Gurgaon To Agra - A tale of travel

The title suggest that it’s a travel blog, and the fact is that it is a travel blog but why would one write a travel tale from two commercialized cities. Those who have travelled between these cities would say.. what's the big deal? Take a direct bus from Gurgaon early morning and reach Agra bus stand in less than five hours, and mind it!! Haryana bus drivers are much faster than any other state transports' drivers and in all probability you ll travel some 210 km in 210 min, and that too including 20 min halt at a Haryana transport's own highway dhaba. The dhaba which appears to be a stall of Haryana Tourisms Stall at Dilli Haat, typical haryanvi songs playing aloud and they have a placard with message that they serve free food to needy, only one should tell them before hand.

But the Haryana's generosity is not visible if you have to travel before a long weekend like the one we had last week with our independence day falling on Friday. And as it is well known more than 60% of people residing in Gurgoan work 5/7 and getting an opportunity to become 4/7 would mean everybody want to go back home and if there is a festival like Raksha bandhan falling in between it means all working professionals going home and a quiet a decent number of them take bus to reach to their homes. I tried to outsmart the crowd by taking a day off and decided to travel a day before the huge crowd travels. But must confess the surveys that predict the average intelligent quotient of Indians is rising, is actually true. There were some 250 people trying to "outsmart the crowd" present that day at 6 AM on bus stand willing to go to Agra.

With just 2 buses with 72 + 15 people sitting (+ standing) capacity I could calculate that I cannot find a place in the two scheduled buses. On the day after even the state bus department, in an effort to cash in on the long weekend, would have run more than the scheduled buses. However unfortunately for me and lot many others the administration hadn't read the survey about intelligent Indians. There were just two buses scheduled to go to Agra that day, I had already seen 7:15 bus leaving, the last hope was bus to leave at 8:30.

For next forty five minutes we were standing in the queue without inching forward because ticket distribution would not start before 8. At 7:55 there was a hustle bustle and a dormant snake (read queue) was active again, as it had seen its prey. The transport departments' ticket distributors have arrived.

Everybody jumping to get the hold of the priced ticked, few muscular tried to display all their courage and the fairer sex was talking advantage of the notion of being the weaker sex had their separate queue. Non muscular, dark people then were left without ticket and suddenly the ticket distributor announced that it is the last bus to Agra, take the seat or few inches to stand, if you can. Before I could react to the clarion call I saw people jumping on top of bus roof. I couldn't muster courage enough to replicate SRK's chahiya chahiya feat.

I then looked around to see other losers and to my surprise there were many. One of them looked like a software engineer, and the one who had again missed an onsite opportunity. We looked at each other shared a smile and knew at once that we were travelling in the same boat. God only knew then that had there been a river connecting Agra with Gurgaon we would have been more fortunate. I and my software engineer friend then decided that it was no point going to New Delhi station and waiting for train as it would take 2 -3 hours now to reach NDLS and then wait for train, better take a cab to Faridabad from there we’ll have a train waiting for us to drop at Agra. Bloody optimist.

We then swimmed our way to Iffco chowk from where we would get a cab to Faridabad. Swimmed because of incessant downpour since last night, and when corporate Gurgaon had 1 -1.5 m deep potholes then one can easily anticipate what condition of road would have been in old Gurgaon where the bus stand is situated. However we did reached Iffco chowk to find a cab to Faridabad. The centre of Gurgaon then was stuffed with vehicles and people, willing to get a lift. Gurgaon, said to be Singapore of India, doesn’t have autorikshaws running. Only few buses commute and that too on very limited tracks. So people not fortunate to have their destination lying on those limited tracks and doesn't have vehicle of their own have to rely on the mercy of rash driving breed of call centre cab drivers. Remeber "Killer Qualis".

However we began to scan TATA/Toyota vehicles in the pool of cars on road. One can easily see 90% of call centre cabs are either TATA or Toyota products. Almost an hour passed by, asking all drivers if they were going to Faridabad and on an affirmative answer trying in vain to get into limited seats the cab has, and ten times the aspirants. Each cab was no less than the premier B School ,only the cab drivers were not mean politicians hence no reservations. Finally we got into an Innova who would drop us to Faridabad.

