Train ride to hell & back... (Ishita)

My most memorable train journey sadly is memorable NOT because I came across an interesting stranger ...though yes I wish it were so :)! It’s memorable because of a rather unusual adventure! Some of you who know me well have heard me talk of it often.

When my dad was posted in Assam, I once traveled from Delhi to Guwahati (in Assam) with my grandma by train. Now since dad was working in the Railways, we would travel via train quite frequently. This time my grandma and I were traveling in a Saloon. Those familiar with Railway life will know that a “saloon” is a stand alone coach which is like a house in wheels - with a living/dining room, bedrooms, bathrooms and a kitchen. It’s used by rly officers to travel at work and is usually attached to the end of the train so as to help them inspect the tracks, etc. I’ve once lived on such a saloon for a couple of months…it was like living out a “caravan” adventure!

Anyway, it was a rather long journey but we loved the comfort the saloon provided and time seemed to fly by. We entered Assam early morning and were more or less ready to reach home by lunch time. When suddenly….20 minutes after we crossed the border…we heard a THUD…loud…and then the train gave several hard jolts….a screeching sound…and then SILENCE….the train stopped. Then we heard a wail…loud…pitiful. I was stunned. My grandma simply held me close and then she said what my heart already knew… she said “Bomb!” ….

At the time Assam was (still is to quite an extent) plagued with the problem of insurgency. Those were bad days there. Bomb blasts, terror killings were common place…a battle raged between the Government and the various insurgent groups there.

I gathered my wits and walked to the living room and we had one of the staff from my father’s office traveling with us and he came and told me “beta there’s been an accident…a bomb on the tracks…we don’t know the extent of damage yet but we have to get off the train RIGHT NOW”…I kept nodding my head but told him that my granma would need help getting off as the train was stranded in the midst of paddy fields and climbing off would be trouble for her and her bad leg. Plus there didn’t seem to be any sign of life nearby.

A village some distant away seemed deserted. Not a single soul from that village ventured out to help. Maybe they were scared. Maybe threatened not to help. Maybe they sympathized with the people who caused this to happen. I don’t know…

Luckily for us, the train had a lot of army people traveling. Many of them took charge of the situation and had people evacuating the area in a rather organized way. Some helped us get my grandma off and we walked along the tracks away from the train and gathered at a fair distance off…I guess that was when it all hit me that we very narrowly escaped death! I watched people all around me…most in shock, some crying, some dazed…I was scared, angry…and I ached to be with my parents. There were no cell phones back then so I had no clue how to contact them …I seemed to be in the middle of nowhere!

Meanwhile, back home my dad got the first call from the Control Room (he was one of the senior most officers of the Zonal Rly then) and my mom happened to pick up the parallel line at the same time… her heart sank as she heard the operator inform my father “Sir the *x* train has met with an accident…bomb blast… and there are many casualties” …My father did not accompany the rest of the senior officers team but had his driver drive him non stop to the nearest station to the accident site. Mom stayed home…waiting…waiting…to hear if we were alive…

….. It is a rather long account. I won’t get into details here. Eventually we did get home. A lot more happened in between. Of all that, the one I always tell people about is when my grandma suddenly felt faint and turned to me and said “Ishita I need my medicines” I said ok I’ll get u some water. She said “No no…I left my medicine box on the train!”….I was like... “Oh! But I can’t go back there” and yet I knew she had to take her heart medicines. I made up my mind and started the trek back to the train. One army chap ran up to stop me, “ Are u mad? U can’t go back! It’s too dangerous!”…. I simply said, “My grandma needs her medicines… I have to go!” He said he’s go with me, so we walked. I heard my grandma call after me “please get my Paan ka dabba too!”…. huh!?!! It was funny really coz here I was walking back to danger and she worries about her paan?!!!

Aah well, I also saw a side to my grandma that made me cherish her more. She reached out to so many people on that day…comforted so many strangers…hugged them close, cried with them…reassured them. All this from a woman who herself was so frail and ill.

Experiences like this and trust me I’ve had more… a plane journey that went horribly wrong… and being stuck in the SUPER CYCLONE in Orissa… well, such experiences have taught me a lot about treasuring what life offers me. I try not to take anything for granted…be it the lil moments of joy or the moments that upset me.

My biggest lesson - Life is unpredictable and u can lose everything in a split second! So value every bit of it and God knows I DO!
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Ps: Sorry for the infrequent posts and I'm hoping this rather longgg one :P will make up for my absence (may continue to be infrequent though!)