February 26, 2023
Puducherry or Bust!
We sat at the table enjoying our sushi and delicious soups, anticipating our relaxing vacay to the famed Puducherry. We chatted, used the restroom, and started rounding up the troops to stroll to the train station several minutes away. As we picked up our bags from the restaurant tables, our mentor mentioned that we were in fact a fourteen minute walk from the wrong train station. Hmm. The wrong train station. Oh dear! At this moment, we all realized that this would not be some leisurely stroll. It was go time, baby!
We ambled our baggage through the mall and out to the bustling streets in search of three Uber Sedans that could preserve our dreams. We found one car, then two more, and piled in. Our fate was now in the hands of our trusted drivers. The traffic would not let us have it the easy way, but we still had enough time to burn to give us a chance. Miles of city lights, what felt like half of Bangalore, marched on by, and the clock ran further and further down. At this moment, many of us wondered if we would make it. What if the train takes off before we arrive? Can we take a seven-hour bus ride at a moment’s notice? Would we have to go to Pondy a day late? Or just return to our hostel? No! There was only one option! We would board that train, and we would manifest that two-day weekend on the beaches, no matter the circumstances!
There it was, the grand station of trains. We tumbled out of the sedan with all of our bags and found the nearest stranger to tell us where we needed to go. He pointed up the stairs. We ran. Other passengers ran by. I felt slightly less embarrassed. We found our platform. Phew! There it was! A train, and it was not moving. We ran up looking for a car that said 2AC. We did not see 2AC. We asked a stranger, and they pointed left. We ran down the train in this direction, still did not see it, and asked more strangers, who pointed in opposite directions. Not helpful. We continued in that direction less confidently, until we neared the end of the train. We asked one more group of strangers the direction of 2AC. They pointed to the other end of the train, all in firm agreement. Of course it was that way. At least we knew we were running in the right direction from this point on. Anyways, I now felt the urge to run as fast as I could. I no longer resisted this urge, for the train could start rolling at any second before we even knew where to board. I turbo-ed down the platform, weaving through strangers, dodging a guy who was selling some neat trinkets, until “Tier 2 AC” greeted my eyes in glowing white letters, the songs of angels serenading my ears. We hopped onto the train car, all nine of us, as the platform below accelerated slowly toward the right. Puducherry or bust!
As we sorted out our sleeping arrangements, we expressed our relief to each other and marveled at our near-miss. After weeks of writing reports, sitting through meetings, and painstakingly working through project tasks, I had not felt as alive in a very long time as I did at this moment. Running through an entire train station frantically at top speed while asking for critical information from complete strangers felt truly exhilarating. It reminded me of the scavenger hunt on the first day of the program, only this time, the stakes were real. When I leave on a jet plane in a few weeks time and continue my more familiar existence at school in Seattle, these adventures of India are the memories I will recall most fondly.
Now, I would love to continue this blog post and tell you about all the neat shops and restaurants that I’ve visited and how French everything is here in this fine town of Puducherry. However, the ocean waves are calling, and I must go.
Au Revoir!
By Jack