Biswaranjan Swain

Back in 2015, while I was travelling to Trivandrum from my native place (Talabasta, Banki, Odisha), I met a guy in the train.  It was 4 AM in the morning when he came and started talking to me, we were soon approaching Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. In a while we had great resonance in our talks and decided to get down from the train on the next station to get some snacks. As planned, we got down the station and we started to walk. Soon I realized that the guy was trying to take my wallet and he was successful in doing so. He was actually a “Thief”. I ran behind him to get my wallet back but all I got was a hit, which dismantled the bones of my little finger. Although I was in pain ,I had a feeling that I can take my wallet back but sooner I realized, I couldn’t. When I turned around, to my surprise, my train was gone with my baggage in it as well. I felt numb. My wallet was stolen, luggage was gone and I was in extreme pain due to broken finger. All I had was my phone and 5 rupees in my pocket. Then I got into a train which took me to Vijayawada Central. I tried contacting with railway officials but there was no way they could help me.

The train with my luggage was heading to Chennai Central and I was still standing hungry in the station and thinking about my stuff. I remember asking help from one of my friends who lived near Chennai. She had a conversation with the railway officials at Chennai Central and soon I had a message on my phone about my luggage. Now my only goal was to reach Chennai and get my luggage because it had all of my original documents. I gave up on the 5 rupees by buying a packet of biscuit and now all I had was my phone. I tried finding trains from Vijayawada to Chennai and was left with a only option of a “Full AC train”. By that time I had no money to buy ticket, but all I had in mind was to reach Chennai. I chanted Almighty’s name and got into the train. It was a courageous and ofcourse illegal to travel without ticket. I was too scared, hungry and the pain in my finger was at its peak. Passengers and the railway workers asked me for my seat number, I had no other option but to lie. I was offered complimentary lunch and snacks as I said I had a reserved seat. I was really lucky because no one checked if I had a ticket or not and in a few hours I reached Chennai. I got off the train and went to railway officials who had my luggage. They were kind enough to offer me some cash to buy food. This gesture made me realize that there are some people in this world who go out of their way to help others. I had the worst experience of my life, lost my wallet, and struggled through stress and anxiety but I learned a great deal in these 12 hours.

Finally, I felt a sheer amount of relief when I boarded the train to Trivandrum. I made a rule that day never to trust anyone blindly and be watchful while traveling alone. Life always puts us in some unexpected situation and gives us something important, something worth keeping and remembering.

Total Work Experience : 6 Years (Infosys)