Recruiting was my job and out-station hiring one of the channels. This highly coveted reason took me on a visit to Hyderabad in October 2009. We had a few vendors there and they were supposed to line up some excellent, hardworking, smart candidates eager to work for 3G in apna Mumbai. To begin with I couldn't digest how will I be able to recruit the 'aheavii Aekcent' wala Hyderabadi's for the customer service openings we had. But then it was my job to search for the diamonds among the coal ;-). My train ticket was booked and was under RAC. It got confirmed only on the day of my departure. I louee my travel department. At this point I didn't focus much on the fact that my return ticket is on waiting list. You may ask how is that a big deal...well it turned out to be one. It lead me into a messy affair..much on that a little later.
I was in Hyderabad for a couple of days. I was put up at Lakdi ka Pul (as one word). The vendors whom I had to meet were in Secunderabad, which wasn't very far from where I was staying. The first day - Surprisingly, I was at this vendors office on time and to my surprise there were no candidates. I mean, I felt as if I was called there to drink tea and inspect the old computers and stacks of files in this 19 and a 1/2th century building. I was there for 5 hours and they couldn't line a single candidate. I was mind strained (you know the word that I wanted to use - but avoiding from a larger viewer/reader perspective ;-)). But you know what saved the day - Paradise. Not Heaven. The famous Paradise Hyderabadi Biryani House. It was bang opposite to where this vendor's office was. I had a scrumptious, spoon licking chicken Biryani and dozed off for sometime. That was how my first day in Hyderabad was - Utter waste.
The second day was better. I went for a ride by the necklace road. Its more like apna Marine Lines. Necklace road is by the Hussain Sagar Lake. I had to be at a vendor at Banjara Hills that day. Banjara hills is akin to apna Pali Hill. A posh Area of Hyderabad with good crowd, clubs and a nice locality in totality. Here thankfully I was presented with some work. You know without it I would have been bogged down with the guilt of spending company money for nothing. I hope you feel me here. I had some 7 candidates to interview. 6 of them could only introduce themselves and I ticked the 'Failed' button of my mind. So horrible in communication. The 7th guy was better but huge ego and a mis-fit. He was an engineer, did MBA from UK and now wants to work in a BPO. Another one rejected - dis time on stability grounds.
So the summary is something like this -
2 days stay - 24 hours of train travel - 2 vendors - 7 candidates met - zero selects - But a scrumptious Biryani.
How impressive!!
My train from Hyderabad was on the same day at 7.30 in the evening. I had packed my bags in the morning itself. Another colleague of mine who was with me and whose native was Hyderabad said it would only take 20 mins to reach the station from LakdiKaPul and I can leave by 6.45 pm. My bad, I believed him and later realized that this is how luck plays with you. We left by the rick at 6.45 and got stuck at a circle on the NH 9. There was some kind of a morcha and mera locha. We waited for 10 mins but no sign of the rickshaw moving. I hurriedly got down and started running towards the Nampally station (Hyderabad Deccan railway station). I had 15 minutes and I had to get my train. I was running with my bags and worse still I was wearing my chappals. People I passed were searching for a camera of 'The Amazing Race' unit. It was a run to remember. I stopped twice to ask for the direction. Every sound of the train smoking black led my heart to skip a beat. I ran ran and I reached just as the train was pulling off from the platform. Luckily the train was on the platform adjoining the station entry and I didn't had to cross any bridge. You remember Kareena Kapoor's introduction in 'Jab we Met'. Similar was my entry but there was no one to help me get in. Only girls have all the fun here.
I managed to get into a second class compartment from where I moved to the AC section. Now if you recollect my ticket was in the RAC mode and I hadn't yet checked if it is confirmed. I earnestly thanked the Indian Railway for having an internet based ticket status checking facility and thanked Nokia for developing a GPRS enabled phone as I checked the status. And surprise surprise - it was still RAC.
