Mein Hamesha counter pe hi ticket Letha hoon saab, nahi toh ghar jaana hi namumkin ho jaayega" said the waitlisted traveller, as he settled on the vacant berth available, a passenger not having turned up and next passenger due at Kacheguda. The train has slowed down to stop at Dhone, as the BZA WAP4 hauled BZA BNC pass got rrady to pull out seeing our arrival. We were already more than an hour late , and should have got to our destination by now.

Aap Aaram se baitiye, hum agala station par...
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uthar lenge, theeno seat kaali ho jaayega , my Dad told him. It was a plan decided a month ago , with plan starting at Bhubaneshwar, and with lack of ticket availability came down via Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and settled down at Kurnool, deciding to visit Ahobilam & Srisailam. I had plan of merging weekend + 3 days to independence day, but absolutely forgot that a Bakrid holiday was in between them and it was extended weekend for many, but not me.

Ticket availability was still a concern, and all trains showed nil availability ..This train too showed a waitlist , but them availability was in KZJ quota. Without thinking twice booked the 3 tickets till KZJ. But the migrant labour words left a lump in my throat. Has my ticket denied some necessary traveller from Hyderabad his ticket ?? Anyway this person from Bangalore is going to get a place thanks to me and he has some companions too. They have got a whole day to travel and may be comfortable with these seats post KZJ too , I consoled myself

The monsoon rains drenched Bangalore the previous evening while we were on the way to Yeshvantapur in the Ola. Went to the market side entrance by 2240, only to find that the Wainganga was to be stationed on PF-6. Paid off the Ola and entered YPR for the WAP to sound the departure of the 12291 Weekly superfast to Chennai

Went by the lift to PF-6 and a huge crowd welcomed us. Which train, my mom asked.. Who else our train only, noone else at this PF , I said. An empty dry bench, I asked her to sit. Biweekly train, the only one to Chattisgarh capital, said my Dad, seeing the crowd. Yes, I said. Midstation people could be very less, and majorly UR or reserved would have booked way past Balarshah to other destinations on the Gonda route, unconnected to Bangalore .

Announcement went for the 16227 Talaguppa Express to arrive on PF-3 shortly, but our train hadn't yet been shunted. Picked up the luggage and started walking towards the coach display, lest the crowd starts moving all sides once train is shunted.. Just as we begin walking, the sound of the whistle is heard at the PF middle , the rake is being pushed back. Meanwhile, the wheels screech on other side, indicating the arrival of Talaguppa express

The metro train moves towards Yelchanhalli, the last train for the day in that direction as the clock ticks towards 2310. Fairly full. 3 more trains would move towards Nagasandra side, I predict, just as the next train crosses in on the opposite, with scanty crowd. Never seen such empty ones, I say to myself . (Well not the scenario now , thanks to Covid )

The crowd tries to get into all available space . Not a very bright LHB rake, long distant train doing up and down regular runs, has robbed the sheen of coaches . A biweekly is not sufficient for this section, Wainganga should be a dedicated daily, we discuss. People get into through the emergency exits . The doors are finally opened, but people are already inside , but thankfully, they leave the reserved berths vacant . S-10 is boarded and LB, LB, MB occupied . Heavy crowd but thankfully they atleast left seats empty, said my dad, as I tried opening the window... Tap tap tap the rainwater starts falling, the arrived rake of Karnataka Sampark Kranti gets pulled out to the pitline . I close back the shutter and window, to prevent the gaps and rain water .

The sound of the EMD was heard as the time moved to 2345. We were expecting the pull, but it was from a neighbour. The weekly express to Hubbali 16543 RSA with Bikaner biweekly was pulling out of PF-4. And no chance of a parallel departure that would have happened if Wainganga was on other side PF. We have to wait till the Hubbali express clears the points .

As just the watch was about to touch the midnight , the pull was felt. So a delayed start for the trip. The DMU's were stationed on PF-1 end , as we change the tracks to the right side, for the long turn we have to take . The streets are still full, a 501C going towards Hebbal , probably the last service for the day. The lorry traffic on the ring road give us company, as we cross the Lottegolahalli and Hebbal stations. The berths were put on and we went to sleep, only to wake up at Dhone outer to find the delay .

The train clearly had no chance of making up delay made up its way winding through. The monsoon weather gave a pleasant breeze, in store for what we could expect the next few days. It was a pretty heavy rain all over, and news of Krishna getting filled to brim were filling around . The Highway came close, the Kurnool Cudappah road going over us, and the huge Anjeneya statue welcoming us to the town of Kurnool. Slowly went over the Hundry river bridge, with barely any water and pulled into PF-2 of Kurnool Town at 730AM , 50 mins delay . Bidding bye to our copassenger to enjoy the berths and have safe journey, we disembark from the overnight journey . The weather gave a good support to us till we returned back to Kurnool on Thursday evening to meet the thirsty dog on 15/08/2019.

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