First & foremost my apologies to MSians for the delay in posting a DP on my meeting with Raj in Kakinada. More then our meeting, I would call it Raj's adventures in Kakinada.
Rajesh Sharma, whom we all fondly call Raj is adored by all of us. As my interaction with Raj on MS progressed, we became closer & of late have communicated on phones with each other. I had promised Raj that I will visit Gandhidham in September to meet him, because the curiosity to meet him grew every time I read his lovely poems.
Around 8th-Aug-09, I was informed by Raj that he has planned a visit to Kakinada on 18th. I couldn't have asked for anything more & waited patiently for the day of his arrival. From 16th-Aug-09 onwards we were regularly in touch with each other. And yes, this time JAMS was involved too, updating me with Raj's stay in Hyderabad & departure to Kakinada. Thanks JAMS.
Finally Raj arrived Kakinada on 18th AM hours & we met in the hotel where he checked in. It was not difficult for us to recognise each other, thanks to our profile pictures.While we were talking to each other, he received a phone call from his client in Hyderabad & with this call everything changed for him.
He was scheduled to depart from Kakinada the following morning at 8 AM but was now required to be at Hyderabad the following morning. And to make this happen, he has to depart from Kakinada by 8.30 PM. But the problem was, he has to attend a customer as well & required about 7 hours to finish his job.
In our brief meeting him, I assured him to carry on with his job while I'll take care of arranging his tickets to Hyderabad & his onwards journey to Ahmedabad.
I checked on net (I love technology) & found the connection for him to reach Hyderabad following morning & catch the train to Ahmedabad the next afternoon from Secunderabad. Checked with Raj & got the approval to go ahead with the booking of the tickets, which I did through a travel agent.
I had expected Raj to complete his job by lately 7 PM & had planned a wonderful evening with him. Since his train for Secunderabad was to depart at 11.35 PM, we would have had a wonderful time together. But.......
I was constantly calling him to find out when would he be free & the job kept him busy. It was 9.30 PM & the train was to depart in 2 hours & Raj still busy with his work. I was a bit worried & had a feeling that he might miss his train because the railway station is 20 kilometers away from Kakinada town.
I was waiting outside the hotel for him & took a sigh of relief when I saw him at around 10 PM. Check out formalities were completed within 15 minutes & as soon as he enetred my car I called my wife to serve the dinner for us, as we were running short of time & my place was just 5 minutes drive from the hotel.
Reached my place around 10.25 PM, had a brief introduction with my small family. Since my wife found someone who can communicate in Hindi, the conversation started soon.
We finished our dinner by 10.40 PM, which I am sure Raj enjoyed & within another 5 minutes we hit the road, heading towards Samalkota Junction Railway Station. We still had 45 minutes in hand but also had to drive a distance of 20 kilometers.
I realised there is an advantage of small towns, there is no traffic in the nights, which helped me to reach the railway station at 11.05 PM. Since my wife & daughter were with me, Raj suggested me to leave due the late night. We departed with warms hugs & the assurance to meet again.
Now wouldn't you call his visit an adventurous one? Just try to put yourself in Raj's shoes & imagine the events that started with the departure on 17th from Hyderabad by bus & then the phone call early in the morning in Kakinada, a complete U turn in the plans & then winning the race that was against the time.
Whatever time we spent together, we did manage to discuss on a few topics but I am looking forward to another meeting with him to know more about him.
Well Raj, it was a pleasure to meet you.
