SENDING A TWO WHEELER IN TRAIN
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My name is Sakthivelu Ramachandran [name changed]. I am studying MCA Post Graduation in ABCD College of Engineering, Salem.
My native place is Kumbakonam and now I am staying in my aunty's house in Salem. My aunty has two sons. The elder son's name is Navaneetha krishnan alias Naveen, and the younger son's name is Venkatakrishnan.
Naveen is a Civil Engineer in a private civil construction company at Chennai. His office is far away from his rented house. Daily he travels in the metro train, gets down in a place and then he walks 3 kms to reach his office. So he couldn't go to his office in time. Further his health was also affected by dehydration and fatigue.
When I came to Salem from my native place, I brought a bike and cycle along with me. My cycle alone is enough for my transportation here. And so most of the time I do not use my bike. My cousin Naveen does not have any bike.
So I decided to lend my bike to him. He said he will come to Salem and drive it himself from Salem to Chennai. Then we discussed and it was cancelled because it was a long distance and a dangerous trip too. Hence we decided to send it through the Railway Parcel Service.
part 2 -=-=-=-=-=
As my cousin had told me, I decided to send my bike on Sunday. However, I did not know how to send a bike in a train. So, I called my college friend, Arun for help.
On Sunday I will have to make arrangements to send my bike to my cousin at Chennai, by the Railways Parcel Service.
On Sunday, I woke up at dawn. I finished my morning duties. Then I wiped my bike with a dry cloth. And then washed it with soap water. Few minutes later, I attended my online class at 9 am. That class got over at 1 pm.
After that I called my friend Arun to come to my home. He came at 1:30 pm and we both ate our lunch. Then we went to the Railway Station Parcel Service Office in our two bikes.
We reached the place at 2:30 pm. We met the Railway Parcel Service Staff and we were shocked to hear the instructions told by them.
They said that if I wanted to send my bike as a parcel in the train, it should not contain even a drop of petrol in it.
How we struggled to remove the petrol from the bike, how we packed it and how many hours we spent for this parcel work -- all these details we will see in the next part.
part 3 -=-=-=-=-=-=-
As per the Railway Officers' instructions, we went to a mechanic shop near the Railway Station. But that Mechanic said, "I don't know how to remove the petrol from your bike, you better try it in some other mechanic shop".
We asked him, "Are there any other mechanic shop near by? We are waiting for this for more than an hour. I added,, "Please consider me as your brother and help me. And not only that, I don't know how to remove the petrol from this bike."
Then that mechanic showed some pity on us. He stopped his work and came near my bike. He removed a tube from the petrol tank of my bike. Then petrol started coming out drop by drop from the tank. We collected it in a can. We kept on shaking the bike front and back for more than two hours. But the petrol came out only drop by drop.
The mechanic said, "Now do you understand why I refused to do this job? Often the Railway Officers will send somebody like this to me. But when I complete the job and send them, they will come back again and again telling there is still some petrol inside the vehicle.
They expect that not even a drop of petrol should be inside it. And thus my work gets disturbed. In the Railway Department itself there are staff members who can remove the petrol. But they do not do the work properly".
Finally we brought the bike back to the Parcel Office and parked it in front of the officers. We told them that we had completely taken out the petrol.
The officers observed my bike and one of them shook my bike. Then a drop of petrol fell on the ground. Immediately they rejected my bike.
It was a very tense moment for me. The time was running out. Moreover, my friend was with me for a very long time. Hence, I told him, "Hey, you go back home, I will manage this work myself". But he refused and said, "Let us finish this work first and we will go back together".
Then after repeated requests the Railway Officers and the Railway Police examined my bike and finally they parcelled it with the help of some assistants.
(part-4) -=-=-=-=-=-=-
You may think that everything was over. But that was not the case. I submitted all the required documents and paid the amount for the parcel service. And I was waiting for one and an half hour to get the receipt.
Then the time was 6 pm. We came to the Railway Station at 3 pm. Daily I have to attend the Spoken English classes of Mr Ezhilarasan Venkatachalam between 6 pm and 7 pm. So I called him and told him what had happened. I said, "Sir, today I am unable to attend the class and so please grant me leave". Sir understood my situation and said "You finish your work and take rest".
Then the time was 6:30 pm. We observed that many persons who came after me had paid the amount and left. My friend lost his patience and asked the Railway Officers, "We are waiting for a long time here. But many persons had come and finished their job and had gone home. Why are you making us wait for so long?".
Finally after half an hour we got our receipt. The Government parcel charges was only Rs.250. But they collected an extra charges of Rs.400. Totally we paid Rs.650. We had no other choice but to pay more money demanded by them.
When we came out the time was 7:30 pm. My friend, Arun dropped me in my aunt's house.
After he went, I thought that he had spent lot of his time for me today and also gave an excellent support. But I had not told a thanks to him. It was okay, I thought, true friends don't need to say "Thank you" or "Sorry" between themselves.
After I came home I ate and I called my cousin, Naveen. I said, "Brother tomorrow morning that bike will reach Chennai. Please show your documents and collect it". He thanked me for sending my bike to Chennai. I said it was alright.
It was an unforgettable incident in my life for me and my friend.
P.S. : This was narrated by my student. Then he wrote it in English. Then together we fine tuned it to arrive at the final draft, given above.
Written on :14-06-2021
Ezhilarasan Venkatachalam
Salem
Tamil Based English Trainer
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