Bag lost and found in train in 11 minutes!

A lost bag situation at the end of a very hectic and stressful day actually eliminated all my stress. Here are the 11 minutes of rapid action at Navi Mumbai stations that make me proud of my hubby, my brother, my sis-in-law and myself (whatever happened to my modesty ;)):

10:38 pm: Me and my husband alight at Vashi station from a Belapur bound train we had boarded from CST station.

10:39 pm: As we climb down the stairs, my husband realises we left behind our bag on the rack of the train's general compartment; the train already departed from the platform.


10:40 pm: RAPID ACTION: He plans to catch the next train while I decide to report the lost bag to the Vashi station master's office. I take note of the time for the calculations that would be required in the next few minutes.

10:41 pm: I rush towards Vashi's platform number 1 exit and inquire a guard about the station master's / manager's office. He tells me it's at platform number 4 (this you must always remember). I rush to the 4th platform when an idea strikes me.

10:42 pm: I realise that my brother and sis-in-law who stay near Seawoods station might be reaching home around the same time. I call them up when my sis-in-law quickly tells me that my bro is at home and he might be able to reach the station. I tell him about the situation and ask him to try and board the train that will reach Seawoods station around 10.49 pm.

Meanwhile, I struggle to find someone at the station master's office in vain. I reach the other entrance and find a man standing inside... he might have been the station manager / someone with similar authority. He struggles to read the timetable and asks me about the compartment, the train's departure time from CSt etc etc... while my husband and my bro are almost in a position to recover the bag from the train. I give the minutest details to the railway person and my bro. I tell them I don't want people to find an unattended bag in the train and panic especially on that day (Ayodhya verdict day).


10.49 pm: By the time the railway person understands the information and the time table, and picks up his phone to tell someone authority at Seawoods to board that compartment, my bro calls up. He recovers the bag!!! Poor fellow however is unable to alight at the same station as the train already left for Belapur. And he ends up getting a dent on his Blackberry in the process of searching through the previous train as well and hurriedly alighting from the same, thankfully unhurt.


Ahh!!! It was one exciting event and we went home congratulating each other and treating ourselves with an ice cream while happily swaying the bag!