Thirty kilometers on a hilly road (don’t be surprised, Gurgaon is situated between the Himalayas and Aravalis mountain ranges) and on plush seats , so that ITES industry where attrition rate exceeds 40% employees don’t have travel discomfort, all you have to pay is 15 INR. We reached Faridabad railway station in less than an hour. In a country of 1,125 million people with population density of 340 people per kilometer square, high density area like railway station can easily expect 300-400 people at a time. Beating all estimates there were 250-300 people in 100 meter square area of Faridabad railway station's ticket counter. However we enquired about the next train to Agra, it was 3 hours hence. Somebody suggested that since we are so close to NH2 connecting Agra to Delhi, just go there and you can catch any bus going toward Agra. Fair enough, and we went to the highway looking for buses going to Agra. There were many, but none would stop for us as they were already overloaded. We tried asking lift, I had seen in Bollywood movies that people do get lift on highways, but just could not attempt the act of Pooja Bhatt in Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin, to be get noticed by the fast paced vehicles on highway. Finally after lot of waving, we were able to board a special festival bus going to Mathura.

It was a special bus for a religious festival to be held at krishna janam bhoomi, so the people were all in the sanctimonious mood singing the divine songs. Finally after all that hectic waiting it was some consolation to hear melodious hymns. People were all so much involved in the songs and waving their heads in pleasure that sometimes it actually wonders me what is it that motivates these people to travel in a small congested bus in a never ending India summer. And when they know that the place of worship would be then filled with thousands of devout believers trying to reach to their God sooner and for longer than the others. Seeing people in such a state I could only remember people in Gurgaon discotheques when they are stoned. Blasphemed comparison. Suddenly all my amusement disappeared when I saw a milestone displaying Mathura 15km. Now fight again to get a transport to Agra another 54km.

The strive starts again. Mathura bypass, waiting for another passing bus to help me meet my family. Fortunately I saw a DTC bus going towards Agra, and they were considerate to stop for us as well. I boarded and must acknowledge DTC bus even if it is 150km away from Delhi is fast, rash and crowded. Since I was on a DTC I thought of taking an initiative to purchase ticket, but somehow it’s in the air of UP that inertia took over considering that the conductor would himself come to sell that ticket. Why should I be bothered?

Limited resources make the people/organization more efficient. And I was witnessing one such example. The bus was so crowded that one cannot move a step, so couldn't the conductor. The way he even then managed to keep track of all new people joining the bus, asked their destination, collected money from them and also giving them appropriate tickets with the symbols he made with his hands coordinating the money hawala via tens of passenger was commendable. Between all this my lookha radar detected a signal of possibility of a species of opposite sex and attractive content. But due to excess of hindrance all I could see was very fair, thin right hand of hers ,wearing a sky blue bangle type watch, holding the steel bars that bus manufacturers unabashedly add considering that seats in the bus would never be sufficient to accommodate all people willing to travel. I jumped a bit on my toes to catch a glimpse of the owner of those beautiful hands, I couldn't. I had a feeling that I was falling in love with the girl. What? You haven't even seen her face dude. What's the big deal if Rajkumar of 'Pakeezah' can fall in love just seeing the feet of lady, I have seen the pretty hands and a smart choice of watch?

After 30 min or so, lot many people got down of the bus, I was too busy to notice the place. I had to get a place close the lady of my love. And in fact the grounds of my love weren't weak at all; she had long hair with one of the locks falling on the side of her face with a thick carbon framed spectacle. I was yet not able to see her complete face as her hand holding the supporting bar was obstructing the view for me. The sleeve of red T-shirt that she was wearing was the main problem. The color with longest wavelength, hope I could further increase the wavelength (Shut Up! engineer in me). Sikandra came .The bus was almost empty now. Everybody got a seat. I too had many options but I didn’t want to sit, I was standing for almost last 9 hours, but still dint want to sit. However when I was left without an option, I took a seat two places behind her. I normally get down at Gurudwara as I get an autorikshaw easily from there otherwise from the bus stand I have to walk and then too finding an autorikshaw is difficult. But if I get down early I ll miss a possible conversation with her. Time was too less, Gurudwara turn had almost arrived, before I could make up my mind that girl stood up to get her luggage. I saw her face then noticed her T-shirt which read "Single but unavailable", I took my bag and got down of the bus. Huhh attitude. But, don’t I like girls with attitude? Never make a decision in haste; it can lead to end of a prospective love story.

Finally I took an autorikshaw to my home, the journey from Guru-gram to City of Taj via an industrial town and braj-bhoomi took some 600 min that day, but worth mentioning.