The Porter

It all started when I asked my batchmate Vijil (3556) to hand over our Batch T-shirts for OBA 2026. Since I was on duty, I asked him to send the bundle to the TTE Room, Bengaluru. I also gave him the name of one of my colleagues who would collect it on my behalf.

The next day, I got a call from Vijil.

"Da... the Porter will reach your place in 5 minutes!"

I was both confused and amazed. Porter? How on earth did this fellow manage to send a parcel through Indian Railways, and now a railway porter was personally delivering it to the TTE Room? Before I could recover from the shock, Vijil even shared the live location of the "Porter"!

That completely blew my mind. I was wondering...

"Since when did railway porters start sharing live location?" 🤔

Being the technically illiterate fellow that I am, I had absolutely no idea that Porter is actually an app for transporting parcels. I genuinely thought he was talking about a railway porter!

A little later, my colleague called me.

"Sir... the Porter has arrived. He's asking for the payment."

Without missing a beat, I asked the most logical question:

"Which shirt is he wearing... Red or Blue?"
(The traditional railway porter union colours! 😄)

My colleague replied, "No Sir... he's wearing a T-shirt."

I confidently instructed, "Don't pay him! He's just a porter!" 😁

A few minutes later, Vijil called back laughing uncontrollably.

"Da... I've already paid him! It's the Porter App!"

Only then did I realise that I had been arguing about the salary of a delivery executive while imagining a railway porter carrying my parcel on his head! 🤦‍♂️😂

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The Mystery Unravels at OBA Day

The mystery remained unsolved in my mind until OBA Day, when Mithun Raj (3318) finally enlightened me.

The next morning, Mithun had to send a parcel to Pradeep Sir. Naturally, he booked it through the Porter App. By then, around ten of us from the 2001 Batch had reached Thampanoor Railway Station after our batch get-together and were waiting to board the 12625 Kerala Express.

Mithun casually said, "I'll just go outside and meet the Porter."

This time, I wasn't going to miss the opportunity. After my previous "Porter experience", I was genuinely curious to see this legendary fellow. 3276, 3279, and I immediately volunteered. Four grown-up Sainik School old boys marched outside the station... just to meet a Porter! 😄

A few minutes later, the man arrived. The poor fellow had absolutely no idea what was waiting for him.

The four of us surrounded him with broad smiles. I stretched out my hand and said:

"Hi, Porter! I came all the way just to meet you!" 😄

It was straight out of Surya introducing himself to Simran in Vaaranam Aayiram. We all enthusiastically shook hands with him.

The poor man looked completely terrified! Only later did we realise why.

At that time, the Narcotics Squad and DANSAF teams were conducting frequent checks around the station, and delivery personnel were often questioned because of drug trafficking cases. To make matters worse, there stood me... with my infamous moustache... staring at him like an investigating officer.

The poor fellow was convinced he had been trapped by the police! His hands were literally trembling while shaking mine. 😂😂

Only after Mithun explained the parcel details did the poor man's heartbeat return to normal.

And that's how, after days of confusion, I finally met "The Porter"...
...outside Thampanoor Railway Station...
...standing just a few feet away from a whole line of actual Railway Porters! 🤣🤣

Moral of the Story:
Sometimes, technology doesn't confuse us... we confuse ourselves.