[This is a much delayed post]
Delhi, June 7: TOI Headline: Fry-day: Delhi’s hit 19-year high temperature record
Oh no, this isn't suppose to be happening. I have a month and a half till college reopened. Why am I battling the summer in Delhi? Where should I go? I need to escape from this heat.
My plan for the summer was to sleep and eat and sleep and eat. But with the mercury rising day by day, I have no fun in doing such. I think of ways to escape from this hell hole. I have a huge bucket-list and travelling topped the list. I haven’t had the chance to accomplish this dream to my heart content. But where should I go? I have a friend in Shillong and he has been calling me for ages to come and visit him before he graduate. Without giving much thought, I booked a ticket to Guwahati. I have friends who stay there. Hope my plan worked out well. Journey will start on June 9 at 11:45 pm.
June 8: My ticketing agent texted me: “Your ticket not confirm”. Oh no. I told him to arrange my journey for the next day.
Come next day, I received the same message. I cancelled my booking from him. I search out for other options to get a confirm ticket as soon as possible. There is a friend of mine who knows a lot about the Indian Railway reservation system, I was told that the best way to get a confirm tatkal ticket is to go to a train station in the wee hours and wait in line till booking open at 10 am. With ticketing agents not helping and Delhi’s summer burning, I went to Saroijini train station taking along two friends of mine on the early morning of 10 June. When we reach the station, there were too many people in lines and we are pretty sure that there was no chance of getting a confirm ticket that day. We went back.
Though I am not much of a football fan, my friends are and June 12 was the date for the opening ceremony of the FIFA World Cup. The opening ceremony used to be usually cool and so I planned not to set my journey date on 12. The ceremony was a total disappointment, if you’d watched the show from India, you must have known how it goes. The TV channel that was supposed to telecast the live happening in Brazil instead give a talk-show and just a fraction of the real events.
The next morning, we went to the station again and the crowd was unexpected. There were already 61 people who came earlier than me. We were disappointed but we agreed to let our luck plays. At 10:23 am, when my turn came, to our utter dismay, I could not grab a confirm ticket. Oh well, long story short, I found another agent and my journey finally starts on the night of 14th June with an
RAC ticket.
 |
Fellow passengers travelling on
the great Indian Railway |
After some 30 hours of travelling, I reached Guwahati. After staying for a couple of days in Guwahati, a place similar to Delhi when it comes to the heat, though a little milder, I planned my journey to Shillong. There are no bus service between the two cities late in the afternoon, instead there are taxis that ply regularly on the route. These taxi will wait for passengers and when it get full, only then the journey will begin. After a hour or so, we finally bade our goodbyes to the heat of Guwahati. It was burning in Guwahati, but as we drove into the winding highway of Meghalaya, it started to rain. This was unexpected. I have known that the wettest place on earth is in the state, yet in such a heat I wasn’t expecting such a surprise welcome.
 |
| The mountain and trees are a welcome sight |
As we drove through the winding road, the trees and the mountains and the greens, I was reminded of my place far away in the hills in Manipur. I haven't seen my hometown for almost two years now, seeing them was indeed a welcoming sight. Two hours later, I saw signs and boards telling me that I was in Shillong, telling me it was not a dream yet I could not believe my eyes. It was like a dream.
 |
| Centre Point, Police Bazar - The heart of Shillong |
Very soon, our vehicle finally reach the heart of Shillong. The sky was cloudy and the rain hasn’t stop. I was cold. My friends had warned me of the weather in Shillong, and I was told to pack winter dresses. The weather was indeed very cold. The place is quiet and serene. It rained all day long. It was not an Indian summer.
 |
| This is Shillong, serene and beautiful |
I had planned to stay there for a week at most, but I ended up staying for two weeks. I met my old friends from school, watched football, went hiking, sightseeing, everything was so much fun. I might have stayed longer but there was a change of plan and I had to go to my home state. "
Shillong is a beautiful place, I will surely visit again". "
You will always be welcome in Shillong, as long as I am here", my friend replied as we bade our goodbyes and the vehicle packed with passengers left for Guwahati on that rainy July morning.
 |
| With my guide/best-friend |
