Bag-pack Oh-mama !

Its happened all over once again. 

Now before you ask what has happened all over again, lets do an "if-then" analysis and then perhaps the thing will become clear.

If : A foreigner celebrity ( read Presidents and Prime Ministers of other nations) visits our country, or decides to visit our country.

Then : What happens?

Then : The India media (and to some extent some Indian people too) goes gaga about the trip. Melodramatic, over excited, out of the mind, exaggerating- all of these and many other words are just indicative of the reactions of Indian media. We seem to be too much obsessed about everything foreign ( read American) and this tendency is at its best when someone says something about India, or someone comes to India.

Tatkal and its Avatars

Recently on my train journey back to home a lady joined us with three time the luggage I was carrying. On top of it she did not have a confirmed ticket and kept repeating the following sentences every 5 minutes( or whenever any fellow passenger looked at her ( obviously she too had to look at him/her then !) ):

" I booked my ticket 3 months ago, it was wait-list no. 135 then, its 135 even now"

" I booked in 1st AC, in 2nd AC, in 3rd AC, in first class, but couldn't get a confirmed ticket"

" Railways are so bad, all are crooks".

I thought for a moment to interrupt her and point to her that there was no 1st AC in our train, but I refrained for the fear of listening to her all over once again. But it again made me think for the umpteenth time, in the last few months, about the "Tatkal" scheme.

Before I proceed further, I must say I genuinely admire the ingeniousness of the person who came up with the concept of "Tatkal" in Indian Railways sometime earlier in this decade.

I admit that it has been, and still is beneficial for many passengers in many ways.

It has also helped Railways improve their earnings.

But somehow I still feel there is a lot fishy about Tatkal.