I went blank for a moment. The train had started, I don't have a confirmed ticket, I have a night to spend - what to do? I knew that there are no tickets available in the bus as my colleague had enquired in the evening. He was to stay back in Hyderabad for a day and leave the next day. I gained composure with the thought that with a little money to the TT, I could manage something - No no Anna Hazare wasnt popular then. I parked my luggage and checked out the 3 AC compartments. I couldn't see even one empty seat. The thermometer of my hope fell down a bit but not completely. I couldn't spot the TT so spoke to these blue shirted guys who provide blankets and towels in the compartment. They asked me wait till the TT comes and he would surely help. The place where these guys keep the blankets is by the toilet and it has kind of a wooden bench which can be unfolded. I was given a place there to sit by this generous blue shirt guy. The TT came by 10.15 pm and on spotting me had a angry look. 'What want you here' is what I heard and spent a few seconds decoding it. Well but I knew he didn't have much time for me so I told him my story and he was like, get down and get into the unreserved section. I tried to reason out that I have a 2nd AC ticket so something can be done and I can pay extra. But he was like there are no seats available and that he cant help and I should move off immediately. The blue shirt guy asked me to speak to the 2nd class TT and ask him to help. I thanked him and took a voyage in the train to sport TT number 2.
I have traveled a lot in the Indian Railways and I know the nuisance of someone who has an unreserved ticket sitting on my reserved seat and saying 'Pleaje Adjusht no'. I could have done that (not with that accent), but it's awkward and something I can never do. I managed to locate the second TT and spoke to him. This guy was more calm and helpful. But he also didn't have any seat to give me. By now it was11 pm or something and the train was reaching Wadi Junction and I was frustrated. I had to get a normal ticket because right now though I had an RAC ticket, I was a ticketless traveler. I had no option but to get off the train. I crossed the bridge, located the ticket counter. To which place should I take the ticket? I cant sit by the bathroom the whole night to reach Bombay for sure. I found out that the next big station is Gulbarga. I have passed by Gulbarga when travelling to my native in Tamil Nadu a countless times and it did look like a decent place. So, I thought and Prayed that may be I will get a bus from there. I took the tickets and boarded the same train which was still waiting at the station - May be it felt pity on me. I stood by the door for another 2 hours and at 1 a.m. reached Gulbarga. I walked out of the station expecting a bus stop but could only locate a couple of tea stalls and a pitch dark road starting from there and ending I don't know where. I asked a local about getting a bus to Mumbai and he said, its like 10 kms away and its dangerous to travel alone at night. That was the downfall of another of my hope.
I checked for a confirmed ticket to Bombay that night or early next day but there was no availability. The next plan I could come up was to take a train to Solapur and a bus from there to Bombay. The next train to Solapur - a passenger, was at 4.30 in the morning. I spent the 3 hours of the night in the station platform. I was damn sleepy, but didn't want to lose my belongings, which above all had the files of the important interviews I had taken of the Hyderabadi's. I sat wondering how exciting this trip has turned out to be. I could feel what people without a confirmed ticket would feel. I could feel what a person lost would feel - though not entirely as I knew my geography :-).
The train to Solapur was on time. It was relatively empty and I boarded the train, selected a berth and went of to sleep. I reached Solapur at 7 am or so. Places look better in the day light, I concluded. My enquiry started - this time in my fluent Marathi. The Bus Depot was some distance away. no luxury buses were going to Mumbai in the morning. Luxury eludes you, the more you chase her. What a learning, from what a situation. Well, I then took a rick and reached the ST stand. Kolhapur is like Pune how it was 10 years back. Very laid back and slow. I booked my ticket in the Asiad ST Bus - The only luxury I could lay my hands on that day. The luxury turned a little more luxurious as I got a window seat. I had a vada pav and chai and started my journey among the 'aamchi maathi, aamchi maansa'. Relating it to a movie - it was like Shahrukh Khan in Swades, minus the background score by A.R Rehman :-)
Till 10 am, the journey was pleasant but as the Sun God decided to show his presence and might, the journey became a nightmare. The rays were penetrating the windows and my skin and mixing with my blood and it was boiling now. The rattling sound of the aged ST bus body when running over the impeccably maintained country roads was deafening. There were times when my seat literally flew up in the air and miraculously got back to the original position - defying all laws of physics, I must mention. I bought a Marathi Newspaper. I hid myself from the sun using the news of the previous day - Thank God.
The lunch of Maharashtrian Thali at some village - the name of which I didn't bother to register, was really good. Atleast food didn't let me down.
I expected to reach Bombay by atleast 4 or 5 pm maximum. But in this trip no expectation of mine saw the lights of accomplishment. I reached Bombay at 8.30 pm and the Next day was a serious feedback session with my admin team and a series of escalations in HOPE (the same elusive character again) that others don't go the way I did.
