Well I was on our way back home form Bombay after having one of the most amazing experiences (mumbai rocks!!.. though bangalore still comes first ) … the train was to leave at 10.30pm we reached well in advanced … after some waiting (almost getting bitten to death by the mosquitoes ) the train finally arrived … we picked up our bags only to feel that there had been an exponential increase in their weights (doesn’t it always feel that your bags are always heavy at the end of the trip even though u haven’t added anything extra into it or if its people like me its supposed to be lighter as its not always that I make sure I get back everything I had taken ) and after a long walk ( small sprints in the middle with a hope to reach the our compartment quicker and reduce the labour time!!) we checked the reservation list only on getting in to find that all four of us (oops I didn’t mention it did I the four of us would be U^2 ,risky, VJ and myself ) had got seats at different places … well after some pleading and begging ( and manhandling and gundagiri … a few things I just picked up from my stay at Bombay) we got ourselves grouped into 2’s at different ends (so much for begging and pleading !!) … but this was the best thing that happened to me on the train which u will come to know why …
11.30 pm: I put all my bags under the seats and chained them securely ( standard security procedures !! ) and I get my first look at what I would call as the kutti family ( no prices for guessing from where they are :-p) and for no apparent reason that I could find the ladies in the kutti family were just looking at there hands and CRYING !!! ( at that point I thought I was going to be in for one heck of a journey) I just couldn’t stop laughing looking at the family drama going on so I put my blanket over my head laughing under the hood and after a while I had fallen asleep …
6.30am: the next morning I wake up brushed my teeth … sat at the door for a while and come back to my seat while I was just looking out of the window and taking in the beauty outside .. the kutti family woke up …. Well let me tell u a bit more about the kutti family it was a big family even though there are supposed to be 6 people in a compartment the kutti family (KF) had more in the offering they had members even in the AC coaches (well if there was ever a model about family planning this was it why?? The KFM(kutti family members) kept taking turns in batches first batch sits in the ac for a while then they return and it’s the turn of the second batch … now do u get the planning???? ) . but what made me so attracted to the KF was Lia :-) … she was incredibly beautiful .. she had the most beautiful eyes and her smile was mesmerizing … she had these soft slightly curly hair and smooth glowing skin … if that was not enough her younger sister was as beautiful as she was only slighty shorter and a little fatter …. Well I couldn’t just take my eyes of them …. I smiled at lia at first she just stared at me for a sec and then just turned away … I kept looking at her … on and on ……………………………………………………………….
7.30am : now let me introduce u to another group which I call the sixty’s gang if KF was fun these guys were an absolute blast … they were 6 people headed by “ GOD FATHER” and his deputy on the field whom we had named “ THE BOND”
well what shall I say about there guys .. they were all in there sixty’s and the only thing they did was “EAT eat eat eat and eat ( well I get tired just to even tell u how much they ate huff )..
Well with the chai walas coming so frequently that if any one had tea so many times I swear to god that he would not have tea again in his life … I guess they can be called the wake up service of the railways with no snooze option … both the KF and the sixty’s gang had there chais and the journey continued with one eye on lia and my day dreams …
10.30 am: well almost all of us were done with our breakfasts … the men of the KF were playing some weird card game that I and udi tried to figure out but only to be perplexed as every time we thought we understood the game we were to be wrong … it was as if the game had floating rules and could be changed at there will … so I gave trying to understand the game and turned my attention outside.
1.00pm: We were passing through plantations of sunflower on either side … with the sun at its peak it was getting quiet hot in the train … lia was sitting beside her mom and it was not difficult to tell were she got her beautiful smile from … I glanced at her arranged ma pillow and looking out at the sunflower plantations I fell asleep and when I woke up it was lunch time … the sixty’s gang seemed to have finished there pre- lunch session and were gearing up to there lunch session …
well after so many sessions of the SG eating I and udi observed something unusual , god father always seemed to take of his shirt and pant when ever he wanted to eat !!! Well some ppl just follow weird rituals i guess …
Well time passed and lia had started smiling at me now .. :-D( with the entire kutti family with both her mom and dad being there brave girl isn’t she ?? ) I smiled back at her … it was only for a moment then we would go back to staring outside … I so wished to speak to her once but was scared hmmm …..
6.00PM: VJ and risky had bunked over at our place and we were busy discussing at to what time we would be reaching bangalore we had the map out guessing and betting as to what time we would reach …
IT was 8 PM .. by now I had just made up the courage to talk to the KF men (still not to lia …. ) .. I was starting to believe that I will never speak to her …. We were nearing bangalore we were to reach by around 10.30pm ( by the way I won the bet as udi had betted that the we would be reaching by 9!!!!! He owes me a bornvill now …J)
We were nearing bangalore when I was at last able to come face to face with lia … she gave me the most beautiful smile and with two cute flying kisses !!!!! she waved me good bye !!!!!!!
Well I guess it was the perfect way to end my perfect trip to Bombay … filled with a million memories I got down the train as lia ,the KF and the sixty’s gang continued there journey ( dunno where they would get down .. :( ) …
Before I end my story I just I one last thing left to tell u about lia … she is the cutest 2 year old u will ever come across .. she is always flashing her innocent smile … never nagged her mother during the entire journey ( such a sweet girl she is ) … eats her food herself distributing it every inch of the floor surrounding her :) … an absolute sweet heart she was .. she made my journey a real sweet one ..:):)
Every year around December there is a fair that takes place just a few blocks from my house ... its one of my favorite ones as i have grown up attending the fair every year without fail ( as i have i lived in bangalore all my life !!) In kannada a local fair is called jatre . Well i think its a wonderful event where all the local community people come out for a relaxed evening in the old style village style fair in the heart of a metropolitan and moder city like bangalore . Its quintessential India and the making of a perfect portrait picture which shows no matter how we have evolved as a country we still love our roots . I am kind of old styled and things like this give me a lot of joy and a even to this day make it a point to attend it every year with my parents .
