Note : The reason for this blog to be named Patna 2.0 doesn’t mean that I only have went to Patna for the second time but here it relates to the first ever trip I had with Mayank that too to Patna almost at the same time just an year ago in 2023.

05-04-2024

The time was 2 a.m. when I first woke up, knowing that I still had an hour to rest. After taking a quick nap, I again woke up at 3:10 am, and since I knew that my train was at 3:30 am, I became a bit scared.

I opened WhatsApp only to know that Mayank has postponed the plan to the next available train that departs Bettiah at 5 a.m.

I came to know afterwards that a boy named “Ayush” was also to come to us; that was the reason he postponed the plan from the 3:30 am train to the 5:00 am train.

Again, after resting a bit, I did all the morning chores, and I was good to go. I went to Mayank’s house at 4:25 am, where he made me wait another 15 minutes. After that, we came to the station via bike with his father.

As we already knew, the train will be crowded as there were JEE exams, and on top of that, the train now comes from Bagaha instead of Narkatiyaganj, so that’s another mess.

Whatever we got on the train, Mayank lost his slipper, thus initiating our good journey. We were lucky that his father was there, and he found and gave him the slipper.

Soon after we boarded the train, I started feeling uneasy, and I found that my stomach was upset. I don’t know why it was happening, as I did go to the toilet earlier today. I think the three samosas and two lassis that I ate yesterday at Sagauli Junction contributed to that.

Well, as we were reaching Semra station, it became unbearable, and I got off the train after having a word with Mayank. I also left my bag with him. After I got out, I started searching for a toilet, as, at this point in time, this was the only thing I wanted. Unfortunately, there weren’t any toilets at this station. Once, I even thought that I would go into the fields until I found a place where I could excrete in silence.

The place didn’t even have water or proper locks; it was an abandoned toilet. I even used leaves to make toilet paper. I know it was a bad experience, but experiences are experiences, and I want to have them.

Then I took a local train (15202) to go to Muzaffarpur junction, but just before Muzaffarpur junction at Kaparpura station, I again got the urge to excrete. I again got out of the train, and since there were no toilets, I again had to do the feed with leaves that too were in an abandoned toilet.

Soon I reached Muzaffarpur Junction, and from there we took the 15515 train to reach Patliputra Junction. This train was also crowded, but after Hajipur Junction, we got seats.

After reaching Patliputra Junction, we were hungry like hell, so we got out and saw a local train that was vacant. We thought that this wasn’t going to depart sooner, so we got in and started to eat paratha and bhujia, which Mayank’s mother cooked for us three, but luckily only two of us devoured them all.

After some time, we got to know that the train in which we were sitting was going to Patna Junction after 20 minutes, and we were cheered. When the train started to move, there were almost no passengers in the train.

We then reached Patna Junction, got a Rapido, and went directly to our dormitory.

I checked in, paying 150 INR per head, and we were then settled. We both were tired, but since Mayank had his exams, he started studying, and I slept for a few hours.

At 7:30 PM, I was forcibly woken up by Mayank for our dinner. At that point, I was too tired to move and eat. We walked a bit and landed in a bhjnalaya to eat two plates of food for 70 INR each.

I then bought two tablets, one for my upset stomach and one for gas, for INR 15. We then slept in peace. At night, I was checking my phone to see if it was there or not. LOL.

06-04-2024

Mayank then woke me up at around 7 a.m., and then I went to the toilet. After that, I took my notebook and started using Duolingo; the results are below.

After that, we went to Hindu Prem Bhojnalaya to eat, and the food was indeed awesome. Also, it cost just ₹50 per plate + ₹15 as we took 3 extra rotis.

After that, we went to Patna Junction, which wasn’t far from there, and then took a memu train to Parsa Bazaar, which was just 11 minutes via train. The reason we took the train was to save money; his examination centre was only 1.5 km from there.

Then I left Mayank at the centre and came back to the station, taking a memu train back to Patna Junction.

Here I started feeling dizzy. I tried visiting the railway hospital, but to no avail. I had a very bad experience there. I drank 2 glasses of lime water and a total of 4 glasses of lime water today.

