The Great Indian Tamasha of Indian Railways
by D. Dhanuraj After a long time, I was standing on the queue to book my Tatkal tickets. I was at the reservation counter of Chennai Central Railway Station Reservation counter to reserve my return journey ticket from Chennai to Ernakulam. Luckily I had Tatkal booking forms with me, which I had taken along with me from Ernakulam to ensure that I can afford to be there at the Tatkal counter at 9.50 am equipped with the filled Tatkal form. It was not a long queue (I am surprised; may be off-peak season) and I was probably 6th or 7th in the queue. I could sense a kind of excitement and curiosity on everyone's face as the counter opens for Tatkal reservation at 10 am. There were chairs for 5 or 6 to sit and relax before the crucial booking starts. As the clock ticked 10, everyone stood up. I was not able to see the booking agent (not sure what is the designation of the officer; officer, inspector or agent?) at the counter. As I was lurking at the wi...