23 December 2010, Train from Bombay to Ahmedabad

Well, its been a long time since I have written a journal entry but here I am , on the 23rd of December, a night before Christmas eve, sitting in the general compartment of the Ahmedabad special train from Mumbai Central, while somewhere else , back home at NID the choir sings carols in the cold winter night. That wouldn't be the first of good things I have missed this week.

I missed the ‘party of the sem’ thrown by five friends –Varun, Deepika, Ashu, Malvika and Shruti- for their birthdays; I missed Meshuggah and Enslaved live at Pune L; I missed at least three shooting stars right above my head (allegedly) and finally I missed my train back home! Interestingly most of these misses can be attributed to my Bombay trip this week. Having missed Porcupine Tree and Mood Indigo as a whole last year, I had made it a point to go this time – Katatonia, MoodI , beer and old friends. As always though, you never get to meet all your friends in Bombay during the same trip.

Was it really worth all this? Tough one that. I had fun, did things I may never have done but for this trip. The Katatonia gig was alright but there was something missing which neither I nor Tim was able to identify. Maybe it was just the lousy crowd, I don’t know.

After the great lengths I went to get a tatkal train ticket to Ahmedabad, I missed the train by a measly two minutes. I should probably stop tempting fate when it comes to train timings; but to my credit this is the first long distance train I have missed in a few years. Guess I just like the rush of being on the edge, the uncertainty of not knowing if I will finally get the train. The feeling when you miss the train though, is just plain lousy. No headrush, just a rush of if-onlys through your mind. Come to think of it I shouldn’t have bothered with tatkal tickets and just taken general tickets. No hassle, no fuss, just get there a little early and grab a spot.

I was sitting here and sketching when I had this sudden urge to write. I think I’m over it now. Looking forward to the Diu trip tomorrow and I’m glad I chose to go with the rest of the gang. Maybe I’ll carry my guitar and we can still sing carols on Christmas eve.

Cheers and more beers on the way!