All in a train journey .

Train journeys are nearly always interesting. Much more interesting than a flight where everyone carries a mundane expression. You come across many peculiar characters. Some can make your journey pleasant while others can make it almost unbearable. I am listing here a few characters which I have come across quite often and I find them very irritating.

1) People travelling with kids: A well behaved child is no nuisance. Neither is a mischievous kid who entertains you with his antics. The trouble is with babies who have a knack of crying after midnight. Or with kids who behave like "hooligans". But the worst is kids who litter the whole compartment. 

My advice: Book upper berths and always carry earphones. Music is more soothing than a child's crying.

2) "Papa Poirot" or The "All-Knowing" uncle: As the name suggests this particular breed of uncles knows everything from engineering to medicine, from law to commerce, from politics to cricket. He will ask more questions than a job recruiter. He would have done everything better "in his time". The perennial misanthrope!! He will keep pointing out the wrongs in your generation until you are so bored you will simply agree with everything just to shut him up.

My advice: Ignore them from the start. 

3) "Anu Aunty": For those who are unfamiliar with the name I strongly recommend you to read "How I braved Anu Aunty and co-founded a million dollar company". 

My advice: Yet to figure out how to dodge them. So if anyone has an idea please leave a comment.

4) The "VIP" uncle: He is not an MP or an MLA. He is the one with most VIP suitcases. In addition to all the suitcases he will be carrying an enormous food packet and will keep eating from it after every few minutes. 

5) The damsel with the phone: Let me share one of my experiences. While travelling from Bangalore to Chennai on Shatabdi Express I was very pleased to find myself seated next to a very beautiful girl. She was talking to someone on phone. I decided to wait for her to disconnect and started thinking what would be the best way to start a conversation. Since she did not end the conversation soon, I took out a novel and started reading. Trust me  it is very difficult to read a novel when someone seated next to you is arguing with someone on phone. Unfortunately I did not have my earphones on that occasion and had to suffer throughout the 6 hour journey, What still puzzles me is which service provider was she using that gave her uninterrupted service for 6 hours.

There are many other menaces you may come across on a train journey. I cannot list  a few here because it may offend some but the above 5 are the most common ones I guess. 

Life without a smartphone.

Three days ago I accidentally dropped my Xperia pro which caused damage to it's display. The first day without my "beloved" phone was a nightmare. All of a sudden I was unemployed again. It felt as if I had been disconnected from the outside world and stranded alone in an "island" named Burnpur.

Things I missed most:-

1) Whatsapp: Lots of nonsensical talk with friends in group chat. Numerous "reading comprehension" sized forwards. Exchange of emoticons all day long with my girl. Seriously calling or texting have become obsolete.

2) Offline dictionary: Probably the most used app by avid readers like me. It is a lifeline. Who has the energy to fetch the "clinically obese" Oxford dictionary just to look up a word.

3) Fruit Ninja and Candy Crush: Although I have stopped playing candy crush recently owing to the numerous requests I get on facebook, I have to admit it is a very effective way of surviving the daily meeting. Fruit Ninja is the perfect time-pass irrespective of where and with whom you are.

4) Facebook: This is something I do not miss much as I still access it from my lappy, but still "fb on the go" has really become a part of my daily routine.

5) Music: Sennheiser earphones in combination with Sony Xperia is something any music lover will miss.


The first day was unbearable, the second day was difficult but the third was actually bearable.
I realize now that there were things which I had missed out because of my smartphone.

1)Meetings: Under usual circumstances all I do in a meeting is slice over 150 fruits in arcade mode. But yesterday I actually paid attention to the discussion since I had nothing better to do. Up till now I had a feeling of guilt(must be somewhere in the deep recess of my mind) that I was contributing nothing useful to the meetings.Now I am free from that feeling of guilt, because now I know that I can contribute nothing to a pile of crap.

2)Novels: Its been a while since I completed a novel without putting it down even once. What with all the usual "buzzing and pinging" on whatsapp and gtalk. Add to that the facebook notifications. Yesterday I finished reading a novel of over 200 pages in less than 5 hours.

3)Match: IPL 7 has failed to create interest in general. And xperia was something which always kept me distracted while watching IPL matches.The qualifier CSK vs KXIP was one match I watched without any disturbances and enjoyed it a lot. Thanks to Viru and Raina for obliging with glorious knocks.

4)Sleep: No more whatsapp pings to disturb my sweet slumber. Boy, what a relief!!

5)Late night call: Thanks to the continuous exchange of emoticons throughout the day conversation was usually nominal and more of a routine than necessity. Since I haven't used whatsapp in a while I actually had a long heart to heart with my beloved. 


The aforesaid reasons may not be strong enough to prevent me from getting another smartphone, but in the last three days I have realized that life is not too boring, even without a smartphone.

Time to say Goodbye...

“I'll never see her again. I know that. And she knows that. And knowing this, we say farewell.” 

Every morning as the sun rises over the horizon,

And its rays spread warmth and love across the globe,

I wake up with regret clouding over my heart,

Brooding about how we had drifted so far apart.

As the birds start chirping in their nests,

And butterflies start fluttering their wings,

I wander listlessly along the stream,

Wondering if it was all just a bad dream.

As squirrels dance around the tree trunks,

Searching for nuts hidden in the grass.

I realize I should never have let you slip away.

A mistake which I shall regret until my last day.

As the carefree breeze flows gracefully,

Stroking everything through the fold.

There is nothing I can do but pray 

That we may be friends again someday.

But I know Destiny has had it's say,

That we aren't meant be close in any way.

I have fallen for you...

Some time back you were a stranger.

And then slowly you became my friend.

You were the one I called,

Whenever I had any problem,

You were the one to crack a joke,

And fill me up with laughter

You told me you loved me,

But I didn't feel the same.

Still you were there for me,

In my darkness and despair,

To brighten up my days,

With your sweet cherubic face.

It all started as a dream,

But now it is a reality.

At first it was only you,

But now I'm in love too.

The true love that I had been seeking,

I have finally found it in you.

Languish

No matter how much I yearn,

No one shows any concern,

I cry out to my friends for help,

Not one of them hears my yelp.

A stream of tears runs down my cheek,

As I writhe in pain and grow weak.

Frustration has reached its highest peak,

A little peace and calm is all I seek.

I wish someone would free my soul,

And lead me far from this hellhole.