How I almost screwed it up

Sometimes events happen to us that we don't plan for and when we expect them the least. I had such an experience two weeks ago that almost screwed up my future plans, made my heart stop for a minute or two but finally reemphasized my faith in Alchemist's memorable quote " If you want something with all your heart , the entire universe conspires to help you achieve it".

It was the 25th of May and I just finished an 18hour journey from Bangalore to Visakhapatnam. I was super excited , coz of my cousin's marriage and a chance to meet some of my relatives whom I haven't seen in a decade. Additionally, as I was going to vacate my house in Bangalore on 10th of June I took a major chunk of the luggage with me on the train. Thus it totaled to four bags, one of which was a travel suitcase. Six hours after I got off the train , in the comfort of my house I wanted to connect to the internet and was looking for my laptop.

Two seconds and the truth dawned on me. I forgot that bag in the train. I wouldn't have worried if it were only the laptop , but that bag contained my passports, my i20, undergrad transcripts and degree certificate, US visa interview letter and SEVIS fee receipt( which you can print only once). My mom started getting all teary eyed and was furiously praying to all the gods available. In that chaos she somehow remembered that my bro-in-law works for the Indian Railways in Bhuvaneswar , the place where the train was headed. We immediately called him up and sought his help.

In the meanwhile I rushed to the railway police and started bugging them to do something. For all the infamy that surrounds these people , they were actually nice. They called up their counterparts in Bhuvaneswar and told me that they would reach me on my mobile if they have some news. Meanwhile , my bro-in-law managed to contact the Ticket collector on the train and to my delight told me that he was able to find my bag. Twenty minutes later the police called me and the lady was overjoyed that they found the bag . Her exact conversation goes like this " Sir !! you are damn lucky. No one finds their bag in a train. You should thank your stars !!". I was moved by how helpful she was. An hour later my bro-in-law called me and we checked for all the documents. I was relaxed that everything was in order including the laptop.

Two days ago I finished my visa interview and y'day got my passport with the visa stamp. Looking at it , I just couldn't believe how lucky I have been. All is well that ends well.

PS : I just hope never to loose a bag again !!!