Random Thoughtz- A blog by Ruchira Saxena Shah

Jab we left the train………..Almost :)

2009-11-09T08:57:00.000-08:00

I can never forget this journey that we did recently while going home on Dussehra holidays. We had to catch a train from Old Delhi station for Haldwani. The train was scheduled to depart at 4:00 PM.

Me, Adi (my husband) & Sindhuja (his Sister) were together. It was a Saturday evening, we were roaming around in Delhi since morning and did some shopping and got free at 2:00 PM. We had decided that we’ll leave for the station at sharp 2:30 PM else we won’t be able to catch the train. We reached Sindhu’s place at 2:00 PM, collected our luggage and left to lookout for an auto. We waited around 15 mins but it is really a big problem to get an auto in Delhi especially for old Delhi station. After 25 mins finally we got the auto and time was already 3:00 PM.

Now that one hour was one of the most exciting hours of my life, I had this fun after a long long time. The second main problem is the traffic jam in Delhi. If you can reach a place in 1 hour with normal traffic, take it as 2 hours minimum for Delhi. It was 3:30 PM and we were still 10 kms away from the station. I and Sindhuja started saying “shit yaar” in tension again & again. The funny part was we were chanting “shit yaar” like a mantra, one after another, me followed by her and then she followed by me. We spent 30 mins in that tension and it was 4:00 pm already. Still we were around 1-2 kms from station and roads were fully packed with people as it was Navaratri time and people were enjoying ramleela and other exhibitions, which are quite popular in old Delhi.

It was 4:01 PM now and we were exactly at the station gate, we literally jumped from the auto with our so heavy bags and started running, cutting the station crowd, to catch our train. To me it looked almost impossible to catch it now, as the scheduled departure was at 4:00 and we were trying to catch it after 5 mins, although in India you can still be optimistic coz trains are generally late but as this was the origin station, the hope was dim.

Finally we were at foot bridge just over the platform where our train was supposed to be standing, we were almost exhilarated to see the train there but it was momentary as we realized train was actually moving!!!!!!! Very slowly. There was no way we could catch it. By the time we would run down the steps, it would be gone. Without luggage perhaps, but with 3 heavy bags it was out of the question. I looked at Adi’s face and said “shit yaar”, we missed it L and we just stopped there itself looking at the leaving train, with heavy heart. We missed the train by few seconds. Our minds were already planning out the next steps, we were thinking of taking a taxi to the bus stand then taking a bus in the night. We were already so tired and on top of that a tiring bus journey, nothing looked worse than that. And I was thinking about fare of 3 AC tickets, which I was supposed to pay in my next credit card bill L……………………….

Then suddenly something miraculous happened and the train stopped, we ran like mad people down the steps with new hope.

Finally we stepped into our coach and got our seats. Later we got to know someone like us was stuck in the traffic jam and people waiting for that person in the train have pulled the chain. Throughout the way we were discussing about the whole incident (that 1 hour) and really it was so fun that we didn’t even realize when we have reached our destination. It was around 6 hours journey and we felt like we finished it in 2-3 hrs. Today when someone says “Shit yaar”, a smile comes to my face.

Sometimes when you look back in your life, the worst days are the ones that bring the biggest smiles on your face………………………

Nintendo Wii - A complete mood refresher........

2009-08-24T05:53:00.000-07:00

Have you heard of Nintendo Wii? I had heard of it but never got a chance to try it.

Last weekend me and Adi (my husband) were roaming in a multiplex and saw people playing the game. We thought of trying our hands on it and chose to play lawn tennis on it.

Nintendo Wii is different from other games in a way that it’s not only wireless but actually has a sensor which reads your hand movements. You just need to move your hands as if you are playing lawn tennis in real and you’ll see the same movement being imitated by the player inside the screen. Initially we had some problem in playing but slowly but once we got hold of the game and it became difficult to get rid of. It was an instant addiction! We spent nice half an hour (and 100 bucks :( ) playing the game with the game being draw (I actually beat Adi). It was a memorable experience as it felt good doing something different and breaking the monotonous routine of watching a movie every weekend.

It was complete mood refreshment :) :) :) :)

One fine Saturday evening.........

2009-08-24T00:53:00.001-07:00

One fine Saturday evening, one more weekend to say. Me and Adi (my husband) thought of trying a new place for outing and we decided to go to one of the newly opened multiplex in Hyderabad. We selected this place coz it’s nearby and it’s not crowded as others. You can sit and have some quality time together.

We sat in KFC food court and ordered a few things so that we can have an excuse to sit there :). Our main motive was to chat in peace and share some quality time with each other. I observed a strange thing there, all the counter guys & waiters were communicating with each other in sign language (using their hands and making gestures), and they were not actually speaking a word . We thought it’s just to maintain discipline in the restaurant and not to make noise. We thought, wow what an innovative idea it is and appreciated it.

Suddenly one of the waiters came to us started saying something in the same sign language. We didn’t understand him initially and thought they were offering us some discount or inviting us to play some sort of game. One person (he was speaking normally, thank god) guided us to backside of their kitchen, where actually they prepare food. They told us that it’s a “guided tour to KFC’s kitchen”, so that we can see how they prepare food, their method, technology, hygiene etc. It was very nice to see that they cook food in a very hygienic way. One of the best process they have is that they keep a time tag to food they prepare and they throw the remaining food after the time is over. They do not reuse it the next day. So we can be sure that chicken we are having at KFC is very fresh and not a day old :)

Then came the surprise, they told us that a special thing about their staff is the that 80%t of their staff was either deaf or they could not speak and that is why most of them were talking in sign language. And as they couldn’t hear or speak, they were using lights (for deaf) and sirens (for mute) to let others know that the food is ready and it can be served to the customer or there is a new order from customer. They even have some special signs for their menu items & other things, which help them to communicate without speaking. When they do a good job, they complement each other with “thumbs up”. I & Adi were so glad to see this. It was really heart touching to see KFC doing a great service by being socially responsible. It’s not the food but the experience that you get there that makes a restaurant a good restaurant.

We both complemented them with “thumbs up” and appreciated their effort with a feedback in their guest book. We really enjoyed the eve, this actually made our eve. We were so cheerful coming out of there……it’s still a memorable Saturday eve for us :) :) :)