The Tube

We grew up in a pretty simple world,not much competition and a simple childhood(we actually had a childhood).But by the time I got to be older the world had changed and become competitive,one had to have all kinds of skills to just survive.I always thought of myself as being pretty good with directions.I can find my way around most places and even if i get lost I will eventually return to the right place thanks to some questions to passers by.Unfortunately having lived in India all my life,I am used to asking people for directions so besides knowing that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west,i am pretty clueless on directions.Now god forbid the sun is high in the sky,then i would probably think south was north and west was east(and that would be pure guesswork).So there I was in England,expected to master the tube in a matter of minutes.To start with I had a tube map(everyone had one) which was sponsored by IKEA so the ad for the company was large and the map itself must have been one point size something.That is the first challenge.I wear reading glasses so they come on only when i need to read something which is maybe a book or two but certainly not every two minutes.So there I was hunting inside my out sized bag for glasses and the train arrives.I have no clue where the train goes so give it a miss.Now the one thing one must learn is directions.All tube trains are westbound or east bound etc(you get the picture).Well its pretty simple when one understands it but faced with the decision to go west or east and you had me in a fine pickle.Without the glasses,i couldn't find out the stations.And there are no people to ask,and if they do hang around they look rather surprised that such simple questions need to be asked.Now i must admit that there is a lot of information.One one gets to the station the routes are clearly printed on the board so its just a matter to getting oriented,except that in my panic the brain slows down and i loose all logic so search at random for my station and therefore my route.Once one is on the train they always announce the stations and the map is on the sides of the cabins also.Unfortunately we are not used to maps or directions,we are used to asking and talking.Finally i sat myself in the corner of the tube station,took ten deep breadths and found the glasses and the station,the route and the directions.I can tell you what a great sense of achievement I had just getting into the right train.It was a 30 minute journey and i couldn't share my happiness with anyone.Every passenger on the train is either wired to an iphone,and ipod or are buried deep in the pages of the london paper,the metro or some book.The silence is deafening.Finally I arrive at earls court station.Now here is the trick.This station is a place to change for the district line,the circle line and so on.Now the circle line is interesting,its a circle like its obvious so whatever ones destination,one will reach it either by the east bound or the west bound except that one route will take longer than the other.Basically its one big circle so the station one wants could be just anywhere on the circle(i like this line but it has limited usage).Now here i was having to change trains.My choice was two trains with just a stop away but i was standing there in this crowd and couldn't figure out which platform.(lots of changes at this station so its busy and everyone rushes around and it had loads of escalators and plenty of platforms).Now i cant deny that i am Indian so i look around(to hell with the map) and spot an old English man with a newspaper in hand.He could be my grandfathers age so i go up to him and ask for directions.Well he is rather sweet but no time to talk as there is a train getting ready to leave and he tells me its mine,so a quick thank you and i am off.One would imagine that that settled it.Well not quiet.Unfortunately I am challenged when it comes to following instructions.Secondly i have a mind like a sieve so nothing stays there.Now my friend of some 20 odd years know this well and she drew a map added telephone number,address etc and put that into my handbag some few days ago.Now once again after i arrive at the station,I realise that i know the road but this is england,and every house is identical. In India its easy enough to identify a house but here its like looking for a needle in a haystack unless one know the door number.I know that the house is a basement flat but so are all the flats.The wise thing would be to call but as luck (or is it just me) should have it my phone runs out of charge so cant call.The map(i had as is to be expected) had been forgotten so i didn't have the number,The phone booth was there but i didn't have the change and the queens currency is also in one point size so the search for glasses etc will happen,so i did the wise and Indian thing to do.I start walking.Now i know I am on the right road,i also know i have to pass one street(i remember this because its named after some chap in literature so i can recall).I cross that road and i also remember the house is on my left so i cross over to the left and then i stop.Now i am lost and this is england and this is central london and this is a residential area so there is not a soul around.But as luck would have it,one lone man came out of his house.So i go up to him and explain that my phone doest work and that i need to use his phone.He gives me a suspicious look (dark skinned woman demanding to use telephone,means danger at least in that country)makes sure i don't cross another step and gets the phone.Now i must admit that the man looked like a decent sort and i did hear a child yelling inside the flat which is why i choose to ask him.Finally the man smiled (he had reason to).I was standing a door away from my friends place and yes the man is question was their neighbour so after much thank yours,I ran into the friends flat.Think about it at the end of all this I did master the tube,I did learn to read a map and to know directions(I can only tell east or west in England)and best of all,my friend actually found out who her neighbour was(considering that in five years she hadn't a clue who he was).Now that's what i call learning...