IN THE LAND OF BIRYANI-1

Prologue:
It was slightly dark in the evening and there was a chill in the air.A phone call at 4 pm brought about a lump in the throat.He hurriedly scampered out of his room to inform his friends about the shattering message he received.Their plans were in jeopardy.The chilly atmosphere and wet weather could not prevent sweat droplets on the brow.Then followed a spate of phone calls and the 3 guys set out, braving the rain and the abominable weather.With a prayer on the lips,hope in the hearts and anxiety writ large on the faces they entered the place which was swarming with over thousand people.A small enquiry generated smiles on the faces and the 3 guys were elated and it was normal again.

Wondering what this is all about? OK i give it away.The phone call was from the Call Taxi bastard,supposed to come at 4pm, who called up at 3.55pm to say that his taxi brokedown and told us to look out for alternate means.The place-Chennai Central.Most of the trains were cancelled that day and the small enquiry with the help desk said that our train to Hyd was leaving on time and hence the happiness!

The train journey was not comfortable.The train pulled out of the station on time.The start was full of jerks akin to what you experience if you release the clutch lever in an instant after applying the first gear in a vehicle.Every time the train slowed down,it generated huge no. of jerks.Only after 2 hours or so did the train pick up full speed but with infinite no of stops at every arbit station.The only consolation was that it was a new bogie and so the berths,seats,lights etc were good.There were also a couple of good looking females but had to crane the necks and change the seat for a better view to watch them and so i gave up.5 of us in 3 seats did not help either!

It was 9 pm and we began to experience those hunger pangs.Little did we know that food would be the biggest problem in a train journey.I hog every small bit of junk that comes my way in the train but this time much to everybody's chagrin there were no vendors and thus began the vendor hunt.All the people looked out eagerly with high hopes at every station for the food outlets but the incessant rain all along the journey led to their closure.We survived on biscuits,chips and cool drinks that night.

I was immersed in Deception Point and thanks to Dan Brown the night passed away quickly ,which would have been a nightmare otherwise.The next morning was also similar and there was a huge clamour for breakfast at every station.It was exactly like a refugee camp where people jostled and pushed aside others for food packets thrown from helicopters!We got our first taste of proper food at 11am and inspite of the small quanitity it was one of the most satisfying meals in the recent times .Our train got delayed due to floods along coastal Andhra and reached Hyderabad after a cool 8 hours delay at 3pm.

I was greeted by rains once again in Hyd .That day was marred by accidents and destruction.In a few hours we got the news that shook the nation-the Delhi blasts and the train accident in Nalgonda which left more than 130 dead.The accident was one of the reasons for the delay and i thanked God profusely for being fortunate enough to escape such disasters as I myself was travelling through a rain ravaged route.