The Detourists

­­                                               The Detourists

 

I coined a new word recently and that is ‘detourist’ . According to me a tourist when takes a long trip other than the way he was supposed to travel ,performing his tasks too, he becomes a detourist. I along with my husband and my parents-in-law travelled a long route and besides my husband also appeared for his exams, so this is how we became detourists.

The journey starts with the train to Puri which we took at Aligarh station..The waiting hall had a very cozy environment. School going kids made the room full of life. And women sitting around had the Aligarhi touch of panache. Very soon we boarded our Puri express.

Train journeys always have so many similarities .Since childhood getting a window seat is like a dream coming true. So many stories are around to be heard from the co-passengers. A pleasurable weather outside increases the fun. Raindrops outside the window make the creative mind go gaga. Sleeping is another delight for the mind and the body. Everyone in the bogey looks tranquil until  someone with an irksome ringtone comes in and also if he is a ‘mobile’ music lover then forget about the sound sleep and only think of sounds. A cry baby will make you think to teach his parents a full chapter of baby care. People peering inside the curtains make you feel trespassed, but strange it is that when there were no curtains there were no such issues.

Trains on or before time definitely make you proud but at the same time when it stretches unnecessarily, you start looking for the driver. Railway staffs are treated like kings of some sort. When I got the vacant mobile charging point, it did make me feel like a queen, for some time though. Trains crossing next to ours give a nice thriller movie experience. Vendors of different types of Dolby sounds make entries. Chaiwalas all over the country has the same voice and rest have varieties according to place like jhaalmudi,idli ,dosa etc.

Cuttack is about to arrive and the scenery outside has changed from UP to Odissa .But rains are everywhere. Rivers have turned brownish. Houses are different .Every single one has a temple on top  .The bogey attendant is on alert duty now. He came so many times looking for taking back the bedrolls , especially towels. He looks like he hasn’t slept the whole night. His eyes are wide awake because there are people who take his white assets to give him black nights. One attendant I met when way back from Puri to Jaipur was very disciplined as a worker but was extremely thin. I came to know about his poor health while we were on the train. There were no pantry car and it was unbelievable that no paniwala or chaiwala came in the 36 hour of the journey. Only once a khanawala came with the left one plate of food which was shared by the four of us. The journey squeezed the water outside our bodies and it was weird , outside the grounds were full of water but inside there was a dearth.

The stay at Puri was enjoyable .A great time at Jagannath temple and the beach. The environment inside the temple left me with many questions about religion and spiritualism. The priests asked for money, as we were obliged to them or they have copyrights of God. It was the weather which made the place more beautiful. The way to Bhubaneswar was full of greenery and the villages around created the magical view of a calendar. After the two days stay at Bhubaneswar we left for Jodhpur.

Jaipur was the place where we had to wait for 5 hours for the next train to Jodhpur. The waiting hall again had a different view than that of Aligarh. Everyone looked happy for some unknown reason. Announcer had pierced the eardrums repeating the same thing the millionth time. A television was hung and songs (liked commonly by drivers )  were being played .Duo of sisters were making fun of the songs. Kids (from different parents) were snatching each other’s toys. God, when it will be midnight, so that our train comes and we could sleep for some time.

Jodhpur was a place with antiqueness and a colour of rock spread ubiquitously on the buildings. We could see the Mehrangarh fort from our hotel.The trip to Fort and palace completed our journey. Fifteen days out of home and dependence on the outside food increased the value of homemade food quadruple times and finally when our tour ended we had the feeling while having homemade food  ,what will be the total cost of the food together with taxes?