed without boarding.
It was a Ladies Special.


:lol:

[Querida]

nowadays the buses i travel in the word crowded means almost every seat is taken...in my highschool years i travelled in buses where you could hardly find a spot to stand or a place in the railing to hold....i remember once holding the rail and someone else their hand over mine...i couldn't even see who it was...it was that crowded! I couldn't move my hand to another place nor could i hold onto anything else and if i let go there were going to be some unhappy people having to rescue me :P

once this elderly man was standing very near the sidewalk ledge...he was wearing dark glasses and talked to me right away like he knew me so we began a conversation...he began to vent how unfair it was he had to take the bus because they had judged him too old to continue driving his car, (he was around 60) he said he had gotten into a minor accident where he had slightly hit another elderly person, but she was overreacting...he asked me to tell him when my stop was so that he knew his stop was near by...cause he was new to the whole bus thing and in a new place....when i came to my stop i said here's the shopping complex i get off at and bye...he's like what? where i don't see anything.......i was thinking to myself rather guiltily yeah he's nice and it's no shame in being blind or elderly :shock: but thank god they took away this guy's license! I was like damn he can't see the stop and this man wants to drive!