Heaven On Earth

So, it's actually happening. For 10 years, I was hearing that we were going to Kashmir. But, for some reason or other, our plans always got cancelled. And, today we were actually boarding the train to Kashmir. I wasn't able to contain myself with happiness. But there was another person who was more happy than me. And yes it's my mother. She is a person who will listen to 'Yeh Hassein Wadiya, Yeh Khula Aasman' at least once a week. So, you can understand how excited she can be when we were actually going to the city of beauty. In my head, I have decided that I won't believe the entire trip until and unless I went inside the train. We were going for 14 days. And at the end of our packing, I realized that my father loves to pack. From first aid kits to horlicks, my father has packed everything. So, that led to three big trolleys which we have to carry for the entire trip. Looking at those big suitcases was giving me mini headaches. However, my mother started to yell because I was fidgeting in the entire house instead of getting ready. So, I hurriedly changed into a black top and jeans and started packing my bag. Meanwhile, my brother was planning a way to fit his toys into those tightly-fitted suitcases. After some shouting and an ultimatum given by my mother, my brother finally agreed to carry only four of his most precious toys. Since our train was about to depart at around midnight , we have to have our dinner. With a tummy full of anda curry(egg recipe) and rice and with three big suitcases, we started our long journey. We have booked a taxi which was waiting at the far end of our gali. It has taken all the energy from our body to carry those giant bags and ourselves to the taxi. Somehow, we packed ourselves (me, my brother, mother, father and grandma) into that taxi and the taxi whooshed past the street.  In the mid-path of our home and the station, we picked our nani(my mother’s mother) who was also going with us and also had a brief conversation with my cousin and her mother where they gave us good blessings for our safe journey. Inside my head, I was shouting “Dil chahta hai” but at the same time, my brother’s tummy was shouting something else and just after some mins, he vomited all the anda curry over the taxi’s floor. After all those havoc, we somehow reached the station from where the train to Kashmir was supposed to start. The person because of which the taxi driver was giving us weird stares i.e. my brother was soon seemed to engage himself in a wholesome burger and whole loads of coke. His stomach also got confused by looking at his behavior. We, all, were moving very slowly with heavy suitcases when the rain thought of playing some stupid games with us and a huge downpour started in just few minutes. There is a story that I have heard in my childhood. It goes like this, “A single widowed woman used to live with her child in a small house with her child. She used to manage everything on her own. But, one day when an earthquake shook the ground, the woman took all her expensive belongings, which were quite heavy compared to her own weight, along with her child and barged off the house at high speed”. This story represents the inner strength of a person that only comes into display when there is a sudden emergency. Now, on that day, we viewed the exact demonstration of that story. In those muddy puddles, where we were having difficulty carrying ourselves, my grandma, who was probably in her sixties, took one suitcase and started running(literally) with it. I wish I had that sight recorded and if I can show it you. I can reassure you with only my words that I have not exaggerated not even a single line in the act. She was literally running which boosted our motivation a bit and we reached our particular platform drenched in rain water and sweat. Finally, we boarded the train and began our journey to the city of beauty. Although we had our dinner, me and bro took some bites from nani’s luchi with aloo bhaja which she carried with herself from her home. After all, we cannot miss food prepared by nani which always has a nostalgia attached with it. I soon changed into a red t-shirt and black palazzo and went into the top berth of our coach to delve into a sleep filled with Kashmir vibes.

                                                                                                     To be continued....

Part II of the journey