A night travel by train had made us sick. We had traveled far south from the country into the capital of Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The super hot and humid climate of Lucknow had feverishly welcomed us. The rays of sun would almost penetrate inside the skin.
After seeing the doctor at Indira Gandhi Eye Hospital and Research Centre, which was our primary purpose… we had no desire of staying longer in Lucknow.
The day ahead was already a burden for us, as the return vehicles were available only on the following day.
Hungry as hell, we started looking for something to eat. The street foods were pretty much popular in Lucknow. In hope of finding something really delicious, we settled at a stall.
The sight of fresh made puri and pickles watered our mouths. So without delay we got it for ourselves. Hunger got mixed with chili, spicy pickles and fresh food. It didn’t took much time to be devoured.
At the mid-day we ended up at train station, searching for tickets if available by chance. But luck wasn’t on our side.
There was something else that was troubling us more than the heat and frustration of not getting a ticket.
The food we had eaten had already started to bubble in our stomachs. And both of us were desperately in need to excrete. Unable to find sanitized washrooms in there, we headed towards the other building of the station.
We had found the lavatory, but were like the previous, already rotting with the feces all over. The relatively cleaner ones didn’t had doors. And the ones which had, didn’t had the locks in them. The torment inside stomach was already intolerable.
Panicked by the bowels and beaten by luck, both of us found our ways inside and expelled the burden in absolute agony. There always was a threat of someone entering the hand held doors. Furthermore, the chilli we had consumed had played its part and it felt like lava oozing out of a crater.
Despite the circumstances, at the end it was an absolute relief.
A lesson of life was learnt that day.
At unknown places beware of what you eat… You can hold on to the hunger, but can’t hold on to your shit.