Traveling Disasters... Tan be thy name... Part 1

I think I may be jinxed or something. None of my travels have been the 'normal' kinds. I have always had the pleasure of travelling with beings that are not generally seen in normal course of life, but when in transit. It has its advantages and disadvantages. There is a lot of talking, jumping, snoring, asking, poking into one's personal life, and it always makes a good story to tell..

Bangalore to Kolkata

"Can you please take care of my daughter?" I heard my Mom tell another woman in the train. "She is travelling alone for the first time. Please wake her up when the station comes. Thank you so much behenji.."

I said my emotional good byes to my mom and the train slowly start to move away from the platform. I knew that my mom would stand there until she saw no trace of the train or the noise. Just to make sure...

"So you are travelling alone eh?", asked the big fat woman occupying the berth below mine.

"Yes Aunty." I don't know why, but all Indians looooooooooove calling strange men and women 'uncle'/'aunty'.. makes us more connected I guess..

Well that was the end of the conversation. Or so I thought.

I think she may have got a little too emotional with the whole 'behenji' thing that my mom cooked up. Every time I fell asleep, she would wake me up.

"Beta get up get up! It's evening. You should get up and wash your face. Come here and eat something".. But I was not hungry!!!

"No thanks aunty. I am quite full."

"But you should eat.!! You don't need dieting!"

"But I don't want to eat pleeeeease" I cried a bit..

Then I saw her say something to the woman sitting right next to her in thier regional language, which of course I could not understand. But it didn't take a scientist to guess that she was talking and disapproving of my attitude. Just to save my face and further embarassment, I picked up the food thing and put it into my mouth.. without thinking..

Have I ever told you guys that I am allergic to 9 out of every 10 things in this world? Now is a good time I guess. It turned out that there was something in that thing I ate and my body was not very happy about it.

Within seconds I was coughing like a mad woman, scratching wherever my hands could reach and looking as if my eye balls are just about to pop out. I saw a faint glimpse of my reflection in the opposite window. My lips had become thrice thier normal size. Obviously, I looked 'possessed'.

My dear fat aunty did nothing. Instead she just whispered something more to her husband, but this time in english. "What's wrong with the new generation? If she didn't want it, she could have just told me so. Now due to all this fuss people will think that I did it on purpose or something.."

oh cummon woman! I am dying here.... helppppp meeeeeeeeeeeee....

All I remember next was somebody waking me up to tell me that the train had reached its last stop and thankfully that was my destination too.

to be continued...