..A not so regular 24th of april in my life.

... SO when i set out to the station during the wee hours of the morning, i didn't quite anticipate or even remotely paid attention to what kind of day it would turn out to be.. all i knew was:

i) it was the last day of my three day weekend.
ii) it was a job that needed to be done ... on just a regular another day.
iii) once its done, i will catch a train back to home in the evening.

But if it were a "regular routine day" i wouldn't have been writing about it here ... and no, no world war happened, i didn't witness a dinosaur, and no aliens were spotted by me followed by two men dressed in black... NO. yet it was unusual for my kinda days/events .. so here goes the story TO THE POINT AND SIMPLE (YET NOT SO SIMPLE)...

got up at 4 am, was groggy, sleepy and aware that i was running late.. rushed to the station to catch the train as planned, had a pleasant journey throughout, job well executed and a comfortable stay, the turn of events took place when we had to come back (me, mom and dad). Three factors:
i) Women shopping half hour before departure.
ii) Tickets not confirmed (waiting)
iii) Odd mix of people.
So the picture can pretty much be framed out of the same, me aunty and mom were rushing with the last bit of "have-to-buy-or-will-die" things, dad and uncle getting worked up with every passing minute as the shatabdi is always on time, departure time 7:50pm and we shopping till 7:05 pm ... so so so rushed back home, grabbed the bags , took a rickshaw and off to station with three WAITING-UNCONFIRMED tickets... (Boss hum teeno ka is senario mein first time tha) so we reached... Rushed and boarded the train *puff pant puff pant*

So next task ahead was to talk to the ‘TT’ to get seats, which we were pretty sure we would but alas, as I approached the ‘TT’ who was surrounded by people as a ice cream vendor would be by little children, noisy, reckless and bugging, as the TT was rushing I somehow managed to reach across to talk to him with … my ticket issue, he gave me that “indifferent-yet-will-kill-you-look” and said “apko padhna likhna nahi aata, train se utar jao ap.. apke ye paise to waste ho hi gaye hain, aur waiting ki seat mein nahi dila sakta, utro train se warna 3 jano ke 5000ka ticket banega” and ya I was too taken aback to react,
I was expecting something more like “beta itni bhed hai, abhi kuch keh nahi skata.. Wait karo seat mili to batadunga”.
So a bewildered me returned back to my folks and like a parrot repeated all of it as it is, my parents were as shocked as I was, and we deboarded the train to search for options as we had to reach home by nightfall…. As I inquired about the station master and stated out my situation, he said there is a train that leaves at 12pm you can try for its general compartment… with no other option left, I returned to find my parents loading back our luggage in the Train… as I came to know there are 40 more waiting passengers aboard on the same train and confident like a cheetah that “areeee kuch na kuch ho jayega, baat cheet karke mana lenge TT ko.. apna to roz ka hai.. ajao madam chadh jao” as bewildered as I already was, and not wanting to be left alone at the station I boarded the almost moving Shatabdi…. Thanks to the waiter who boosted my confidence by assuring that he will talk to the TT (the same waiter who server us and whom we tipped well while on our way from Delhi to Saharanpur).
So the journey began, and the rude rhino grunted TT came back to us within an hour, and on the site of us (and few more) he had the same “kill-u-luk” and blasted his engine off… and the entire gathering was busy to somehow please and persuade him, with a bold and cheerful man leading (who indeed was really helpful and experienced yet kind) we saw a little bit of ice melting and gradually persuaded him to act normal and help us … though he did charge us heavy, but (*pppsssttt…ed* us that he will return most of it later) and sitting between the spaces of two bogies in a uncomfortable yet fun journey including lot of learning, persuasion, jugad, adjustments and loads of chattering with absolute strangers we were approaching Ghaziabad, when the same TT came back to ME and handed over the money, took his commission and went on with the usual line “beta huamre upar kafi pressure hota hai, kafi logon ko jawab dena hota hai… ab to tum khush ho na waise, bitiya naraz lag rahi thi .. khush ho na?!?!” and I gave a courteous smile .. And to be honest was grateful that he kept his words and didn’t rob us… so after this one hectic – teaching experience with lotsa chattering, coaxing the waiters to give us food, sweetheart bunch of people and a catalyst TT … we reached Ghaziabad, finally got some seats inside and rested a little.
… oh no not done yet, as we reached and took a auto (after lot of PR/lady skills) we managed to get a decently charging auto driver back home at 11:30pm .. and as we were approaching home, near Minto road we witnessed a typicall case of Road rage ahead of us …. As we approached nearer (slow, sue to the road jam it caused) we heard boys screaming, and the loud noise of someone ruthlessly shattering the glasses of the innova.
And then we saw a gang of 5 well build young rich lads beating up two taxi (innova) driver to pulp and breaking his Taxi into pieces …. All this happening a few KM away from the main POLICE HEADQUARTERS, ITO.
We were outraged seeing it, those two handfolded bleeding heavily while two boys busy beating them and the remaining lot busy braking his car, my dad got so furious (I mean who wouldn’t) That he rushed to the headquarters urging the police men of duty to do something about it, to rush and save those two… just to see the lazy, useless bunch of PROTECTORS so nonchalant about it all and walking around the jeep as if it was there evening walk, as more and more cars approached them (those who witnessed wht we did, n rushed in for help) the pressure build as people actually started screaming on them, two police jeeps rushed at the “spot of crime” and my dad asked the auto wala to drive in wrong direction and reached before them, saving whatever could be of those two poor shmucks from the sardars who were eaten up with rage. As mom, dad and auto wala rushed into the scenario, ofcourse a little angry by now, I was witnessing all this from a distance in the auto with the entire luggage.
Watching and waiting for nearly half an hour, unable to make what’s what cuz all the rush that gathered, was just hoping my parents aren’t harmed.
Finally they came back and could sense my eagerness and worry, they narrated it to me. So it seemed both the taxi driver and group of boys were drunk and what the said next SHOCKED ME BEYOND IMAGINATION….

REALITY – The taxi driver accidentally smashed into a biker, braking his helmet… the group of sardars saw this from a distance, in their all gleamy Red civic, and came to rescue… till when the BIKER HAD ALREADY ESCAPED, but still the “bravehearts” took matters in their own hand, being the court of law that they bashed up the taxi wala to pulp cuz he retaliated, and the scene grow so huge with those two bleeding all over the road.
JIST: taxi runs into a two wheeler, the two wheeler guy escapes unharmed, a group of Naujawans thinking no end of themselves interfere and create a filmy action drama out of it all … finally ending at the back seat of a PCR van, and sending the taxi wala to hospital, beating him up and his car.

MY question – what was the point? Does it make sense at all … was it just liquor or the road rage has attained yet new heights in the capital …. Last but not the least, “WHY”!?