Day 9 - The Return

5:15 AM: The only activity at Gwalior Junction is at the narrow gauge platform. A few people are crowding into the tiny train.

5:30 AM: Sachkand Express is late by 15 minutes. The information is not displayed anywhere. I have to cajole the guy at the desk to give me the information.

7:00 AM: 30 minutes after the scheduled time, there is no sign of the train. No information displayed, and no announcement.

7:25 AM: Chennai-Hazrat Nizamuddin Garib Rath is announced. I go across the platform to inquire about our train. There's no one to ask. I run helter-skelter to find out.

7:40: Finally, train arrives, but no coach information displayed. We take a guess and stand in the middle of the platform. Our coach comes to a stop next to us.

8:45 AM: Thundering over the massive bridge across the Chambal. The little hillocks around the river paint an eerie but interesting picture of the times when infamous dacoits prowled the area. We should perhaps convert this place into an Indian Wild West.

9:45 AM: Back at Agra Cantt. There are three things Agra is famous for: The Taj Mahal, the Agra Petha and false gold. Thus claims a guy selling false gold chains. "Have a look. You don't need to pay to take a look. You come across real gold everyday. But it's not everyday that you see DUPLICATE gold! I will give you two chains for ten rupees!" His sales pitch works! One lady is heard bargaining for the chains.

Around 10:30 AM: Mathura Junction. I slept long. A little boy with a painted mustache singing "Sarki jo sar se woh dheere dheer" in his own unique voice accosts SS. He wraps himself around SS's legs. It's quite a long time before he leaves.

12:30 PM: Faridabad. The maulanas were good company. They gave us pakodas and namkeen to eat. They disembark here. While saying goodbye, one of them even asks us to forgive him, if there were some discomfort caused.

12:30-1:00 PM: Faridabad to Hazrat Nizamuddin - everyone is sellign Spiderman. "Spiderman, Chinese Spiderman! Deewar par chipak jaata hai, dheere dheere palti maarta hai!", they holler

1:00 PM: We pass behind the massive Humayun's Tomb and the Purana Quila - our last "monumental" glimpses of Delhi.

1:45 PM: The guy has been after us, all the way to the pre-paid rickshaw stand. "Wahan pe sirf auto milta hai! taxi toh hamare paas hai! Achha sa Wagon-R hai!" he repeats. He murmurs angrily as we sit in the rickshaw.

2:45 PM: Terminal 1D is mighty impressive - not so congested like the old departure terminal. There are many restaurants around. The flight though, is an hour late.

6:00 PM. Inside the flight. The seat allotted to me, 28F, does not exist!