Ok... Here I am... after thinking about what to write about for ages I chose to pen down (Type down) my first MMTS train ride… on Feb 7. A mark in history... my history…LOL and that coincides with the birthday of a very good friend of mine... God bless him... :)
Well as the thought swirls… I was suppose to attend his birthday party (I am glad I was invited, but I missed aunt’s biryani) ..Ahem.. Back to the story... so I was stuck at Madhapur, owing to circumstances (Another story to write about :-\) at about 6:30 in the evening. As a good guest, I decided to call him to say I will not be able to make it and that’s when he suggested the "travel" by MMTS to cut down the 2 hour traffic.
Well, that was a great idea... but I had to talk my friends into it… (My sweet friends Kalpana, Priya and Suhasini .. .Nice names aren't they :-)) . As Kalpana says/knows I have great convincing skills ( she never said "gr8" .. well, I have to talk to her about that ;) ) I decided to use them. And they agreed.
The problems we discussed then should be very disturbing and sound true too; to the first ever commuters by train in Hyderabad- The Us. First, the distance between the station and the corporate offices. Secondly "Getting There", third "On Time" then the usuals follow -"The Rush Hour", "Passengers -Kind of Crowd" ,"the transport to get home in time " and the last but the painful one ----my leg, it hurts :-( (Oh! my poor leg).
The Hike begins...
Getting there wasn't that easy as we thought(Of course, the philosophy- Therez nothing easy in life). So we left Kalpana at DELL campus and decided to go ahead with the VOYAGE (lol).
The auto rickshaws play a vital role if you are traveling in Hyderabad and as I can say, it was there chance too to rob us of our money too, the elegant way. Digital meters are a “Strict No No” in this area and also "wahan tak meter se kaun ata madam, woh bhi is traffic mein". I was limping all the way to Cyber Gateway, with Suhas, Priya and me asking every autowallah (nearly 8) on the way to fare us till Hitech Railway Station. At last, we decided to overlook the policy "PAY BY METER" , took an auto for Rs. 40/- to the railway station at about 6:50 PM.
We were pretty nervous that we might miss the train, but with the traffic at the furrow between Cyber Towers and Shilparamam, we had no other go but to GOSSIP--our fav time pass :-) [Oh another one to write about ;-)].
Well, it took precious 20 mins to be freed from the furrow and then another 5 mins happy ride to the station from the crossroads. Well that took care of the 7:15 PM train too. Nevertheless, there was no turning back now, we were here.
Me limping all the way, Priya and Suhas waiting for me to catch up, we chose the opposite platform to get onto... :-(. Well, as the story goes, there’s always a bridge to the other side... :-).My leg still hurts.
We were glad to see a big queue waiting for the ticket and were relieved that we were not alone. There is a helpful "Route Map" at the counter too. So we decided we need three tickets; 2 for Secunderabad and 1 to Malakpet for Suhas if the crowd is decent enough to travel all by herself. So we coax poor Suhas to the queue, ofcourse with the usual saying "Hum hain peeche.. dar mat ..":-D . We were surprised the tickets cost us Rs 8/- for 2 to Secunderabad,and 7 to Malakpet coz we had paid Rs 30/- for the bus. Now with the tickets in hand and 10 mins to wait and lovely sign saying COFFEE we were eager to indulge, as we took the door we were back at ticket counter with the CANTEEN closed.
Back at the platform,, we were pretty happy seeing the people around, the software crowd... :-) ...The Decent Ones.. :-D . Just then, my birthday friend calls and was happy to know that we were at the station and asked us to board the 'Ladies' Compartment. With my limpy leg, I decided to listen. So, all set we were ready for the train... :-). We were a bit apprehensive when the express train passed by, the speed... it makes up for so many good things we miss in life. Then there was another which passed by (MMTS at 7:30) I am not so sure of the destination though. But we were still waiting.
We were more than happy to see the MMTS train this time OURS… at 7:45 PM after the initial pushes/ pinches we were on the train in the ladies compartment. We decided to stand at the door and anyways there wasn’t any seat available(Not that we were looking for it... lol). I bet we enjoyed the ride because we were standing...though it has its own cons. The compartment, with ample space to stand, comfortable seating, clean ...not to sound absurd but it was cozy enough. I have traveled in Mumbai locals , the percentage of people commuting is far from comparable but I found this train warm... comfortable. Now that was about the compartment.
Did I mention, it also has route map. Of course, we were so busy blabbering and drawn to our own thoughts we never noticed it. Suhas, the scape one again… asked the lady next to us, if this was going to Secunderabad or to Falaknuma... we were happy to get a positive reply and it was then Priya saw the routemap. Route map in the compartment ...now that’s traveller-freindly. We phoned Kalpana ... we missed her on the train… Kalp, really missed U!!!
Well, the ride wasn't without the swindles. There were men boarding into the compartment and trying to push us of out of the door... But Priya victimized but stern didn't let it happen... :-) and then the highlight... we had eunuchs boarding the train at Sanjeeviah Park station, that did scare us a bit [dunno y] but we were far from bothered... we were too busy with our chatting galore :-). I sometimes wonder why eunuchs are such a left out community.
And that was nearing the end of our fun ride too, we got too busy about how to reach home in time and decided Suhas can travel by herself:-D as the train was safe enough. Then there was Secunderabad. End of my first ever MMTS ride. I chose an auto to reach the party, all the time wondering why isn't there a MMTS Station close by.
