moneyless

Travelling without money , deliberate or not, is a devastating and equally rewarding experience.

2 months back on an average ordinary return journey from home (Thrissur) to work (Chennai), when i hopped onto the roaring lioness , read that as Limited Stop Private Bus, i realized the fact that i had forgotten to fill up my purse and all i was left with was Rs 2/-. The bus charge from Kecheri to Thrissur is Rs 5/-. I couldnt possibly get down from the bus , get an auto and go back home to refill , because , i
had a train to catch within 30 minutes.

So, i sat on my window side seat , right on top of the tyre, inhaling all the smog outside, waiting for the devil to appear.... And then he came... the khakhi clad old man. With the usual stance of resting his butt the metal handle by the seat , he stretched out his arm "avide ? ... "

"Thrissur ... " , i blinked meakily , wondering what ram , zeus, sijin, or dog would have done in such a circumstance. Nothing passed my mind.

After a moment or so, i jumped up from my seat , went cloooose to him and
whispered in his ears my sad plight.
"ullathu edu ... allathenthu cheyyan ?" (give whatever you have, what else to do ?)
phew! he didnt throw me out ...

The bus as usual was very unpredictable, thanks to the driver who seemed to have had a big fight with his mom and wife, finally screeched to halt at the muncipal stand.
i got 7 minutes, around a kilometre to cover ...

"Auto ... .!!!!" ..(rickshaw?)
"evidekka ?" (where to ?)

It was then that the second lightning struck my mind.. I am empty ! I have no
***ing purchasing power da ....
"ayyo! .. onnum illa" ..(nothing ..)

I started running ...
Running is something which i like,
something which i used to thoroughly enjoy ,when i was a kid. But that was a long time ago, within the first minute a beautiful cramp settled on my left calf. The climax of this running sequence was too good. I almost dragged my body and
the cramped leg (which seemed like an extra fitting to my body) , to the
railway station ... and to my horror came the announrement ..

"Yaathrikal prethyek dhyaan dijiye... blah. blah blah "
The female voice which used to be the best thing in the railway station for the past 5 years sounded something like a death warrant.

The train would arrive anytime soon , and at PLATFORM 2 !! eeks...
No time to go up the bridge (i couldnt possibly climb it)
Jumped on to the tracks ! Crossed ..

ZZZZIIIIKK ,,,, Just in time

Before i could think about all that happened, and thank god that i got in
time, i was in the rush to enter the reserved compartment (YEAH ! I HAD A RESERVED TICKET)

On board, the best thing i could do was try and get some sleep on the just enough side upper berth (even i have to bent knee ?). After sometime , i was woken up by the sound and smell of food...

There stood a man looking thru me
"saapadu ? " ..
i wanted to say yes, but oh no! i am empty. As soon as he moved.. i saw the most
arrogant lot of all ! there .. aah people devouring on food.. veg , non-veg , chicken , water , poratta / parantha / perotta/ parotta , young, old, men, women, ... oh god! I am a poor poor man. I closed my eyes tight and slept off again!

It must be 1'o clock or something, i got up , went for a pee, and sat down
near the open door of the compartment. Felt good. That is the best part of a
train , sitting near an open door and watching places and thing fly past your
eye.. Yonder maiden fields and electric posts (aargh! bad combination !). I remember sitting like this with ram and Lester once. Felt really great!

After some time, Dear old train ticket examiner came and said "why are you sitting here ? you cannot sit here at night, go on dear... go and get some sleep.."


"Payanikal madhivaana gavanippu.."
Welcome to Chennai.
The hungry cat finally reaches chennai.

Haa.. now ! i need to get some money.. I rushed to the ATM. EEKS!! Me card spitted out like shit! NOT ACCEPTED!!

I could have called bala or kesu to get some money. But it was already 8 and bala might have already left / leaving and poor kesu might be asleep after a looong night shift. So , i decided to step out to the new world without a penny in pocket , with hope of finding a USEABLE ATM somewhere near.

I walked for almost 2 kilometeres and finally spotted an ICICI atm beside the Petrol Bunk... YEEEHA! Promptly jumped inside, put my ICICI card and pressed the keys frantically ..
WITHDRAW
WITHDRAAW..
WITHDRAAAAAW 100 BUCKS PLEASE...

ICICI : Balance too low Rs 80/-

MUMMY!!!!! AAAAH!! AYYAYYO!!!!!

It was then that i noticed something gleaming in my purse. Something which looked like a Gold biscuit. My ICICI Preferred Credit Card, which i had never used before ... Though stories of HORRENDOUS INTERESTS on CASH WITHDRAWAL on CREDIT CARDS did flash upon my inward eye, i was helpless... I withdrew 200 bucks...

And then i had a TEA .. aah tasty !!


After effects : had to pay Rs 80/- extra for the 200 withdrawn...

-- This story used to look interesting ,but dunno why , maybe because of repeat telecasts , it has become quite boring. however, i will publish it for the sake of my FAAANS