Continuing From:
1971 – 1973: My Years @ BITS, Pilani – Onwards To Pilani : Charting the Untrodden Path
On the appointed day, my father had already reached his office according to his regular schedule. My mother was busy with rounding up her daily morning chores. It was just as normal a day as all other days. I, too, had my normal lunch. If one were to find out any variation in the daily pattern, it possibly could be said that I was about three quarters of an hour early in my lunch, so as to be able to reach Navsari railway station in good time without any undue hurry.
In fact, the day travel need not have been a special day. Our family never had such a tradition to give very special consideration to academic careers of the children. My father certainly did take interest in my academic progress. However, the mundane details of study were expected to be navigated by us on our own.
As I look back, the last, and the only, ceremonial activities related to any (so called) important milestone in my academic career was the first day of my S S C examinations. My father had accompanied me, a day before to the first examination, to physically see in which hall of Gujarat College (Ahmedabad) building I was to write my first paper. On the first day, in the one-hour break between two papers, my mother had come to the examination hall with a thermos full of tea and some refreshments, In fact almost all the family members of each of the student too had come with all sorts of refreshments. It was more like a big celebration than any important examination.
I do not remember if any one had accompanied me on my first day to primary school or middle school or even on my first day at Virani High school at Rajkot, my first ever schooling outside Bhuj, my birthplace. Of course, my admission to Virani was half way through the Vth standard because of my father’s ever transfer outside Bhuj. So, a good deal of efforts was required by father with our reactive, (late) Janardanbhai Vaidya (who was then teacher of English at the school. Similar heavy legwork was required for my admission to the Pre-University class, because I had not competed 16 years as required by the rules of Gujarat University, and was therefore, technically, ‘underage’. My father had to undertake a couple visits to Vallabh Vidyanagar to get that admission. I, too had accompanied him during those visits.
In the overall perspective of my life, as I look back now, these were more of the ‘special causes’ rather than the ‘normal’ trend. In fact, when I look back, now, I consider this upbringing atmosphere as blessing in disguise. I can now very clearly visualize the role these circumstances have laid in laying the foundation of my whatever it may be worth, ability to chart my course on my own.
As I boarded Paschim Express at Navsari, my subconscious mind did take a note that this was my first ever journey that was to take me beyond the borders of Gujarat. But, the feeling that this journey is also to likely to lead to a phase in my life was still nowhere nearing to shape up.
I was carrying the latest issues of India Today and The Week as time-pass-cum-general knowledge reading. I was also carrying the All India Railway time table with me. Once we crossed. Vadodara, I would consult the time-table to check-up which was the next halt and how much time the train would take to reach that station. I ate part of the refreshments my mother had packed up for me for the journey. When all other passengers went to sleep, I too stretched myself on the berth, But my sleep was with my both ears up. I continued to check with the time table to keep checking when would the train reach Kota.
Once we crossed Kota, I was now literally, and really, on the edge of my seat. The run between Kota and Sawai Madhopur was around two hours. For the last half an hour I was at the gate of the coach, with my luggage bag in the toe. The train had only a two-minutes halt at Sawai Madhopur and now I was seriously worried if I would be able to really get down from the train in that much time.
However, my worries were all uncalled for. I, of course, was first to get down. Three-four more passengers also got down thereafter and equal number also got in, both sets of people carrying quite substantial luggage in the toe. And still, it seems that the train had halted there for ages! To me, it seemed that train took even longer than it took to travel from Kota to Sawai Madhopur. I did not realise at that time that I was demonstrating the validity of Theory of Relativity in those two minutes😊.
However, that l o n g two minutes also helped me to realise the value of a good one hour I was to get at Sawai Madhopur before my train to Chirawa would leave from Sawai Madhopur.
Of course, the very first thing I took up was to book my ticket to Chirawa, which perhaps did not take even ten minutes. Then I went public water tap at the platform and had rather leisurely freshening up chore. Once done, I realised that I was feeling a little hungry too! So, I had had a kulhad full of steaming hot tea and one samosa and one kachori for breakfast.
I boarded the train, took up a vintage window side-seat, facing the direction of travel. I think those 15-20 minutes of waiting period was, perhaps, one of my most relaxed period of my life.
The journey to Chirawa was quite uneventful. The first major stop, Jaipur came and passed away. Except for physically taking note, I was perhaps now not interested in Jaipur. I was enjoying either watching (relative to the movement of the train) moving countryside or watching the co-passengers (of course, without being obvious).
At the lunch time, I do not remember which station it was, but I had had a plate of fresh puri-sabji, like many other passengers did. Around tea-time or so, we reached some station after Sikar. When I got down to the platform to loosen up my leg limbs and sought for a cup of tea, the tea vendor proudly volunteered to inform me that sev (fried beson – the chickpea flour – noodles) from this ppace was also as spicy as those of Ratlam, but was totally different in taste. I had not tasted Ratlam sev till then, but I did purchase a small packet of that sev to gainfully pass time till reaching Chirawa.
I due course, we reached Chirawa railway station. Along with about a dozen or so other passengers too would have deboarded the train. But I was as focused as Arjun was to hit the target of a moving fish to locate the bus that would take me to Pilani, that I did not register if there were any student-look like passengers.
The bus that was to take us Pilani belonged to some private bus service. Even that was my first ever such experience, since all these years I was used to travel by a (Gujarat) State Road Transport bus only. So, I did take some time to locate if there was any Rajasthan State Transport bus. However, everyone I enquired with, quite sincerely assured me that this bus was as good, and in fact the only, mode of transport. When I think back now, I am sure some of them would have wondered if I was a human looking alien from other planet as I was to realise just a few days later that public bus transport was long back privatised in Rajasthan (and other that matter in many North Indian states).
Well, another half an hour – forty-five minutes of travel, and I was at Pilani bus adda.
We will take up “Institute Campus: The First View” in next couple of epiosdes.
The world is too small? or Is it? 
Your description about our parents’ relative uninvolvement in our study related activity was a good memory. That kind of distance will be unimaginable for current generation of helicopter parents. I don’t think my parents, or any adult from family, ever accompanied me to first day of any school. In fact, day of my SSC results, I was alone at home and my whole family was away for summer vacation in Rajkot. I went to CN, got my marksheet, went to St. Xavier’s as I had already discussed with my father, got admission and paid fees. In those days with no phone availability, my father learned of my result and everything else two days later when he came home. My mother and rest of the family after 15 days !! Unlike you, I had no one visiting me during recess between two papers during SSC exam either since both my parents worked. But I think this kind of independance was good training for our adult life to come.
By the way, I had no idea journey to Pilani was this long and complicated. Looking forward to to your further adventures.