A day out in Railway Ticket counter @ Pune:

It was the pre diwali day, the 20th of october. I suddenly made a plan to leave Pune and go home for holidaying.I took an auto straight (@4.10 PM) from my training center at Wakdewad to railway station. It took me 10 minutes to get out of the auto even after reaching railway station road(@4.35 PM), as such was the traffic!!!!

It was a long trailing queue at the RS, it has 10 booking counters out of which 7 is reserved for out station journeys. Each counter has about 70-80 people standing in some order as they wish.As soon as I entered i stood in a queue.

Slowely queue moved up. The perons standing in queue (i.e before me..) could not even let the way to other persons who are going to other counters.I as always gave way for such persons and got a brotherly advice from the person before me, that i should not to let the way for anyone no more as he is getting disturbed, in the marathi slang. ::-Such a tight packed queue.Time went by....(@ 5.15 PM). More and more persons came starting by and some of them went near to the counter directly to get the ticket. All opposed this..and there came a Hero (who was also standing in my queue - but later turned out to be zero in humanity who made me to blog this ) who voluntered himself to stand infront of the queue to check on those people who came directly to the counter.Time went by (@5.25 PM), a lady with a child came to the counter directly and started rushing in the queue to get a ticket.

As usual our volunteer ( who was seen wearing an ID card of a prominent MNC) refused the lady and asked her to come in queue.Soon her child started to cry as he got exhausted in queue.Soon other people in the queue started to push her along with the child. At this juncture some kind hearted people came in for the recommendation to the volunteer to allow her to get a ticket.But he refused...

here is how the conversation went... which i could collect with my "Butler" Hindhi....

queue people: hare sab...allow her...baccha hai..

volunter...: baccha...?? muje dho kanda... waiting for ticket...
mera baccha aur...? tomoraw baccha...? kya..??? bolo...?
( is my child r ur child..? y u bother uncessarlliy..? I am waiting for 2 hrs in d queue..!!!)

queue: on its feet....started shouting at him...he also started arguing...

At this juncture(@ 5.35 PM) things became worst.. i came close to the counter with only 2 before me, so the persons before me directly requested me to allow her ..but still that volunteer stoped the women from getting the ticket...That women also started to cry,,,. Soon I arrived an idea.... thats is when i have my turn i decided to get her a Solapur ticket and give to her. Because that was the only option through i could help her. I was literally moved and got embrassed to be at this situation..But before that ,she left the baby in the crowd, for sometime and with all her energy, she pushed me and some other persons behind and before me...and finally got her Ticket..Finally i had a bit of stasfication atleast she got the ticket, anyway. Atlast i got the ticket @ 5.45 PM where my train is at 5.55 PM which came delayed by 10 minutes from Mumbai.

Some thoughts i had later...:

Why is not there each queue be seperated by queue dividers...
and why there is not a seperate counter for women atleast during festive times...
and that queue should also serve for gents when there is no women passenger but the prefernce must be for ladies like what we have in chennai city buses.

I request you also to think. about it...!!!