Going to Barrackpore:The two sides of it

Recently, I had the very pleasant experience of traveling by a local train. We were going to my aunt’s house(father’s sister) in Barrack pore, a suburb near Kolkata. As the train entered the platform, all I could see was compartments full of people. No sooner had it stopped than there was a mad rush to occupy a compartment. I didn’t have to enter the compartment myself, I was simply pushed inside along with the crowd. But, miraculously, we got seats. I occupied the edge of one of the long seats. After crossing every station, it seemed to me as though the number of people were increasing. They just seemed to be preferring our compartment and everyone was just pushing my left hand and shoulder as they went by. So, I was really thankful when Barrackpore arrived. But, that was not the end. The return journey was still left and it was worse. This time, we didn’t even get to sit. My mother stood holding on to one seat handle and I stood putting my arms around her shoulders. And, when we reached Bidhannagar station once more, it seemed to me as though the entire population of West Bengal had landed up on the platform.

The daily passengers gradually get used to the hectic journeys by local trains. But, we are not daily passengers. My mother used to travel by local trains some twelve years back. My father has never traveled regularly . And, you can easily rule me out. Forget local trains, I have never had to travel regularly by crowded buses. I go to school and come back when the buses are least crowded. I think I am exaggerating a bit here. You might always ask me how I’ll manage to travel by a local train in future if it becomes compulsory. Well, I’ll have to manage when the time comes. But, the fact is that we are not used to it at present. We visit our aunt’s place hardly once a year.

But, going to Barrackpore also has a good side. The goodness obviously lies in the great food(specially fried rice) cooked by my aunt and her charming smile. That’s why going to Barrackpore also means fun. I must say that my aunt’s hospitality makes up for the dismal train journeys. While serving us during lunch(or dinner), she becomes very nervous trying to ensure that we feel most comfortable. But, the fun would have been much more had my aunt chosen to build her house in a place where we would not have to go by local trains.

Tagged!

I have been tagged by Deepti Di(Chitrangada)! This is my first tag . So, I am pretty excited.


If I were a beginning, I would be: The first chapter of ‘ Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’
If I were a month, I would be: October( Durga Puja month )
If I were a day of the week, I would be: Saturday ( day when I can spend maximum time with my parents)
If I were a time of day, I would be: Any such time when I could read Harry Potter
If I were a planet, I would be: EarthIf I were a season, I would be: Monsoon
If I were a sea animal, I would be: Dolphin
If I were a direction, I would be: EastIf I were a piece of furniture, I would be:- Book Shelf
If I were a sin, I would be: Murder
If I were a liquid, I would be: Rainwater
If I were a fraud/scare, I would be: Someone else
If I were a gem, I would be: Diamond
If I were a tree, I would be: Banyan
If I were a tool, I would be: Spade
If I were a flower/plant, I would be: Lotus
If I were a kind of weather, I would be: Any weather minus humidity
If I were a musical instrument, I would be: Piano
If I were an animal, I would be: Dog
If I were an emotion, I would be: Happy
If I were a vegetable, I would be: Cauliflower
If I were a sound, I would be: Sound of trinkets
If I were an element, I would be: Gold
If I were a car, I would be: Scorpio
If I were a song, I would be: Kaisi Paheli Zindagani (from Parineeta)
If I were a food, I would be: Chilly Chicken
If I were a place, I would be: Kolkata
If I were a material, I would be: Silk
If I were a taste, I would be: Salty
If I were a scent, I would be: Scent of good food
If I were a religion, I would be: Harry Potterism
If I were a sentence, I would be: The teaching of Maths is the worst thing to have happened in human history
If I were a body part, I would be: Eyes
If I were a facial expression, I would be: Affection
If I were a subject in college, I would be: English
If I were a shape, I would be: Triangle
If I were a quantity, I would be: Centimetre
If I were a color, I would be: Green
If I were a thing, I would be: A copy of ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’
If I were a landmass, I would be: Antarctica
If I were a book, I would be: Any book of Harry Potter
If I were a monument, I would be: Golden Fort, Jaisalmer
If I were an artist, I would be: Pablo Picasso
If I were a collection of poems, I would be: Any collection of poems by Rabindranath Tagore
If I were a landscape, I would be: Sea beach
If I were a watch, I would be: Titan
If I were God, I would be: Infinitely powerful
If I were a vowel, I would be: I
If I were a consonant, I would be: S
If I were a formula, I would be: Sridhara Acharya’s formula of solving quadratic equations(The easiest one I have come across)
If I were a Science, I would be: Botany
If I were a theory, I would be: As simple as possible
If I were a famous person, I would be: J.K.Rowling
If I were electronic equipment, I would be: Television
If I were sport, I would be: Cricket
If I were a movie, I would be: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
If I were a cartoon, I would be: Scooby Doo
If I were an explorer, I would be: Christopher Columbus
If I were a scientist, I would be: Galileo Galilei
If I were a relation, I would be: Faithful Daughter
If I were a river, I would be: Ganga
If I were intoxication, I would be: Love for my parents
If I were alone, I would be: Lost
If I were a question, then I would be: Where are you?
If I were a hobby, I would be: Blogging
If I were a habit, I would be: Anything other than saying “Stupid” and “Shut Up” almost always
If I were in an atom, I would be: Neutron
If I were an end, I would be: The last part of ‘A study in scarlet’ by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
If I were you, I would be: A much better friend

Horlicks Fun Facts

These are certain fun facts(sponsored by Horlicks) which were published in TTIS(The Telegraph In Schools) in the two most recent edition. Would like to share them here.

Popeye:
Did you know: That his lookalike nephews are called Peepeye,Pupeye, Pipeye and Popeye.

David Beckham:
Did you know: That he appears in the film Goal 2:Live the Dream, when the film’s lead character gets transferred to Real Madrid. That in the film Bend it like Beckham, the director used look-alikes of him.

Sachin Tendulkar:
Did you know: John Wright, who later became the coach of India, took the catch that prevented Sachin from becoming the youngest centurion in Test Cricket.

Tintin:
Did you know: That the first Tintin book, Tintin in the Land Of The Soviets appeared on January 10, 1929 and ran till May 30,1980. That Snowy’s original French name is Milou and he is a white wire fox terrier.

Roger Federer:
Did you know:
That Roger contemplated taking up football professionally before taking up tennis as a career. That he is the first living Swiss to be featured on a stamp in Switzerland.

Baichung Bhutia:
Did you know:
That Baichung actually means younger brother and that there is a stadium in Namchi which is named after him.

Hrithik Roshan:
Did you know:
That his debut was actually in the movie Aasha as an extra in a dance sequence at the age of six!