BY ASHAR KHAN – FEBRUARY 27
Goa – One of the most scenic journeys in India. Image – Shutterstock
Trip to Goa – Trains are hands down our favourite way to travel. They are a window to an unknown world. You can peek into a stranger’s life, exchange stories with them, share their food or just be a silent observer. In the confinement of those few seats, there is much to do and see.
As we remember train journeys, let me tell you a small episode happened a while back during our trip to Goa. We had started our journey from New Delhi and were in Trivendram Rajdhani Express. It was around 6 in the evening and the train was swiftly moving amid Gujarat. Gradually, the ride had become monotonous.
It was sunset time and we were getting desperate for food as we haven’t eaten since morning and was frequently looking for some canteen or vendor on every halt. The last we arranged something to eat was from Jaipur station. Since then, there had been no big station en route and no food was available on the train either. Even Vadodara station was about 50 kms away.
The moving train was vibrating at a constant pace and the coach was almost empty except some passengers sitting at the other end of the coach while two were sitting on the opposite side at window seat. They were pale coloured with long hairs and had thick moustaches which came down to their chins. They wore bush shirt and bell bottoms and both had brief cases while one of them wore black sunglasses. Their whole attire was giving them unusual look. Frankly, I should say that they were looking like some gangsters apparently from Hollywood movie.
These people were sitting near to us and were constantly talking in Gujarati. Their loud conversation was making us even more uncomfortable. One of them was often imitating somebody. Sometime, it looked as if they are talking about us by looking in our direction. Our eyes even met frequently and exchanged smiles each time but felt uncomfortable nevertheless.
At one instant, one of them even tried to talk and asked us in distorted hindi about our origin and destination etc. We told them that we are on a trip to Goa and have started from New Delhi. They also told us their names as Advik and Paawan and that they live in Vadodara and said that they had been to rajasthan for some government official work. After this small talk, everyone fell silent.
It had been quite a while since we last talked. These people had been observing us since long and at one point Advik even asked if we are hungry. He told us that this train will not cross through any big station and good food will only be available near pune in maharashtra which will come around 3 am. Nevertheless, We denied for any help and tried to get reserved.
One of the reasons for our denial was that these people didn’t look trustable. Perhaps, it was because they looked shady and spoke different language which made us even more wary of them. Moreover, We had already heard such type of instances when people blindly trusted some strangers during their travel and eventually got robbed.
Nevertheless, We spent some time in quite and occasionally looked for any station coming along. These people were still engaged in gossiping and noticed us again getting restless. Paawan told us that their destination is Godhra which is next and they can arrange some good regional food for us from some familiar local restaurant which delivers food in trains.
Undoubtedly, their idea was good but we were still unsure about accepting their offer. In contrast, our craving for the food was suggesting to accept it as we needed fresh food for the better. Consequently, we welcomed their offer and asked them to order some better food. Hence, Paawan called somewhere and ordered food in his native tongue. It looked as if he had ordered some Gujarati food. Eventually, we all waited for sometime in quite as the station was half an hour away.
In due course, we reached Godhra station. The food delivery boy was already waiting in front our coach and eventually delivered the package to them and handed them the bill. Paawan said something to Adwik and took out his wallet to pay. It was that time when I interrupted them and insisted to pay the bill. He told me that we don’t have to pay any money and should consider this food as a small treat from Gujaratis and accept it as such.
It was something which didn’t look appropriate to us and told them so but they insisted and tried to convince us to accept it. We felt helpless and accepted the food from them. After that, these fellows paid the bill and departed. The train eventually sirened and picked up.
The package was big and had 3-4 packets inside it. It was obviously surprising to see this much food offered by strangers. Anyway, we finally unfolded those packets which consisted of dhokla(a tasty and healthy steamed snack), khandvi(snacks rolls), gota(the gujarati pakodas) and fafda jalebis. All the delicacies looked mouth watering.
Now, those strangers had already gone, the train had already left the station and delicious food was in front of us. As we eventually tended to eat that food, I suddenly came to think of “strangers danger” caution. Hence, I told my wife that we should eat it only after checking its authenticity. I eventually tasted the food but was not sure about genuineness.
But one thing on which I had to agree was that this food was very delicious in taste. Everything was just surprisingly mouth watering. Nevertheless, I still waited sometimes for any panic moment but everything remained just fine. The food was really amazing and we both ate it in no time. Thankfully, we were grateful that we were safe. Still, the more amazing thing was the surprising attitude of those strangers who were looking so mysterious in the beginning but appeared to be totally opposite in reality.
It was the first important instance in our trip to Goa. The train was running with full throttle in the night and eventually reached Goa on the next day. The person from the hotel was already there on the Vasco da gama Railway Station to receive us. Our trip to Goa was about 10 days long and had many memorable moments to cherish but that small interaction with those strangers was really an unforgettable incident. Hence, We learned that one should never assess someone’s character by only looking to their appearance.
