Kissa Wallet Ka

#KissaWalletKa

Well, have you ever lost something and found it back again? Particularly your wallet. I have, twice. Here is the first incident which occurred a few years back. I was travelling to Mumbai from Kolkata in Duronto Express. I have a habit of keeping my wallet in the back pocket and when sleeping in the train I keep it in the front pocket. And when travelling alone I prefer the upper berth. The upper berth is a kingdom on its own. 😉 Anyway, so when going to sleep what I did was I kept my wallet on the upper berth and started climbing up and would take it once I am up. That’s my usual behavior. The scene happened next morning. I woke up to find my wallet missing. A sense of extreme panic engrossed me. My kingdom was at stake as I couldn’t find my wallet anywhere. I came down and asked people around (maximum were still asleep). The train was at Igatpuri, I remember. Those days the stoppage at Igatpuri was a technical stop as a for addition of a second engine due to the ghats. I boarded at the station and looked for the Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) who was stationed in his cabin near the pantry car. I hurried to his kingdom in order to file an First Information Report (FIR) as someone told me that’s the norm. I had also managed to write the complaint on a blank sheet of white paper as per suggestions from the people around. I reached but he refused to take it. What he suggested was that when I de-board at CST (Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, it wasn’t CSMT then) I should file the FIR with Government Railway Police (GRP) at the station. An amused me, hopelessly started back to my seat as the train was also about to leave. Suddenly it clicked my mind that my debit cards should be immediately blocked and as a responsible person I hurriedly called up the bank 24/7 helplines and blocked all my cards. I wondered how will I reach home as I didn’t have cash or card. I called up a friend who was unavailable. My wife was out of town and I didn’t want to bother her. Finally, a dejected me came and sat with gallons of thought in my mind. I searched the place once again to no avail. Meanwhile a person who was sleeping in the side lower berth woke up and seeing me searching he suddenly asked, have you lost your wallet? I was like, yes, Thank God I have found it. But no, he informed that late night a wallet was found and it was with the person in the next coupe as he asked around but didn’t find the owner. I found a ray of hope as I went to check but he was sleeping. Now every minute was like an hour to me. I kept waiting for him to wake up impatiently. Meanwhile breakfast and all that was served which I could hardly eat but gulped down. Finally, after an hour and a half or so, he woke up. And I approached him asking if it was my wallet. He was an elderly man travelling to Mumbai with his daughter. He asked me my name and verification. I said my verification is inside that wallet if he may check my PAN and cards were available. He did and after an eternal morning I got my wallet back all safe and sound but, but the story doesn’t end here. The next few hours till CST the elderly man kept giving me advice on safety and life and youth and what not, which I had listened patiently without uttering much words. I was thankful then and even now. It was an incident and a journey I would never forget. 😊

*N.B.: Will share the 2nd Lost and Found Wallet Incident soon.

What A Ride

It was evening and raining heavily as I rushed inside the Borivali station to find an AC local at the platform. The AC local was introduced on 25^th December 2017 and I had not yet taken a ride, so this time I decided to experience it and what a ride I had. I was travelling from Borivali to Mumbai Central. It was the 6.55pm local and yet as time ticked by it didn’t move. What was truly eerie was, as far as I could see inside the train there was no one, not a soul. The AC was on full swing and Mumbai felt like Kashmir. My mind re-winded as I was about to witness another ride as this after 9 years or so. That ride I remember we (Ananya and Me) were travelling from Howrah to Digha in the Duronto Express and our compartment had no souls apart from us in the whole journey. In fact, the bus that the resort had sent from Sankarpur to pick us up also had only us as the only passengers. That was another great experience.

Well coming back to the story and the reality the AC Local finally started at 6:57pm and the doors closed with only me sitting. After a while finally I saw a soul, an RPF Lady Constable walked past me and settled two rows back. And almost in a minute, she was having a conversation which was clearly audible. She must have been speaking to her senior. She was narrating an incident that had happened during the day. A man had entered a women’s coach and she had an altercation with him. The person would not get down and she would not let him stay. Amidst this, another soul was coming forward and finally stopped in front of me asking to show the ticket. It was the TT (Travelling Ticket Examiner) or TC (Ticket Checker). As he finished viewing my ticket, he uttered three words which no one can expect in any local train of The Mumbai Subarban Railway Network, never. He said, Thank You Sir. Can you believe that a Mumbai TC was actually thanking a passenger for showing ticket? Unbelievable. 

Anyway, Andheri had come by that time but not a soul in sight. I was having a feeling of riding in the future as you might have experienced in movies. It was dark outside with heavy rains and an AC fast local at full speed was like I was anywhere in future but not Mumbai, can’t be. The thought sends shivers down your spine and I was experiencing it with the chilled temperature inside.

So gradually Bandra came, Dadar came and finally I stood up as I would get down at the next station, Mumbai Central. I, actually, was up as soon as the local left Dadar. Warming up, you know, I warmed up, took some photos and waited near the closed door. As far as I could see inside the train there was hardly anyone (see the pic). Finally, I got down at my destination only to look back and find the RPF Lady boarding down too.

Well, as I walked ahead, the train left and the rain sound took over I don’t know why but I was only thinking about “Okhil Babu (Okhil Chandra Sen)”, the man who had written a letter to The Indian Railways in 1909 which supposedly led to the introduction of toilets in trains. 😊