47) Solo Trip Day 1: Coffee, Chaos and Drama!

The day started with voting for the municipal corporation election. Then I had lunch, which was kurkuri bhindi (airfried, honestly it does not taste like the normal), veg pulav that was for tiffin, then matar kachori, tilacha ladu, and then a normal meal. Mumma packed matar kachoris and a very tasty veg pulav for the journey. I got some snacks, but because my bag was full, I left the rest at home. Then I booked an Uber, waved goodbye to Mumma, as Durva and Pappa came till my friend Anjali’s home in Kalamboli, waved them goodbye at the express highway, and finally my journey started. We caught up on pending life updates, and the traffic was almost nonexistent, because it was a voting holiday for all. The moment we entered the BKC, it felt like a new world altogether. We craned our necks to see the tall glass buildings. And just like that, we reached the Bandra Terminus. Carried our luggage and clicked some pictures and videos. I spotted an AMUL outlet, and as we were way before the time of the train, we checked out the various products on display, but what stole our attention was a glass bottle with cold coffee in a premium packaging. We bought it, and then we made our way to the platform. The best thing about Bandra Terminus is that there are no stairs, there is a subway, and a slope where the trolley bag can be easily rolled. We had reached almost an hour before the train departed, but still the train was present before us; it was being cleaned, so the doors had not opened. We clicked some more pictures and videos, and this time, the AMUL cold coffee was a part of our entourage. Anjali clicked that coffee, as if she was paid for the assignment! But we had to bid adieu to the beautiful glass bottle, as we were to carry our luggage, and adding things right from the beginning would have a compounding effect on the weight that we had to carry. Before entering the train, we clicked our reflections in the train window. I feel reflections are all that matter in the end, of trips and life, both!

We then boarded the train, and we got two seats far apart in the same compartment. So our first task was to get it exchanged. One of the seats was near the door, and the family there was all over the place with the little kids, dancing around, and men lying like it was their home. We then saw another seat, a (newlywed) couple had one seat there and another in front, so they were sitting, and a man (late 20s or early 30s), we kept our luggage, and this is where we had a lower berth. Then we exchanged our upper berth at the door with the man who had the upper berth here. He looked a little rude by his expression, but very easily exchanged the seat and just went to the chaos near the door. Later, I saw he was asleep in that chaotic environment before it turned dark. The newlywed Gujju couple had a whole vibe; they even started a conversation with a girl (maybe in her 20s) who was a native of Jaipur. They asked her about the places to visit and to have food, then I fetched out my itinerary diary and went to her personally and got recommendations about the various tourist places, food spots, and places we can skip if we don’t have time. Her recommendations were the best! Though my parents told me not to tell unknown people about where I was staying and what my purpose of visit was, I told her both the things, till today I don’t know her name nor does she know mine!

Anjali then peeled open an orange and shared it with the couple and we all began with an orange, the mood was setting in, all young people from different stations of life were there, and then before we left Mumbai, a family of three, a strict father, a loving mother and a teenager son trapped in between love and strictness came and sat in front of us. They had three berths on one side, while we had the lower and upper, and the couple had a middle berth here. It felt like all the young ones were on one side to watch this family drama that began as soon as they boarded the train. The bald, strict father acted like his seat was his property and that no one should keep any bags under his seat. The native Jaipur girl had a lot of luggage that she kept below his seats. He made sure to irritate her and then let her keep it when his luggage fit, and there was still some space. Then the family settled. I started reading Murakami, but the live drama that was unfolding in front of me was more entertaining. The loving mother fetched the first tiffin, it was paneer pakoras, and the father and mother had a pakora party; they insisted their son to have some, but he declined. The young couple were already irritated as they had to shift some luggage because of this uncle, so the girl got some sweets for me and Anjali, which were made in the Gujarati household during Sankranti and shared only with us! After the pakora party, uncle and aunty had some chiwda party, and then literally within the next 10 min they both got out their paper plates and started with their dinner, it was hardly 7:30 pm. They had a proper bhindi, pickle, and puri. They again insisted on their son, but he again rejected. Post dinner, within 10 minutes, uncle laid the bed for auntie on the upper berth, and auntie dozed off. Now the drama was between the son and father. The father instructed the son to finish off the bhindi and pickle twice or thrice, and then almost rushed him into having his dinner. Meanwhile, it was 9 pm, and anyway, the vibe was spoiled by the uncle and his behavior, so we focused on our food, I fetched out my veg pulav and Anjali got tilachi poli, we had a sumptuous dinner and ended with a banana cake baked by Anjali’s sister Anushka, it was delicious, food can be an instant mood changer. By this time, the uncle had laid the bed for the son and himself and called it a night, though the son was on his phone lying on the middle berth. The couple chose to ignore the uncle by having their dinner on their (side) upper berth.  I also lay my bed and called it a night, but there was still some drama left. 

When there was complete silence here, our neighboring seat had kids who were jumping and shouting, and parents were talking on the phone. So this girl (the couple one) got irritated by their noise and got down from her middle berth and went and shouted at them, saying this is not tolerable and that there is a rule on the train you cannot make noises after 10 pm. She came back like a  warrior, and then after a few minutes she got a call from her mother, and she started gossiping, after some time the bald strict uncle who we thought had dozed off way before this, was awake and shouted on this girl that the “10 pm rule applies to you too, you shouted at them and now you are yourself talking on phone and that is disturbing everyone!” I laughed my heart out in silence in the warmth of my blanket and finally called it a day!

Happy Reading,

-सिddhi Bhosale.

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2. RRR (Rainy Rickshaw Ride)☔🌂🌧️: https://sidthisside.blogspot.com/2022/07/rrr-rainy-rickshaw-ride.html

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5. Hema Chaha and Gagga Vada!: https://sidthisside.blogspot.com/2022/10/hema-chaha-and-gagga-vada_21.html

6. Udaipur: The city where silence is heard.: https://sidthisside.blogspot.com/2022/11/udaipur-city-where-silence-is-heard.html

7. The little gift box🎁!: https://sidthisside.blogspot.com/2022/12/the-little-gift-box.html

8. Monday's Mistake!: https://sidthisside.blogspot.com/2023/01/mondays-mistake.html

9. Golden Birthday, Golden Memories.: https://sidthisside.blogspot.com/2023/02/golden-birthday-golden-memories.html

10. Fire,Paper planes and Maharaj!: https://sidthisside.blogspot.com/2023/03/firepaper-planes-and-maharaj.html

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12. One Last Time....: https://sidthisside.blogspot.com/2023/05/one-last-time.html

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15. Monday Blues!: https://sidthisside.blogspot.com/2023/08/monday-blues.html

16. Lalbagh Cha Raja!: https://sidthisside.blogspot.com/2023/09/lalbagh-cha-raja.html

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23. Mumbai Diaries (Part 1): https://sidthisside.blogspot.com/2024/04/mumbai-diaries-part-1.html

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43. My BAGWATI! : https://sidthisside.blogspot.com/2025/12/43-my-bagwati.html

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