Bhubaneswar station had undergone a makeover; it wasn’t the same entrance I remembered. The new display for train timings, the bookstalls, the billboards of Tourism department; it was different. Some things may change, but some never will. The crowd of people at the enquiry counter jostling over each other, people sleeping on the floor near the waiting room, people staring at the reservation charts; all this against the backdrop of a huge poster of Sun temple in Konark, the symbol of Orissa’s great architectural history. The contrast was stark.
“Saab Taxi…” the guy woke me up from my trance. I nodded yes.
“Lingaraj Hotel.”
“Sir, 50 rupees”
I didn’t have the mood to negotiate, and nodded in agreement.
The guy immediately ran off to get his taxi, as I smiled at the coolie.
“Coming here after a long time… Things have changed”
“Yes Saab, things have indeed changed”
I went up to help him keep my suitcases down. The taxi guy was backing up towards me, with the rickety ambassador, and its boot open. As soon as he stopped near us, the coolie helped me put the suitcase in. I thanked him, and gave him 20 bucks. He kept smiling. I understood...and took out some change from my rear pocket and handed it over.
“Have a nice tea today…”
“Thanks Saab”
The driver had already closed the boot, and was warming up for the ride.
“I need to smoke. Can we stop somewhere near any tea shop outside the station?”
“Yes, there is a small shop just on the way. We can stop over there”
He started the engine, and the rickety ambassador shook back to life. He drew up the vehicle slowly and turned towards the main road. A few yards later, he slowed the vehicle towards a small tea shop. The morning sun had just awakened the city, and a couple of guys were sitting on the wooden bench and sipping slowly at the piping hot tea.
“One tea...err…make it two. One for this driver and one for me. And one gold kings”
The driver smiled and thanked me.
One good deed for the day, I thought.
I lit my cigarette, and looked at the small calendar hanging inside the shop.
June 10th, 2003. Eight long years had gone past, the same summer in Bhubaneswar.
I took a deep drag from my cigarette…
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