It was the 25th of May. We were all set to go
to Puri for a short holiday. Our bags were
packed and we set out for the Railway Station.
We reached the station on time and boarded the
Howrah-Puri Express and took our seats. I was
travelling with my parents and grandparents. We
settled down, while the train slowly moved out
of the station. There was a buzz of excitement
in the air and I could not wait to reach my
destination. Everything was going well.
Shortly after the train left the station, my
mother gave all of us some tasty snacks to
munch. By this time the train was moving fast. I
was relaxing when suddenly the lights began to
flicker and in a moment darkness filled the
compartment. We were wondering what was
happening and then we realized that the air
conditioners had stopped working as well. It was
really repulsive to be in darkness with
non-functioning air conditioners.
We asked the service personnel on the train as
to what was wrong and he told us that there was
a technical snag and it would take an hour or
two before it was rectified. It was really hot
and stuffy by then and sitting in the
compartment became somewhat unbearable. Our
co-passengers also began complaining about their
discomfort. Added to our woes there was no water
supply as well. For a moment I felt like being
marooned without the very bare essentials of
survival.
But soon our plight came to an end and power was
restored. The lights came on and so did the air
conditioners. We were delighted and soon things
were back to normal. The train stopped a while
at the next station where water supplies were
being restored, after which the train left the
station.
We were late by two hours in reaching Puri. This
was the first time I was without water and light
on the train. The unpleasantness and discomfort
of the journey to Puri is hard to forget.