Nihon times Vs Hindustan times!

One fine day, I was traveling in one of the railway lines in Tokyo. At this point, I think it would be a crime if I do not mention the excellent railway network that Japan has. To be on the safe side, as I don't really fancy spending the prime years of my life in the pen, I'll oblige!! Right from the renowned bullet trains to the subways, they are just perfect for all kinds of travelers. You can scale most of Japan by rail alone.

In places like Tokyo you might not really have a choice, as only the rich and the famous can afford to commute by taxis! If you are thinking, "Hey! I'll commute by car".........you ought to stop thinking, for your own good!! Even the rich and the famous won't attempt such a stunt! Although to be fair to you, it is no business of mine that you are willing to spend your entire salary, not to mention all your life's savings on parking fee. Reliable sources say this is part of the government's ploy to reduce traffic congestion and pollution, by encouraging people to use trains.

Getting back to that fine day of mine! I was taking the circular Yamanote line that connects Tokyo's major city centers. In all cars of the train, there are display boards like the one below, that give information like for example, the next station, the time it takes to the various stations on the line, the other lines you can transfer to from each of the stations etc. One of the displays shows all the cars of the train and their expected position relative to the station platform once the train stops, so you can start walking inside the train itself if you find that your car is too far from the station exit you are targeting!!

As I was silently observing the display, I saw a notice informing of delay in one of the other train lines due to an accident and it was the line I was supposed to transfer to. As I was going over the various alternatives in my mind, I inadvertently committed the blunder of looking at the duration of the delay. It was then that I almost had my very first myocardial infarction or as people with 'non-to-be-doctor' brothers call it, a heart attack!! The train was delayed by one minute! ONE WHOLE MINUTE!! Coming from a place where if the train is delayed, you can go finish college, graduate, get married, put your kids through school and still make it in time for the 'delayed' train, I think my gaping and stunned look of disbelief was totally justified!!

If you have gotten this far, you must have realized that I am given to a lil bit of exaggeration!! Therefore, you don't have to give me examples of the trains that you take that are always on time. The one I take to go home is always on time too. Of course, when I say 'on time' it is understood that 10:30 could mean anywhere between 10:30 and 11:30.

Are you wondering like I did, what’s the big deal with a delay of 1 minute, even maggie noodles takes 2!! To you and me it is just a minute, but in Japan that's tens of thousands of people who didn't make it in time for office. A delay of 1 or 2 minutes might at times mean they miss all their subsequent train transfers. It was in Japan I learnt the value of minutes. One of my first surprises here was, when I asked my colleagues about their commuting time between home and office and got answers like 57, 43 minutes etc. In Chennai, answers would range from anywhere between 2 hours and two days!!

You can safely bet that the only way all trains in Japan stop running on time is if a humungous eathquake wipes Japan off the face of this earth. But if you are looking for a bet with even better odds, you can bet you won't hear an announcement that the train is delayed by 1 minute, in Chennai Central Railway station in the near future!! I can't really blame the railway authorities....the day they run trains on time in India the whole train is going to be empty!!