Day 19 : My affairs with Railway Stations

This goes way back to my pre-primary schooling days. I wake up as usual that morning and my folks (my dad getting my socks on my feet and tying up my shoes!! Man!! what a memory PK HAS!! :P) tell me we're going out of station in the evening, by train. Aur yahiin se choote meri gaadi!! I was in school when all of a sudden my mom shows up with my lunch. I remember she was spoon feeding me and answering some random question I kept asking about the trip. It was a family visit to Tirupati.

And then my train of thoughts left the station, only never to return!! I was all excited about going by train!! I didn't know it then, but I know it know. Its all the chaos, the drama, the excitement, the complete ACTION package that excites me about Railway Stations. I have traveled a lot on trains to go various places for my swimming. Should say, I've been to almost all places except J&K!! And that too, I will go soon, no matter what!! Back to the action at stations... I just like watching all this action and am not a part of it. I don't like running around on Railway Station premises, its a peaceful experience for me. I haven't a major incident of this order that I can think of. Nor would I be running in the future. Yes, when the need arises, like maybe my girl's forgotten to take my goodbye kiss while going out of town, I'll run up to her and throw her the kiss, but otherwise, naah, I'd never run. But here's the GODDESS reason... I love having HOT COFFEE at Railway Stations. Preferably one from Fresh 'N' Ground, if not, one from a Coffee Day bar. I just LOVE the cappuccino from Fresh 'N' Ground, sugarless... I could ask for this coffee as my last wish on my death bed and I wouldn't give a damn where I'd reach in my afterlife, for I, already have found my Stairway to Heaven, my cup of steaming hot, cappuccino!!!

Coffee being the primary reason, I also like the wait for the person who's coming. No no, don't jump to conclusions. Its not because I already miss them a lot. Its because I'd have picked up some random scene on road while driving to the station or some incident last night that gave birth to a new theory of my own and then, I'm dying to find someone to tell about it!! I really don't care if the person who is being talked to listens to or not, understands or not, I'd just go on and on and on anyway!! :D I guess I'm the only guy who appreciates delays in schedules at Railway Stations (not while I'm on train, while I'm waiting at the station) because I just walk along the platform with my hands in my pockets, stare at the old monumental structures, listen to fellow passengers call the people who're to come by that train and crib about how the delay is annoying them... I love watching people creating a panic situation out of NOTHING, while I, on the other side am standing with a large exclamatory mark on my head, like "huh, really!!"

Somehow going by air to any place doesn't involve this kind of fun. I only remember being excited for the first two or three times. And then I started reading books. Its all calm, with just the huge traffic jams on the way to the airport and hence the whole idea of leaving a couple of hours earlier to the airport and then wait... those guys do not even make grammatical errors in announcements at airports!! Its boring. The only time your heart may be pounding is when you know its a bad weather out there and you touch down safely. That's it!! :|

P.S. I'll put up something soon, something I've written a night before I was to go to a station to pick someone up. Its not something I wrote on my own, I copied it, but I wrote it on paper.

STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN...

Its more than just another good old classic rock song from two Gods of Good-Old-Rock. Every time I read the words 'Stairway to Heaven' I can't help humming the tune, "Ooh, it makes me wonder,Ooh, it makes me wonder". This song to me is definitely larger than life!!

Stairway To Heaven
(J.Page, R.Plant)
There's a lady who's sure
All that glitters is gold
And she's buying a stairway to heaven.
When she gets there she knows
If the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for.
Ooh, ooh, and she's buying a stairway to heaven.

There's a sign on the wall
But she wants to be sure
'Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings.
In a tree by the brook
There's a songbird who sings,
Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven.
Ooh, it makes me wonder,
Ooh, it makes me wonder.

There's a feeling I get
When I look to the west,
And my spirit is crying for leaving.
In my thoughts I have seen
Rings of smoke through the trees,
And the voices of those who standing looking.
Ooh, it makes me wonder,
Ooh, it really makes me wonder.

And it's whispered that soon
If we all call the tune
Then the piper will lead us to reason.
And a new day will dawn
For those who stand long
And the forests will echo with laughter.

If there's a bustle in your hedgerow
Don't be alarmed now,
It's just a spring clean for the May queen.
Yes, there are two paths you can go by
But in the long run
There's still time to change the road you're on.
And it makes me wonder.

Your head is humming and it won't go
In case you don't know,
The piper's calling you to join him,
Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow,
And did you know
Your stairway lies on the whispering wind.

And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our soul.
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold.
And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last.
When all are one and one is all
To be a rock and not to roll.

And she's buying a stairway to heaven.