32. STRANDED IN LUCKNOW...........

This tiny auto ferried 10 children to school, piled one on top of the other, their bags hung to both sides of the 3-wheeler. It was comical to see the kids tumbling out, I did'nt expect to see so many - it was like watching a magician pull out his many tricks from his hat! The kids were smiling and laughing broadly - the discomfort level in India can be very great but their people handle it with such equanimity.

....well, almost. On a long train ride from Mumbai, the train stopped in Lucknow, capital city of northern Uttar Pradesh state. I was told the stop was a long 30 mins.

Friends from Lucknow came on board to visit me and their brother, who was travelling with me. I made a spontaneous decision to get off the train and spend some time in Lucknow.

I grabbed a suitcase and jumped off the train as it was starting to move. Typically Indian fashion.....the stop was only 15 minutes! I waited on the platform but as the train picked up speed, there was no friends with the rest of my lugguage.
Several curious heads popped out of the windows to look at me - I must have looked forlorn standing on that platform looking at the train as it left the station.

Thank goodness for cellphones - my friends told me to stay put, the next stop was 10 minutes away. I sat on my suitcase. Everybody who walked past, stopped to stare, like I'm the Elephant Man. If language was'nt a barrier, they'll bombard me with why? how? what? where? They'll terribly curious people.

It was chilly on that platform, being winter. The station was drab and dreary, stank of urine, filthy with litter. The vendors, beggars and porters were all gone in 60 seconds, it's clear the next train won't be due for a long while. The platform became deserted within minutes. I was thankful it was'nt the middle of the night.

The 30 minutes wait seemed like eternity. Was I glad to see my friend's husband coming to collect me, smiling broadly - the Indians have some of the most beautifully straight, white natural teeth. I could have hugged and kissed him but the embarrasment would have caused him to faint even though there was nobody around.

Apparently, my friends in trying to retrieve the rest of my lugguage, pulled out the wrong ones from under the seats. The owner, a cranky country bumpkin of a woman, created a ruckus, calling my friends thieves. They defended themselves vigorously so there was much drama on board, which I may have missed but can imagine as I've seen such exchanges many times before.

'Two roads diverged in a wood, I took the one less traveled by and that has made all the difference' - Robert Frost