On 11 November 2006 – morning – I woke up early in the morning just to see my left eye bloated up and red. Finally, my mother declared it to be “madras eye”. I was shocked by that declaration. I was supposed to leave to Kolkatha that night in a school tour. My first out-station tour ever, with my school friends and teachers. But of course, my swollen eye never made any impact on my excitement and packing. I had actually started packing my luggage for almost a week then! Still, the packing continued! Afternoon, I went for some shopping with my sister to get eatables and other stuff. Leaving the excitement apart, my eye was becoming more reddish in color and also smaller in size. So much that I started feeling that I had only one eye! I slowly got ready and reached school at 7.30 pm in the evening. I met my friends and all seemed to be very excited and were full of plans.
There were prayers offered at our school temple for our safety and fun. Slowly, with a little bit of chaos, we boarded the bus, off to the station. I tried to look very happy and normal, but deep inside; something was reminding me that I’d be away from home for almost a week. But again, due to hell lot of noise, I came back to my senses, and started chatting with my friends.
At 10 pm, we reached our ever-busy central railway station. I had a big baggage and a shoulder bag to carry. My baggage was heavy – it had 2 essential things – clothes and junk food! What is train travel without junk food? We all, of course, with a lot of confusion, got hold of seats in the train and I was given the upper berth. I had never slept in an upper berth before and I was scared. I could not argue with my friends as the tour was just beginning and that may lay a strong foundation to a great friendship. My red eye continued to burn mercilessly and poured out lot of water, which made many think that I was crying! It was very difficult to make them understand what exactly was happening! We had two long nights to experience before reaching our ultimate destination – KOLKATHA
Two days passed on well, without any arguments or fights. Everyone was trying to be very nice with everyone around, to maintain peace. I had actually realized what the word – “ADJUST” actually meant…very early in the morning, at about 4, I was woken up by my friend. I came down to get hold of the window seat – to get the first glimpse of the mega Bengal city –kolkatha. I spotted the hanging bridge and called over my teachers to show them off my vision power. (As they were unable to spot it). We reached the ‘Howrah’ station and took time to carry our luggage out and stand in lines for attendance. At 6 or so, we boarded the buses, boys and girls separate and reached “South India Club” – the place where we were to stay. Out of the 23 girls traveling, 8 of us, a gang actually, got a separate room with a big cot, dressing table and TV extra. But sadly, all other girls were in a single room. So, a small division came here, as the other girls didn’t find it fair enough.
We settled in our rooms and later got ready and came downstairs for our breakfast, trying to expect some north Indian food, but sadly, even there, we never got a chance to miss our very own – “Idly-Sambar” diet! We set out and boarded our buses to explore the city. We were first taken to the Kali temple, where we had a wonderful darshan and got something to shop! Red bangles from that place were considered auspicious. So, I got a bunch of bangles in red, matching to my eye color. After the darshan and shopping, we were taken to the nearby metro rail (underground) station, and we had a ride for about 10 minutes. Though everything was fine, I was very disappointed with the train and the facilities because it didn’t match my expectations.
After a disappointing ride, we came back to our base camp, i.e. the club to have lunch. After a pucca south Indian lunch, we went to our room to rest for a while. Later, we again got ready; I tried my level best to look good, so that people ignore my damaged eye! We were all taken to Dakshineeshwar temple. Its architecture left me spell bound. It just took away my breadth for a while. Then, we all sat on Hugh boats, just enough to occupy 30 people, and set out in the beaming river. It was a 40 minutes long ride. I was scared a little bit, because I never traveled in a boat then, and through out the ride, I was reminded by all the boat accidents that I had heard of!
On the other side of the bank, there was a Ramakrishna math where there was all silence. That was one place where I could feel the real vibrations and felt very peaceful. Then, we boarded the bus again, that had been waiting for us for a long time now. On the way back, we took little time off, to visit another iscon temple that was built with off-white marble. We came back just before dinner time and I had dinner though many of my other friends skipped because they drank too much of soft drinks. We were awake till about 11, having fun in the room. And, slowly slept off, planning for the next day.
We felt dull in the morning itself, may be because of the wonderful cool climate. We took time to look good and step out for breakfast. We were going to “The Victoria Memorial”. “A simple place of history” – we thought. My left eye was getting better while the right eye was getting infected. 3 people were infected with “madras eye” from me in kolkatha. Hence, we started calling it “kolkatha eye” – just for fun! Though we thought that Victoria Memorial was a boring place, I realized that it wasn’t so! It was a Hugh white British building with beautiful gardens and a man-made lake too. Inside, there were Hugh ancient paintings, portraits and photographs. Many letters by various Indian leaders during various events were preserved. I simply loved it, though some of my friends thought it was a – “TIME WASTE”
After that, we were taken to the museum, where we did nothing useful. As my school authorities could not avail permission to see Eden gardens, we weren’t allowed in. we were just shown from the bus itself.
Towards the afternoon, after lunch, we went to do some shopping. We all wanted to do some window shopping, but we were taken straight to a Big Bazaar outlet to shop. Our dinner was arranged in a buffer system and we were treated with some yummy ‘rosogullas’ and kichidi. Dinner went on well, and then we remembered the fact that we would leave kolkatha that night.
We boarded our train; another two night travel was set before us to reach Chennai. On the way back, my interaction with the boys was better than before. We had fun playing various games like antakshari, cards and ‘truth or dare’. After two days of travel, we came back to Chennai with two minds. One – happy that we are back home and second – that our tour has come to an end. My eye was swollen as usual! All things well end well! I had a satisfaction that I could make it to kolkatha with one eye! I had seen the whole city with an eye! It was an exciting one and is the first chapter in my unforgettable memories book!
