#travelememory-Guntakal

Outside the Guntakal Railway Station, Telangana

On the way to Hyderabad, our train stopped at Guntakal Railway Station for two hours. Our group took this opportunity to move out of the train for some fresh air, charge phones, some guntakal-chai and using the latrine. As for me, I just wanted to move around and see the place and click some picture to post it on google maps. Me, Achi and Sangeetha talked and walked around like birds just freed from a cage. Out of all these fun times, my personal favourite memory about the place is a very tragic one. 

While Narayan uncle, Sangeetha and Achi was busy buying some tea for themselves, I took a quick check of the place. There was a political party meeting going on towards the right side of the station. I watched all the people devoutly sitting around the speaker who was speaking in telugu. I understood not a single word they said. Anyway, I slipped from there and moved around, away from them. I saw some children playing in the public park in front of the station, then moved away again. Then I saw "I love Guntakal" (love written with a heart emoji) which was right infront of the station. The flag near it stood proud and high. Overwhelmed with awe, I walked towards it, not looking anywhere.

That was when I felt that there was something on the way that I would stumble and fall and I just looked down at the paved floor before taking a step further. I was terrified at whet I saw next- one poor man was lying on the floor behind the pillar. He was sleeping straight and his bedsheet (an old one, probably a sack as I can remember) covered him head to toe. All I thank God about that day is that I didn't scream. For a second or two, I thought he was dead but he wasn't. And this realization struck me after sometime. However, I was trembling and sobbing after seeing him. People around me saw my expression and were scared too. One man who was seriously talking over the phone stopped talking when he saw my expression. Good for me that he ignored my reaction, for he almost cursed me that day. 

Everytime I remember Guntakal, this is the first incident I remember. When I told everybody what happened, we all sat and laughed together. I too laughed along as I still do. ;-)