From Bareilly to Kolkata by Doon Express

When I arrived at the Bareilly railway station, the time was around 3.30pm. I went to the ticket counter and requested the man at the counter for a ticket to Kolkata. The man gave me a hard stare and brought down a huge ledger from a rack. It was the reservation for the Doon Express. He asked me my name. Then he struck out a name from the register, added my name at the bottom of the list and handed me a ticket with reservation.

The train fare with reservation charges was something like Rs 68 – I handed him a Rs 100 note and he did not bother to return the change. I also did not ask him to return the balance. I was thankful to have got bot ticket as well as reservation. This was more important because the Doon Express train would arrive at 3.30am and a berth would be welcome to spend the night.
I had to spend 12-hours at the railway station and, I picked up a James Hadley Chase paperback from the book stall. Then I went over to the refreshment room and had a cup of tea with some pakoras. I was the only passenger there and felt a bit awkward. Anyway, after strolling up and down the platform a couple of times, I retreated into the waiting room. And, as the sunlight faded, the cold began to descend. At times, there would be a sudden blast of wind as a train passed through and I would be literally shivering to my bones.
Fortunately, some of the railway porters had lit a fire in the waiting room and it helped to ward off the biting cold. When the train finally arrived, I somehow managed to locate my compartment, get into the upper bunk and try to close my eyes. Try – because the coach was full with students of Doon School who were going home for Christmas vacations. It was a noisy night and, next day, as the train sped towards Kolkata, I saw a few wonders of our country. The radishes of Jaunpur and the brinjals of Beneras – both were huge size of vegetables!!
As the train rolled into Howrah Station, my mind was on my next port of call – the office of Indian Airlines to get my tickets confirmed for my flight to Tejpur. (to be continued …)


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