Before every solo trip, I get cold feet. No matter how many times I travel, I always get those nervous and excited butterflies. Until I leave home with my backpack, there’s always a voice in my head shouting “Are you crazy? You’ve certainly lost your mind; you can’t be serious about it”.

Well, this time was no different. Until I reached the railway station, one of my legs wanted to turn around and run back home. Anyways, I managed to reach the station on time and waited for the train which got delayed by around 30 min.

A bit of background, I haven’t travelled in train a lot, buses have been my usual transport, so I always get super excited whenever I can travel in train. I’ll tell you about another very interesting train story from my Mysore trip some other day.

Anyways, I found the tentative location of my coach and saw my train coming. Guys I am not exaggerating, it was a very surreal moment. Seeing that huge engine coming towards me at such a speed, the air pressure created due to air displacement by that humongous train threw me off my feet, the screeching sound of the friction between wheels and the tracks, the ear piercing sound of the horn which echoes and lingers in the ear for a while. I got such a rush at this moment; suddenly I was ecstatically happy and excited.

As soon as the train halted, I saw that I was not standing in front of my coach; it was either towards the front or towards the end of the train. And as you would guess, due to my lack of experience I didn’t know which direction to run in. So as fate would have it, I started running in the wrong direction with all my luggage while re-assuring myself that I’ll find it. I ran hard, without taking a break, holding my bags, out of breath, I RAN.

Soon I found myself at the end of the train, no more coaches to run along with and still no sign of my coach. I was confused, no idea what to do, is it even my train? My lower body went ice cold, my upper body went firey-hot. I tried to get a hold of myself, I was sure it’s the train to Jaisalmer, I double checked with a fellow runner (no, he had no clue where his or my coach was). Quickly, I started running in the opposite direction towards the engine this time. “Everything is under control, I’ll find it”, I kept re-assuring myself. Some of you must be thinking, why not climb in any coach and then find the right one later. Well! Wait until you read my Mysore train experience.

While running at full speed, suddenly, I hear the take-off horn. I froze on the ground; I couldn’t feel my legs anymore. Hopelessness was getting the best of me, for a split second which felt like an eternity I thought this trip will end before even starting. Thankfully! My positive cells came running to my rescue; I took a deep breath and started running again. Now the train started moving and I was running along with it to reach the nearest gate. I managed to climb on a moving train with help of a gentleman who caught my hand just in time. Dear reader, before you panic and frown upon my action, the train was moving at a climbable speed. I had my DDLJ movement, even though my Raj was missing.

They stopped the train later, since half of the passengers were still on the platform looking for their coaches just like I was. The train did reach the platform at a more than usual speed, so I was right about the mesmerizing speed, no imagination there.

Luckily, the coach I climbed in was the immediate neighbor of my coach. So I was relieved by the thought of being able to sit and chill in my seat without having to go through the trouble of shifting, explaining, requesting, etc.

I reached my designated seat, there was a family and a couple of guys in my compartment. I felt relieved seeing a female and kids along with me. (Why? we’ll talk about that in a different article, it requires a dedicated post). Anyways, as per the plan, I placed myself and my bag in the most comfortable corners, opened my Doritos packet, my novel and began “chilling”. Unaware of the events which were about to follow in near future and will change the vibe of this train journey for me.

—to be continued

Read the previous blog on how it all started.

PS: Like I said in my last post, you better follow this blog to stay posted as I proceed with the story.