Travels

On 19 Nov I took a travel to the Darjeeling district of Bengal. Since I had no confirmed ticket on an air conditioned coach, I had to travel on a sleeper coach. With loose windows cold breeze was flowing in freely, and by the morning on 20th I reached, I was already affected by severe fever, and increased cold and cough. At the same time, a political group in the Darjeeling hills had called for an wildcat strike on the 20th. And so I came down by bus to Raiganj in the afternoon from Siliguri. By then the fever and cold had turned worse. I was flat in bed for couple of days, and returned to Kolkata on 23 Nov. However, since then, I feel pretty weak and sleepy. May be with the drugs that I am taking, it is making me feel drowsy.

On 27 Nov, I had to travel to Krishnagar, 110 kilometers north of Kolkata. The journey should have been just good, as the buses that leave early in the morning are normally free, and I should have reached there in two and a half hours. But it was not so, as on 28th is the Muslim festival of Id. People were returning to their homes. So, even my attempt to catch the morning bus at 5.00 a.m failed! In the process, by the time I reached the railway station, I missed the early morning train as well. And by the time I took the next train that left Kolkata at 6.50, and reached Krishnagar at 10.00 a.m, I had already spent time standing for over 5 hours! My legs and and back are aching with the push and pull of the co-passengers, and the strain of keeping your feet firmly on the ground in a train that was truly flooded with people. Jai Ho, Indian railways!