RAILFANNING WITH NON-RFs: A DAY AT CHANDIGARH JUNCTION
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Breaking the monotone of endless slogging, consecutive all-nighters and inhumane memorization of texts which if read in depth can lead to paranormal behavior even in the most sensible chunk of the human population, I along with three of my colleagues chalked out a trip to Mohali two days after the endurance capacities of the college administrative staff for the soaring temperatures surpassed their sadistic and till-then-immortal desire of making us mark our attendance in their territories logic and reasoning irrespective.
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5 minute into the planning conversation and the road was struck off as a mode of transit for the major part of the plan. Staggered, bewildered or helpless, however you picture it but after submitting to the rather ruthless denial to their "road-trip-with-my-car" idea, with a half or rather a quarter-hearted nod, Khan and Hyder limited themselves to a corner as I checked the availability for 12011 NDLS-KLK SHT and 12450 CDG-NDLS-MAO Goa SK Exp for the two legs.
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Not with much delay the tickets were booked and the morning arrived where the ever-charming SSB WDS6 brought the rake in. The next five hours were about me and Shan explaining the other half about LHBs, IRY/20, sectional MPS and what not. While Khan could relate to things slightly, Hyder who last had a train journey when he was 4 years of age felt like a kindergarten kid being forced into the eighth standard. The train was running with a WCR marked DD EOG and I couldn't miss capturing it, and hence after reaching our destination Hyder accompanied me to the end of the platform where I snapped the unusual. The giggling over me clicking trains had now gone weaker as he developed a slight interest in RF. As we proceeded to the cloak room, I explained the role of bankers, EOGs and routes from CDG. It was getting fun now. I could share my RF ideas with my friends giving the whole trip an enjoyable dimension.
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(Continued and completed in [Part 2|/blog/post/1134274/1 0] )