Rare are the days when an engineer studies and the last few days were the rarest as it was not only me but also some dozen of Instrumentation loners studying together. Sometimes we were studying for our exams but most of the time we were engaged with typical engineering work i.e. copying assingments (which we term as printing press), as it was the submission season. Engineers basically have three seasons, (1) Lukkha season (duration 3 months), (2) Submission season (duration 20-30 days) and (3) Exam season (duration 30-40 days). Complete four years runs on this season cycle. Submission season is the most active season, as during this season one can see engineers running all around to collect assignments, take their photocopies and write the assignments as soon as possible within the extended deadline. Not only this, they are also involved in the process of material collection so as to understand what basically is there in syllabus. This is a quite long process which may continue till the exam date. I think I am moving away from the main accident “sorry” incident, the great train chase.

We used to sit late till evening and usually caught the 20:05 local, from Sanpada to Thane. This route was newly established, trains on this route were just like the cuckoo of the cuckoo clock. So if we missed this train, the next train was at 22:00 hour or we had few other options like going by unreliable bus service which travels on moon like surface inspite of being an earthly service or travel my bone crunching train service via Kurla. It was like the do or cry condition as this was the easiest and the simplest option. Engineers have habit of doing everything at the 11th hour, but we were from the few punctual engineer clans who used to do work at 10th hour and 55th minute[:P]. So coming back to story would like to tell you that our chase begins once we left the college.

19:30 – 19:45 hours

It was the right time to leave the college but not the perfect environment. This year we had a prolonged rainy season. We were into the first week of October still the sky was full of vampirish clouds, roaring like dianosaurs and blazing with blue lightning. We caught a rickshaw for Juhinagar, at that time we never knew what was going to come in next half hours time. Genreally you tell a rickshaw as “Juhinagar” the driver leaves you at the Juhinagar station. But this extremely genious, with extraordinary data interpretation knowledged rickshaw driver took us to central area of Juhinagar. We were in a hurry as we wanted to catch the 19:40 local for Sanpada from Juhinagar, but all thanks to him, we missed the train and this was just the intiation of the chain reaction.

19:45 – 19:50 hours

It is well said in hindi “ teen cheezo ke peeche nahi bhagte, ladki, bus aur train. Ek gayi dusri ati hai”. We never ran behind girls but when we used to come near the girls used to run away from us. Bus was unreliable so here were we, not running for train but waiting for train. We were optimistic to catch the next train and reach the sanpada station on time. But when you enter a chain reaction you are bound to make hasty decisions. Patience of an engineer is like a zener diode, always works in reverse direction. The fear that we would have to go by other options, forced us to the highway to catch a bus for sanpada. But we still had some smartness left in us even after three years of engineering, we told one of our friend who was waiting for a train for Kurla to give us a misscall if the train arrives on luck by chance.

19:50 to 19:55 hours

Unable to hold our patience we were waiting anxiously on the highway, chanting the “F” word rythmatically like a holy rite, kicking the innnocent rain drops and trying to see through the darkness for the slightest light of hope( i.e. headlight of the Sanpada bus). All of a sudden the friend gave us misscall, the misscall was like a fire warning alaram. We were all running like blind horse whose tail is on fire. As I say blind, I mean that word seriously, we(I, Siddharth and Bushan here) lost track with platform and as a aggrevated bull we charged into the train which was destined to Bellapur i.e. in opposite direction. I came to know about others later, but here were we aboard on a wrong train, breathing harder to catch up some oxygen and posing a winner smile.

19:55 to 20:00 hours

Our smile soon turned into an embarassment like the footballer who shoots a goal in his own goal post. We have learnt nothing in engineering except one important thing i.e. never giveup as nothing is impossible, as this was the fighting spirit which always kept us going for the medical chicks who never even cared for us. We reached Nerul station and by the grace of the Laloo's railway, we got an immediate train for Sanpada station. I pledged here never to run for trains and as it is well known every rule is made to be broken, to break a pledge it is supposed to be taken.

20:00 – 20:06 hours

Our remaining friends somehow reached Sanpada in one piece with few interesting scars. We were in constant touch with them and very happy to know that train had not arrived yet. See this is the use of technology to give you hope. We passed Juhinagar station peacefully, we were in midway between Juhinagar and Sanpada. Aniket called us and gave the forecast that very soon our 20:05 train is going to reach Sanpada. Now this is what we call the use of technology, it can increase your anxiety levels without any warning. Still I had faith in railway services which are usually late by atleast 2-3 minutes.

20:06 – 20:07 hours – Photo Finish

Our train entered Sanpada station but the 20:05 train was already standing in front of us. We jumped out of the running trains, caught a breath before the final run. We were now into a hurdle race, with two railway lines to cross along with three platfroms. Using our visual senses we saw that all lines are clear and we can now run and jump like a crazy. Aniket was standing on the edge of the platform, where our 20:05 local was standing. He was encouraging us as if we gonna win a gold medal for India. Jumping on rail lines as if they were trampolin but unable to bounce used our hands and legs like a flexible acrobat. The entire train was looking at three animated characters, charging like a rhino towards the stationary train. Finally we made it. We were now aboard and hoping this train doesn't fail in between.

After effects

››› Siddharth's cell phone got affiliated with rain and caught cold
››› Bhushan's watch was so happy to catch the train, that its heart stopped ticking at 20:07 hour.
››› Everyone was in one piece, but later we never sat late in college for studies.
››› In an attempt to keep himself in one piece, Arun had to sacrifice his t-shirt. He was hanging on the door when he caught a train to Sanpada and when a fellow passenger pulled him in, his t-shirt was torn. It appeared as if our SMPS( super mallu porn star) Arun, was raped...hehe.