A Foolish Mistake a Chilly Night A Great Human Being

Santanu Chakraborty

Category: Featured Travel
Date of Publication: Apr 5 , 2011

3 boys ,6 trolley bags(5 of them brand new) and a side bag - these were us and our belongings when we caught the bus from Patiala to Ambala. All the 6 trolleys were put up to the roof of the bus with the warning that if anything happens to the bags no one is responsible! We kept the side bag (a small bag, normally which a college boy opts for college)in the space just above our seat, inside the bus. While the bus on the move, all of us had our most concentration on the roof and the backside/back window of the bus, just to be sure if anything happens to the bags we would scream and stop the bus. Soon Ambala came and everyone was rushing and so were we. We got outside the bus and in a flash our luggage was literally thrown back to us. We were relieved that nothing happened to the luggage and walked away from the terminus to the nearby railway station- this was our mistake- we all forgot about the small bag and left it on the bus. That bag was the most important of all the bags as it contained our train tickets and my heartbeat, my camera! I don't know how I forgot about it but I forgot about the bag! We realized the matter after 8-10 mins and ran back. Nilu stayed with the trolleys in the station entrance. I and Sur went back to the terminus. The bus was there, garaged, but no one was near. It was nearly 6:30 pm in the evening and it was getting dark quickly. We waited half an hour but no one showed up. Then we went to the ticket booking counter and asked about the officials for the Patiala route. Let me say here that Ambala is a big terminus with many inter and intra state bus routes. The man in the counter said that the office of Patiala route is closed and there is no other bus that is going tonight to Patiala. So we had very little chance to see any of the officials now. And if our luck is god then one person might come from whom we can get the phone number. But he is going to come late at night, around 8 pm. Our train was scheduled at 11:30pm, so we had time. And hope. Soon it was near 8 pm when we had a new thought, what if we don't get the bag back? Should we prepare a duplicate ticket? But when this thought crossed our minds, it was too late as we all know the working hours of railway ticket counter is 8 am to 8pm and issuing a duplicate ticket within time was out of question. So we decided to wait for the official, but alas, he did not show up. We could have boarded the train and made a duplicate ticket by the TT. But someone in our minds (and hearts) kept us hoping for a miracle to happen the next day. And we decided to wait.

And there was our experience with the chilly night. We did not have any valid ticket, so railway waiting room was out of the question. But we made an arrangement to stay within the station premises, just like the vagabonds beside us. It was a matter of 4-5hours and we had to stay near the bus terminus, so we did not go to a hotel. But it was a mistake (and a great one, as it gave us a lot of experience ). We arranged a quite comfortable place on the floor and were drowsing. But around 1 am, Sur had a kick on his leg by an RPF constable! They literally threw us out of the place and ordered us to help ourselves somewhere else. It was the middle of the night and we were in the middle of nowhere! Then Nilu searched around and found out a place where we can stay for the rest of the night but no shelter was there above our head. We went there and there was the bite of the chilly night! The temperature was nearly 8-9oC (maybe less) with even colder breeze blowing that stung into our bones. We had some warm clothes but they were not meant for a situation like this- without any shelter above and walls around. It really made us think and feel the suffering of the countless people in the world who had to sleep under the sky day in and day out!

We hung onto our clothes, clenched our teeth and shivered until it was 4 am. As soon as the clock ticked 4, I rushed from the railway station to the bus terminus. And as expected, no one was there. It was near 4:30am when ticket counter was open and soon conductors and driver started to come. I was right there from where the Patiala buses were meant to star and I asked the person right away who came there first. He was really astonished when he came to knew about our case and he suggested me to sit there and wait. And I again sat on the chair and hoped. After about 15 minutes of hoping, the same man had his hand on my shoulder and took me to the bus. He opened the door, we both got inside and then he brought the bag from inside the driver's seat. I quickly opened the bag and my heart was still beating inside the bag. The camera was alive and intact inside the bus! I looked at the person and he seemed to me as an angel. I had really no words to thank him and he did not need any. I returned with the bag back to the station - and felt the most sweetest joyous moment o getting the bag back when I saw the eyes of us! Yes, our decision to stay was right. Miracles do happen!

***when started the camera, I got pictures of the angel and his family inside. This man could have easily denied the fact that he had taken the camera with him. But he did not. The things I lost from the bag were food packets and my 6 year old water-bottle. But the money and above all the camera was fully intact inside it. I can never forget that great human being! God and angels do exist...