kockroach kaniya....... Express????

Well that's what i would like to call the Konkan Kanya train from CST (Victoria Terminus) to Madgaon, Goa. This is the train that people usually board to go to the land of babes, beaches & not forgetting the last cheap Booze.

I was on my way to Goa with my close friends, God knows after ages probably, and i was looking forward to this trip impatiently & desperately. Had been slogging my butt for the last few months and just needed a break, one long break from this maddening routine that was like a parasite in my system. Had to just relax my nerves and mental stability which probably would have been unstable if I didn't get to go on this trip to Goa. After all the hassles and running around in office on the last day I was finally gonna go home and on my way to Goa.

So there I was at Thane station waiting for the train which was due to arrive at 23:50. Arrive it did at 12:10, considering the infamous Indian Standard Time, the train did arrive on time. Not expected a 10 min delay from the India Railways. I guess Laloo Prasad Yadav becoming the Railway Minister has made a huge difference.

When we get into the train we realize our seats are close to the toilet door and there is this pathetic stench which I guess was traveling with us on our journey to Goa. No sooner we settle down in our reserved berths our co-passengers already fast asleep and snoring to glory, me and my friends look at each other with faces which would make The Mask run for his money, we are pretty much delighted and disgusted at the same time that we finally are on our way to Goa.

I had sunk in my feelings of disgust and was apprehensive of the fact that i would have to sleep with this obnoxious stench the whole night. Me and my friends started having conversations reminding of our previous Goa trips. But somehow we couldn't just ignore the smell, cause by now it was in our system, in our head and it was getting just damn annoying.

But then the stench was not the only thing in the train that was bothering us, we had more creatures to accompany us other than humans. They were the six legged, winged insects............ Cockroaches........uuuuurrrrggggghhhhhhhh!!!!!! They were everywhere on the seat, the walls of the compartment, everywhere. It was a disgusting sight to see the whole cockroach family in various sizes. And then began our trip to Goa in a train infested with roaches.

The ironic part here is that this wasn't the first time i was traveling by the Konkan Kanya Express, so I already had good impressions bout this train, and after seeing these stinky creatures that impression just fell flat. I kept wondering how the fuck this train is so freaking filthy and dirty. Me and my friends though were praising the Railway Minister, were abusing him left, right & center. This wasn't expected in a train which goes to Goa yaar. Either the train didn't have its routine wash from the starting point or the railway officials just assumed that the passengers would be used to this kind of filth.

It was such a crazy experience that we felt like there no use staying awake and killing those roaches every time they came out of their corners. It was an endless, never ending exercise. We would stamp 5-6 roaches and then there would be ten more that would walk out, so it was pretty soon that we gave up and decided that it was getting too late and we needed to crash. But then just the thought of crashing with these creatures creeping all around your body would keep us awake.

But then we had no choice, either we stay awake or we sleep with the damn roaches roaming all around our bodies. But as we fell asleep we would be awakened not by the constant noises of the train horn, people snoring, walking by the isle, but we would be awakened by the roaches crawling on our faces, almost walking into our nostrils. Ya i can imagine the disgust on your face while you read this but its even more gross If you have experienced it yourself.

Because of this I didnt enjoy my journey in the train and I was completely put off by the whole experience. Probably this would be the last time I would travel in the IInd class of a train when I have to travel to Goa or anywhere in the country.

Our trains are so dirty just like our cities, our streets, our nukkads, the advent of disease could be an all year round affair. No wonder whenever you visit any local dispensary you would always find patients with some small ailments, sicknesses, etc. filling up the doctors pockets.

We end up blaming others, our government for not doing a good job, but then apart from keeping our own home clean do we ever think the same or share the same thoughts when it comes to the world outside our home????