We are going to Delhi, Agra and nearby places this year. I am eagerly looking forward for some more memories that will stay in my mind for now and ever. I am hoping that we will have some mysterious adventure this time. I am hoping for the best!!!
There were prayers offered at our school temple for our safety and fun. Slowly, with a little bit of chaos, we boarded the bus, off to the station. I tried to look very happy and normal, but deep inside; something was reminding me that I’d be away from home for almost a week. But again, due to hell lot of noise, I came back to my senses, and started chatting with my friends.
At 10 pm, we reached our ever-busy central railway station. I had a big baggage and a shoulder bag to carry. My baggage was heavy – it had 2 essential things – clothes and junk food! What is train travel without junk food? We all, of course, with a lot of confusion, got hold of seats in the train and I was given the upper berth. I had never slept in an upper berth before and I was scared. I could not argue with my friends as the tour was just beginning and that may lay a strong foundation to a great friendship. My red eye continued to burn mercilessly and poured out lot of water, which made many think that I was crying! It was very difficult to make them understand what exactly was happening! We had two long nights to experience before reaching our ultimate destination – KOLKATHA
Two days passed on well, without any arguments or fights. Everyone was trying to be very nice with everyone around, to maintain peace. I had actually realized what the word – “ADJUST” actually meant…very early in the morning, at about 4, I was woken up by my friend. I came down to get hold of the window seat – to get the first glimpse of the mega Bengal city –kolkatha. I spotted the hanging bridge and called over my teachers to show them off my vision power. (As they were unable to spot it). We reached the ‘Howrah’ station and took time to carry our luggage out and stand in lines for attendance. At 6 or so, we boarded the buses, boys and girls separate and reached “South India Club” – the place where we were to stay. Out of the 23 girls traveling, 8 of us, a gang actually, got a separate room with a big cot, dressing table and TV extra. But sadly, all other girls were in a single room. So, a small division came here, as the other girls didn’t find it fair enough.
We settled in our rooms and later got ready and came downstairs for our breakfast, trying to expect some north Indian food, but sadly, even there, we never got a chance to miss our very own – “Idly-Sambar” diet! We set out and boarded our buses to explore the city. We were first taken to the Kali temple, where we had a wonderful darshan and got something to shop! Red bangles from that place were considered auspicious. So, I got a bunch of bangles in red, matching to my eye color. After the darshan and shopping, we were taken to the nearby metro rail (underground) station, and we had a ride for about 10 minutes. Though everything was fine, I was very disappointed with the train and the facilities because it didn’t match my expectations.
After a disappointing ride, we came back to our base camp, i.e. the club to have lunch. After a pucca south Indian lunch, we went to our room to rest for a while. Later, we again got ready; I tried my level best to look good, so that people ignore my damaged eye! We were all taken to Dakshineeshwar temple. Its architecture left me spell bound. It just took away my breadth for a while. Then, we all sat on Hugh boats, just enough to occupy 30 people, and set out in the beaming river. It was a 40 minutes long ride. I was scared a little bit, because I never traveled in a boat then, and through out the ride, I was reminded by all the boat accidents that I had heard of!
On the other side of the bank, there was a Ramakrishna math where there was all silence. That was one place where I could feel the real vibrations and felt very peaceful. Then, we boarded the bus again, that had been waiting for us for a long time now. On the way back, we took little time off, to visit another iscon temple that was built with off-white marble. We came back just before dinner time and I had dinner though many of my other friends skipped because they drank too much of soft drinks. We were awake till about 11, having fun in the room. And, slowly slept off, planning for the next day.
We felt dull in the morning itself, may be because of the wonderful cool climate. We took time to look good and step out for breakfast. We were going to “The Victoria Memorial”. “A simple place of history” – we thought. My left eye was getting better while the right eye was getting infected. 3 people were infected with “madras eye” from me in kolkatha. Hence, we started calling it “kolkatha eye” – just for fun! Though we thought that Victoria Memorial was a boring place, I realized that it wasn’t so! It was a Hugh white British building with beautiful gardens and a man-made lake too. Inside, there were Hugh ancient paintings, portraits and photographs. Many letters by various Indian leaders during various events were preserved. I simply loved it, though some of my friends thought it was a – “TIME WASTE”
After that, we were taken to the museum, where we did nothing useful. As my school authorities could not avail permission to see Eden gardens, we weren’t allowed in. we were just shown from the bus itself.
Towards the afternoon, after lunch, we went to do some shopping. We all wanted to do some window shopping, but we were taken straight to a Big Bazaar outlet to shop. Our dinner was arranged in a buffer system and we were treated with some yummy ‘rosogullas’ and kichidi. Dinner went on well, and then we remembered the fact that we would leave kolkatha that night.
We boarded our train; another two night travel was set before us to reach Chennai. On the way back, my interaction with the boys was better than before. We had fun playing various games like antakshari, cards and ‘truth or dare’. After two days of travel, we came back to Chennai with two minds. One – happy that we are back home and second – that our tour has come to an end. My eye was swollen as usual! All things well end well! I had a satisfaction that I could make it to kolkatha with one eye! I had seen the whole city with an eye! It was an exciting one and is the first chapter in my unforgettable memories book!
We are going to Delhi, Agra and nearby places this year. I am eagerly looking forward for some more memories that will stay in my mind for now and ever. I am hoping that we will have some mysterious adventure this time. I am hoping for the best!!!
