Just a while ago... Solan

It’s been a while since we got back from Solan but I think I should write about this memorable experience before I actually I loose it to my poor memory. A not so long journey to Kalka and a toy train from Kalka to Solan is what it took us to get there. Nicely furnished PG accommodation awaited us. The moment I entered the accommodation I realised it’s not a rural immersion. It was a comfortable and spacious abode. The good things had just begun. Later in the day we witnessed a warm welcome from the college and when I say warm it was actually a warm welcome (I could literally feel the warmth). Introduction to what our work would entail was quite interesting. We had to develop marketing and branding strategies for the institute and their in house radio station. The challenge was to understand a relatively not-so-urban market and make maximum use of the available and limited resources. The bigger challenge was to visit Simla and other places in Himachal and enjoy ourselves. The world calls it - Work life balance. The next day we were talking to the localites, shop owners, students etc for their inputs. It was a great deal of learning. Each day was a learning experience. We did manage to come up with strategies which were suited best for the institute or atleast I would like to believe we did. The students of the institute were very talented. However lack of exposure was a clear disadvantage. We trekked to Kalol and it was a beautiful experience. Okay let me be honest; trekking was too exhaustive an experience. However the sense of achievement I felt after getting back was much better than the actual experience.

We went to Simla for a day. However the place was so thrilling that we extended our stay. Mall road, lakkad bazaar and Jhakoo temple are well known places in Simla. However the feel of the place is much more catchier than either of these places. I even managed to get a photograph clicked in the traditional pahadi dress.

Few quick facts about Himachal Pradesh, We have beautiful and stylish iconic personalities from Himachal. Priety Zinta, Kangana Ranaut and Mohit Chauhan are few of them. Himachal Pradesh enjoys a high literacy rate too. One thing which was noteworthy was the dressing style of youngsters especially in Simla. I think they are very style and brand conscious people. They experiment with their hair styles and each of them wants to stand out in the crowd.

Signing off with a thought – Revisiting memories needs courage

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People talk a lot about journeys. Journeys always have something special about them. No wonder we always wish people before any journey. I could hear bon Voyage, happy journey, have a great trip from all corners. I am talking about my first journey alone.
It was diwali time. I was glad that I was going home. This was the first time I was away from home for such a long time, one and a half months. My mood was somber before I got the tickets and I couldn’t think of anything else other than going back home even if it was a 2-day trip. I managed to grab in tickets, which obviously costed me a fortune. But my only concern was to get back home for the much awaited festival. A festival that had always been special to me.
People came to office with their entire luggage and it was ostensibly a day of exodus from the office. I was scheduled to take a flight next day from Mumbai at 530 in the morning. The day went pretty well. It was time to go.
While leaving office I got caught in the lift with my baggage and the security guard had to pull me out. This event was more like a premonition of what lied ahead. I got nervous because this was the first time I was traveling alone and it was just the beginning.
I managed to get a Volvo till Mumbai and I was supposed to spend that night at a distant relatives place. I had never visited Mumbai before. I had realized while leaving the office that my cell phones battery was low. So I switched it off so that I can get in touch with the distant relatives once I reach Mumbai. Mumbai is known for its traffic. Diwali time added to the woes of traffic and I it was nearly around 12 in the night. I switched on my mobile and calls started pouring from some close friends and family who were worried. As a result, I just managed to inform those relatives that I had reached and the battery got exhausted. Empty roads and only dogs were barking around me and I was too scared to even move.
My parents kept calling the relatives and they kept searching me on the roads near the place that I had mentioned before the mobile got switched off. I was not crying but my eyes were wet and I couldn’t think of anything. There were few passer bys but the number of dogs kept increasing. I saw a light at a small shop that was some 500 mts away from where I was standing. I thought if I could manage to get there, I might get some help.
I got lucky and I came across an autowallah, who drove me to that shop. I was so glad to see STD written on that shop. It was a very small shop, some 2 * 2 feet. It was strange to see the shop open at 12 in the night. I gathered courage and went straight to the shopkeeper and asked him if I could make a call. Looking at the previous events I was not shocked when he said that the phone was not working. I again asked him if he had mobile. To this he replied positively. By now he knew I was troubled. He was the next good Samaritan of the day (after the auto wallah). I called up my dad, he was so relieved to hear me and I took my relatives no., which I had lost with the battery. I called them and they were still trying to search me. I had no clue where I was standing and the shopkeeper took the phone and explained them the exact location of the shop. He gave me water and kept talking to me till my relatives arrived.
Though they were my distant relatives and I was seeing one of the aunts who had come for the first time, I hugged her as if I had known her for years. Finally, things got settled and I reached their place. Afcourse I thanked the shop owner for all the help. With each passing hour I got anxious about meeting my parents. After all the chaos, I got even more eager to meet them. I couldn’t sleep that night and there was no point sleeping because I had to catch a flight at 530 in the morning. I left my relatives place at 4 in the morning to be at the airport 1 hour before the flight. I bid goodbye and went straight inside the airport to get the boarding pass issued.
Getting a boarding pass has never been a problem but this time even this wasn’t easy. To my surprise they denied to issue me a boarding pass. According to them the flight was full and I was late to the airport. I couldn’t believe my ears. It was an international flight to Frankfurt via Delhi. The flight was obviously overbooked and I was asked to speak to the flight representative.
I reached the other counter and more than 15 people were standing and shouting at him. Amongst the group of those 15 people I was the last one to reach the airport. The airport staff offered us only a ‘sorry’. “All the flights for the day are booked. We cannot adjust you in any flight. We cannot do anything about it. It’s your mistake you are late to the airport.” These were the only lines I could hear at the airport.
The stolid faces of the airport staff made me very angry. I just couldn’t control myself and I started shouting on top of my voice but to no avail. It was like an everyday affair for them. No one paid heed to us. It was 515 am in the morning and the flight was scheduled to leave in the next 15 minutes. I just didn’t know what to do. I just prayed and like all other times, my prayers were answered.
A lady came out with one boarding pass. She said she could give it to anyone who had no check – in luggage. Before anybody could react I lunged on to the ticket. My check in luggage had become my hand bag for the boarding pass. The heavy luggage with me didn’t deter me from running. Just 5 minutes before the flight I got my boarding pass. I kept feeling bad about all those 15 people still waiting at the airport lounge. I knew I was being selfish but I couldn’t even think of anything else. I just ran.
An official standing at one of the barricade tried to explain me that my hand baggage is huge and I wouldn’t be allowed inside. I briefly explained him what happened and he smiled and said’ all the best’. I needed all the luck at that moment. I was trying to escape the security explaining them that the flight would take off within next 2 minutes. The security people tried to calm me down. Some passengers patted my back and said’ don’t worry you’ll get the flight because you have the boarding pass. They all made sense but I was still anxious. I ran after the security check. I have never run that fast in my life.
An airhostess greeted me with a smile on her face and I knew that I have made it. I always wish people before their journey because I really think these wishes work. They did for me atleast.