I then took a Rapido to Patna Dental College to get teeth braces, but government work, you know it too, didn’t work out. They said to come on Monday, but we have plans to go back on Sunday. Also, the doctor there said that it will take about a year for your appointment.

And I am not doing that; he suggested I go to BHU, and I also support that. I’ll be treated better there. One more reason that it’s going to cost me around ₹1.5k, which I can’t afford RN, is that I was looking for free treatment.

Whatever, I will postpone it for now.

From there, I took an auto to Patna Junction, and from Patna Junction again, a Memu to Parsa Bazaar station.

I listened to music there and then went on to meet Mayank. After that, we booked Rapido to go to our dorm. The rapido went off halfway, so we walked out, eating ice cream. We also ate Jhaalmuri before returning to our dorm.

We weren’t having any plans for dinner until he started feeling hungry, and we again got off. I again drank ₹10 shikanji, and Mayank ate ₹40 Sattu-Paratha and Sabzi, and he was content.

I didn’t eat because I wasn’t feeling like it.

We came back to our dorm. I did my work, and then I slept.

07-04-2024

I woke up Mayank at 7:30 am and then went to the toilet. After that, I saw that I was in the third place on my Duolingo, so I got it. I started playing it with the thought that I wouldn’t reach the top. Despite that, I played it for more than 2 hours unless I saw that I could crack the top, and at last I did it. It was really a proud moment, also because Mayank said that you can’t be on top.

At 11 a.m., we got ready, left to eat, and landed at the Prem Hindu Hotel, the place where we ate earlier. We got two plates for 80 INR each and curd, which cost us 25 INR. We ate till we were bloating.

After that, we started looking for a rapido that would get us to the MI service centre for Mayank’s mobile speaker repair. The irony is that I bought a Poco X3 mobile; I recommended Mayank buy the same, and now both of our speakers are dead. In my case, my selfie camera is also dead. I can’t use the phone without earphones; I have to keep them inserted 24*7. Okay, so coming to the topic, when we looked at the service centre on Google Maps, we found out that the place was closed today as it was Sunday. We were like, Oh Shit. We then looked for trains to get back to Bettiah. The trains to Bettiah always depart from Patliputra Junction and not from Patna Junction. Since we were at Patna Junction, we got a train that was 10 minutes short of its departure and departed for Patliputra Junction, which was a 25-minute ride. After going to Patliputra Junction, I started feeling tired and sleepy, as we had both eaten a lot. Our train was to depart at 5:10 PM, and we were there 3–4 hours earlier. We waited for an hour or so at the platform and then got on the train. After that, Mayank brought Sudha milk shakes; I hadn’t consumed them ever; they were 30 INR each, and I paid for them. They were decent.

We waited and waited and waited until the train was overcrowded. Since we came too early, we enjoyed our window seats throughout the journey. Before the train was to depart, the boy who at the beginning joined us for the trip from Bettiah to Patna also came here, and the journey started. In the 6-hour+ journey, I built a connection with him. We three played Ludo together; we ate chips, we ate kurkures, we laughed, we mocked each other, and so on and so forth. At a time, I was mocking Mayank Soo so badly that he got frustrated and broke my earphones and threw them. I had to order a new pair of earphones. At Bettiah station, we deboarded the train. I and Mayank went off with his father, and that boy, Ayush, went off with his father. When we came back to Shivpuri Colony, Mayank had already told me about my dinner at his house, so I had my dinner there. I then came back to my house, which is in the same colony.

Overall, this three-day journey was nice. We didn’t travel to any places that we had earlier planned to visit because we were too tired to do so. Mayank broke my earphones, and I can’t talk to anyone. I got to meet a new boy, Ayush. Our co-passengers were really nice. We joked a lot with them. Also, me and Mayank had a duolingo rivalry that the one to accumulate more XP this week is going to get treated Chaat by the other, and I am going to crush him. Last time we went to Patna for the first time together, a lot changed from that trip. We are now planning to execute our train journey to Nepal.

Thanks for reading.

This is Navneet signing off from today’s blog.

Peace🕊️