Monday, August 29, 2005
Pratham Shreni Pratikshalaya
Back after a break of one month with this slightly cribbish posting !!
After being deprived of Indian surroundings and way of life for one and a half months, at last, I was ready to fly back to India. The feeling of landing on Indian soil again was overwhelming. The 3.5 hours journey felt like a million years inspite of Thai Airways serving ‘Indian Vegetarian’ food (for a change!!) and showing the movie Monster-In-Law. Finally, we hit the IG International Airport runway exactly at 11 PM.
The excitement vanished as soon as I came across the line at immigration. It was like a mile long and it seemed as if whole of India was returning from abroad. There were two queues: an orderly one for the foreign nationals & a serpent-like impatient line for Indian nationals. For me, this contrast summed up the difference between India and rest of the world. Standing, or rather being pushed-around, in the queue, I looked around at the plight of the airport. Singapore and Bangkok airports looked like dreams in front of this nightmarish one. Be it dilapidated interiors or the time clocks that never seemed to work or the apathetic staff, it was as shabby as it could get. After 1.5 hours, this ordeal was over; or so I thought because the best was yet to come.
As I had to catch a train in the morning, I decided on taking a pre-paid taxi to the New Delhi railway station. The taxi-fare was in no way less than the international fares and it made me to believe in the same way about the taxi. After having being dropped in a Mercedes in SG and in a brand new Toyota Corona in Bangkok, the taxi at IGI airport came as a rude shock. It was an antiquated, dented and tattered Maruti Omni. It was fully air-conditioned as there were no windows in it. I cursed myself on having paid so much for that shady piece of junk. The exterior of the airport was as bad as the interior. There was so much commotion as the foreigners were confused about the taxi they had to take. To top this, the taxi drivers were fighting for the most wealthy-looking tourist. The road leading out of airport had potholes chiseled all over it as if shaking to remind that I was back home. Suddenly, a thought occurred – if after living a few days outside the country, I am feeling like this then what would be the plight of the foreigners who come here for fun? “First impression makes a lasting impression” was a saying I had learnt long back and I am sorry to say that first impression of India was not very impressive. A country like Thailand, which is very much like India in many respects, gives a first impression of grandeur, affluence and great hospitality. And what impression are we giving? Of shabbiness, apathy and penury!!
Pratham Shreni Pratikshalaya (First Class Waiting Room) were the words written outside a room on the ND railway station platform no. 1. As it was an extraordinarily hot day in Delhi, I expected nothing less than an air-condition environment inside. But it was only after entering it that I realized how much of a misnomer the room was. There were people strewn all over the place sleeping on the ground and there was hardly any space to walk around. There were hardly any fans in there and sweat was pouring like rain. After settling down on a seat and looking around, I found Apne saamaan ki suraksha khud karein (Take care of your luggage) written on all the four walls. Was it a warning or plain information … nobody knows. I worriedly looked at my luggage only to find that the Thai-airways appendages looked like medals on a soldier’s uniform announcing how bravely the owner had carried them through the customs of a few countries. The next thing I remember doing was getting rid of all those attachments. After two bottles of water and an India Today and an Outlook, I survived 4 hours in that hellish room without a single minute of sleep. As I was moving out of the room, I looked back at the board and had an urge to paint the words Pratham Shreni Narakalaya (First Class Hell) on it.
Answer to Solve it like Holmes : Buffy is the killer. He went inside with Pinns into the latter’s room and killed him. He then switched off the light of the room and disconnected the circuits. With the door bolted, he waited in the darkness for the opportune moment to escape but could not come out due to Demi’s roaming around and then Viv coming out of his room to go to the bathroom. When Viv was trying to revive Sandy, he moved out of the room and acted as if he came running (by panting etc. so as to give that effect). He was not seen in the dim emergency light due to his black attire. His false story, that he came from other hostel, was busted when Chubby asked the watchman (at the end of the story) about his coming inside the hostel at 11:30.
After being deprived of Indian surroundings and way of life for one and a half months, at last, I was ready to fly back to India. The feeling of landing on Indian soil again was overwhelming. The 3.5 hours journey felt like a million years inspite of Thai Airways serving ‘Indian Vegetarian’ food (for a change!!) and showing the movie Monster-In-Law. Finally, we hit the IG International Airport runway exactly at 11 PM.
The excitement vanished as soon as I came across the line at immigration. It was like a mile long and it seemed as if whole of India was returning from abroad. There were two queues: an orderly one for the foreign nationals & a serpent-like impatient line for Indian nationals. For me, this contrast summed up the difference between India and rest of the world. Standing, or rather being pushed-around, in the queue, I looked around at the plight of the airport. Singapore and Bangkok airports looked like dreams in front of this nightmarish one. Be it dilapidated interiors or the time clocks that never seemed to work or the apathetic staff, it was as shabby as it could get. After 1.5 hours, this ordeal was over; or so I thought because the best was yet to come.
As I had to catch a train in the morning, I decided on taking a pre-paid taxi to the New Delhi railway station. The taxi-fare was in no way less than the international fares and it made me to believe in the same way about the taxi. After having being dropped in a Mercedes in SG and in a brand new Toyota Corona in Bangkok, the taxi at IGI airport came as a rude shock. It was an antiquated, dented and tattered Maruti Omni. It was fully air-conditioned as there were no windows in it. I cursed myself on having paid so much for that shady piece of junk. The exterior of the airport was as bad as the interior. There was so much commotion as the foreigners were confused about the taxi they had to take. To top this, the taxi drivers were fighting for the most wealthy-looking tourist. The road leading out of airport had potholes chiseled all over it as if shaking to remind that I was back home. Suddenly, a thought occurred – if after living a few days outside the country, I am feeling like this then what would be the plight of the foreigners who come here for fun? “First impression makes a lasting impression” was a saying I had learnt long back and I am sorry to say that first impression of India was not very impressive. A country like Thailand, which is very much like India in many respects, gives a first impression of grandeur, affluence and great hospitality. And what impression are we giving? Of shabbiness, apathy and penury!!
Pratham Shreni Pratikshalaya (First Class Waiting Room) were the words written outside a room on the ND railway station platform no. 1. As it was an extraordinarily hot day in Delhi, I expected nothing less than an air-condition environment inside. But it was only after entering it that I realized how much of a misnomer the room was. There were people strewn all over the place sleeping on the ground and there was hardly any space to walk around. There were hardly any fans in there and sweat was pouring like rain. After settling down on a seat and looking around, I found Apne saamaan ki suraksha khud karein (Take care of your luggage) written on all the four walls. Was it a warning or plain information … nobody knows. I worriedly looked at my luggage only to find that the Thai-airways appendages looked like medals on a soldier’s uniform announcing how bravely the owner had carried them through the customs of a few countries. The next thing I remember doing was getting rid of all those attachments. After two bottles of water and an India Today and an Outlook, I survived 4 hours in that hellish room without a single minute of sleep. As I was moving out of the room, I looked back at the board and had an urge to paint the words Pratham Shreni Narakalaya (First Class Hell) on it.
Answer to Solve it like Holmes : Buffy is the killer. He went inside with Pinns into the latter’s room and killed him. He then switched off the light of the room and disconnected the circuits. With the door bolted, he waited in the darkness for the opportune moment to escape but could not come out due to Demi’s roaming around and then Viv coming out of his room to go to the bathroom. When Viv was trying to revive Sandy, he moved out of the room and acted as if he came running (by panting etc. so as to give that effect). He was not seen in the dim emergency light due to his black attire. His false story, that he came from other hostel, was busted when Chubby asked the watchman (at the end of the story) about his coming inside the hostel at 11:30.
