A three-star military officer and his wife, accustomed to smooth travel, found themselves in a comical yet stressful situation in Prayagraj when a traffic jam caused by a lawyers' strike nearly made them miss their train. Abandoning their car, they resorted to a daring motorcycle ride with a stranger, navigating through traffic and a flyover. The challenges continued at the station with the train arriving in an 'ulta mode,' leading to a mad dash to find their coach. Despite these chaotic moments, the couple eventually reached their seats and went on to have a successful trip to New York, highlighting their ability to overcome adversity.

A three-star military officer and his wife, accustomed to smooth travel, found themselves in a comical yet stressful situation in Prayagraj when a traffic jam caused by a lawyers' strike nearly made them miss their train. Abandoning their car, they resorted to a daring motorcycle ride with a stranger, navigating through traffic and a flyover. The challenges continued at the station with the train arriving in an 'ulta mode,' leading to a mad dash to find their coach. Despite these chaotic moments, the couple eventually reached their seats and went on to have a successful trip to New York, highlighting their ability to overcome adversity.

A three-star military officer and his wife, accustomed to smooth travel, found themselves in a comical yet stressful situation in Prayagraj when a traffic jam caused by a lawyers' strike nearly made them miss their train. Abandoning their car, they resorted to a daring motorcycle ride with a stranger, navigating through traffic and a flyover. The challenges continued at the station with the train arriving in an 'ulta mode,' leading to a mad dash to find their coach. Despite these chaotic moments, the couple eventually reached their seats and went on to have a successful trip to New York, highlighting their ability to overcome adversity.

Travelling on the pillion of a two-wheeler is a common experience. Three people on a motorcycle, though not advisable, is not so uncommon — but how about a serving three-star military officer and his wife doing that in the summer heat in Prayagraj?

It so happens that our family is a perpetually peripatetic one. My wife and I travelled all the time during our careers in the Indian Air Force (IAF). As the children grew up, they branched out across the world, making us truly global.

It was in early 2025 that we started planning for our daughter’s convocation in New York. I was then posted as the top man (Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief) of Southern Air Command, located in the beautiful city of Thiruvananthapuram in my home state of Kerala.

In early May, as luck would have it, I moved to head the Central Air Command in Prayagraj. Operation Sindoor happened almost immediately, and our US trip hung on a fine balance. Eventually, things quietened down and we were graciously allowed to proceed. Our itinerary involved travel by Vande Bharat Express to New Delhi, followed by an early morning flight to the US.

In Thiruvananthapuram, a trip to the railway station was generally a smooth affair with relatively disciplined traffic and quick access to the platform. Having just arrived in Prayagraj, we had forgotten that things work a bit differently here. Could be that we were a bit blasé about our travelling skills. The rank is a great honour, but living up to the demands of the job is a constant challenge. To compensate, one’s life gets a bit cocooned and it is possible that a sliver of overconfidence had crept in.

Thus it came about that one particularly hot afternoon, my wife and I set off in our car for Prayagraj railway station with just enough time in hand, anticipating no problems en route. Fortunately, the heavier luggage had been sent ahead.

ALSO READ | How my Royal Enfield Fury saved my life—and helped me find my wife

Everything went smoothly at first, but traffic slowed down as we approached the High Court. In no time, we were in a huge traffic jam — the result of a flash strike by lawyers. Seemingly endless minutes passed, sitting helplessly in the car, checking the train’s status online, and hoping it would be late. But we all know it never works that way, and the train was running spot on time.

With time and options running out, something had to be done quickly. According to Google Maps, we were stuck short of a right turn to the station, which was only two kilometres away. Taking things into our own hands, admittedly a slightly forgotten skill by now, out we stepped with our hand baggage.

Navigating between the mass of vehicles and people, we could see the welcome sight of two rickshaws parked at the junction. It seemed merely a question of reaching those and getting dropped off. Though the autorickshaw took off with a passenger, an e-rickshaw remained, and we soon reached it seeking a ride.

To our surprise, the driver did not respond. He simply pointed at the flyover, which was actually only for traffic coming from the station, not to it. The road also had pillars sunk in, like you see on sidewalks in Delhi, and only two-wheelers could pass through.

Oh boy! Now I could picture our train and flight departing with two empty seats, and easily visualise the disappointment on our daughter’s face. It might perhaps have been easier had the border issues scuttled our trip.

Like they say, giving up was not an option. So, off to the flyover we went, making valiant attempts to stop one or another from the stream of two-wheelers coming down. Looking back, I suppose we must have presented quite a sight standing there — so out of place and unaccustomed to what we were doing. Anyways, the first few riders refused to stop, and the few who eventually stopped declined to take us. By now, the situation was getting out of hand and the 43-degree temperature was not helping any.

Finally, taking pity on us, a motorcyclist stopped and turned around. Thanking our stars, we clambered onto the 100 cc bike. I squeezed in behind the driver, clutching my hand luggage. My wife barely fitted into the space behind me, holding me with one hand and gripping her luggage with the other. As we moved, I realised that her right foot was dangling as she could not find the side step. Nothing could be done about it except to try to hold her leg with my free hand and hope for the best!

That ride to the railway station is something that neither of us will ever forget. If someone from the IAF had seen the crazy sight of the supposedly all-powerful first couple of Central Air Command clinging onto a two-wheeler while hanging onto their luggage, sitting behind an unknown person and charging in the wrong direction on a one-way flyover on a burning afternoon, they would have laughed till their sides hurt.

In the end, reach the station in time we did. The Good Samaritan did not accept anything that we offered, God bless him. But alas! He had dropped us at Platform number 1, whereas our train was about to arrive on 6 — after a panicky run across the overbridge, we arrived panting at the allocated coach position.

Reunited with our luggage now, little did we know that our troubles were not yet over.

Unbelievably, the train rolled in 'ulta mode' that day, with coach positions neatly reversed, and with no prior information having been given. The ensuing chaos saw bewildered passengers running helter-skelter from one end of the platform to the other, looking for their coaches which were nowhere near marked positions.

We too joined the melee — halfway through, realising that we may not make it in time, I shoved our luggage into the nearest coach. The train started moving, and we continued our brave battle in the vestibules and passages inside — pushing heavy suitcases against the oncoming rush of people who were also doing the exact same thing — till we finally managed to reach our seats and sink in with a sigh of relief.

The real beauty is that from that moment on, our trip went off like clockwork — everything moved on time, we enjoyed comfortable stays wherever we went, attended a memorable function in New York, and had a peaceful journey back. Whatever quirks and challenges we had to face on the trip, I guess we passed those with flying colours in just that one hour of madness.

Sometimes, I feel life is just about taking one step at a time; and that having seen you persevere and not give up in the face of adversity, things kind of take care of themselves thereafter.

The author is a Veteran with four decades of service in the Indian Air Force

 

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of THE WEEK.

TAGS