The Kerala Story: A Broke College Gang's Travel Journal

Lights, Camera... Action!

It was around 3:30 A.M.

My gang and I were on a mission.

The gang consisted of:

• Me — Mushtaq (alias: Developer Karthik)
• Eswar (alias: Psycho Vivek)
• Chandrasekhar (alias: Actor Kaushik)
• Pavan (alias: Editor Uppi)

And the target of our operation?

Guru — our newest gang member and an old friend (alias: Guru Bhai).

We were racing through train coaches, desperately searching for him.

His phone kept ringing.

No answer.

We were furious.

Not only had he ignored our calls, but he had also failed to tell us something as basic as his coach number or berth location before dozing off. The train was only minutes away from reaching Aluva, our designated stop on the way to Munnar.

Armed with phone flashlights and running on very little sleep, we charged through coach after coach, shouting "Guru!" like a team of overenthusiastic sniffer dogs.

Then destiny decided to make things interesting.

The train rolled into Aluva station.

Still no Guru.

Just when we were preparing to accept defeat, his call finally came through.

At last, we knew where he was.

Problem solved?

Not even close.

The moment we found him, Guru calmly informed us that one of his earbuds had fallen somewhere inside the coach while he was climbing down from his upper berth.

Fantastic.

Exactly what four exhausted college students wanted to hear after surviving a night in a crowded general compartment.

After a heated exchange of words—most of which are unsuitable for publication—we reluctantly joined the search party.

Using our phone flashlights, we searched every corner around the berth.

Nothing.

Eventually, we agreed on a deadline.

We would search until the next station.

If we found it, great.

If not, Guru would simply have to make peace with owning a single earbud.

Then, out of nowhere, an angel appeared.

A fellow passenger noticed our struggle and handed us her powerful torch.

Compared to our phone flashlights, it felt like military-grade equipment.

Within minutes, the missing earbud was found.

Victory.

At last, we could focus on getting off at the next station.

Roll credits.

Pack up.

The End.

Well...

Not quite.

This little incident was only the opening scene of what would become one of the most chaotic trips of our lives.

If anything, Kerala had far bigger surprises waiting for us.

But before we get there, let's rewind a little.

Flashback

Ask any Indian college student about their dream group trip, and there's a good chance they'll say Goa.

Not us.

For reasons that still confuse me, our dream destination was Kerala—God's Own Country.

The plan was beautifully simple:

Finish exams.

Board a train.

Reach Kerala.

Figure out everything else later.

Naturally, things didn't go according to plan.

At one point, the trip was on the verge of collapsing before it had even begun.

Why?

Because we were broke.

Not "can't afford luxury" broke.

Proper college-student broke.

To save money, we planned to travel in the general compartment. Great for our wallets. Terrible for our backs.

When I presented this masterpiece of financial planning to my family, my father immediately found its biggest flaw.

"No confirmed berth. No trip."

And just like that, my chances of going dropped dramatically.

It was Christmas season.

The trains were packed.

Getting a confirmed berth felt almost impossible.

I informed the gang that I probably wouldn't be able to make it.

One by one, everyone started losing hope.

The grand Kerala adventure seemed doomed.

Then came our unlikely hero.

Guru Bhai.

At the time, he wasn't even officially part of the trip.

But he had something far more valuable than enthusiasm.

Railway contacts.

With a little help from his resource person, a lot of persistence, and approximately three times the normal sleeper fare, I finally secured a confirmed berth.

Team Kanyarashi was back in business.

On the agreed date, we boarded the train.

Ironically, despite having a confirmed berth, I spent most of the journey with the gang in the general compartment.

After all, what's a group trip if you're separated from your friends?

Well...

There was one exception to that rule.

But we'll talk about him later.

As the train rolled forward, excitement filled the air.

We were finally on our way.

A group of broke college students heading into the unknown, searching for stories worth remembering.

We all (except Guru Bhai—he was somewhere, most probably snoring away) were on cloud nine, at last en route to the grand trip of our prime. But something was missing from the whole experience.

We had been pestering Guru Bhai to join us despite his reluctance long before the trip. We still hadn't lost hope and decided to call him one last time.

Finally, he gave in to our persistence and, hurray, he was on his way to catch the train at the station nearest to his hometown.

He had his own little adventure trying to catch the train on time, and we were delighted. The experience finally felt complete.

Cut to the "Finding Guru Bhai and His Earbud" scene.

We got off at the next station—Ernakulam Junction.

We freshened up and were ready for the day ahead.

That's it for now.

Let's talk more about the trip some other time.

Till then, take care.

Sayonara.